Piercings can be a fun way to express yourself, but they can also cause complications — particularly in areas that aren’t the earlobes — and need proper care.

“The first step to caring for your piercing is choosing a qualified piercer,” said Dr. Steven Daveluy, an associate professor and program direc...

Women may soon have a vaccine they can take during a pregnancy to help protect their newborn from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Following approval one month ago by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday also approved the shot, called Abrysvo. That marks the last hurdle needed for the vaccine to become widely available.

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Americans will once again be able to get free at-home COVID tests.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Wednesday that it will spend $600 million to buy and offer the tests, produced by 12 domestic manufacturers, and it will begin accepting orders for those tests on Monday through covidt...

A deadly infection associated with hospitalization may not be the fault of the hospital, but may instead stem from the patients themselves, a new study suggests.

Infection caused by the bacterium Clostridioides difficile, or C. diff, is still common in hospitals, despite extensive infection control procedures. The new research may help explain why that's so.

Among mor...

FRIDAY, Sept. 15, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Kids are back in school and it’s time to think about viruses, for both yourself and them.

It could be an early flu season in the United States, if what happened in the Southern Hemisphere offers any insight, according to Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

The flu vaccine is now available in some locations. A new COVID-19 boost...

COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are gradually increasing in the United States, as two new variants gain a foothold in the nation. And with that rise, more people are looking for COVID test kits.

Hospitalizations rose by nearly 9% and deaths by nearly 11% in late August/early September, according to

When you have COVID-19, when are you most infectious? Researchers are getting closer to an answer, with a new study finding that folks exhale the highest amounts of virus during the first eight days of their illness.

Scientists found that patients exhale quite a bit of virus during the first several days — as many as 1,000 copies of airborne virus per minute.

Those levels drop s...

You've probably heard of West Nile virus, but mosquitoes spread various other illnesses, too, including the little-known Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV), which is garnering attention across the United States.

For example, health officials in Connecticut have so far identified mosquitoes carrying JCV in 12 towns across the state. Although no confirmed human cases of the disease have occurred ...

Two new studies looked to explain an increased risk of respiratory infections like coughs and colds in babies and young children, finding city living to be among the culprits.

Young children who grow up in towns and cities instead of the countryside suffer more respiratory infections, according to research presented Monday at a meeting of the European Respiratory Society, in Milan, Italy....

Patients with hepatitis C should consider being vaccinated again for hepatitis B, because their immune response to the initial shot may be inadequate, a new study suggests.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota Medical School urge those who have hepatitis C to be checked for hepatitis B immune protection. If none is present, they should get the vaccine again after treating hepatitis ...

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common viral infection that affects people of all ages, with infants and older adults being particularly vulnerable to severe complications.

Preventing the spread of RSV requires a multi-pronged approach that includes vaccination, good hygiene practices and public health initiatives.

You may have seen recent reports about newly approved vacci...

While it doesn't prevent infection altogether, new research shows the mpox vaccine does reduces the severity of disease in those who fall ill from the virus.

An international team of scientists found that those people who had either mpox vaccination or a previous infection in 2022 had less severe disease.

The researchers studied 38 mpox infections in 37 gay and bisexual men; among ...

Doctors are seeing a spike in severe cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among young children in Florida and Georgia, U.S. health officials warned Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent an advisory to doctors, noting that regional increases us...

New research on a leading cause of foodborne illness has linked a large share of Michigan infections to antibiotic-resistant bacteria strains.

More than 100 strains of Campylobacter jejuni circulating in Michigan are resistant to at least one antibiotic, according to researchers from Michigan State University (MSU) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. More th...

As waters warm across the United States and hurricanes and flooding season begins, the odds of being infected by flesh-eating bacteria are also rising, U.S. health officials warn.

According to a Sept. 1 health alert from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a dozen types of the bacteria called <...

TUESDAY, Sept. 5, 2023 (HealthDay News) – When new COVID variant BA.2.86 emerged in late July, scientists had concerns about its ability to evade immunity. But early lab tests seem to be easing those fears, as well as concerns over the variant's ability to spread widely.

Also called Pirola, the variant is highly mutated, with more than 30 changes to its spike protein compared to its clo...

Doctors plucked a wriggling roundworm from the brain of an Australian woman in the world's first-known case of human infection with a parasite common in some pythons.

The woman, who had been experiencing worsening symptoms for at least a year, is believed to have gotten the infection from foraging and eating grasses where a snake had defecated.

"This is the first-ever human case of ...

A new COVID-19 surge is underway, with seasonal changes and new variants fueling an increase in hospitalizations and deaths.

A new Omicron variant, named Eris, has become dominant in the United States amid signs that an even more highly evolved COVID variant called BA.2.86 is starting to spread across America.

However, experts say the public should react to this latest surge not wit...

COVID-19 variants are evolving three times faster in white-tailed deer than in humans, according to a new study.

Deer serve as virus reservoirs, places where a virus thrives and multiplies, making them the perfect host for ongoing mutation.

The virus also appears to be passing between humans and deer, where genomic analysis showed at least 30 infections in deer were introduced by ...

People working in certain jobs had greater risk of being hospitalized for COVID-19, even in the later stages of the pandemic, researchers report.

Bus drivers rank high on that list, with double the risk of being hospitalized compared to lower-contact jobs.

Several occupations in education and health care were also at greater risk of serious illness, the new study shows.

"Wh...

Alice Tapper felt deathly ill, suffering from severe abdominal pain, a 102-degree fever and vomiting.

Emergency room doctors found that Alice -- the daughter of CNN anchor Jake Tapper -- had a rapid pulse of 135 beats per minute and a very high white blood cell count, indicating her body was fighting off a...

Cancer patients with immune systems weakened by treatment are among the groups most concerned about the continued spread of COVID-19 and the chance of the infection becoming severe.

New research suggests more guidance on how often these patients need protective booster shots.

It’s not one-size-fits-all, but depends on the specific treatment, said scientists...

Millions of Americans swear they’re suffering the symptoms of long-haul COVID, but are greeted with eye rolls because they never were formally diagnosed with COVID-19.

Their claims need to be taken more seriously by physicians, a new study argues, because evidence of prior COVID infection can be found in many so-called “COVID-negative” patients with long-haul symptoms.

At leas...

Women may soon have a vaccine they can take during a pregnancy to help protect their newborn from respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), following U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the shot, called Abrysvo, on Monday

The vaccine is designed to be given to pregnant women between 32 and 36 weeks of pregnancy as a way to protect infants from birth through 6 months from the sometimes ...

There's been another case of locally acquired malaria in the United States, this time in Maryland, authorities report.

It's the first time this has happened in that state in 40 years.

No evidence connects this case to seven locally acquired infections in Florida or another one in Texas that were previously reported, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention....

People may assume that a COVID-19 infection protects them the next time they encounter the virus, but that’s not necessarily true.

A new study of 750 vaccinated seniors living in retirement homes and long-term care facilities found that those infected during the first omicron wave were actually more vulnerable to reinfection with a later wave.

"This research highlights the need f...

Public health officials are warning people about the risks of flesh-eating bacterial infections and how to avoid them after the deaths of three older adults on the northeast coast.

Two of the deaths from vibriosis — an illness caused by the vibrio vulnificus bacteria — occurred in Connecticut residents. Two of the illnesses were connected to wound infections, news agencies report...

New hospitalizations for Americans with severe COVID are climbing once again.

The number of patients being admitted to hospitals has grown for each of the past four weeks, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows. Southeastern states have been hit the hardest.

In...

All infants should receive the new long-acting preventive monoclonal antibody for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the nation's leading pediatrics group said.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) urged that access to the new medication, called nirsevimab, be equitable.

RSV is common, contagious and sometimes deadly, the AAP said.

The antibody boosts the immune system.

As experts begin preparing for another season of viruses, they now know that even healthy infants with no underlying health issues are at risk for severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

New research finds that most infants who were admitted last fall to an intensive care unit for RSV were generally healthy before their infection. So, preventative measures -- including a newly approved ...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday recalled a brand of soft-serve ice cream after linking it to listeria cases in Pennsylvania and New York.

The product, Soft Serve On The Go ice cream cups, was distributed in several states, the