Recent Blog Articles
Wildfires: How to cope when smoke affects air quality and health
PTSD: How is treatment changing?
Virtual mental health care visits: Making them work for you
How healthy is sugar alcohol?
A bird flu primer: What to know and do
New urine test may help some men with elevated PSA avoid biopsy
Dupuytren's contracture of the hand
Why play? Early games build bonds and brain
Moving from couch to 5K
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals
Infectious diseases Archive
Articles
Polio: What parents need to know now
Recent news reports about cases of polio have some parents concerned about the illness. The vaccine is safe and remarkably effective, and widespread vaccination builds herd immunity.
Long COVID symptoms differ between the sexes
A 2022 study found that women with long COVID showed more symptoms than men, including shortness of breath and fatigue.
Hospitalized patients can bring home infections
Clostridioides difficile, a bacterium that causes severe diarrhea and colon inflammation, is common in hospitalized people. New research suggests that even patients who are not diagnosed with the infection in the hospital can bring it home and expose family members.
Preventing C. diff in and out of the hospital
The bacteria C. diff is responsible for half a million infections each year in the US. Many infections happen when people are hospitalized, but a recent report indicated that people can be infected without ever being hospitalized.
Poliovirus in wastewater: Should we be concerned?
Thanks to vaccination, the US has been polio-free since 1979, and the spread of this disease has been interrupted in most countries. But worldwide eradication of polio has been elusive, and traces of the virus were recently found in wastewater in London.
Answers to questions about long COVID
A troubling aspect of COVID infection is long COVID, also known as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection, or PASC. PASC is marked by persistent symptoms 30 days or more after a person tests positive for COVID. Also, symptoms suggestive of PASC may emerge many weeks after recovery from the initial infection. Scientists are still learning about PASC, but they have discovered much so far, such as who may be at higher risk, what symptoms are common, how long it may last, and what people can do to protect themselves.
Ring vaccination might help curtail monkeypox outbreaks
The monkeypox outbreak currently traveling around the globe is the largest ever recorded outside of western and central Africa. Controlling this virus demands preventive measures, and one method that has worked to contain previous disease outbreaks may be effective for monkeypox as well.
New recommendations for pneumococcal vaccination
In January 2022, the CDC published updated recommendations for vaccinating adults against pneumococcal disease and approved two new pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs).
Monkeypox: An unfamiliar virus spreading fast — sound familiar?
More than two years after COVID-19 reached the US, an outbreak of monkeypox is spreading fast outside of Africa. This virus is not new, and it's likely to be less dangerous than COVID, but it's still important to be aware of its symptoms, spread, treatment, and prevention.
Study links common virus to MS
A 2022 Harvard study suggests that an Epstein-Barr virus infection, the most common cause of mononucleosis, may trigger multiple sclerosis (MS) in some people.
Recent Blog Articles
Wildfires: How to cope when smoke affects air quality and health
PTSD: How is treatment changing?
Virtual mental health care visits: Making them work for you
How healthy is sugar alcohol?
A bird flu primer: What to know and do
New urine test may help some men with elevated PSA avoid biopsy
Dupuytren's contracture of the hand
Why play? Early games build bonds and brain
Moving from couch to 5K
How — and why — to fit more fiber and fermented food into your meals
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