Latest Public health News

Britain slammed in inquiry for infecting thousands with tainted blood and covering up the scandal

May. 20, 2024 23:48 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — British authorities and the country's public health service knowingly exposed tens of thousands of patients to deadly infections through contaminated blood and blood products, and hid the truth about the disaster for decades, an inquiry into the U.K.’s infected blood scandal found...

What happened in the UK's infected blood scandal from the 1970s to '90s?

May. 20, 2024 07:52 AM EDT

LONDON (AP) — The final report of the U.K.'s infected blood inquiry was published on Monday, nearly six years after it began looking into how tens of thousands of people contracted HIV or hepatitis from transfusions of tainted blood and blood products in the 1970s and 1980s. The...

Water, water everywhere ... most is now safe to drink in an English village after parasite outbreak

May. 18, 2024 12:39 PM EDT

LONDON (AP) — Most residents living near a scenic fishing village in southwestern England where a parasite in the water sickened more than 45 people were told Saturday that they could safely drink the water again. South West Water said it lifted its boil notice for most of the...

A rural Ugandan community is a hot spot for sickle cell disease. But one patient gives hope

May. 12, 2024 02:08 AM EDT

MBALE, Uganda (AP) — Barbara Nabulo was one of three girls in her family. But when a sister died, her mother wailed at the funeral that she was left with just one and a half daughters. The half was the ailing Nabulo, who at age 12 grasped her mother’s meaning. "I...

Sewage spill closes waters along 2 miles of Los Angeles beaches

May. 10, 2024 13:04 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A long stretch of Los Angeles coastal waters was under a closure order Friday after a large spill of untreated sewage into a creek that empties into the ocean. The spill began Wednesday and about 14,400 gallons flowed into Ballona Creek before it was stopped at...

Bread loaves recalled in Japan after 'rat remains' were found

May. 09, 2024 11:22 AM EDT

TOKYO (AP) — Loaves of bread have been taken off store shelves in Japan after the remains of “a small animal” believed to be a rat were found. Production of the bread was halted at a Tokyo factory, with 104,000 packages being recalled, according to Pasco Shikishima Corp. ...

Editorial Roundup: Indiana

Apr. 30, 2024 07:26 AM EDT

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. April 27, 2024. Editorial: Motorists need strategies, not scare campaigns, to reduce driving distractions More than 40,000 people in the U.S. were killed last year in vehicle crashes, according to preliminary data from the National Highway...

Less alcohol, or none at all, is one path to better health

Apr. 29, 2024 17:26 PM EDT

It’s wine time. Beer Thirty. Happy hour. Five o’clock somewhere. Maybe it's also time to rethink drinking? Moderate drinking was once thought to have benefits for the heart, but better research methods have thrown cold water on that. “Drinking...

CDC says it's identified 1st documented cases of HIV transmitted through cosmetic needles

Apr. 29, 2024 10:31 AM EDT

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Three women who were diagnosed with HIV after getting “vampire facial” procedures at an unlicensed New Mexico medical spa are believed to be the first documented cases of people contracting the virus through a cosmetic procedure using needles, federal health officials...

Minneapolis smokers to pay some of the highest cigarette prices in US with a $15 per-pack minimum

Apr. 25, 2024 15:54 PM EDT

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Smokers in Minneapolis will pay some of the highest cigarette prices in the country after the City Council voted unanimously Thursday to impose a minimum retail price of $15 per pack to promote public health. The ordinance not only sets a floor price. It prevents...