antibiotics

A huge new global study found that drug-resistant bacterial infections played a part in almost 5 million deaths in 2019.

Drug-resistant “superbug” infections have been called a developing nightmare that could set medicine back a century, making conquered germs once again untreatable. So there’s some surprising news in a report released Wednesday: U.S. superbug deaths appear to be going down. About 36,000 Americans died from drug-resistant infections in 2017, down 18% from an estimated 44,000 in 2013, the Centers for...

Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, has begun sending very premature newborns and some expectant mothers to other facilities while officials investigate the source of a waterborne germ that appears to have infected at least eight infants in the neonatal intensive care unit, three of whom have died, officials said.

A Pennsylvania hospital is racing to determine the source of a waterborne germ that appears to have infected at least eight infants in the neonatal intensive care unit, three of whom have died, officials said Monday.

U.S. health officials are investigating what might be causing hundreds of serious breathing illnesses in people who use e-cigarettes and other vaping devices. They have identified 380 confirmed and probable cases in 36 states and one territory, including six deaths.

A Virginia-based veterinary blood bank is battling a shortage.

Sniffling, sore-throated kids seen via telemedicine visits were far more likely to be prescribed antibiotics than those who went to a doctor’s office or clinic, according to a new study. Many of those prescriptions disregarded medical guidelines, raising the risk they could cause side effects or contribute to the rise of antibiotic-resistant germs. “I understand the desire for care that’s...

There were 228 confirmed victims in the U.S. last year of acute flaccid myelitis, or AFM, a rare, mysterious and sometimes deadly paralyzing illness that seems to ebb and flow on an every-other-year cycle and is beginning to alarm public health officials because it is striking more and more children. Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy...

New Jersey’s flagship university is urging students to get vaccinations due to a likely outbreak of bacterial meningitis.

A second student at the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis this month.

Defying orders banning him from leaving the country, Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido made a surprise appearance at a star-studded aid concert in neighboring Colombia, joining thousands of other Venezuelans in pressuring President Nicolas Maduro into allowing the delivery of emergency food and medicine. On the Venezuelan side, a much smaller crowd gathered for a rival, three-day “Hands Off Venezuela”...

People seeking dubious, potentially harmful treatment for cancer and other ailments raised nearly $7 million over two years from crowdfunding sites, a study found. Echoing recent research on campaigns for stem cell therapies, the findings raise more questions about an increasingly popular way to help pay for costly, and sometimes unproven, medical care. Soliciting money on GoFundMe and other sites...

Hordes of rats are brazenly taking over homes inside a NYCHA building, stomach-turning video shows. Checkey Beckford reports.

A student at Penn State University’s University Park campus is recovering from bacterial meningitis, the school confirmed.

The number of babies born with syphilis has doubled since 2013 and is at a 20-year high, federal health officials said Tuesday....
More than 900 U.S. babies were born infected with syphilis in 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported....
It’s easy to cure a syphilis infection with antibiotics, but the sexually transmitted infection often does not cause immediate symptoms...

When emergency tests showed the telltale right-sided pain in Heather VanDusen’s abdomen was appendicitis, she figured she’d be quickly wheeled into surgery. But doctors offered her the option of antibiotics instead. A new study from Finland shows her choice is a reasonable alternative for most patients with appendicitis. Five years after treatment with antibiotics, almost two-thirds of patients hadn’t had...

Nearly 100 cases of an intestinal illness connected to McDonald’s salads throughout Illinois, the state’s health department said Thursday.

Nearly 38 percent of all cases of Lyme disease in the United States occurred in Pennsylvania in 2016, the most recent year available. What you need to know about the increasing problem.