Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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Hand-Washing Might Not Help Much Against Flu

Some scientist say it's airborne, not spread by touch

(Newser) - Everyone from Elmo to President Obama is telling people to wash their hands to avoid getting the swine flu, and Disney could make a killing on “Musical Hand Wash Timers” featuring its stable of characters. But Newsweek talks to scientists skeptical of the approach: Hand-washing might be great for...

Rush to Obama: Hands Off My Private Parts

Limbaugh makes leap from CDC advisory to mandatory circumcision

(Newser) - Rush Limbaugh says President Obama is out to get his foreskin. Seriously. Or at least semi-seriously. It all started when the the Centers for Disease Control reported that it's thinking of issuing an advisory touting the health beneifits of male circumcision in infancy, writes Gabriel Winant for Salon. Conservative blogger...

Snags Threaten Massive Vaccination Drive

Cost, confusion with seasonal flu could mar government's efforts

(Newser) - US health officials are readying an unprecedented swine flu vaccination campaign for this fall, but the initiative is already dogged by experts' doubts and a raft of unknowns, the Washington Post reports. Only a third of the expected vaccine supply will arrive by October, and officials fear confusing the public...

Web Apps Keep Tabs on National Mood
Web Apps
Keep Tabs on National Mood
Aug 18, 2009 11:11 AM CDT

Web Apps Keep Tabs on National Mood

They troll mountains of online data seeking economic indicators

(Newser) - Web-based tools have become increasingly adept at measuring a critical economic indicator: the nation’s mood. Whereas old indicators were based on surveys, these applications sift through mountains of online data, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. TweetFeel, for example, looks for select words and emoticons on Twitter. Other systems do...

Don't Close for Swine Flu: Feds to Schools

Shutting down is 'last resort' if 'high numbers' of students fall ill

(Newser) - Health officials issued new guidelines today to help schools handle swine flu cases, advising them to close only if "high numbers" of students fall ill, USA Today reports. Closing down should be “a last resort, not a first resort,” US Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. The...

Pregnant Women Win Priority for Swine Flu Vaccine

(Newser) - Pregnant women and people who care for infants will be first in line for the swine flu vaccine this fall, the Washington Post reports. Infants, children and young adults under 24, chronically ill adults aged 25 to 64, and health care workers are the other top priority groups under guidelines...

70% of US Doesn't Like the Fed
 70% of US Doesn't Like the Fed 
Jul 28, 2009 7:18 AM CDT

70% of US Doesn't Like the Fed

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is the least trusted of all federal agencies, a new Gallup poll finds. Just 30% of respondents said the Fed was doing a “good” or “excellent” job, giving it the lowest score out of nine agencies included in the poll. That’s a steep decline...

Obesity Costs Swell to 10% of Health Spending

(Newser) - The medical cost of obesity has almost doubled over the last decade to $147 billion annually, a new study finds. Treating obesity-related disorders now accounts for almost 10% of the total spending on health care, reports Bloomberg. Each obese person costs the government or insurers an average of $1,429—...

Teen Pregnancies, STDs Increase: CDC

Figures raise concerns after positive trends

(Newser) - After declining in 1991-2005, the US teen birth rate climbed in 2006 and 2007, HealthDay News reports. Crunching numbers from 2002-07, the Centers for Disease Control found a number of trends had flatlined or worsened after a period of improvement.
  • 2004 saw 745,000 pregnancies among females under 20, including
...

US May Lift Ban on HIV-Positive Travelers

CDC wants to end 'stigma,' but 22-year-old rule has some support

(Newser) - The CDC is considering ending the rule forbidding HIV-positive foreigners from entering the US, MSNBC reports. Congress voted last year to dump 1987 restrictions on entry to those with the condition, but the exclusion policy will remain in place until the department of health and human services lifts it. “...

US Hits 1M Swine Flu Cases
 US Hits 1M Swine Flu Cases 
Jun 25, 2009 3:27 PM CDT

US Hits 1M Swine Flu Cases

(Newser) - Health officials estimate that as many as 1 million Americans now have the H1N1 virus, better known as swine flu. The estimate, made public today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is based on mathematical modeling. Nearly 28,000 US cases have been reported to the CDC, accounting...

New Strain May Mean Year-Round Flu Season: CDC

(Newser) - The US could experience an extended or even year-round flu season thanks to H1N1, the Centers for Disease Control said yesterday. Researchers theorize that a combination of unprepared immune systems and the unusually cool spring could be contributing to the steady stream of flu infections. “The fact that we...

E. Coli Fears Prompt Recall of Toll House Cookie Dough

(Newser) - Nestle is voluntarily recalling Toll House refrigerated cookie dough products after a number of illnesses were reported by those who ate the dough raw. The FDA and CDC are investigating reported E. coli illnesses that might be related, the company said. Sixty-six reports of illness in 28 states have come...

Obese People Have More Flu Complications

In H1N1 patients, fat had same effects as diabetes, heart disease

(Newser) - Scientists at the CDC have noticed a new trend in cases of swine flu: "We were surprised by the frequency of obesity among the severe cases that we've been tracking," says an epidemiologist, adding that it might be cause to make obese people a priority for a...

Prez Taps NYC Health Head to Lead CDC

Frieden will steer country's response to swine flu

(Newser) - President Obama today appointed Dr. Thomas Frieden as director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, turning to New York City's health commissioner to deal with the swine flu outbreak and other major health issues. Frieden has served as commissioner for the past 7 years, where he led a...

Swine Flu Came From Lab: Researcher
Swine Flu Came From
Lab: Researcher
May 13, 2009 4:22 AM CDT

Swine Flu Came From Lab: Researcher

WHO investigates claim that H1N1 arose from human error

(Newser) - The World Health Organization is investigating a claim by an Australian researcher that the swine flu virus may have been created in a laboratory as a result of human error. Adrian Gibbs, who helped develop Tamiflu, said in an interview with Bloomberg that the new strain may have evolved in...

H1N1 Expands, Kills Costa Rica Man

(Newser) - The US swine flu count hit 2,254 yesterday and a Costa Rica man died of the disease, the first fatality outside of North America, the Wall Street Journal reports. In the US, 3,000 people are likely infected across 45 states and Washington, DC, including unconfirmed cases, the Centers...

Squeamish Feds Learn From 1976 Swine Flu Debacle

Panic and Gerald Ford caused hundreds to receive unnecessary shot

(Newser) - Federal health officials are hoping to avoid a catastrophic case of déjà vu as they develop plans to inoculate Americans against swine flu, the Washington Post reports. A vaccine released during the 1976 flu outbreak left dozens dead and hundreds reporting serious side effects like blindness and paralysis. Now,...

Flu-Phobic Consider Intentional Infection

(Newser) - With panic over the H1N1 flu virus on the wane, some Americans are pondering allowing themselves to become infected in hopes of building immunity against potentially more virulent strains, the New York Times reports. Doctors are split on the idea. "I think it's totally nuts," says a flu...

US Sees 2nd Flu Death; CDC Eases Up on Schools

(Newser) - Texas health officials said today that a US woman who lived near the Mexico border has died from swine flu—the second death in the nation and first of a US resident, USA Today reports. The news, however, comes amid continued confidence that the H1N1 virus remains relatively mild here,...

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