Results for search "Viruses".
08 Nov
A nasal swab test helps researchers identify which children may require more time in the ICU to recover from RSV.
U.S. health officials are bracing for the possibility that mpox could surge again this summer as cases mount in several states.
On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 21 more cases of mpox, with Illinois, New York and Maryland reporting the most new infections. Illi...
Researchers have developed a definition and symptom checklist for long COVID, based on initial findings from a study of nearly 10,000 Americans.
The study identified a set of 12 long-term symptoms that can occur following infection with COVID-19. These symptoms — ranging from "brain fog" to chest pain — are linked to the effects of the coronavirus on multiple organ systems.
Usin...
Some HIV patients are naturally able to keep the virus fully in check without any medicinal help, a phenomenon that has intrigued scientists for decades.
New research appears to identify at least one reason why: an abnormally powerful version of an infection-fighting white blood cell called CD8+ T cell.
CD8+ T cell’s are a type of T cell, a normal feature in everyone’s immu...
Most cases of mpox are spread from skin-to-skin contact, but it is possible to catch the virus by touching a contaminated surface in a house or a hospital room, according to a new study.
Researchers studying this found temperature made a difference. The virus could survive at room temperature on a surface for up to 11 days. At 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit), it could survive f...
It's been known for years that Epstein-Barr virus can trigger multiple sclerosis or drive progression of the degenerative disease, and Swedish researchers think they now understand why.
Some people have antibodies against the common Epstein-Barr virus that mistakenly attack a protein found in the brain and spinal cord, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden say.
Antibodie...
While the official COVID-19 public health emergency has ended, the virus hasn't disappeared.
Some of the special programs put in place during the pandemic have ended, however, and the University of Michigan offers a guide to help Americans understand what's changed and what hasn't.
Get vaccinated
What hasn't changed is that the virus continues to cause serious...
Severely obese people may need more frequent COVID-19 booster shots to keep their immunity going, new research suggests.
Protection from the shots declines more rapidly in those who are severely obese compared to those at a normal weight, according to scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.
"Because of the high prevalence of obesity across ...
Cats who became infected with COVID-19 had the same variants as their owners throughout the different phases of the pandemic, new research finds.
Scientists looked at retrospective samples to assess COVID-19 infections in U.K. cats from April 2020 to February 2022. The cats had been infected with the Alpha and Delta variants following their emergence in the human population.
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While the mpox outbreak has been waning since last summer, it hasn't disappeared yet.
Howard Brown Health, a LGBTQ-focused health clinic in Chicago, recently reported seeing an increase in mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) cases, with eight diagnosed since April 17, compared to only one in the previous three months.
Last week's case count was the highest in Chicago since early No...
More than three years after the coronavirus began ravaging the planet, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Friday that the pandemic is no longer a public emergency.
“It's with great hope that I declare COVID-19 over as a global health emergency,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said ...
In trying to untangle the mysteries of long COVID, researchers have found anxiety and depression may play a role for some of those with the lingering condition.
In the study from researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), patients who perceived that they had thinking difficulties during COVID infection were also more likely to have lingering physical symptoms than those...
The first vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in seniors aged 60 and older.
Arexvy, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), is expected to help prevent lower respiratory tract infections caused by RSV, the agency said Wednesday.
“Older adults, in particular those with underlying health conditions, such as ...
Half of the cells in your body aren't human — and a new study suggests that many critical to your health oscillate by the hour, day and even the season.
The human body contains about 40 trillion bacteria, viruses and fungi, creating a microbiome that roughly matches the number of human cells one-to-one, said researcher
For the first time since the mpox outbreak began last spring, no new cases have been reported in more than a week, fresh government data shows.
At the peak of the outbreak, there were 500 new infections reported daily, but by late last year that number was 16, CDC statistics show.
During the pandemic, nearly 100,000 U.S. registered nurses called it quits, a new survey shows.
Why? A combination of stress, burnout and retirements created a perfect storm for the exodus.
Even worse, another 610,000 registered nurses (RNs) said they had an “intent to leave” the workforce by 2027, citing those same reasons. And an additional 189,000 RNs younger than 40 reported...
In the early days of the mpox virus outbreak in the United States, vaccines got to the states that needed them but distribution was unequal across racial groups, new research reveals.
Black and Hispanic patients had to travel significantly farther for doses than white people, according to researchers at Yale School of Medicine, in New Haven, Conn.
“The correlation between vaccine...
Two ongoing outbreaks of Marburg virus in Africa prompted U.S. health officials to issue an alert on Thursday for doctors to be on the lookout for any cases that might surface in the coming weeks.
The virus causes a deadly hemorrhagic disease that is similar to Ebola. The U.S. Centers for Dise...
For what they say is the first time, British researchers report that they have found the spread of COVID-19 in households is linked to the presence of the virus on hands and surfaces, not just in the air.
The investigators collected data from households at the height of the pandemic, finding that people were much more likely to get COVID-19 from someone in their house if virus was present...
Monoclonal antibodies have been an effective tool in the battle against COVID-19, reducing the risk of hospitalization or death by 39% for people who started the treatment within two days of a positive test, a new study finds.
These treatments were even more effective for immunocompromised people, regardless of age, according to the University of Pittsburgh re...
U.S. public health officials want high-risk individuals who haven't been vaccinated for mpox — previously called monkeypox — to do so before a potential resurgence of the virus in the coming months.
That surge could be worse than last year, federal modeling has found, but only about 23% of those at high risk for the virus have received vaccines, according to a report released Thursda...
New research has provided answers to a mystery involving an outbreak of severe hepatitis in children last year.
A total of about 1,000 cases emerged around the world in spring 2022, after the easing of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Children in about 35 countries, including the United States, experienced severe hepatitis that caused 50 kids to need liver transplants and 22 children to die, a...
New advice from the World Health Organization (WHO) says healthy children and teens may not need additional COVID-19 shots, though they may need to catch up on other routine vaccines.
“The public health impact of vaccinating healthy children and adolescents is comparatively much lower than the established benefits of traditional essential vaccines for children -- such as the rotavirus, ...
Researchers are closing in on another immune system “hideout” that HIV uses to persist in the human body for years.
A subset of white blood cells called myeloid cells can harbor HIV in people who've been virally suppressed for years, according to a new small-scale study funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The researchers showed that HIV in specific myeloid ce...
Boys born to women who had COVID-19 during pregnancy may be at risk for developmental delays, a new study suggests.
Delays in speech and motor function were the most commonly diagnosed conditions in these children at 12 months. They were seen in boys but not in girls, the study authors said.
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Since it began in 2004, a global effort led by the United States to combat HIV has dramatically increased the number of people it helps, a new government report shows.
In its report, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that the number of people receiving lifesaving HIV treatment through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has increased 300 tim...
Add gastrointestinal problems to the long list of lingering conditions that can follow COVID-19.
New research has found that people who have had COVID-19 are at an increased risk of gastrointestinal disorders within a year of their infection — including liver problems, acute pancreatitis, irritable bowel sy...
Flu kills more than 500,000 people globally each year and leads to heart problems for many others. Publicizing those potential cardiac ills may spur folks to get their annual flu vaccine, researchers say.
Danish researchers who studied vaccination messaging methods said the two best ways to get people to roll up their sleeves were either a simple reminder or by noting the link between con...
Premature births dropped during lockdowns in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A groundbreaking study, which included a group of mostly high-income countries — including the United States, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Denmark and Switzerland — found there were about 4% fewer preterm births than would...
People who have long COVID — lingering symptoms after a COVID-19 infection — may also have lower brain oxygen levels, cognitive problems and psychiatric troubles, such as anxiety and depression.
Researchers from the University of Waterloo in Canada and Drexel University in Philadelphia combined
THURSDAY, March 2, 2023 (HealthDay) -- Allergic reactions to the Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccines are very rare, and a new study questions whether many of those that do occur are even real.
In a small new study of 16 people who said they'd experienced an allergic reaction to a dose of the Pfizer vaccine, those who got a follow-up placebo (fake) vaccine were more likely to complai...
Following hours of discussion over safety concerns, a U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Wednesday recommended approval of a second RSV vaccine, this one made by GlaxoSmithKline, for use in Americans ages 60 and older.
The panel's recommendation was based largely on the results of a trial that tested the GlaxoSmithKline vaccine in the same age group. Those findings, publi...
In a tight vote, U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisors on Tuesday recommended the approval of an RSV vaccine that could be used in Americans ages 60 and up.
The vaccine, known as RENOIR, was developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. The same panel of advisors will weigh the potential approval of another respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, this one from GlaxoSmithKline, on...
Having the lingering symptoms known as long COVID after a COVID-19 infection more than doubles the risk of developing new heart symptoms, according to new research.
“COVID-19 is more than a simple respiratory disease — it is a syndrome that can affect the heart,” said lead study author Joanna Lee, a medical student at Da...
People who are experiencing anxiety and depression months after a mild case of COVID-19 may have changes affecting the structure and function of their brains, Brazilian researchers report.
“There is still much to learn about long COVID, which includes a wide range of health problems, including anxiety and depression, months after infection,” said
A COVID-19 shot may protect a person from more than the virus alone, new research suggests.
Researchers from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City linked vaccination with fewer heart attacks, strokes and other cardiovascular issues among people who later got COVID-19.
The investigators described their study as the first to examine both full and partial vaccina...
Older people have vaccines available to prevent severe influenza and COVID-19, but there's been nothing to protect against the third respiratory virus that contributed to this season's wretched “triple-demic.”
Until now.
Two major pharmaceutical companies published clinical trial results this week that pave the way for an RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) vaccine to be available...
Most people hospitalized for COVID-19 are taking months to bounce back, a new study confirms.
More than 70% of patients reported experiencing lingering symptoms, including coughing, rapid or irregular heartbeat and breathlessness. About half had fatigue or physical limitations. All of these symptoms are associated with long COVID-19.
“My clinic patients often want to know how so...
A highly infectious strain of avian influenza is tearing through commercial and backyard poultry flocks, causing egg prices to rise as sick chickens are culled across the United States.
Now, some experts are worried that the H5N1 avian flu might become humankind's next pandemic-causing pathogen, if the raging virus makes the leap from birds to humans.
That's because other mammals ha...
The COVID-19 antiviral treatment Paxlovid continues to work against Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, new research shows.
Researchers decided to study Paxlovid's impact against severe illness and death because doctors have fewer treatment options for high-risk patients as the virus evolves.
“We are really struggling with maintaining effective therapeutic options for high-risk pat...
Access to medication abortion could be at risk nationwide because of a Texas lawsuit working its way through the court system.
Alliance Defending Freedom, the group involved in the case in Mississippi that led to the Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling, also filed this lawsuit.
The case will be decided by
Healthy young people who vape or smoke may be putting themselves at greater risk for developing severe COVID, new research finds.
Both smoking tobacco and vaping electronic cigarettes may predispose people to increased inflammation, future development of severe COVID-19 and lingering cardiovascular complications, said lead study author
A single injection of an experimental biologic drug may cut in half your risk of hospitalization from COVID-19 infection, new clinical trial results show.
Pegylated lambda interferon (PEG-lambda) proved effective against all COVID-19 variants encountered in this international study, including Omicron, according to findings reported Feb. 9 in the
Amidst the recent COVID-19 outbreak in China, scientists are saying it appears no new variants developed.
“Given the impact that variants have had on the course of the pandemic, it was important to investigate whether any new ones emerged following the recent changes to China's COVID-19 prevention and control policies,” said lead author
While COVID-19 variants Alpha, Gamma and Delta are no longer circulating among humans, they continue to spread in white-tailed deer.
The animals are the most abundant large mammal in North America. Scientists aren't sure whether the deer could act as long-term reservoirs for these obsolete variants.
In a new study, researchers at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N.Y., collected 5,70...
The pandemic has reached a “transition point,” the World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday.
Still, that doesn't mean the public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) designation declared by the WHO in January 2020 is over yet.
The organization's International Health Regulations Emergency Committee met last week to discuss COVID-19, saying in a
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory panel on Thursday voted unanimously to recommend that the agency phase out original versions of COVID vaccines for use in the unvaccinated, in favor of updated bivalent booster shots.
Committee members also weighed a proposal to streamline the dosing schedule for COVID vaccines by turning them into annual shots that would likely be ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday asked its vaccine advisory panel to weigh a proposal to turn COVID vaccines into an annual shot for most Americans.
The committee will weigh the proposal at its Jan. 26 meeting.
Such a move would simplify future vaccination efforts, a critical point given the fact that efforts to get people to get COVID booster shots have fallen far sh...
The COVID-19 Omicron variant caused fewer cases of a rare but sometimes deadly complication for children than the earlier Delta variant did, new research shows.
“Our study is one of the first to show that during the change to Omicron, MIS-C has become milder and increasingly rare,” said senior researcher
The pandemic brought the utility of testing wastewater to gauge viral spread to the fore.
Now, experts at the independent National Academies of Sciences (NAS) have issued a report outlining a roadmap for the broader surveillance of Americans' wastewater.
The report "reviews the usefulness of comm...
Infants too young to be vaccinated for COVID-19 get some protection from their mothers' breast milk, researchers say.
The new study follows up on findings published in 2021 that showed the breast milk of vaccinated people contained antibodies against the COVID-19 virus.
For the study...