Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

The chicken and egg problem of fighting another flu pandemic

Even a peep of news about a new flu pandemic is enough to set scientists clucking about eggs.

31 May 2024

After grilling an NIH scientist over covid emails, Congress turns to Anthony Fauci

Former National Institutes of Health official Anthony Fauci has faced many hostile questions from members of Congress, but when he appears before a House panel on Monday, he'll have something new to answer for: a trove of incendiary emails written by one of his closest advisers.

31 May 2024

COVID-19 associated with higher risk of erectile dysfunction

Men previously diagnosed with COVID-19 are at a greater risk of developing new-onset erectile dysfunction.

31 May 2024

New AI tool analyzes medical history to match patients with best antidepressant

Researchers in George Mason University's College of Public Health have leveraged the power of artificial intelligence (AI) analytical models to match a patient's medical history to the most effective antidepressant, allowing patients to find symptom relief sooner.

30 May 2024

Inexpensive “duckbill” N95 becomes the champion in COVID-19 mask effectiveness

In a head-to-head comparison of masks worn by people with active COVID-19, the inexpensive "duckbill" N95 came out on top, stopping 98% of COVID-19 particles in the breath of infected people from escaping into the air.

30 May 2024

Study: Better sleep health associated with lower levels of loneliness

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that better sleep health was associated with lower levels of loneliness, and this association was stronger among younger adults.

30 May 2024

Study finds distinct link between sleep duration, social media usage, and brain activation in teens

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found a distinct relationship between sleep duration, social media usage, and brain activation across brain regions that are key for executive control and reward processing.

30 May 2024

Safety-net health clinics cut services and staff amid Medicaid ‘unwinding’

One of Montana's largest health clinics that serves people in poverty has cut back services and laid off workers.

30 May 2024

Pregnant women less likely to suffer long COVID, study finds

A new study in EClinicalMedicine found that SARS-CoV-2 infection during pregnancy is linked to a lower risk of developing post-acute sequelae (PASC) compared to infection outside of pregnancy.

29 May 2024

Transparent skull implant unveils new frontiers in brain imaging

In the first study of its kind, researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) designed and implanted a transparent window in the skull of a patient, then used functional ultrasound imaging (fUSI) to collect high-resolution brain imaging data through the window.

29 May 2024

Cities with climate-related health issues lead the way in pandemic-era climate action

City officials were more likely to maintain climate action during the pandemic in places with more climate-related health issues affecting residents.

29 May 2024

Vaccination remains crucial for preventing avian influenza spread, says study

Vaccination remains the most effective strategy for avian influenza prevention and control in humans, despite varying vaccine efficacy across strains.

29 May 2024

Tennessee gives this hospital monopoly an A grade — even when it reports failure

A Tennessee agency that is supposed to hold accountable and grade the nation's largest state-sanctioned hospital monopoly awards full credit on dozens of quality-of-care measurements as long as it reports any value — regardless of how its hospitals actually perform.

29 May 2024

Farmworkers face high-risk exposures to bird flu, but testing isn’t reaching them

Farmworkers face some of the most intense exposures to the bird flu virus, but advocates say many of them would lack resources to fall back on if they became ill.

29 May 2024

Assessing the effects of COVID-19 on breast cancer screening rates

Breast cancer is the second most common cancer among women in the U.S. Early detection of the disease through screening can greatly improve the chances of successful treatment and is an essential preventive service in primary care.

28 May 2024

Implementing the Surgeon General’s guidelines to tackle loneliness in primary care

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, 20% of adult primary care patients identified as lonely, representing a higher prevalence than many diseases commonly seen in primary care such as diabetes.

28 May 2024

Automated text reminders boost mental health for health care workers

Health care workers have reported spikes in feeling burnt out in the time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with nearly half saying it took a toll in 2022 compared to 32 percent in 2018.

28 May 2024

Study shows enforced masking on long flights prevents SARS-CoV-2 transmission

A recent study reveals that longer flights without enforced masking significantly increase the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, while enforced masking on long-haul flights effectively prevents in-flight transmission. The findings underscore the importance of mask enforcement in reducing COVID-19 spread on aircraft.

28 May 2024

New frontiers in medicine: COVID-19 lessons push for multidisciplinary collaboration

Researchers highlight the need for multidisciplinary collaboration in medicine, especially in addressing transmissible illnesses, precision medicine, and data science, as learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

28 May 2024

Study suggests broccoli may reduce cancer risk

A meta-analysis of over 730,000 individuals indicates that high broccoli consumption is linked to lower cancer prevalence, though more robust research is needed to confirm its chemopreventive properties.

27 May 2024