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.

Acupuncture improves breast cancer survivors' perceived cognitive impairment

Real and sham acupuncture were more effective at improving breast cancer survivors' perceived cognitive impairment compared with usual care, while real acupuncture was superior to sham acupuncture in improving objective cognitive function, according to results from the randomized ENHANCE phase II clinical trial presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS), held December 9-12, 2025.

12 Dec 2025

Study finds dramatic increase in ADHD medication use

Annual prescriptions for drugs to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increased 157 percent in Ontario from 2015 to 2023, according to a new study from researchers at ICES, North York General, and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).

11 Dec 2025

Study finds sharp rise in prescriptions for stimulant medications used to treat ADHD

A new Ontario-based study has found a significant rise in prescriptions for stimulant medications used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), particularly among adults and females.

11 Dec 2025

RSV can have profound, long-lasting effects in hospitalized adults

Respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV, is often associated with cold-like symptoms in young children.

11 Dec 2025

Hidden infections may play a key role in driving long COVID symptoms

For millions suffering from long COVID, their persistent breathlessness, brain fog and fatigue remain a maddening mystery, but a group of leading microbiologists think they may have cracked the case.

10 Dec 2025

Researchers unravel why mRNA-based vaccines for COVID-19 can cause heart damage

Stanford Medicine investigators have unearthed the biological process by which mRNA-based vaccines for COVID-19 can cause heart damage in some young men and adolescents - and they've shown a possible route to reducing its likelihood.

10 Dec 2025

A massive mid-14th-century volcanic eruption likely triggered the spread of the "Black Death"

A large volcanic eruption or cluster of eruptions in the mid-1340s triggered severe climate anomalies that drove harvest failures across parts of Europe. These shocks reshaped Mediterranean grain trade routes, likely introducing plague-infected fleas into Italian ports and helping ignite the Black Death.

9 Dec 2025

How delays and bankruptcy let a nursing home chain avoid paying settlements for injuries and deaths

Nancy Hunt arrived at an emergency room from a Genesis HealthCare nursing home in Pennsylvania in such dreadful shape, including maggots infesting her gangrened foot, that the hospital called an elder abuse hotline and then the police, her son alleged in a lawsuit.

9 Dec 2025

Young Australians are staying on antidepressants for longer than ever

Long-term antidepressant use in Australia increased steadily between 2014 and 2023, with the largest relative rise seen among adolescents and young adults aged 10 to 24 years. Treatment duration also lengthened over time, while apparent dose reduction efforts remained limited, raising concerns about deprescribing practices.

7 Dec 2025

WHO Member States push forward toward a unified Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system

WHO Member States today ended their latest round of intensive negotiations on the world's first Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system.

6 Dec 2025

Health savings accounts, backed by GOP, cover fancy saunas but not insurance premiums

With the tax-free money in a health savings account, a person can pay for eyeglasses or medical exams, as well as a $1,700 baby bassinet or a $300 online parenting workshop.

5 Dec 2025

Accessible parks, not just greenery, can increase everyday physical activity

The health benefits of nature are well-known, but its role in encouraging day-to-day physical activity across different regions and demographics has been less clear.

3 Dec 2025

Study finds sharp rise in long-term antidepressant use among young Australians

Long-term antidepressant use in Australia has risen steadily over the past decade, with the largest increase seen in young people aged 10-24, where rates have more than doubled.

2 Dec 2025

Research says global HIV efforts need renewed funding and focus

As the world marks World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, world-renowned infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, MD, and his colleague Greg Folkers, MS, MPH, highlight advances made in the treatment and prevention of HIV that could finally end the pandemic, but caution, "History will judge us harshly should we squander this opportunity."

1 Dec 2025

Long COVID patients face more than double the healthcare costs after diagnosis

People with Long COVID use the health service significantly more than they did before their diagnosis. These patients need to use GP, outpatient, inpatient and emergency department services more than people in other control groups - and the costs of their healthcare use have more than doubled.

1 Dec 2025

Latent antimicrobial resistance found to be more widespread across the world

A team of researchers has discovered that latent antimicrobial resistance is more widespread across the world than known resistance.

1 Dec 2025

Measles deaths plummet but infections surge worldwide

Global immunization efforts have led to an 88% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). Nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine since 2000.

29 Nov 2025

Fever-resistant bird flu viruses pose a significant threat to humans

Bird flu viruses are a particular threat to humans because they can replicate at temperatures higher than a typical fever, one of the body's ways of stopping viruses in their tracks, according to new research led by the universities of Cambridge and Glasgow.

28 Nov 2025

Global study reveals widespread latent antimicrobial resistance in wastewater

A team of researchers has discovered that latent antimicrobial resistance is more widespread across the world than known resistance.

27 Nov 2025

Global Virus Network outlines priorities as Marburg virus emerges in Ethiopia

The Global Virus Network (GVN), a coalition of leading human and animal virologists in more than 40 countries dedicated to advancing pandemic preparedness through research, education and training, and global health solutions, today issued a statement on the newly confirmed outbreak of Marburg virus disease (MVD) in southern Ethiopia.

27 Nov 2025