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WHO announces new approach to improve access to life-saving data

Today, as part of its commitment to strengthening health information systems and improving health, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO announced a new approach to improving access to life-saving data: the SCORE for Health Data Technical Package.

27 Aug 2020

FDA warns consumers about alcohol-based hand sanitizers packaged in containers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers about alcohol-based hand sanitizers that are being packaged in containers that may appear as food or drinks and may put consumers at risk of serious injury or death if ingested.

27 Aug 2020

Scientists say insect repellent kills the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus on surfaces

Now, a team of scientists at Britain's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) has shared preliminary findings of their research, showing that a product in insect repellent can kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

27 Aug 2020

Interventions can successfully reduce the rate of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions

Two different interventions both worked to significantly reduce the rate of inappropriate antibiotic prescriptions made by physicians in a telemedicine practice, a new study led by Children's National Hospital researchers shows.

27 Aug 2020

Coronavirus can spread through drain pipes in bathrooms, study suggests

Now, a new study reveals that the virus may spread via aerosols through drain pipes in bathrooms, after scientists examined an abandoned apartment in Guangzhou, China. The findings add to the body of evidence suggesting the virus is transmissible via aerosols.

27 Aug 2020

New COVID-19 antigen test can be directly read from the testing card

Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for the first antigen test where results can be read directly from the testing card, a similar design to some pregnancy tests.

27 Aug 2020

Social distancing is a natural instinct but difficult for humans and animals

Staying away from those with contagious infections, no matter how lonely it gets, may not only be common sense, but a natural instinct. But that doesn't mean humans or animals will automatically fall in line.

26 Aug 2020

More evidence mask wearing works to contain COVID-19 spread

A team of American researchers has looked at the effects of wearing face masks and the prevention of the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) between individuals. As of today, over 5.8 million people in the USA have been infected with the virus. This new study titled, “Mask Wearing and Control of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission in the United States,” is published on the preprint server medRxiv*.

26 Aug 2020

Researchers identify how promising therapy may work to improve adverse effects of NAFLD

A team led by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has taken an important step forward in the goal of developing a potential treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), the most common form of chronic liver disease.

26 Aug 2020

Current poultry food safety guidelines for preventing salmonellosis are inadequate

Current poultry food safety guidelines for Salmonella, the leading cause of foodborne illness outbreaks, are inadequate.

26 Aug 2020

Consuming personal fecal microbiome when dieting may limit weight regain, study shows

People who consume frozen microbiome capsules derived from their own feces when dieting may limit their weight regain, according to a new study published in Gastroenterology, conducted by a team of researchers led by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

26 Aug 2020

Study reveals how a cannabinoid may treat acute respiratory distress syndrome

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, when caused by a bacterial toxin known as Staphylococcal enterotoxin, can be completely prevented by treatment with Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant.

26 Aug 2020

$1.2 million grant will help researchers to develop AI tools for improving adolescents' diets

With a $1.2 million grant from Fondation Botnar, an international team of researchers will assess the feasibility of creating and launching a global-scale artificial intelligence (AI) app for mobile devices that diagnoses diet-related problems and offers nutritional advice to adolescent girls living in urban settings in Ghana and Vietnam.

26 Aug 2020

Researchers shed light on Boston's SARS-CoV-2 superspreading event

Researchers in the United States have shown that failure to prevent the importation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) into Massachusetts led to superspreading that drastically altered the course of the epidemic and amplified the outbreak in this major urban area.

26 Aug 2020

Republican Convention, Day 2: Pomp, the pandemic and planned parenthood

The Republican National Convention offered Americans a picture Tuesday night of a compassionate White House in action. But not a lot was said about the biggest health crisis in a century that has killed more than 170,000 people in this country.

26 Aug 2020

Study reveals a troubling connection between coronavirus and obesity

A review of COVID-19 studies reveals a troubling connection between two health crises: coronavirus and obesity.

26 Aug 2020

WHO African Region now certified as wild polio-free after four years

Today, the Africa Regional Certification Commission certified the WHO African Region as wild polio-free after four years without a case. With this historic milestone, five of the six WHO regions – representing over 90% of the world's population – are now free of the wild poliovirus, moving the world closer to achieving global polio eradication.

26 Aug 2020

Two Navajo sisters who were inseparable died of COVID just weeks apart

Cheryl and Corrina Thinn were almost joined at the hip. The sisters, both members of the Navajo Nation, shared an office at Arizona’s Tuba City Regional Health Care. Cheryl conducted reviews to make sure patients were receiving adequate care. Corrina was a social worker. Their desks were just inches apart.

26 Aug 2020

Many people of color, immigrants among 1,080 US health workers lost to COVID

More than 1,000 front-line health care workers reportedly have died of COVID-19, according to Lost on the Frontline, an ongoing investigation by The Guardian and KHN to track and memorialize every U.S. health care worker who dies from the coronavirus.

26 Aug 2020

Prognosis for rural hospitals worsens with pandemic

Jerome Antone said he is one of the lucky ones. After becoming ill with COVID-19, Antone was hospitalized only 65 miles away from his small Alabama town. He is the mayor of Georgiana — population 1,700.

26 Aug 2020