USDA Orders Testing of Milk Supply for Presence of Bird Flu Virus

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• December 6, 2024
• Full Page

Faced with rising cases of bird flu virus being detected in raw milk in California, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Friday announced it would mandate testing for the virus in milk nationwide.

The National Milk Testing Strategy (NMTS) "builds on measures take...

Many Women With Epilepsy Unaware of Seizure Meds' Risks to Pregnancy

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 6, 2024
• Full Page

Many women with epilepsy who are of childbearing age might not realize their anti-seizure drugs can raise the risk of birth defects or dampen the effectiveness of their birth control, a new study warns.

Likewise, some birth control methods can cause anti-seizure meds to...

Insurer Anthem Rescinds Anesthesia Policy Change After Backlash

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• December 6, 2024
• Full Page

After facing weeks of pushback, health insurer Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield said Thursday it will not go ahead with a policy change that would have limited reimbursements for anesthesia during medical procedures.

If the proposed policy had taken effect, it would have o...

Analysis Predicts Big Drop for U.S. in Global Health Rankings

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 6, 2024
• Full Page

Americans are falling farther behind the rest of the developed world when it comes to health and life expectancy, a new study shows.

Life expectancy in the United States is expected to increase to 79.9 years in 2035 and 80.4 years by 2050, up from 78.3 years in 2022, res...

1 in 20 Pregnant U.S. Women Face Emotional, Physical Abuse

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• December 6, 2024
• Full Page

Pregnancy can be a trying time for women at best, but new research shows that 1 in every 20 pregnant American women also suffer physical, sexual or emotional abuse.

Abuse can take a toll on the mental and physical health of the mom-to-be and her baby, because it's strong...

New Therapy Helps Patients With Tough-to-Treat Bladder Cancers

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• December 6, 2024
• Full Page

There's new hope for people battling advanced bladder cancer who do not respond to first-line therapy, researchers report.

An experimental new drug with the unwieldy name of cretostimogene grenadenorepvec spurred complete remission of the cancer in three-quarters of pati...

Fruits, Veggies Can Help You Avoid Colon Cancer

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 6, 2024
• Full Page

Colon cancer is increasing at an alarming rate among young adults, but a new study says better eating habits could turn that trend around.

About 20% of diagnosed colon cancers occur in people aged 54 and younger, nearly double the rate seen three decades ago, according t...

Stroke Survivors Face Much Higher Odds for Dementia

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 6, 2024
• Full Page

Stroke survivors have an 80% increased risk of dementia compared to people who’ve never suffered a stroke, a new study finds.

About 19% of people who’d had a stroke developed dementia during an average six-year follow-up, compared with just 13% of those with ...

Eating Ultra-processed Foods Could Add Fat to Your Thighs

• December 6, 2024
• Full Page

Eating lots of ultra-processed foods appears linked to a buildup of fat in the thighs, which in turn raises a person's odds for arthritis in the knees, new research shows.

“In an adult population at risk for but without knee or hip osteoarthritis, consuming ultra-p...

U.S. Overdose Deaths Linked to Fentanyl May Be Declining

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• December 5, 2024
• Full Page

Deaths from fentanyl-linked drug overdoses have begun to decline in the United States, but the crisis is far from over and those numbers could easily rise again, a new government report shows.

About 70% of fatal drug overdoses recorded in 2023 involved fentanyl, the rese...

Prenatal Blood Tests for Baby Are Spotting Cancers in Moms-to-Be

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 5, 2024
• Full Page

Could a prenatal blood test designed to find abnormalities in a fetus also detect hidden cancer in the mom-to-be?

A new study says yes: Scientists report they discovered cancer in nearly half (48%) of expecting mothers with abnormal results on the blood test, known as a ...

Weight Loss Brings Americans Big Health Care Savings

• Ernie Mundell HealthDay Reporter
• December 5, 2024
• Full Page

The advent of GLP-1 weight-loss medications such as Wegovy and Zepbound has spurred debate as to whether the drugs' cost should be covered by Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers.

Late last month, the Biden administration proposed that the drugs be covered by Medicar...

Prevention Outpaced Treatment Advances in Saving Lives From Major Cancers

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 5, 2024
• Full Page

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” founding father Benjamin Franklin once said.

That’s definitely true of cancer, a new study has found.

Cancer prevention and screening has saved more people from five types of cancer during the pas...

California Farm Expands Raw Milk Recall After Bird Flu Virus Found in More Samples

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• December 5, 2024
• Full Page

A California dairy farm has expanded a recall of its raw milk and cream after state health officials discovered bird flu virus in more milk samples.

In a notice posted Tuesday, Fresno-based Raw Farm LLC said it has now recalled all whole milk and cream products with "use...

Mystery Illness Kills Dozens in Congo

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• December 5, 2024
• Full Page

Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo are racing to try to identify the cause of a mysterious, flu-like illness that has sickened 376 people and left 79 dead in that country.

In a alert posted on the social media platform X on Tuesday, the Congo's Ministry...

'Game of Roulette': Flying With Food Allergies Brings Stress, Danger

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• December 5, 2024
• Full Page

Holiday travel is always stressful, but particularly so for people with food allergies.

Airlines don’t always honor requests to protect the health of people with food allergies during flights, a new study published Dec. 5 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical ...