Tag: abcnews

WHO switches to Greek naming system for coronavirus variants

Pop quiz: In which country was the B.1.617.2 coronavirus variant first detected? If the answer (India), wasn’t on the tip of your tongue, the World Health Organization is here to help. On Monday, the WHO announced that it had a new naming system for SARS-CoV-2 “variants of concern” and “variants of interest,” meaning versions of

Risk of brain-eating amoeba, flesh-eating bacteria may increase due to climate change: Experts

The sweltering summer heat may send swimmers diving head-first into the nearest body of water, but climate change may contribute to life-threatening risks for swimmers as waterborne pathogens thrive and multiply faster in increasingly warming waters, experts said. Scientists are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility for dangerous pathogens, such as Naegleria fowleri, a brain-eating

Doctors explain how patient died from fecal transplant

Doctors have released new details about the death of a 73-year-old patient who underwent an experimental fecal transplant last spring and died of a subsequent E. coli infection. The report, published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week, detailed the cases of two patients in a trial run by Massachusetts General Hospital. Both

4th death in Legionnaire’s outbreak tied to NC state fair

Four people have died from a Legionnaire’s outbreak tied to a hot tub display at a North Carolina state fair, according to state health officials. In addition to the deaths, North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services reported 133 cases of Legionnaire’s and eight cases of Pontiac fever among people who attended the North

Trump issues executive order to improve flu vaccine

President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at developing better flu vaccines to defend Americans against both seasonal influenza and the possibility of a future pandemic outbreak. Interested in Flu Season? Seasonal flu “kills tens of thousands of Americans each year,” Alex Azar, secretary of Health and Human Services, said in a statement. A

Vaccine myths: 9 facts about vaccines everyone should know

It’s a daily routine for pediatricians: Promise a lollipop or sticker to a 4-year-old child in return for giving them a shot. Then, watch as they melt down and their parents chase them around the clinic. Even if the child doesn’t want it, the aforementioned scenario is not usually one that stops parents from vaccinating

Explaining Trump’s talk of ‘late-term abortions’

President Donald Trump brought up “late-term abortions” during the 2019 State of the Union, and it’s left doctors scratching their heads. Interested in Donald Trump? “As a board-certified Ob-Gyn, I wish people understood that the term ‘late-term abortion’ is not remotely a medical term. In fact, even Ob-Gyns don’t know what people are referring to