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What is the virus that attacked Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Justin Bieber?

By Sandee LaMotte, CNN (CNN) — The office of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the 89-year-old California Democrat who was diagnosed with shingles in February, confirmed Thursday she “continues to have complications” from a viral infection called Ramsay Hunt syndrome. The syndrome is caused by the same virus, varicella-zoster, that causes chickenpox and shingles. In June, 2022, pop star Justin

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Sarin Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research (CNN) — Here’s some background information about sarin, a man-made nerve agent developed for chemical warfare. Facts Sarin is a liquid that is clear, colorless, tasteless and odorless. Sarin is an extremely volatile nerve agent because of its ability to change from liquid to gas. If it evaporates into a gas, it

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USDA takes steps toward vaccinating endangered California condors against bird flu

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — The US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, known as APHIS, said it is taking steps toward vaccinating endangered California condors against a highly infectious bird flu that has led to the death of millions of birds in the United States. For years, wildlife conservationists have been working to save

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Genetic predisposition toward higher blood pressure, cholesterol may be linked to Alzheimer’s risk, study finds

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — A genetic tendency toward certain forms of higher blood pressure and cholesterol is linked to a potential increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study finds. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s is unclear, and although there are medications available to slow the progress of the disease, there is still no cure.

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Children as young as 4 can learn what to do in a medical emergency, American Heart Association says

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN (CNN) — Leading heart health organizations are urging schools and parents to teach young children life-saving skills such as how to call 911 and how to administer CPR. On Wednesday, the American Heart Association, the European Resuscitation Council and the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation published a scientific statement in the

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Genetic predisposition toward higher blood pressure, cholesterol may be linked to Alzheimer’s risk, study finds

By Jen Christensen, CNN (CNN) — A genetic tendency toward certain forms of higher blood pressure and cholesterol is linked to a potential increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, a new study finds. The exact cause of Alzheimer’s is unclear, and although there are medications available to slow the progress of the disease, there is still no cure.

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Deadly suspected fungal infections in Texas residents linked to surgeries in Matamoros, Mexico

By Jamie Gumbrecht, CNN (CNN) — Five Texas residents became ill with suspected cases of fungal meningitis after traveling to Matamoros, Mexico, for surgery, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services. One person died, and four others are hospitalized. In a travel advisory, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged patients

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Chronic pain is substantially more common in the US than diabetes, depression and high blood pressure, study finds

By Katherine Dillinger, CNN (CNN) — There are more new cases of chronic pain among US adults than other common long-term conditions like diabetes, depression and high blood pressure, according to a new study. The researchers say their findings “emphasize the high disease burden of chronic pain in the US adult population and the need

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Pfizer’s maternal RSV vaccine effective at preventing severe infections in newborns, FDA says but flags potential risk of preterm birth

Pfizer’s vaccine to protect newborns from respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, by vaccinating their moms late in pregnancy cuts the risk that infants will need to see a doctor or be admitted to the hospital with a moderate to severe infection before 6 months of age, according to a new analysis by government regulators.

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A recalled Gerber powdered baby formula was distributed to some US retailers after the initial recall notice, company says

By Ashley R. Williams, CNN A Gerber infant formula under voluntary recall for possible contamination with a germ that can seriously sicken babies was distributed to some US retailers even after the initial notice, according a release shared by the US Food and Drug Administration. The Ireland-based Perrigo Company, which first issued the recall in

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Let us now praise single moms

By David G. Allan, CNN Roughly 24 million, or one-third of all American children under age 18, are living with an unmarried parent, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center analysis of US Census Bureau data. And 81% of those single parent homes are headed by a mom. This has been a growing trend since

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‘We never want to have this happen again,’ FDA official testifies about formula shortage

By Jen Christensen, CNN In a rare moment of bipartisan agreement, lawmakers were highly critical of the US Food and Drug Administration’s handling of the infant formula shortage Thursday. The hearing of the US House Oversight and Accountability Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services was one of several Congress has held to better understand

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Adolescent mental health shows signs of improvement but remains a crisis, CDC reports

By Deidre McPhillips, CNN During the Covid-19 pandemic, mental health-related visits to emergency departments rose sharply among children and adolescents. A new report published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows signs of improvement, but poor mental health remains a “substantial public health problem,” especially among teen girls. CDC researchers tracked

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Skin patch shows promise in toddlers with peanut allergies

By Katherine Dillinger, CNN A “peanut patch” showed promising results in a late-phase clinical trial in toddlers with peanut allergies, according to a new study. Researchers from the French biopharmaceutical firm DBV Technologies and institutions around the world conducted randomized double-blind trial of the Viaskin Peanut patch in children ages 1 through 3 years old

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People can get controlled medications via telehealth for awhile longer, DEA says

By Kristen Rogers, CNN As the expiration of the Covid-19 public health emergency declaration approaches, the US Drug Enforcement Administration has extended the flexibilities regarding the prescription of controlled medications via telehealth. Before the pandemic, medical practitioners were subject to the conditions of the Ryan Haight Act, which required at least one in-person medical examination

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SFO becomes first US airport to formally launch airplane wastewater testing for emerging Covid-19 variants

By Jacqueline Howard and Jeremy Diamond, CNN San Francisco International Airport has launched a program with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to test wastewater from airplanes for traces of emerging coronavirus variants. Traces of the virus that causes Covid-19 can be detected in people’s feces when they are infected, even if they

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Black and Hispanic people in Chicago exposed to gun violence at ‘significantly and persistently higher rate,’ report says

By Nicole Chavez, CNN Black and Hispanic people who grew up in Chicago were exposed to gun violence at a “significantly and persistently higher rate” by age 40 than their White counterparts, a new report shows. The findings were published Tuesday in the journal JAMA Network Open and stem from a survey that followed the

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Bacterial infection linked to recent baby formula shortage may join federal disease watchlist

By Brenda Goodman and Deidre McPhillips, CNN US health officials may soon ask states to notify them of any cases of infants with serious infections caused by Cronobacter sakazakii, bacteria that can contaminate infant formula. Cronobacter infections typically strike infants who are less than 2 months old, and they can be fatal or permanently disabling.

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As FDA advisers consider OTC birth-control pill, agency scientists worry it won’t work due to women’s weight and likelihood of following label

By Elizabeth Cohen and Amanda Sealy, CNN When Caitlyn Pace moved from the United States to Hong Kong three years ago to take a teaching job, she loved the food, the sights and the birth control. She was was pleasantly surprised to find that in Hong Kong, she could get oral contraceptives at her neighborhood

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Teens should be trained before entering the world of social media, APA says

By Madeline Holcombe, CNN The American Psychological Association is calling for teens to undergo training before they enter the sometimes fun but sometimes fraught world of social media, according to new recommendations released Tuesday. “Social media is neither inherently harmful nor beneficial to our youth,” said Dr. Thema Bryant, the APA’s president. “Just as we

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Women should start screening for breast cancer at age 40 instead of 50, health task force says in draft recommendation

By Jacqueline Howard, CNN The US Preventive Services Task Force is proposing that all women at average risk of breast cancer start screening at age 40 to reduce their risk of dying from the disease, according to a new draft recommendation statement. It’s an update to the 2016 recommendation, in which the task force recommended

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All-you-can-eat buffet restaurants are back

By Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN The Covid-19 pandemic crushed all-you-can-eat buffets. The owner of Old Country Buffet and Furr’s Fresh Buffet filed for bankruptcy in 2021. About the same time, so did Cicis and the owner of Souplantation and Sweet Tomatoes. Operators cited occupancy restrictions, bans and health concerns. But now buffets are making a comeback.

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How promising are new drugs to treat obesity and who should — and shouldn’t — use them? Our medical analyst explains

By Katia Hetter, CNN The pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly announced last week that a medication developed to treat diabetes, tirzepatide, also had a substantial effect on reducing weight. Among the more than 900 adults with obesity and diabetes in a study, tirzepatide not only controlled their blood sugar but also helped those on the higher

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Detroit school closed due to high levels of flu-like symptoms reports two cases of bacterial illness

By Carma Hassan, John Bonifield and Jennifer Feldman, CNN After a spate of student illnesses prompted the temporary closure of a Detroit school, the district says two students were diagnosed with the bacterial illness Haemophilus influenzae. Two students at Marcus Garvey Academy were diagnosed with H. flu, Chrystal Wilson, assistant superintendent of communications with the

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WHO says Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency

By Jamie Gumbrecht, Jacqueline Howard and Deidre McPhillips, CNN Covid-19 is no longer a global health emergency, the World Health Organization said on Friday. WHO’s International Health Regulations Emergency Committee discussed the pandemic on Thursday at its 15th meeting on Covid-19, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus concurred that the public health emergency of international

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