epidemic news stories on Newser

Baby Boomer? Feds Say Get Tested for Hepatitis C

Dustin Lushing — Sat, 05 May 2012 11:33:25 CDT

An epidemic of hepatitis C is afflicting the baby boomer generation, and federal authorities will roll out a campaign this year urging everyone born between 1945 and 1965 to get tested, reports the Los Angeles Times . Roughly 75% of the estimated 3.2 million people infected are boomers, many of...

This Might Be a Bad Summer for Lyme Disease

Dustin Lushing — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:04:56 CDT

A surge in cases of Lyme disease could be hiding in the forest. Scientists say the northeastern US might be staring at "the worst year yet" for the bacterial illness, reports Wired . The reason starts with acorns: In 2010, there was a huge crop of them, which led to a...

Contagion : It's Not Just Fiction

Evann Gastaldo — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 12:34:27 CDT

Bad news for those of you, who after seeing Contagion , reminded yourself comfortingly, “It was only a movie:" According to one epidemiologist, the frightening premise put forth in the film “will almost certainly occur.” The plot deals with a virus breaking out of its niche and wreaking havoc, an idea...

Expert: UN Brought Cholera to Haiti

Rob Quinn — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 01:40:22 CST

A French researcher has reached the same conclusion about the Haitian cholera outbreak as rioters did: United Nations peacekeepers are the likely source. The expert—sent by the French government to help Haiti investigate the epidemic that has killed more than 2,000 people—believes the disease probably spread from...

Little Kids Still Need 2 Swine Flu Shots

Nick McMaster — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:41:37 CDT

Kids over age 9 can safely join adults in receiving just one shot of swine flu vaccine, the Washington Post reports. A test of 650 subjects showed 76% of children between 10 and 17 had a response to a vaccine produced by Sanofi Pasteur, and it was strong enough that...

Pregnant Women Win Priority for Swine Flu Vaccine

Rob Quinn — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:58:42 CDT

Pregnant women and people who care for infants will be first in line for the swine flu vaccine this fall, the Washington Post reports. Infants, children and young adults under 24, chronically ill adults aged 25 to 64, and health care workers are the other top priority groups under guidelines...

WHO Declares Swine Flu Pandemic

Jason Farago — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 10:20:32 CDT

The World Health Organization has declared the first influenza pandemic since 1968, Reuters reports. Although the current outbreak has caused mostly mild cases of the illness, today's official declaration that the outbreak has hit phase 6, the highest level, means heightened prevention measures in 193 countries. The designation refers to...

China Springs Nagin After Swine Flu Scare

M. Morris — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:23:48 CDT

Ray Nagin prepared to leave Shanghai today after four days in quarantine imposed after possible exposure to the swine flu virus. The New Orleans mayor, his wife, and a member of their security detail had been in a hotel-turned-clinic since learning that a fellow passenger on their flight from Newark...

Binge Drinking Could Fuel Dementia 'Epidemic'

Matt Cantor — Sun, 10 May 2009 12:49:58 CDT

It’s no secret that drinking kills brain cells—but doctors in Britain now fear an “epidemic” of brain damage from binge drinking, the Guardian reports. Up to a quarter of dementia cases in the UK may be brought on by heavy drinking, they say, noting that some people could begin...