Health & Fitness

Traditionally, monkeypox infections were rare in the United States (US). However, recent reports suggest an unusual outbreak of monkeypox has occurred across a number of nations. Efforts should be made to curb the spread of this virus in order to prevent another pandemic. A proactive approach to medical management will not only help in halting the outbreak but will also help determine its extent. Opinion Piece: A Novel International Monkeypox Outbreak. Image Credit: cometa geo / Shutterstock The monkeypox virus is a member of the same family of viruses as smallpox. It is a double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus that was first discovered in monkeys during the 1950s. This virus infects a wide range of hosts, including rodents. The smallpox eradication...

EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UNTIL 4 P.M. ET, WEDNESDAY, MAY 25, 2022   MINNEAPOLIS – Seven healthy habits and lifestyle factors may play a role in lowering the risk of dementia in people with the highest genetic risk, according to research published in the May 25, 2022, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The seven cardiovascular and brain health factors, known as the American Heart Association’s Life’s Simple 7, are: being active, eating better, losing weight, not smoking, maintaining a healthy blood pressure, controlling cholesterol, and reducing blood sugar. “These healthy habits in the Life’s Simple 7 have been linked to a lower risk of dementia overall, but it is uncertain whether the ...

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are still on the rise locally, even though community transmission levels of the virus remain low, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Coachella Valley is also continuing its upward trend of cases. The nine Coachella Valley cities added 841 new COVID-19 cases in the eight days ending Wednesday. There were also four deaths reported during that time period, with Cathedral City, Indio, La Quinta and Palm Springs reporting one each. Here is a full breakdown of confirmed total cases, deaths and recoveries by city since the start of the pandemic (with weekly changes shown in parentheses): Cathedral City: 12,583 confirmed cases (+102), 151 deaths (+1), 12,347 recoveries (+109) Coachella: 13,062 confirmed cases (+91), 121 deaths (...

COVID case rates in the Bay Area have now exceeded those of the devastating surge in the winter of 2021 to 2021, which was caused by what we now know as the “epsilon” variant. A massive survey of COVID-19 survivors sheds new light on predictors of long COVID. And UCSF chief of medicine Dr. Bob Wachter tweeted that 6.2% of people in San Francisco screenings not exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms tested positive for coronavirus infection, according to the latest hospital data. Virus spread increasing in all 58 California counties Each of California's 58 counties is seeing a rising reproduction rate, which means the virus spread is likely increasing statewide. The effective reproduction number, representing the average number of people to whom each infected person ...

Share on PinterestBeing examined by Congolese doctors, a Manfuette village teenage boy is suspected of having monkeypox in Manfuette, Republic of Congo Tuesday, August 29, 2017. The Washington Post/Getty Images Since early May 2022, many countries in Europe, as well as Australia, and the U.S. have reported an increasing number of monkeypox cases. As a viral disease native to Africa, monkeypox is usually transmitted by animal-to-human contact, producing skin lesions, fever, and body aches in people the virus infects. Some recent cases of monkeypox have involved men who have had sex with men, however, experts say the disease is not a sexually transmitted infection but can spread via direct contact during sex. This is a developing story. We will provide updates as more information become...

Placeholder while article actions load Unlock This article is free to access. Why? A large U.S. study looking at whether vaccination protects against long covid showed the shots have only a slight protective effect: Being vaccinated appeared to reduce the risk of lung and blood clot disorders, but did little to protect against most other symptoms. The new paper, published Wednesday in Nature Medicine, is part of a series of studies by the Department of Veterans Affairs on the impact of the coronavirus, and was based on 33,940 people who experienced breakthrough infections after vaccination. The data confirms the large body of research that shows vaccination greatly reduces the risk of death or serious illness. But there was more ambiguity regarding long covid. Six months after t...

Vaccines for monkeypox are now available to some health care workers treating infected people. "I'm happy to report, even with the first case in Boston at Massachusetts General Hospital, our colleagues across the government have been able to get vaccines to that hospital. And just yesterday they've already started offering the vaccines to health care workers who have been exposed," Dr. Raj Panjabi, who leads the White House's monkeypox response, told CNN's Laura Coates on Monday night. "The first part is to identify those who are infected and to isolate them and make sure that they get the care they need," Panjabi said. "The second part is to ensure we vaccinate those who've been exposed to the infected individuals. If we do that again and again -- and that's our approach at the W...

"The countries that are reporting monkeypox now are countries that do not normally have outbreaks of monkeypox," Rosamund Lewis, head of the smallpox secretariat, WHO Emergencies programme, said Tuesday during a news briefing at the United Nations in Geneva. "This is an emerging disease. It has been emerging for the last 20 to 30 years, (so) it's not unknown, it's very well described," Lewis told reporters. "The risk for the general public, therefore, appears to be low, because we know that the main modes of transmission have been as described in the past." Cases in other parts of the world than Africa are typically linked to international travel or imported animals infected with the pox, the CDC said. Several cases of monkeypox reported in the UK have been among people who had no...

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – Sacramento County public health officials say they are investigating a probable travel-related case of the monkeypox virus. The likely case – which would be California’s first – was announced by public health officials on Tuesday. READ MORE: Gun Found In Desk Of Second Grader At South Sacramento School, District Says“This case appears to be related to recent travel to Europe,” said Dr. Olivia Kasirye, Sacramento County’s Public Health Officer, in a statement. Dr. Kasirye noted that the risk to the general public is “extremely low.” California Department of Public Health officials say they started investigating the suspected case back on Saturday. The person initially tested positive for the orthopox virus and is now isolating. “Because the disease is rare, health care...

May 24 (Reuters) - Germany has ordered 40,000 doses of a Bavarian Nordic (BAVA.CO) vaccine to be ready to vaccinate contacts of those infected with monkeypox if an outbreak in Germany becomes more severe, but officials are banking on other precautionary measures for now. Speaking at a press conference, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Tuesday that measures such as an isolation period of at least 21 days recommended for infected people would suffice for now to contain the outbreak. "If infections spread further we will want to be prepared for possible ring vaccinations that are not yet recommended at this point but might become necessary," said Lauterbach, referring to the strategy of vaccinating contacts of an infected person. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reute...