Health & Fitness

PARIS: Not even one in three people have completely recovered from COVID-19 a full year after being hospitalised with the disease, a United Kingdom study indicated on Sunday (Apr 24), warning that long COVID could become a common condition. The study involving more than 2,300 people also found that women were 33 per cent less likely to fully recover than men. It also found that obese people were half as likely to fully recover, while those who needed mechanical ventilation were 58 per cent less likely. The study looked at the health of people who were discharged from 39 British hospitals with COVID-19 between March 2020 and April 2021, then assessed the recovery of 807 of them five months and one year later. Just 26 per cent reported a full recovery after five months, and that...

A ubiquitous parasite estimated to infect millions of people around the world has been linked with schizophrenia and a host of neurological disorders, but the evidence hasn't always been clear.   While there are a number of studies linking the 'mind-altering' parasite Toxoplasma gondii with altered behavior or weird patterns in human activity, there are also data debunking the association. Now, a new study led by first author and psychiatry resident Vincent Paquin from McGill University in Canada could help to explain this parasitic paradox – while going some way to identifying where the apparent dangers of T. gondii may actually lie. In addition to contaminated food or water (including undercooked meat), the protozoan parasite T. gondii can be transmitted to humans through exposure ...

An outbreak of Ebola has been declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo - four months after the last one ended. A case was confirmed in a 31-year-old man on 5 April. He was admitted to an Ebola treatment centre on Thursday, but died hours later. The World Health Organisation's regional director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti, said: "Time is not on our side. The disease has had a two-week head start and we are now playing catch-up." Overall, this is the 14th Ebola outbreak that the Democratic Republic of the Congo has seen since 1976, which is when the virus was first discovered. Efforts to stem the current outbreak have already begun, with officials confirming that the patient who died has received a safe and dignified burial. More than 70 of his cont...

CNN  —  At least 169 cases of acute hepatitis in children aged one month to 16 years old have been identified in an outbreak that now involves 11 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday. Among the cases of acute hepatitis, at least one child has died and 17 children have required liver transplants, the WHO said in a news release. “It is not yet clear if there has been an increase in hepatitis cases, or an increase in awareness of hepatitis cases that occur at the expected rate but go undetected,” the WHO said in a statement. “While adenovirus is a possible hypothesis, investigations are ongoing for the causative agent.” The clinical syndrom...

LONDON -- A rise in hepatitis cases among children is under investigation by experts. Some recent reports from the U.S., U.K., and EU health organizations including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that some children between 11 months and 13 years old have been diagnosed with hepatitis. The exact cause is still unknown, experts say. Hepatitis is a characterized by liver inflammation and damage. It can sometimes be caused by a virus, but sometimes caused by other factors, such as toxins or medications. Pediatric hepatitis cases were first reported in the U.K. with 10 cases report on April 5, according to the World Health Organization. However, WHO's report from April 15 showed there were 108 cases across the U.K. in the following days. On Tuesday, the European C...

Ebola outbreak in 2018-2020 killed nearly 2,300 people, the second-highest death toll recorded. A new case of Ebola hemorrhagic fever has been confirmed in northwestern Democratic Republic of Congo, four months after the end of the country’s last outbreak. The National Institute of Biomedical Research said on Saturday that a 31-year-old male was detected in Mbandaka city, the capital of Congo’s Equateur province. The patient’s symptoms began on April 5, but he did not seek treatment for more than a week. He was admitted to an Ebola treatment centre on April 21 and died later that day, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement. “Time is not on our side,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO’s regional director for Africa. “The disease has had a two-week head start an...

"Many people in Mbandaka are already vaccinated against Ebola, which should help reduce the impact of the disease," said Moeti. "All those who were vaccinated during the 2020 outbreak will be revaccinated." ');$vidEndSlate.removeClass('video__end-slate--inactive').addClass('video__end-slate--active');}};CNN.autoPlayVideoExist = (CNN.autoPlayVideoExist === true) ? true : false;var configObj = {thumb: 'none',video: 'world/2020/12/22/congo-covid-ebola-contagion-dnt-sam-kiley-sitroom-pkg-vpx.cnn',width: '100%',height: '100%',section: 'domestic',profile: 'expansion',network: 'cnn',markupId: 'body-text_13',theoplayer: {allowNativeFullscreen: true},adsection: 'const-article-inpage',frameWidth: '100%',frameHeight: '100%',posterImageOverride: {"mini":{"width":220,"type":"jpg","uri":"//cdn.cnn.com...

Naeblys/Getty Images Do you know your blood type?  Unless you've donated blood, were given a transfusion or found out during pregnancy, maybe you've never thought twice about it. But coursing through your veins every second of every day are tiny variations that categorize your b...

Children may be less likely than adults to be hospitalized with COVID-19, but a recent study found those who are still unvaccinated are suffering the worst consequences of the disease compared to their vaccinated peers.   Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at hospitalizations in 14 states among children aged 5 to 11 throughout the pandemic. They found COVID-related hospitalization rates were about twice as high among unvaccinated children as those who were vaccinated during the omicron wave from December to February, according to the report published this week in the agency’s Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report. The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for kids 5 to 11 in November but about two-thirds of the eligi...

Food and mood are so intricately connected that they've inspired a new area of brain study: Nutritional psychiatry, which examines how what we eat impacts how we feel. As a dietitian and nutritionist who has researched and experienced this connection firsthand, I find it infinitely fascinating that we can empower ourselves to feel partly — or sometimes entirely — better based on our dietary habits. The foods you eat can make or break everything from your work and productivity to your mental state and physical health. To boost your mood and brain energy levels, put these 35 foods on your grocery list: Complex carbs 1. Pumpkin seeds2. Apples3. Chickpeas4. Strawberries5. Oatmeal Complex carbs pack in more nutrients than simple carbs and, due to their higher fiber con...