Food safety surveillance just lost a critical layer of protection
Roughly 48 million Americans get sick from foodborne illness every year, with about 128,000 hospitalized and 3,000 killed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. For decades, a federal surveillance system called FoodNet has served as one of the country’s most reliable early warning tools for catching outbreaks before they spread. That system […]
Alcohol and cancer, the link researchers can’t ignore
New research on cancer risk, brain health and early mortality is challenging the idea that moderate drinking is harmless. New research on cancer risk, brain health and early mortality is challenging the idea that moderate drinking is harmless. Alcohol has long held a comfortable place in social life, tied to celebrations, dinners and […]
Hypertension is rising fast, and most cases go untreated
Hypertension has become one of the most widespread and least controlled health conditions on the planet, affecting an estimated 1.4 billion adults between the ages of 30 and 79 as of 2024, according to the World Health Organization. A condition that hides in plain sight That figure represents 33% of adults in that age range […]
Whooping cough cases are surging and most adults are not protected
Cases have quadrupled compared to this time last year and declining vaccination rates are driving the increase across the country. Whooping cough is making a return that public health officials had hoped to avoid. The highly contagious bacterial infection, known medically as pertussis, has surged to roughly 16,375 reported cases […]
Sleep deprivation — the powerful steps that can transform your nights starting today
Sleep deprivation is quietly undermining the health of millions of Americans, and Black adults are consistently bearing the heaviest burden of this growing crisis. While poor sleep has long been dismissed as a personal inconvenience, mounting evidence now frames it as a serious public health concern, particularly within communities already navigating deep health disparities. Federal […]
Obesity and overweight crisis keeps getting worse
The numbers tell a stark story. One in eight people worldwide now live with obesity, and the rate has more than doubled among adults since 1990. What was once framed as a problem tied to wealthier nations has become a global pattern, touching nearly every country and crossing every income level. How obesity is measured […]
Heart disease in the United States costs billions yearly
Heart disease has held its place at the top of America’s mortality statistics for decades, and the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show little sign of that changing. The condition remains the leading cause of death for men, women and people across most racial and ethnic groups in the country. […]
Shigella infections are growing and drug resistance is why
Shigella has been making people sick for thousands of years. Reports of the violent diarrheal illness it causes appear in ancient records, and the bacterium itself was formally identified in 1897 during a devastating outbreak in Japan that killed 20,000 people in just six months. The scientist who isolated it, Dr. Kiyoshi Shiga, gave the […]
Understanding how mosquitoes are adapting to your repellent
or decades, DEET has been the most trusted name in mosquito repellent. It worked, it was widely available, and the explanation for why was straightforward enough. Mosquitoes found the smell unpleasant, and so they stayed away. A new study out of Virginia Tech suggests that explanation was incomplete, and that at least one mosquito species […]
Overview of what WHO says communities need beyond treatment
When Ebola or Marburg strikes a community, the immediate concern is containment. But the disruption those outbreaks leave behind runs much deeper than the number of confirmed cases. Jobs disappear. Schools close. Food supply chains break down. Families caring for the sick face social exclusion long after the outbreak is declared over. A new guidance […]