Following extremely critical news coverage and condemnation from politicians including Hillary Clinton, pharmaceutical maker Mylan has agreed to offer a discount to the patient cost of the EpiPen, the emergency epinephrine shot that stops anaphylaxis. The cost of the severe-allergy treatment had increased by more than 400 percent in the past 10 years. Mylan said…
Pfizer Inc. said Monday it has agreed to buy biotech Medivation Inc. for $81.50 a share, valuing the total company at about $14 billion, in a move that adds one of the crown jewels of the multibillion-dollar market for cancer drugs to Pfizer’s portfolio. It ends months of bidding for San Francisco’s Medivation, one of…
Bacteria is coming from local sewage and could affect water sport competitions Athlete says beach water “feels like there’s some alien enemy entering your face” Rio de Janeiro (CNN)A group of Brazilian scientists have detected a drug-resistant bacteria growing off the shores of some of Rio de Janeiro’s most stunning beaches, one month before they’re…
European scientists announced on Thursday they had discovered antibodies which attack Zika, a step they hope will pave the way for a protective vaccine against the brain-damaging virus. The antibodies — frontline soldiers in the immune system — “efficiently neutralise” Zika in human cells in lab dishes, and are also effective against its cousin virus…
Looking at your smartphone while lying in bed at night could wreak havoc on your vision. Two women went temporarily blind from constantly checking their phones in the dark, say doctors who are now alerting others to the unusual phenomenon. The solution: Make sure to use both eyes when looking at your smartphone screen in…
A link between cellphones and cancer has been found in a major U.S. study, officials said late Thursday. The peer-reviewed $25 million study was conducted over multiple years and found two types of tumors in male rats exposed to the same kind of radio frequencies emitted by the devices. The tumors were found in brain…
Susan Hedman, the EPA director overseeing an area in Michigan that includes Flint, stepped down on Thursday as the water crisis in the city has continued unabated. The EPA also announced an emergency order on Thursday requiring the state and city to take “immediate steps to address the drinking water contamination in Flint.”
Data unveiled in 274 pages of emails released by Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder paint a picture of dismissive state leaders who deflected responsibility and ignored scientific evidence regarding the lead-poisoned drinking water in Flint. Top aides reportedly scoffed at people voicing questions about the water quality “anti-everything,” and findings reported by a concerned paediatrician were…
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday that 19 people across seven states have been sickened from an E. Coli contamination that officials have linked to chicken salad purchased at Costco. People who bought chicken salad at U.S. Costco stores on or before Friday were directed to throw it away. Though the strain…
Chipotle voluntarily closed all 43 of its restaurants in Washington State and Oregon due to an E. coli scare. At least 22 people got sick with E. coli in the Pacific Northwest. Most reported eating at Chipotle.
A WHO study released Monday categorizes processed meats like sausage and bacon as “carcinogenic to humans,” along with asbestos and smoking. The study adds that red meat likely causes cancer, too. Though the 22-member panel behind the study was not unanimous, the research has raised alarms in the beef industry, which takes in some $95…
Gov. Jerry Brown approved an end-of-life measure Monday that allows physicians to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to quicken the deaths of terminally ill patients. Brown, a former Jesuit seminary student, said he had difficulty in approving the assisted-suicide law and had to “reflect on what I would want in the face of my own…
A recently developed vaccine against the Ebola virus provided 100 percent protection in preliminary trials, showing such promise that the World Health Organization is extending vaccination to “all people at risk.” According to a WHO statement Friday, the VSV-EBOV vaccine was hailed as “highly effective” and could help prevent the spread of the deadly disease…
An Escherichia Coli scare has prompted a Canada-based bottled water producer to recall some of its products. Niagara Bottling LLC said the recall is purely out of an abundance of caution. There have been no signs of its product being contaminated or reports of consumers falling sick, it said. The family-owned company said the operator…
Fifty-three people in nine states have been sickened by a salmonella outbreak likely linked to raw tuna, health officials said Thursday. Officials are investigating the outbreak, which includes 31 cases in California.
Drinking three to five cups of coffee a day may be more helpful than harmful, according to a study published in the journal Heart on Monday. A team of researchers in South Korea found that people who drank moderate amounts of coffee, which is three to five cups daily, were less likely to develop clogged…
Nurses at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas made scandalous accusations about how the facility treated the first Ebola case in the United States. On Tuesday, several anonymous nurses spoke to reporters in a conference call organized by National Nurses United, which does not represent them. The nurses said Thomas Eric Duncan languished for hours…
Ebola survivor Dr. Kent Brantly donated blood to help treat Nina Phram, the Dallas nurse who is the first person to contract the disease in the United States, a spokesperson for Samaritan’s Purse said Monday night. A family spokesperson for Pham confirmed that she received the transfusion from Brantly. It is the third time he…
An American photojournalist who contracted Ebola while working in Liberia is expected to arrive Monday in Nebraska, where he will be treated for the virus. Ashoka Mukpo, 33, will be the second patient to be treated at the Nebraska Medical Center’s specialized isolation unit. Mukpo was working in Liberia as a freelance cameraman for NBC…
A respiratory illness that has sent more than a thousand children to emergency rooms or clinics in 10 states is likely to become a nationwide problem, doctors said Sunday. Officials suspect the disease is a rare respiratory virus called human enterovirus 68, which mimics the common cold. Doctors say they are not sure how the…
The record number of 3,069 reported Ebola cases might get much worse, as the UN’s health agency reported Thursday that “the outbreak continues to accelerate.” The World Health Organization believes it could eventually pass 20,000 cases. So far, 1,552 people have died from the virus, but there could be more who have gone unreported. Meanwhile,…
Everything started with a video posted to Facebook by Pete Frates that challenged a few friends plus New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and Howard Stern to dump a bucket of ice water over their heads. Just a few weeks later, the ALS #IceBucketChallenge has seemingly taken over social media, with celebrities like Oprah Winfrey…
Doctors in Liberia infected with Ebola will receive an experimental treatment known as ZMapp as the World Health Organization says it is ethical to give untested and unproven drugs to help stem the spread of the outbreak. Photo: Health workers prescreen people for the deadly Ebola virus before they enter the Kenema Government Hospital in…
Plane carrying second Ebola patient Arrives at Atlanta Hospital A small plane carrying Nancy Writebol, the second American Ebola patient from Liberia, arrived in the United States Tuesday, making a brief refueling stop in Bangor en route to Atlanta and Emory University Hospital. [usatoday]
Nancy Writebol has been given Zmapp, an experimental drug and is being taken to an Atlanta hospital blocks from the CDC. But the experimental drug ZMapp, which Brantly and Writebol received despite the medication never being subjected to clinical trials, is getting a lot of attention. Just last Thursday, Brantly’s condition in Liberia had deteriorated…
Calm down, everyone. The NYC hospital patient being tested for Ebola is “unlikely” to have the virus, the Health Department says. The man recently traveled to a country in West Africa where Ebola is currently prevalent, and returned to the U.S. with a high fever and gastrointestinal symptoms. He’s been placed in “strict” isolation while…
A state of emergency was declared in the greater Toledo area, where residents were told not to drink or boil tap water. The tainted water may affect up to half a million people. The city of Toledo, Ohio, ordered its residents not to drink tap water on Saturday and declared a state of emergency after…
A second American aid worker in Liberia has tested positive for Ebola, according to the Christian humanitarian group she works for. Nancy Writebol is employed by Serving in Mission, or SIM, in Liberia and was helping the joint SIM/Samaritan’s Purse team that is treating Ebola patients in Monrovia, according to a Samaritan’s Purse statement. Writebol,…
Some 2,518 ground zero workers and responders are now suffering from cancer, a massive jump from the 1,140 cases reported last year. Firefighters, cops, EMTs, sanitation workers, and volunteers from the World Trade Center site are all included in this tally. Many of the people suffering from ground zero-related diseases have filed claims with the…
Smallpox was discovered in a National Institutes of Health storage room last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Tuesday. Officials say there is no indication that anyone was exposed to the smallpox. The FBI and CDC are investigating how these samples ended up in the storage room. Photo: This 1975 file electronmicrograph…
