Health News

3 suspected cases of SARS-related virus in France

French health officials said Friday they are investigating three suspected cases of a deadly new respiratory virus related to SARS, in people who had close contact in the hospital with France’s only confirmed case. Beatrice Degrugillers, a spokeswoman for the regional health agency in France’s Nord-Pas-de-Calais region, said a nurse at the hospital where the man was hospitalized in late…

China reports four more bird flu deaths, toll rises to 31

BEIJING (Reuters) - Four more people in China have died from a new strain of bird flu, bringing to 31 the number of deaths from the mysterious H7N9 virus, with the number of infections rising by two to 129, according to Chinese health authorities. Among the deaths, two occurred in the eastern province of Jiangsu; one was from eastern Zhejiang;…

Introducing the Ratburger, the newest ‘affordable cuisine’ from China!

(Note: Everything mentioned in this story is based on actual findings of food scandals in China. While the tone is satire, the basis of this story is factually true.) Introducing the Ratburger! If you’ve never tried the Ratburger, you’re missing out on the latest in affordable cuisine from China, home of the most trusted food on the planet. The Ratburger…

Fever hits thousands in parched West farm region

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California and federal public health officials say valley fever, a potentially lethal but often misdiagnosed disease infecting more and more people around the nation, has been on the rise as warming climates and drought have kicked up the dust that spreads it.   The fever has hit California’s agricultural heartland particularly hard in recent years, with incidence dramatically increasing in…

Study Devastating for ObamaCare Backers

Within the White House, within the Democratic chambers in Congress and among the (overwhelmingly liberal) health policy community there was considerable anguish this week. The reason: a new study finds that (as far as physical health is concerned) there is no difference between being in Medicaid and being uninsured. It’s hard to exaggerate what a blow this is to the…

States fear loss of health care aid - No furloughs at State Department

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State officials say thousands of people with medical problems are in danger of losing coverage as the Obama administration winds down one of the earliest programs in the federal health care overhaul. At risk is the Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan, a transition program that has turned into a lifeline for the so-called “uninsurables” — people with serious medical conditions who…

Obama’s Legacy: A Health Care Law That Hurts His Party

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Like the Iraq war tarnished the Republican brand, ObamaCare could be a long-term political millstone for Democrats. At Tuesday’s press conference, President Obama delivered an unfocused eight-minute defense of his central legislative accomplishment in office – the Affordable Care Act. In the face of intraparty criticism that implementation of his health care law will be a “train wreck,” new polls…

Healthcare law opponents sue Obama officials over IRS rules

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of individuals and businesses filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration’s healthcare overhaul on Thursday, hoping to stop the law in states that have not set up new insurance exchanges. The complaint filed in the Washington federal court challenges federal rules issued in 2012 for implementing the president’s 2010 healthcare law which goes into full…

Hospitals see surge of superbug-fighting products

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They sweep. They swab. They sterilize. And still the germs persist. In U.S. hospitals, an estimated 1 in 20 patients pick up infections they didn’t have when they arrived, some caused by dangerous ‘superbugs’ that are hard to treat. The rise of these superbugs, along with increased pressure from the government and insurers, is driving hospitals to try all sorts…

US health leader warns of human-to-human H7N9 bird flu

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There is no evidence that the deadly H7N9 bird flu has yet spread between humans in China but health authorities must be ready for the virus to mutate at any time, a top US virologist has warned. Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), said officials in China had studied more than 1,000…

Chinese officials say that deaths from the H7N9 FLU will be on the rise in the coming months

WHO: China’s H7N9 Bird Flu Outbreak ‘Unusually Dangerous For Humans’ BEIJING, CHINA: A screen showing a seven-year-old girl, who has been infected with the H7N9 strain of bird flu, receiving medical treatment in the Beijing Ditan Hospital on April 13, 2022 in Beijing, China. A seven year-old girl has been infected with the H7N9 strain of bird flu. China reports…