Public Health

FDA delays response to prescription drug lawsuit

The Food and Drug Administration has postponed its response to Vermont’s first-in-the-nation lawsuit seeking to overturn the FDA’s ban on the importation of prescription…    

Dutch close 140 livestock farms over dioxin scare

The Dutch agriculture ministry on Wednesday temporarily shut 140 cattle, pig, sheep and goat farms after cancer-causing dioxin was discovered in milk produced by…    

Cholera kills 1,663 in Africa so far this year

Cholera outbreaks have hit three more African countries, bringing the number of people killed by the disease across the continent this year to 1,663,…    

California voters back $3 billion stem cell measure

A controversial California ballot measure that would fund a decade of stem cell research with $3 billion in state money was headed for a…    

Shortage of 200,000 doctors predicted in US

Over the next two decades, the US could find itself short of 200,000 doctors unless steps are taken to curb current trends, according to…    

Flu shots available for high-risk adults

Montgomery County, Md., recently held a lottery to distribute 800 unused doses of flu vaccine to high-risk candidates.

About 20,000 names were…    

French Doctors Treating Arafat Rule Out Leukemia

A French hospital treating Yasser Arafat said Tuesday that the Palestinian leader’s condition was improving with treatment and ruled out leukemia.

   

Flu vaccine summit set to deal with threat of pandemic

The World Health Organization has called an unprecedented summit meeting of flu vaccine makers and nations to expand plans for dealing with the growing…    

Despite vaccines, whooping cough creeps back

Whooping cough is making a comeback 40 years after most industrialized countries started vaccinating children, and the culprit seems to be weakening effects of…    

FDA checking out French flu shot producer

U.S. regulators told Illinois officials Friday they will examine a flu vaccine manufactured in France before clearing it for use by state residents.

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Some antibiotic resistance threat in hospitals could yield to hand washing

Johns Hopkins researchers report potentially life-threatening hospital infections with bacteria resistant to the antibiotic methicillin can occur even if patients havent been treated with…    

Kentucky health departments receive more flu vaccine

Kentucky health departments were among the first to receive an additional supply of flu vaccine to compensate for the vaccine that was taken off…    

U.S. finds 5 million more flu shot doses - HHS

The United States has found 5 million doses of influenza vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline Plc in Germany and ID Biomedical in Canada and is trying…    

Arafat collapses, health worsens

Yasser Arafat collapsed Wednesday night, was unconscious for about 10 minutes and remained in a “very difficult situation,” Palestinian officials said. A team of…    

Bush wants more information about governor’s vaccine plan

The acting commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said his agency will not approve Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s plan to buy the flu…    

CDC advisers recommend FluMist for kids

MedImmune’s FluMist nasal influenza vaccine should be included in the U.S. government’s Vaccines for Children program, federal advisers said on Thursday.

MedImmune…    

Judge bars military from forced anthrax shots

A federal judge on Wednesday barred the U.S. military from forcing troops to be vaccinated for anthrax without either getting their informed consent or…    

Florida distributor to stop dealing flu vaccine

A Florida drug distributor accused of price gouging has agreed to stop buying and selling flu vaccines and will hand over its remaining inventory,…    

Government says federal workers at risk from the flu

The government’s making sure there’s vaccine for federal workers most at risk from the flu.

The Health and Human Services Department says…    

Medical center health care workers protest low wages

Health care workers at the Alameda County Medical Center rallied Tuesday for higher wages amid contract negotiations, saying they haven’t gotten a raise in…    

Chief Justice’s cancer raises new election issue

U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the leader of the Supreme Court’s conservative majority, has undergone surgery for thyroid cancer, suddenly throwing a political spotlight…    

Bush, Kerry both seen pressed to curb drug prices

The pharmaceutical industry is expected to face pressure to curb rising prescription-drug costs no matter which candidate wins next week’s U.S. presidential election.

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Israel to allow Arafat to leave his compound for medical treatment

Israel will allow Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to briefly leave his compound to receive medical treatment in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Israeli…    

Health premium for employees to pay, McGuinty says

Toronto — Individual taxpayers – not employers – are the ones who should pay Ontario’s new health premium, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Monday.

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U.S. looks north for vaccine system

When it comes to getting flu shots for its citizens, the United States may someday soon look like a giant version of Canada,…