disease

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As Mystery Illness Kills Dozens, Locals Told to Not Touch Bodies

Flu-like sickness is being investigated in southwestern Congo

(Newser) - A flu-like disease that has killed dozens of people over two weeks is being investigated in southwestern Congo, local authorities said. The deaths were recorded between Nov. 10 and Nov. 25 in the Panzi health zone of the Kwango province. Symptoms include fever, headache, cough, and anemia, provincial health minister...

In This State, a Rare Human Death From Rabies

Person over the age of 65 was exposed to bat in July, per Minnesota's Department of Health

(Newser) - A Minnesota resident who came into contact with a bat in July died of rabies, the state's Department of Health announced Friday. The person's death marks a rare occurrence, as fewer than 10 people in the US die from rabies each year, according to the CDC. The person...

Massachusetts Tells Locals to Take Cover From Skeeters

Rare but deadly eastern equine encephalitis has shown up in an elderly man

(Newser) - A "rare but serious" disease has put residents in Massachusetts on edge, with warnings now to stay inside when they can, especially in the evenings, to avoid encountering mosquitoes that can spread the illness. The Bay State hasn't seen an outbreak of eastern equine encephalitis in four years,...

Hepatitis Takes Hold, Polio Emerges in Gaza

UN says diseases are surging among displaced Palestinians amid Israel's war against Hamas

(Newser) - A disease mostly eradicated throughout the world is making a comeback among the wretched conditions throughout Gaza, where nearly all 2.2 million residents have been displaced. The New York Times reports that on Friday, World Health Organization chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed that a poliovirus variant has turned...

Deadly 'Rabbit Fever' Spreads in Utah
Deadly 'Rabbit Fever'
Spreads in Utah
Apr 19, 2024 11:25 AM CDT

Deadly 'Rabbit Fever' Spreads in Utah

Tularemia, which can infect humans, confirmed in 3 dead beavers

(Newser) - Authorities in Utah are warning about an outbreak of the potentially deadly tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, which, despite its name, can infect various rodents and mammals, including humans, cats, and dogs. So far, it's only been confirmed in beavers. Nine healthy-looking beavers and one vole were found...

He Was Bitten by a Toilet Rat. 18 Days Later, He Was in the ICU

The animal definitely didn't have a clean mouth

(Newser) - In a study that's not for the squeamish, doctors have determined that a man who became very ill after being bitten by a rat in his toilet was infected by bacteria in rat urine that was in the rat's mouth. According to the study published in the Canadian ...

Scientists Find an Ancient Syphilis Relative in Brazil

Research suggests the bacterium has been around for millennia

(Newser) - People who lived with painful mouth and skin sores on the south coast of Brazil some 2,000 years ago carried the oldest known evidence of a syphilis relative. Treponema pallidum, the bacterium that causes syphilis, is "one of the least well understood common bacterial infections," one expert...

'Disease X' Isn't Here Yet, but Preparations Are Being Made

World leaders, health experts set up for pandemic that could potentially be far worse than COVID-19

(Newser) - World leaders and health experts are coming together to combat a serious international epidemic that's thankfully hypothetical at this point. If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us anything, it's that health care systems and economies can be easily overwhelmed by the global spread of a little-understood disease. Enter "...

Ancient DNA Provides 'Quantum Leap' in Understanding of MS

Herders who migrated to Europe 5K years ago brought increased risk of disease, researchers say

(Newser) - Around 5,000 years ago, a people called the Yamnaya swept into northwestern Europe on horseback, bringing their wagons, cattle, and sheep—along with genes that researchers believe are responsible for higher rates of multiple sclerosis in the region today. In a study published in the journal Nature , researchers say...

Nasty Flesh-Eating Parasite Now 'Endemic' in US

Leishmaniasis, which can lead to life-long scarring, is appearing in southern states

(Newser) - A flesh-eating parasite once thought to concern only those in tropical locales is now "endemic" in the US. Leishmania mexicana is believed to be spreading through sand flies in the southern US, particularly Texas, according to an analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The parasite triggers...

Celine Dion Cancels Tour Over Neurological Disorder

Singer with stiff person syndrome not ready to return to stage—though 'I'm not giving up'

(Newser) - Celine Dion's rare neurological condition will keep her from touring even longer than expected. The singer canceled the European leg of her Courage World Tour, which was to run from August to April 2024, on Friday, per the Guardian . "All remaining dates currently on sale for 2023 and...

We're Closer Than Ever to Realizing Jimmy Carter's Dream

Only 13 cases of Guinea worm disease were reported in 2022

(Newser) - The planet got incrementally closer to eradicating Guinea worm disease last year. The Carter Center on Tuesday announced there were just 13 cases of the disease reported worldwide in 2022, down two from the year prior for a 13% drop (the initial count of 14 was later confirmed to be...

WHO Has a Warning for Couch Potatoes

Agency notes 'severe' cost for physical inactivity, with various diseases looming

(Newser) - Get active or risk disease. That's the message from the World Health Organization, whose first global report on physical activity indicates 500 million people in 194 countries will develop heart disease, obesity, diabetes, stroke, dementia, depression, or other diseases unless they boost their physical activity. "There are few...

North Korea Is Fighting Another Disease Outbreak

Experts believe it's cholera or typhoid

(Newser) - North Korea is battling another disease along with a COVID-19 outbreak—but in true North Korea style, the country is not being forthcoming about how many people are affected or exactly what disease is involved. The official Korea Central News Agency says Kim Jong Un has sent medicine to help...

The Taller You Are, the Higher the Risk for These Diseases

But taller people benefit from a lower risk of conditions including heart disease: study

(Newser) - Height may be a previously unrecognized risk factor for several common diseases, according to the largest study of the link between height and disease thus far. The study using data from more than 222,000 white adults and more than 58,000 Black adults enrolled in the US Veterans Affairs...

Monkeypox May Have Made Its Way to 2nd US State

Massachusetts had already reported a case of rare disease; now, a suspected case in New York City

(Newser) - The UK , Portugal, and Spain have all recently reported a small number of confirmed or suspected cases of monkeypox, and on Wednesday, Massachusetts phoned in its own report , as officials tried to see if it was linked with the ones overseas. Now, a possible second case in another US city:...

Israel Suffers Its Deadliest Wildlife Disaster

At least 5K cranes dead in bird flu outbreak

(Newser) - A bird flu outbreak in northern Israel has killed at least 5,200 migratory cranes and forced farmers to slaughter hundreds of thousands of chickens as authorities try to contain what they say is the deadliest wildlife disaster in the nation's history. Uri Naveh, a senior scientist at the...

Researchers Say a Shot Might Prevent Lyme Disease

Lyme PrEP is currently in clinical trials

(Newser) - Lyme disease is becoming more and more common. Once a rare affliction found in just a few parts of the US, mainly in the Northeast and Great Lakes, it has now turned up in all 50 states. The ticks that carry it have spread farther south and west. Scientists have...

In This Nation, a 'Fearsome Intruder' Is Surging

Australia slammed with a spike of flesh-eating Buruli ulcers

(Newser) - Australia has been hit with a spike of what the New York Times calls a "fearsome intruder," though it's not a new one. Stretching back as far as the 1940s, cases of Buruli ulcer —an infectious disease caused by the flesh-devouring Mycobacterium ulcerans bacterium, typically found...

Cluster of Cases May Signal Entirely New Brain Disease

Symptoms are similar to Creutzfeldt-Jakob, doctors in New Brunswick, Canada, are stumped

(Newser) - Doctors in Canada may be dealing with an entirely new brain disease that's specific to one part of their country. A cluster of 43 cases is under investigation in the Canadian province of New Brunswick, reports the Guardian . Symptoms are similar to well-known "prion diseases" such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob,...

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