epidemic

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Long Dormant, Scarlet Fever Returns to UK

Brits had 3K cases last year; disease seems more virulent

(Newser) - Scarlet fever may seem like a disease of bygone times—it's what took Beth away from the Little Women and sealed the fate of the Velveteen Rabbit—but for many Britons it has become all too current. England and Wales have seen a spike in cases, with 3,000 last...

Black Death Wipes Out al-Qaeda Camp in Algeria

Bubonic plague wiped out 40 recruits at Algerian base

(Newser) - Bubonic plague is believed to have wiped out dozens of al-Qaeda recruits at a terror training camp in Algeria, the Daily Mail reports. The epidemic came to light when security forces found a militant's diseased body dumped on a roadside. Security sources say the plague forced the group to turn...

Mugabe Acknowledges Cholera Epidemic

(Newser) - Robert Mugabe has backtracked on his denial of the Zimbabwean cholera crisis, AFP reports. “He is acknowledging there is a problem,” said a UNICEF official who met with him today. “He recognizes there is a problem with the water and the sewer systems.” The admission comes...

Diabetes in US Nearly Doubles in 10 Years

South is hardest hit, as obesity and lack of exercise fuel surge

(Newser) - The nation's diabetes epidemic shows no signs of slowing, Reuters reports. Almost twice as many people were diagnosed with the disease between 2005 and 2007 as between 1995 and 1997. Nearly all of the new cases are Type 2, which is linked to obesity and lack of exercise. Nine of...

Brits Warn of Devastating Pandemic

World ill-prepared for massive outbreak

(Newser) - The world is in danger of losing up to 50 million people to an "inevitable" flu pandemic, and global response agencies aren't ready for such a test, the British government warns. A report rates early-warning systems as "poorly coordinated" and calls for an overhaul of the World Health...

24M Americans Diabetic: CDC
 24M Americans Diabetic: CDC 
Jun 24, 2008 4:39 PM CDT

24M Americans Diabetic: CDC

Big increase of disease linked to obesity has 8% of US suffering, feds report

(Newser) - Almost 8% of the US population has diabetes, the government reported today. About 24 million Americans suffer from type-1 or -2 diabetes, an increase of 3 million since 2005, Reuters notes. Another 57 million Americans are pre-diabetic, a condition of insulin insensitivity that predisposes them to type-2 diabetes, the Centers...

Pandemic Risk Real, Mounting
 Pandemic Risk Real, Mounting 
May 6, 2008 3:55 PM CDT

Pandemic Risk Real, Mounting

Experts fear spread of disease, entrenched in avian population, to humans

(Newser) - The danger of a worldwide bird flu epidemic is growing as the virus becomes established in the avian population, Reuters reports. World Health Organization experts today urged all nations to prepare in case the H5N1 virus mutates into a form easily transferable between humans. In birds, the strain has spread...

Deadly Virus Hits Kids in China

EV71 claims at least 21 lives, mostly young children

(Newser) - Almost 3,000 children living in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui have been infected with a deadly intestinal virus. At least 21 children have died of Enterovirus 71, a highly contagious malady whose cause remains unknown, reports state-run media. Most of the victims have been children under the age...

Scientists Warn Doctors of Syphilis Comeback

Cases are on the rise, doctors not spotting the symptoms

(Newser) - Health researchers have warned that syphilis is making a comeback, and doctors may not be recognizing the symptoms. Developed countries came closing to wiping out the disease in the '90s, Reuters reports, but infection rates in the US went up last year for the seventh year in a row. A...

Screening Isn't Slowing Staph: Study
Screening
Isn't Slowing Staph: Study
Mar 12, 2008 11:09 AM CDT

Screening Isn't Slowing Staph: Study

Researchers back more cost-effective, targeted testing to catch superbug

(Newser) - Widespread screening of hospital patients for the drug-resistant staph bacteria MRSA doesn’t appear to reduce the number of infections, a new study finds. Swiss researchers screened more than 10,000 patients for the superbug when they were admitted to the University of Geneva Hospitals. Another 10,000 weren’t...

Immune-System Ailments Now an 'Epidemic'

Doctors blame sterile homes, diet, obesity for making us sick

(Newser) - Allergies and immune-system ailments like asthma, lupus, and MS are on the rise—and scientists increasingly blame modern life, the Washington Post reports. Many point to sterile conditions in the US and Western Europe, but pollution, diet, and obesity may also play a role. "We have dramatically changed our...

New E. coli Strains Could Spell Epidemic

Drug-resistant bacteria may rival MRSA threat, researchers warn

(Newser) - New drug-resistant strains of E. coli have doctors worried that the mutant bacteria could become a superbug to rival MRSA, the drug-resistant form of staphylococcus that kills hundreds hospital patients each year, the Daily Telegraph reports. The spread of the new E.coli strains must be carefully tracked to avoid...

Obese US Facing Diabetes Crisis
Obese US Facing Diabetes Crisis
Jan 24, 2008 3:35 AM CST

Obese US Facing Diabetes Crisis

A million new cases reported a year

(Newser) - America is facing a diabetes epidemic—a health disaster more economically catastrophic than a Hurricane Katrina each year, USA Today reports. The disease killed 284,000 people last year, and a staggering million new cases are diagnosed each year as more Americans become morbidly obese, according to a new study...

Cholera Outbreak Grips Baghdad
Cholera Outbreak Grips Baghdad
Dec 2, 2007 7:40 PM CST

Cholera Outbreak Grips Baghdad

Officials fear an epidemic when rains hit war-ravaged sewers

(Newser) - Cholera cases have spiked in Baghdad since mid-November and will likely soar when rainy season comes, the Guardian reports. Officials fear that the downpours will spread dirty water from war-ravaged sewers and infect more Iraqis, particularly children; about 4,500 cases have already been tallied this year. “We have...

AIDS Came to US From Haiti Years Before It Was ID'd: Study

'Unnerving' how long it existed 'below radar'

(Newser) - The AIDS virus reached America through Haiti, not directly from Africa, and far earlier than has been suspected—the 1960's, not the early 1980's, researchers have discovered. Scientists analyzed 25-year-old blood samples and used what they know of the virus' mutations to construct a rough timeline of the progression of...

Next Up, Locusts: Bird Flu Closes In on Humans

Latest strain may be more dangerous to people

(Newser) - A new mutation of bird flu virus H5N1 allows it to survive in humans, which have cooler body temperatures than birds. The virus doesn’t currently transmit between humans, but the ability to survive in our respiratory tract could start an epidemic, researchers warn. "I don't like to scare...

We're Still Getting Fatter
We're Still Getting Fatter
Aug 27, 2007 6:07 PM CDT

We're Still Getting Fatter

Obesity epidemic continues to spread

(Newser) - Americans just keep getting fatter. Obesity rates were up in 31 states this year and declined in none, a new study by a health advocacy group finds. That brings the percentage of American adults who are either obese or overweight to 60%, Reuters reports, and the usual suspects are to...

World on Brink of New Epidemic: WHO
World on Brink of New Epidemic: WHO
Aug 23, 2007 3:50 AM CDT

World on Brink of New Epidemic: WHO

Global cooperation is crucial to prevent new outbreak, report concludes

(Newser) - A new global epidemic is likely on the horizon with fresh diseases cropping up at a record pace and billions of air travelers in motion to spread an illness with alarming speed, the World Health Organization warned yesterday. The AIDS or Ebola of tomorrow could be just around the corner...

Fantasy War Game Models Global Pandemic

Virtual outbreak gave scientists chance to study spread

(Newser) - A programming error in an online fantasy game gave researchers a profound insight into how a deadly epidemic spreads and how to combat the crisis. The London Times reports a glitch occurred in World of Warcraft, which has millions of online players. A disease aimed at a handful of characters...

UK Inspects 3rd Foot and Mouth Case

Ban lifted, but farmers urged to be wary of big losses

(Newser) - A third suspected case of foot and mouth disease has been located in southern England, health officials said, as the EU lifted a ban on slaughtering animals but kept up the prohibition on exporting animal products. Meanwhile, the Guardian reports that British veterinary investigators pinpointed two research labs they say...

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