Stories related to: illness

Apple Bats Down Latest Jobs Death Rumor

Bloomberg  |  Oct 3, 08 12:38 PM CDT

(Newser) - Apple again today was forced to quash rumors about the health of CEO Steve Jobs, refuting a report that the CEO had suffered a “major heart attack,” Bloomberg reports. Shares fell as much as 5.4% following a post on CNN’s citizen-journalist iReport site, but have since rebounded. Jobs’ health has been an issue since a bout with pancreatic cancer in 2004. More »

53K Tots Now Sick on Tainted Chinese Formula

CNN  |  Sep 22, 08 6:56 AM CDT

(Newser) - China's quality-control chief has stepped down as the number of Chinese babies reported sickened by contaminated formula has soared to 53,000, CNN reports. Some 13,000 have been hospitalized; 40,000 more have been treated as outpatients. One ill toddler has been reported in Hong Kong. Chinese premier Wen Jibao toured hospitals and a supermarket, calling the makers of the milk “heartless” and pledging tougher regulations. More »

How Did Bernie Mac Slip Away?

People  |  Aug 10, 08 8:10 AM CDT

(Newser) - Suffering from a rare lung disease, Bernie Mac was on medication to suppress his immune system—and that that made him vulnerable to the pneumonia that ended his life, his sister-in-law told People . He was hospitalized 8 days earlier than reported with a fever and trouble breathing, and “was in intensive care the whole time,” she said. At the hospital, Mac became infected with a second strain of pneumonia. More »

Bat Deaths Perplex Scientists

Salon  |  Aug 1, 08 2:50 PM CDT

(Newser) - Experts are still in the dark about what’s causing the deaths of vast numbers of bats in the Northeast, but some theories have emerged, Salon reports. Some scientists believe white-nose syndrome is driven by global warming, while others are looking hard at pesticides. In either case, humans may have instigated the threat, and the illness looks like a bad ecological omen. More »

Doctors Fume Over Website Selling Fake Sick Notes

Australia's News Network  |  Jul 31, 08 5:14 PM CDT

(Newser) - In an Internet version of a classic schoolboy trick, a website is peddling fake doctors' notes to Australians looking to get some paid time off, reports news.com.au. The $40 certificates have infuriated the medical community, which wants the police to step in. Two backpackers reportedly set up the site to make money for their travels, and they insist the certificates are for novelty use only. More »

Patch Protects Travelers From Pesky Stomach Bugs

BBC  |  Jun 12, 08 5:20 PM CDT

(Newser) - Tourists could soon have a new accessory to add to travel-sized toothpaste tubes and electrical adapters: an anti-diarrhea patch. A new US study shows that travelers wearing a “transcutaneous immunization” patch, loaded with E. coli toxins, reliably protected wearers against diarrhea and vomiting, the BBC reports. Those who did get sick bounced back much more quickly than a control group. More »

Federer Blames Slump on Mono

Independent (UK)  |  May 2, 08 11:05 AM CDT

(Newser) - Don’t worry about Roger Federer’s lackluster season so far: he's been sick. Federer spent the early months of the season plagued by undiagnosed mononucleosis, he told the Independent. “If the doctors had found out, they would have told me not to play,” Federer says. But “by the time they’d done one more test it was over already.” More »

Feeling Ill? Stay On the Ground

CNN  |  Feb 27, 08 5:55 PM CST

(Newser) - In the wake of the death last week of a passenger on an American Airlines jet, one expert on in-flight health has this to say to sickly would-be travelers: “Do not fly.” Air travel can exacerbate illness, and though many airlines contract with ground-based medical support, flight attendants are not nurses, and airplanes often have only minimal medical equipment aboard, CNN reports. More »

Illness Linked to Pig Brains

Washington Post  |  Feb 4, 08 9:41 AM CST

(Newser) - A dozen workers at a Minnesota slaughterhouse are showing symptoms of a new illness linked to inhaling bits of pig brains, the Washington Post reports. Symptoms include sensations of burning, numbness, and weakness in the arms and legs. All of the afflicted worked at or near the Austin packing house’s “head table,” where compressed air was used to remove pigs’ brains. More »

Vomiting Bug Still Has UK on Its Knees

Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Jan 12, 08 1:53 PM CST

(Newser) - A vicious bug that causes days of vomiting and diarrhea continues to wreak havoc in the UK, striking down 3 million Brits so far this winter, the Telegraph reports. Experts warn that with many returning to school and work after the holidays this week, the norovirus, which is potentially deadly to the elderly and other vulnerable groups, could hit epidemic levels. More »

'Meteor' Hole Sickens Peruvians

BBC  |  Sep 19, 07 9:02 AM CDT

(Newser) - Hundreds of Peruvians have complained of headaches, nausea, and vomiting since a fireball plummeting from space left a deep crater in a remote area of the Andes Saturday night. Witnesses say the 20-foot-deep crater spews noxious gases that sicken those who come near it, BBC reports. Animals have also fallen ill, and locals fear that drinking water may be contaminated by the crater. More »

Missing Link in Pneumonia Deaths Found

Reuters  |  Aug 23, 07 4:04 PM CDT

(Newser) - Many pneumonia patients die despite receiving treatment, and a new study finds that an infectious toxin unaffected by antibiotics can cause the deaths. One of the researchers involved in the study, published in the journal Immunity , tells Reuters that scientists are working to find a treatment for sometimes-fatal bleeding in the lungs that current drugs might in fact exacerbate. More »

World on Brink of New Epidemic: WHO

BBC  |  Aug 23, 07 3:50 AM CDT

(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 unless countries cooperate to prevent outbreaks, said the United Nations organization. More »

Household Chemicals Sickening Cats

Los Angeles Times  |  Aug 16, 07 12:21 PM CDT

(Newser) - Cats are falling ill with thyroid disease caused by toxic flame retardants found in household dust and some pet food, says the EPA. Chemicals known as PBDEs—polybrominated diphenyl ethers—found in consumer products and furniture are mimicking hormones which send a cat's thyroid into overdrive. Since humans are the only other mammal with a high rate of hyperthyroidism, the common chemicals could be affecting them, too. More »

500 Dead in Bangladesh Floods