infection

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Germ-Ridden Doorknob Can Infect Building in Hours
Germ-Ridden Doorknob Can Infect Building in Hours
STUDY SAYS

Germ-Ridden Doorknob Can Infect Building in Hours

Virus quickly spread to more than half of one building's occupants

(Newser) - "The hand is quicker than the sneeze in the spread of disease," warns the lead author of a study that found a single germ-laden doorknob can spread a virus throughout a building in the space of hours. University of Arizona researcher Charles Gerba's team placed a harmless...

Flesh-Eating Bacteria Hits 5 in Chesapeake

One woman spends a month recovering after getting infected during kayak trip

(Newser) - A Maryland woman is lucky after a "wee beastie" invaded a cut on her foot while she enjoyed the waters of the Patuxent River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay. The aggressive, flesh-eating Vibrio vulnificus bacteria multiply in warm weather and can cause skin and blood infections and intestinal illness,...

9-Year-Old Water Skier Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba

Kansas girl apparently contracted infection in freshwater

(Newser) - A 9-year-old girl's love of the water ended up sadly dooming her in what her family calls a "one in a billion" occurrence. Hally "Bug" Yust of Spring Hill, Kan., died after contracting an infection commonly known as brain-eating amoeba, reports the Kansas City Star . The infection...

Hospital-Stay Infections, Still Bad? Try 650K a Year

Infection rate is down, but 200 Americans still die daily

(Newser) - About 4% of US hospital patients acquire an infection while hospitalized, which added up to 648,000 people in 2011—75,000 of whom died, the Washington Post reports. The most common infections, according to a CDC survey : pneumonia (22%), surgical site injections (22%), and gastrointestinal infections (17%). Hospitals have...

NYC Sees Rash of Rare Infections Tied to Seafood

Outbreak tied to purchases made from Chinatown fish markets

(Newser) - Two things you never want to see linked: "outbreak" and "rare skin infection." Unfortunately, that's apparently the case in New York City, where some 30 people who bought seafood in Chinatown markets over the last six months have found themselves battling "Mycobacterium marinum." The...

'Definition of Evil': Lab Tech Guilty of Infecting Patients

David Kwiatkowski gets 39 years for infecting people with hepatitis C

(Newser) - A hospital lab technician in New Hampshire was sentenced today to 39 years in prison for using syringes that later infected at least 46 people with hepatitis C, ABC News reports. David Kwiatkowski, 34, admitted that he stole syringes intended for patients, injecting their anesthetic fentanyl into his arm and...

Plague-Infected Squirrel Closes Calif. Campgrounds

Experts fear spread via fleas

(Newser) - A plague threat has shut down campgrounds around Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reports. A ground squirrel in the area was found to have the plague, which can be transmitted to humans through fleas, a health official says. "It is important for the public to know that there...

Stop Giving Your Children Antibiotics

The 'antibiotic apocalypse' is coming: Jessica and Tim Lahey

(Newser) - Protecting your child's long-term health may mean not getting a prescription for antibiotics—even in cases of ear and sinus infections, write Jessica and Tim Lahey at The Atlantic . The authors were surprised that their "smart, highly educated" friends turn easily to antibiotics for their children. Only problem:...

Afghanistan Vets' Silent Killer: Fungus in Soil

It gets into their bodies in IED blasts

(Newser) - Doctors are struggling to deal with a fungal infection that's complicating the recovery of some of the most severely wounded US veterans. The fungus is thought to exist in the Afghan soil and to infect troops when they're wounded by IEDs, USA Today explains. Often, such explosions result...

Bad Water in Ink Blamed for Tattoo Infections

Nasty infection can take months to clear up, or require surgery

(Newser) - An outbreak of nasty, hard-to-treat tattoo infections has been traced not to dirty needles, but to tainted ink, reports NBC . At least 40 people in four states contracted the rare infection, which was caused by a bacteria related to tuberculosis which lives in soil and water. Investigators from the Centers...

Billy Graham Hospitalized With Infection

Evangelist in stable condition at North Carolina hospital

(Newser) - Evangelist Billy Graham was admitted to a North Carolina hospital last night with an infection in his lungs, the AP reports. Doctors say he is receiving antibiotics for what is probably bronchitis, and resting comfortably in stable condition. Graham, 93, received treatment for pneumonia last November and last May . According...

4th Victim Loses Leg to Flesh-Eating Bacteria

Paul Bales cut himself working on dock in Lake Sinclair

(Newser) - An astounding third victim in Georgia—the fourth in recent weeks in the Southeast—has been infected by a flesh-eating bacteria and has already lost his leg to the disease. Paul Bales cut his leg three weeks ago while removing a section of dock on Lake Sinclair in Milledgeville. "...

Pet Owners Get Infections After Too-Close Contact
Pet Owners Get Infections
After Too-Close Contact
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Pet Owners Get Infections After Too-Close Contact

They were comforting the dying animals

(Newser) - Pet owners should be careful of becoming too physically close with their furry friends: Three people contracted serious infections after cuddling and caring for their dying pets, a new study shows. One woman who ate honey from the dropper she used to feed her dog was hospitalized with a respiratory...

Dirty Medical Instruments a Rising Threat
 Dirty Medical 
 Instruments a 
 Rising Threat 
investigation

Dirty Medical Instruments a Rising Threat

Poorly trained workers don't know how to clean them: Center for Public Integrity

(Newser) - A disturbing and dangerous trend is growing in hospitals, according to a report from the Center of Public Integrity : the use of dirty instruments leading to serious infections. The problem is showing up with "alarming regularity" and could be linked to the difficulty in cleaning modern surgical tools and...

New AIDS Cases Hit Plateau: UN

But number newly treated lags behind number newly infected

(Newser) - New cases of AIDS have held steady over the past five years at 2.7 million per year—but only about half of those newly infected people are seeking treatment, the United Nations’ AIDS agency says. About 1.35 million people, or one for every two new cases, started treatment...

Wisconsin Clinic: 2K Possibly Exposed to HIV

Nurse spent five years improperly using insulin pens

(Newser) - A Wisconsin health clinic has warned that 2,345 patients may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis, or other blood-borne diseases by a nurse who improperly used diabetic injection devices. The nurse, whose job involved teaching newly diagnosed diabetics how to use insulin pens, used the same pen every time...

Did Darkness Kill Mozart? Researchers Speculate He Was Low on Vitamin D
 Did Darkness Kill Mozart? 
in case you missed it

Did Darkness Kill Mozart?

And we mean that literally

(Newser) - If Mozart would've just gotten outside a little more, he might have lived longer. Researchers say added exposure to sunlight would have raised the composer's vitamin D level—an important vitamin in fighting off infection, reports LiveScience . Mozart died of an unknown illness in 1791 at age 35....

Tainted Wipes Blamed in Toddler Death

Families urged to check homes for recalled alcohol wipes

(Newser) - The parents of a 2-year-old boy who died from a rare infection blame contaminated alcohol swabs and wipes for his death. Their son was recovering well from surgery before he contracted a fatal case of meningitis caused by a bacteria rarely found in hospitals. The couple say their son's death...

Hospital Patients Dying From Preventable Infections

Simple procedures can reduce deaths, says CDC

(Newser) - Wash your hands, doc! The CDC estimates that 80,000 people annually develop bloodstream infections from improper procedure while inserting catheters and IVs, with 30,000 of those patients dying. According to a survey of medical professionals, these deaths occur because hospital administrators fail to pay attention to these easily...

Beauty Queen's Death Highlights Surgery Risk

If you must have a facelift, here are the biggest dangers

(Newser) - It should go without saying that no cosmetic surgery comes without risks—but the death of former Miss Argentina Solange Magnano, following surgery on her buttocks, is leading to a closer look at the greatest dangers. CNN talks to Nigel Mercer, a top doctor pushing for change in the industry,...

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