Yellowjackets and Bees Swarm in NC in Helene's Aftermath

• Robin Foster HealthDay Reporter
• October 7, 2024
• Full Page

Even as folks in North Carolina continue to clean up following the devastation of Hurricane Helene, a new health danger has emerged: The massive flooding that swept away roads and towns also uprooted the underground nests of yellow jackets, bees and other stinging insects.

Is the First Cure for Advanced Rabies Near?

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• September 28, 2023
• Full Page

Rabies virus is incurable and almost always fatal once it has invaded the central nervous system, with the victim doomed to suffer a horrible death.

But researchers now think they've found an effective and simple treatment that can cure even advanced cases of rabies.

Summer Buzzkill: Sorting Out Mosquito Myths & Facts

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• August 15, 2023
• Full Page

Mosquitoes can be a big pest, leaving behind itchy bumps on skin and potentially spreading serious diseases, such as West Nile virus.

Sam Telford III is a professor of infectious disea...

3 LA County Deaths Show Flea-Borne Typhus Is on the Rise

• Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter
• August 4, 2023
• Full Page

Los Angeles county is seeing more cases of flea-borne typhus, with 171 cases and three deaths reported in 2022, health officials reported Thursday.

That's a big rise, they noted: Since 2010, when only 31 cases of typhus were reported, fleas have been spreading the dise...

New Malaria Case Reported in Florida Brings National Total to 8

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• July 19, 2023
• Full Page

The United States now has had eight reported cases of malaria, seven of them in Florida, state health officials reported Tuesday.

Considered a public health emergency, these cases are the first in two decades to be acquired within this country's borders, not reported by ...

This Summer, Know Your Risk for Insect Sting Allergy

• Todd A. Mahr, MD, Executive Medical Director, American College Of Allergy, Asthma And Immunology HealthDay Reporter
• June 19, 2023
• Full Page

If you're dreaming of the perfect summer vacation, one element certain to be excluded from that scenario would be an allergic reaction to a stinging insect.

Whether you're planning to travel within the United States or to a foreign locale, you'll need to take precaution...

Dog Bites More Common on Hot, Hazy Days

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• June 16, 2023
• Full Page

Just like their humans, dogs get cranky when temperatures and air pollution levels surge.

Heat and air pollution have previously been linked to human aggression. Now, researchers say it also appears that there are more dog bites on hot, polluted days.

More research...

Ticks Can Take a Licking From Really Tough Weather

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• June 5, 2023
• Full Page

Ticks are extremely resilient even when temperatures vary wildly, according to scientists who are working to better understand the spread of Lyme disease.

In their new study, black-legged ticks, notorious for carrying pathogens, were very good at surviving both extreme c...

Avoid Ticks (and Lyme Disease) This Summer

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• May 13, 2023
• Full Page

The best way to prevent Lyme disease is to not get bitten by a tick, or to get it off your body within 24 hours.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't enjoy the great outdoors. Experts from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston offer some tips for keeping ticks away.

Spring, Summer Is Peak Time for Dogs Biting Kids

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• May 3, 2023
• Full Page

In the spring and summer, everyone races outside with their dogs to enjoy the warmer weather, but a new study suggests there is a downside to that.

More children are bitten by dogs in those months, according to researchers at Nemours Children's Health.

But a dog bi...

Dengue Fever Is Making Inroads in Europe

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• April 14, 2023
• Full Page

Cases of the mosquito-borne illness dengue are typically seen in the tropics, but with the changing climate that may be changing.

Doctors from the United Kingdom and France are scheduled to present a case study at a meeting of a European medical association about a Briti...

Do City Lights Mean More Mosquito Bites?

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• April 12, 2023
• Full Page

Mosquitoes appear to be affected by artificial light at night, but whether that's a good or bad thing is an open question.

New research finds that urban light pollution may disrupt the winter dormancy period of the mosquitoes that transmit the West Nile virus.

That...

Iguana Bite Left Vacationing Toddler a Medical Issue Months Later

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• April 3, 2023
• Full Page

A family vacation to remember, but maybe not for the best reasons.

Doctors report on an unusual case where a hungry iguana bit a vacationing toddler's hand, passing on an infection with a germ called Mycobacterium marinum.

A 3-year-old girl named Lena Mars...

Tick Bites Can Trigger Meat Allergy: What You Need to Know

• Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• March 27, 2023
• Full Page

If you are experiencing mysterious recurrent vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain, you may want to consider that a tick could be responsible.

When the lone star tick bites a person, it can transmit something called "alpha gal,"the sugar that's present in all mammals exc...

Shark Bites Are Declining Worldwide

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• February 7, 2023
• Full Page

It's a little safer to get into the water: Unprovoked shark attacks dropped to a 10-year low worldwide in 2022, shark watchers say.

A total of 57 unprovoked bites occurred in 2022, tying with 2020 for the fewest number of reported incidents during the last 10 years,...

Monoclonal Antibody Might Help Prevent Malaria

• Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter
• August 4, 2022
• Full Page

Researchers are reporting early but encouraging findings on a potential new way to prevent malaria -- an old foe that still ranks as a major killer worldwide.

In a small trial of healt...

Flies, Roaches Probably Don't Spread COVID

• By Sydney Murphy HealthDay Reporter
• August 1, 2022
• Full Page

You may not have even considered the possibility, but new research finds that flies and roaches are not likely to spread COVID-19.

Although public health professionals and officials now have a better understanding of how COVID-19 spreads, there are lingering concerns abo...

Summer Bug Bite? Expert Gives Answers on Care

• By Cara Murez HealthDay Reporter
• July 30, 2022
• Full Page

Bugs are a part of summer, like it or not.

While many times bug bites are little more than an irritating inconvenience, some can trigger a medical emergency, according to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP), which offered tips on telling one from the othe...

Seeing Red: Why Mosquitoes Make a Beeline for Your Skin

• February 8, 2022
• Full Page

TUESDAY, Feb. 8, 2022 (HealthDay News ) -- Mosquitoes see red when they look at your skin, and that brings them in for a bite, according to research showing that these insects find certain colors more attractive.

The