Public Health | featured news

A large new government study should reassure parents who are afraid that kids are getting autism because they receive too many vaccines too early in life. The study, by researchers at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, found no connection between the number of vaccines a child received and his or her risk of autism spectrum disorder. It also found that even though kids are getting more vaccines these days, those vaccines contain many fewer of the substances that provoke an immune response.

Health officials are urging 7,000 patients of an Oklahoma dentist to seek medical tests to ensure they haven't been exposed to hepatitis or the virus that causes AIDS. The Oklahoma and Tulsa health departments say the patients may have been exposed to viruses at clinics operated by W. Scott Harrington. The agencies said they found "major violations" of the Oklahoma Dental Act.

Watch out, New York restaurants. The soda police are coming to get you. Mayor Michael Bloomberg's controversial ban on large sugary drinks hits Tuesday and along with it comes an initiative to make sure restaurants are following the rules.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday warned state and local health officials about potential infections from a deadly virus previously unseen in humans that has now sickened 14 people and killed 8.

Hospitals need to take action against the spread of a deadly, antibiotic-resistant strain of bacteria, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria kill up to half of patients who are infected.

Led by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the group says the scientific consensus is that the level of added sugars in sodas is unsafe.

Federal health officials say at least 16 people in five states have been sickened by salmonella food poisoning linked to ground beef. No one has died, but half were hospitalized. Most of the illnesses have been in Michigan, but a few cases were scattered in Arizona, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

A group of Utah doctors is declaring a health emergency over the Salt Lake City area's lingering air pollution problem. Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment planned to deliver a petition Wednesday demanding immediate action by elected officials. The group wants Gov. Gary Herbert and mayors of northern Utah cities to cut the pollution.

Pregnant women should get flu shots, health experts say, but they've got to be more careful than others about over-the-counter medications for relief.

With the nation in the grip of a severe influenza outbreak that has seen deaths reach epidemic levels, New York State declared a public health emergency on Saturday, making access to vaccines more easily available.