Ebola fears surge on the ground in Congo over rapid spread of a rare type
BUNIA, Congo — Anxious healthcare workers in eastern Congo said Wednesday they are underprotected and undertrained in a rapidly spreading Ebola outbreak of a rare type of the virus in one of the world’s most remote and vulnerable places. The region has long been threatened by armed groups that control...
McCandless-based Glimmer of Hope funds Mind, Body, Care program for breast cancer patients
Breast cancer patients treated at Allegheny Health Network will have expanded access to therapy, enhanced mammography and comfort-focused resources thanks to a donation from McCandless-based Glimmer of Hope Foundation. The $140,000 gift will help launch the Mind, Body, Care initiative designed to improve the quality of life for breast cancer...
RFK Jr. fires leaders of group that sets guidelines for preventive health screenings
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has fired the two leaders of an influential health group that determines when insurance must provide free preventive care, like mammograms and colonoscopies, for millions of Americans. In letters dated May 11, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. notified the two doctors who chaired the...
Pa. joins lawsuit to block looming federal loan caps for some healthcare degreesVideo
Pennsylvania is one of 25 states suing to block limits on federal loans for students pursuing certain advanced degrees in healthcare. President Donald Trump’s July megabill capped annual loans at $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students. Total limits were set at $100,000 and $200,000, respectively. The exact...
Affordable Care Act enrollment projected to plunge by 5 million as costs spike, analysis shows
NEW YORK — Nationwide enrollment in the Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace could plummet by nearly 5 million people this year, shrinking the number of participants in the program by more than 20%, according to a new analysis from the healthcare research nonprofit KFF. Those who remain covered are...
What to know about the outbreak of a rare kind of Ebola as cases and deaths rise
ABUJA, Nigeria — The World Health Organization has declared the Ebola disease outbreak in Congo and Uganda a public health emergency of international concern. Africa’s top public health body confirmed the outbreak in Congo’s Ituri province on Friday. By the following day, authorities said 336 suspected cases and 88 deaths...
Patients who need kidney transplants share their stories in hope of finding living donors
Dave Lackner remembered being on vacation in Stone Harbor, N.J., in 2007 when the phone call came in. “They had found a kidney for my dad,” Lackner, of Mt. Lebanon, said of that call nearly 20 years ago. The family scrambled to get the patriarch on a flight home for...
Climate report says world won’t get as hot as feared but will pass warming limit
WASHINGTON — Scientists are jettisoning their worst and best case scenarios for a warming world as no longer plausible. That shows how modest gains in the fight to curb climate change have dialed back the most catastrophic of future heating but also confirmed that there’s no chance to limit warming...
Allegheny County residents warned of increased risk for ticks and Lyme disease
As Allegheny County residents step outside to enjoy near-record heat this week, local health experts are warning about the dangers of Lyme disease after an unusually high number of tick bites reported across the country. In April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an early advisory urging the...
Hantavirus-stricken cruise ship docks in the Netherlands for disinfection
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — The cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak has docked at the Dutch port of Rotterdam for disinfection, wrapping up a troubled journey that put international health authorities on alert. The MV Hondius was still carrying 25 crew members and two medical personnel as it reached...
Jewish Association on Aging partners with RubyWell to assist family caregivers
Caregivers need comforting, too. Being the person who takes care of a family member is a noble calling. These people are compassionate and often make sacrifices and go above and beyond for their loved ones. The Jewish Association on Aging and RubyWell launched a grant-funded family caregiver support program in...
Canadian national health agency confirms 1 positive hantavirus test
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Canada’s national health agency confirmed on Sunday that one of four Canadians who returned home from a cruise ship hit with a hantavirus outbreak has tested positive for the virus. The Public Health Agency of Canada confirmed the positive test a day after the public health...
WHO declares global health emergency over Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda
ABUJA, Nigeria — The World Health Organization declared the Ebola disease outbreak caused by a rare virus in Congo and neighboring Uganda a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday, after more than 300 suspected cases and 88 deaths. WHO said the outbreak doesn’t meet the criteria of a...
Butler Memorial Hospital, union techs reach contract 3 days before planned strike
Butler Memorial Hospital and its technical professionals union have reached a contract that calls for a minimum 3% wage increase over the next three years. The three-year contract was announced Friday night by both Independence Health and the Pennsylvania Association of Staff Nurses and Allied Professionals. The union represents 235...
Congolese report constant burials as deaths in new Ebola outbreak reach 80
BUNIA, Congo — At least 80 deaths have been reported in Congo’s new Ebola disease outbreak in the eastern Ituri province, authorities said, as health workers raced Saturday to intensify screening and contact tracing to contain the disease. Officials first announced the outbreak on Friday, with 65 deaths and 246...
In a heartbeat: What’s the draw of blood donation?
The issue According to Vitalant Pittsburgh communications director Maya Santana, the need for blood has remained steady due to everyday emergencies and ongoing medical treatments. Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion, and patients rely on a constant and ready supply already available on hospital...
Pitt graduate’s experiment on Artemis II may improve medicine on Earth
Technology developed for NASA’s Artemis II moon mission may one day help improve medical treatments for people on Earth. Researchers are studying tiny “organ chips” — devices that mimic how human organs function — to learn how the body responds to stress, disease and new medicines. The chips recently traveled...
Continued antidepressant use during pregnancy can benefit moms, newborns, experts say
Maternity leave has been blissful for Jess Young. It’s a feeling the veterinarian radiologist from Bridgeville missed out on following her first two pregnancies. The difference: remaining on the regimen of anti-anxiety medications prescribed years ago during her residency at the University of Pennsylvania. “With my first pregnancies, I had...
A new Ebola outbreak is confirmed in a remote Congo province, with 65 deaths recorded
KINSHASA, Congo — Africa’s top public health body on Friday confirmed a new Ebola outbreak in Congo’s remote Ituri province, with 246 suspected cases and 65 deaths recorded so far. The deaths and suspected cases have been recorded mainly in the Mongwalu and Rwampara health zones, the Africa Centres for...
Business resistance forming to Allegheny County’s paid parental leave proposal
A proposal by Allegheny County health officials to mandate 18 weeks of paid parental leave would increase time off for many working mothers and fathers in the county, but some business owners and their representatives argue it would come at too great a cost. The Allegheny County Board of Health...
Trump administration aims to relax limits on toxic wastewater from coal-fired power plants
HARRISBURG — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved Thursday to relax limits that require coal-fired power plants to prevent the release of toxic heavy metals into streams and rivers, saying a three-year-old rule is unduly costly for the energy industry at a time when energy demand is spiking. It is...
Allegheny General Hospital to undergo 4-year external facelift
AHN Allegheny General’s 90-year-old, 22-story South Tower is slated to begin a 4-year, $36 million renovation in June. The project checklist at the hospital system’s flagship academic medical center on the North Shore includes an overhaul of the facade’s masonry and ornamental terra cotta, replacement of more than 800 windows...
$600M in delayed covid-19 reimbursements coming to Pennsylvania hospitals
Pennsylvania hospitals will soon get $572 million in long-awaited covid-19 response reimbursements from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania told TribLive on Wednesday. Several members of the Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation have sent letters to the Department of Homeland Security this year urging the release...
TikTok users claim OTC meds made their depression disappear, but doctors have doubts
A pair of over-the-counter antihistamines has gained traction on TikTok as a way to treat depression, anxiety and premenstrual symptoms, with some users reporting miraculous results from combining Allegra, an allergy pill, and heartburn medication Pepcid. “I don’t feel an ounce of depression,” one woman said in a clip that’s...
Could hantavirus spark the next pandemic? Pittsburgh doctors explain
In the wake of a deadly hantavirus outbreak aboard a cruise ship, some people have fears the virus could spark another pandemic similar to covid-19. As conflicting claims spread online, Pittsburgh medical experts say it’s important to separate fear from fact. So what exactly is hantavirus, and should people be...
