Health category, Page 113
Pittsburgh Central Catholic student has whooping cough, officials say
Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh will undergo “extensive cleaning” this weekend after learning one of its students has been diagnosed with whooping cough, school officials said Friday. School officials sent out a letter to parents and guardians on Jan. 23 stating the state Department of Health confirmed a case...
Chicago woman becomes 2nd U.S. case of new virus from ChinaVideo
WASHINGTON — A Chicago woman has become the second U.S. patient diagnosed with the new pneumonia-like virus from China, health officials announced Friday. The woman in her 60s returned from China on Jan. 13 without showing any signs of illness, but a few days later she called her doctor to...
Should Pennsylvanians worry about deadly coronavirus?
Health officials say Pennsylvanians have little to fear so far from a deadly respiratory illness spreading across Southeast Asia. The coronavirus, which presents itself with symptoms similar to a common cold or the flu, has so far killed 18 people, mainly in China, and has sickened people in Taiwan, Japan,...
National survey shows contradictory attitudes toward flu vaccine
Pennsylvania has nearly 40,000 confirmed flu cases so far this season, yet 43% of respondents to a nationwide survey said they won’t get a flu shot. In the survey of 1,226 Americans, conducted by Qualtrics, 74% of those who were not planning to receive a flu vaccination said it was...
High drug costs outweigh ‘Medicare for All’ as top health care issue for voters
WASHINGTON — The debate over creating a single government health plan for all Americans may have dominated the Democratic presidential campaign, but most voters are focused on a more basic pocketbook issue: prescription drug prices. In poll after poll, the high cost of medications is at or near the top...
Unusual study details woes among veterans of foster care
NEW YORK — Americans who have spent time in foster care are far more likely than other adults to lack a college degree, health insurance and a stable health care provider, according to a new federal analysis that is unprecedented in its scope. One striking finding in the report: Less...
Rate of new flu cases slows in Western Pennsylvania
Confirmed cases of the flu in Western Pennsylvania increased at a slower rate last week than in either of the previous two weeks, according to state Department of Health data. “While it is far too early to say that flu season has peaked, we have seen fewer cases over the...
West Deer acquires box for residents to safely dispose of medication
West Deer residents now have a safe place to drop off unwanted medications. The township recently acquired a Safe Medication Disposal box, which is in the lobby of the municipal building. West Deer police partnered with KidCents and The Rite Aid Foundation to get the box, which was donated by...
Health Happenings: Week of Jan. 20
Blood drives • American Red Cross will host these blood drives: —12:30-5 p.m. Thursday, Ascension Church, 621 Division St., Jeannette — 1-5:30 p.m. Friday , New Life Tabernacle, 851 S. Center Ave., Hunker Appointments: 800-733-2767 or redcrossblood.org; walk-ins welcome • Vitalant (formerly Central Blood Bank) will host a blood drive...
Quinn on Nutrition: Nuts that are not nuts
Question: “You have helped me out in the past so I thought I’d get your opinion on this. On a recent show, a doctor was talking about which foods to eat and which to avoid. He said that you should be eating nuts, but don’t eat cashews, as they are...
Up to a third of opioid overdose deaths might be suicides, Johns Hopkins researcher concludes
Tens of thousands of people fatally overdose each year on opioids and other drugs. Sometimes medical examiners label them accidents, and sometimes they don’t know what to call them. But where humans waver, a computer program using a kind of artificial intelligence finds many are likely suicides — possibly a...
Allegheny Health Network expanding healthy food center
Since opening in 2018 at West Penn Hospital, the region’s first Healthy Food Center has provided nearly 40,000 meals to patients and their families who lack access to nutritious food items, according to Highmark Health. Allegheny Health Network will expand the effort’s reach, with the recent opening of a second...
Lyme disease vaccine for mice might help prevent human infections
HARTFORD, Conn. — Connecticut researchers are involved in a potentially important effort to break the cycle of infections among wild animals and ticks that leads to the transmission of Lyme disease to humans. The key is finding a way to give a specially developed vaccine to white-footed or deer mice,...
Excela Latrobe introduces improved surgical robotVideo
Students from Greater Latrobe and Ligonier Valley school districts joined other local residents Friday in trying out the controls of an improved surgical robot introduced during an open house at Excela Latrobe Hospital. Seventeen Excela surgeons use the robot and one like it at Excela Westmoreland Hospital to perform precision...
U.S. to screen airline passengers from China for new illness
NEW YORK — Three U.S. airports will screen passengers arriving from central China for a new virus that has sickened dozens, killed two and prompted worries about an international outbreak, health officials said Friday. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials say they will begin taking temperatures and asking about...
Allegheny Health Network cancels surgeries after gown recall
Several elective, non-emergency procedures were rescheduled at surgery centers throughout Allegheny Health Network on Thursday after the medical device manufacturer Cardinal Health recalled surgical gowns, a spokesman said. The gowns, which are part of kits containing other surgical supplies, were immediately pulled from the shelves after a nationwide “voluntary recall”...
Western Pennsylvania sets record for organ, tissue transplants in 2019
Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia set a record for organ and tissue transplants in 2019, the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE) announced. CORE, a nonprofit that coordinates organ, tissue and cornea donation, facilitated 661 transplants in Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia last year — an increase from 2018...
UPMC, Pitt test out wireless eyeball implant in hopes of restoring lost sightVideo
A surgeon at UPMC Mercy hospital implanted a wireless chip designed to act like a small, artificial retina in the eye of an Ohio woman last week in the first trial of the technology in the United States. The treatment could offer a novel way to restore the sight of...
Fluoridation the subject of dental association’s annual 3rd-grade poster contest
The Pennsylvania Dental Association wants the state’s third-graders to help mark the 75th anniversary of community water fluoridation — the addition of fluoride to public drinking water. Third-grade students are invited to submit a poster built around the association’s 2020 theme: “Fluoride in Water Prevents Cavities!” After Dr. Frederick McKay...
Penn-Trafford wrestler diagnosed with MRSA, school says
A Penn-Trafford High School wrestler recently was diagnosed with MRSA, a contagious staph infection, the school district said Tuesday. The wrestler, who was not identified, is receiving medical treatment and will not return to the team until he receives a medical clearance, said Tony Aquilio, high school principal. The student...
Flu-associated deaths increase to 24, state health officials report
The number of flu-related deaths in Pennsylvania has nearly doubled in the past week, according to data released Tuesday by the state Department of Health. The department reported there had been 24 flu-associated deaths this flu season through Saturday, up from 13 as of Jan. 4. As of this point...
U.S. drinking more now than just before Prohibition
NEW YORK — Americans are drinking more now than when Prohibition was enacted. What’s more, it’s been rising for two decades, and it’s not clear when it will fall again. That’s the picture painted by federal health statistics, which show a rise in per-person consumption and increases in emergency room...
Binge drinking linked to heart damage, study finds
A study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association indicates there may be a link between binge drinking and heavy alcohol consumption and heart damage. Reuters reported that researchers analyzed data from nearly 3,000 adults from northwest Russia. They found that heavy drinking was associated with increased levels...
What really works for dry winter skin, according to dermatologists
Your skin doesn’t like winter. The combination of cold air outside and heated air inside often leads to dry, itchy, scaly skin. There’s plenty of advice on the web about what to do and plenty of heavily marketed products that claim they’ll solve this seasonal problem, often at a hefty...
Health Happenings: Week of Jan. 13
Classes/programs • Unplug and Recharge is held between noon-12:45 p.m. Tuesdays in January at Excela Square at Frick; Wednesdays at Westmoreland Hospital and Thursdays at Latrobe Hospital. The sessions use exercise and yoga techniques. Details: excelahealth.org Meetings • Tour of the Family Additions Maternity Center is planned 2 p.m. Sunday...
