For nearly 20 years, Pamela Anderson lived with hepatitis C. She was told the virus would kill her. “It was a death sentence. That’s what my doctor told me — that I probably had around 10 years to live,” the “Baywatch” actress said at a fundraiser for AIDS research on Sunday. “I’m sure that colored … Read more
Before the first successful vaccine was developed in 1796, Americans had little protection against deadly infectious diseases like smallpox, measles and diphtheria. Over the next 250 years, vaccines helped eliminate or dramatically reduce many vaccine-preventable infectious diseases, preventing millions of illnesses, infections and deaths. “There is a reason that vaccines are widely considered to be the greatest … Read more
A new drug has cured 20% of patients with a chronic, cancer-causing disease — which was previously incurable. A viral infection — and the world’s leading cause of liver cancer — the disease has long thwarted scientists who have searched for a serviceable treatment strategy. Now, a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine … Read more
The CDC announced on Monday that it has updated its recommended vaccine schedule for children, reducing the number of immunizations all kids should receive from 17 to only 11. Effective immediately, the new guidelines recommend that six shots, which had previously been given to all children, only be given to those who are high risk, … Read more
NEW YORK (AP) — A federal vaccine advisory committee voted on Friday to end the longstanding recommendation that all U.S. babies get the hepatitis B vaccine on the day they’re born. A loud chorus of medical and public health leaders decried the actions of the panel, whose current members were all appointed by U.S. Health Secretary Robert … Read more
Do newborns need the hepatitis B vaccine to B healthy? That’s slated to be deliberated Thursday at a meeting of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The influential vaccine advisory panel is expected to vote to recommend delaying a shot typically given at birth to age 4, NPR reported. “There is going to … Read more
Public health officials in Los Angeles County have declared an outbreak of hepatitis A, a highly contagious liver infection driven by a virus that can, in rare cases, cause severe illness. The condition, which is typically identified in fewer than 50 people in L.A. County each year, infected at least 138 people in 2024 and … Read more
Most people go to the hospital to get cured of disease. But almost 450 patients at Salem Hospital in Massachusetts have now been warned of their possible exposure to hepatitis and HIV. The exposure was caused by intravenous (IV) medication errors over the past two years. Officials at Salem Hospital, located some 16 miles north … Read more
A state program that aims to make hepatitis C treatment affordable and accessible has garnered thousands of users and helped inspire a similar federal program. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 2 million people in the United States have hepatitis C, and about 40% of people don’t even know they … Read more
It’s an ode to DNA. A new study sheds light on how Ludwig van Beethoven died almost 200 years ago — a puzzle that many have been interested in solving. Using five strands of the German composer’s hair for a DNA analysis, scientists were able to determine his likely demise was liver failure caused by … Read more
For months, scientists around the world have been investigating cases of severe, unexplained hepatitis, or inflammation of the liver, in previously healthy children. According to the World Health Organization, at least 920 probable cases have been detected in 33 countries since October. About 5 percent require a liver transplant, and 18 deaths have been reported. … Read more