TheRepublic.com - Public health News

Drug maker recalls meds in 13 states

Fri, 24 May 2013 21:23:05 -0400

MONTGOMERY, Alabama - The Alabama Department of Public Health is working with other health agencies to investigate an injectable anti-inflammatory drug prepared by a compounding manufacturer in Tennessee.

W.Va. girl who refused vaccines marches with class

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:57:35 -0400

ELKINS, West Virginia - A Randolph County girl who was banned from attending school after refusing to get state-mandated vaccinations will take part in her graduation ceremony.

2nd bacteria outbreak reported on peninsula

Fri, 24 May 2013 15:16:24 -0400

KENAI, Alaska - State health officials say five people have become ill after drinking raw milk from a Kenai Peninsula farm.

Wash. kids play with dead bats, get rabies shots

Thu, 23 May 2013 20:13:03 -0400

MOSES LAKE, Washington - The Grant County Health District says some Moses Lake, Washington, children are getting precautionary rabies shots after they were found playing with several dead bats.

4 of 8 California condors died from lead poisoning

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:54:00 -0400

PHOENIX - Authorities say lead poisoning killed half of the eight California condors that died last winter in Arizona and Utah.

WHO: Scientific red tape mars efforts vs. virus

Thu, 23 May 2013 17:48:08 -0400

GENEVA - International efforts to combat a new pneumonia-like virus that has now killed 22 people are being slowed by unclear rules and competition for the potentially profitable rights to disease samples, the head of the World Health Organization warned Thursday.

Ohio election review finds no voter fraud epidemic

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:43:37 -0400

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A first-of-its-kind statewide review found instances of voter fraud in Ohio during last year's presidential election but not rampant abuses, the elections chief in the battleground state said Thursday.

RI gets $2.5M to remove household lead hazards

Thu, 23 May 2013 13:46:35 -0400

PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island - The federal government is giving a Rhode Island housing agency $2.5 million to find and eliminate the threat of household lead paint.

Report: Nation's kids need to get more physical

Thu, 23 May 2013 11:21:22 -0400

WASHINGTON - Reading, writing, arithmetic - and PE?

SC hospital worker rejected flu shot, gets benefit

Thu, 23 May 2013 06:46:25 -0400

COLUMBIA, South Carolina - A former South Carolina hospital worker who refused a required flu shot is entitled to receive unemployment benefits thanks to a state appeals court.

Stricken Japan nuke plant struggles to keep staff

Thu, 23 May 2013 05:55:48 -0400

TOKYO - Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it.

Illinois Senate approves sex education bill

Wed, 22 May 2013 18:54:35 -0400

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - Illinois public schools that teach sex education will have to include information about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases instead of a curriculum focused solely on abstinence, according to a plan that cleared the state Senate on Wednesday.

House panel moves to curb military sexual assaults

Wed, 22 May 2013 17:12:09 -0400

WASHINGTON - Members of a House panel angry over the growing epidemic of sexual assaults in the military took a key step toward tackling the problem by passing legislation Wednesday that would strip commanding officers of their longstanding authority to unilaterally change or dismiss court-martial convictions in rape and assault cases. Lawmakers believe the revision will lead to a cultural shift and encourage victims to step forward.

Glaxo, US partnering to develop new antibiotics

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:30:54 -0400

LONDON - GlaxoSmithKline PLC says it's starting an unusual collaboration with the U.S. government to develop several antibiotics for both bioterrorism threats and bacterial infections resistant to current medicines.

Portland, Ore., rejecting water fluoridation

Wed, 22 May 2013 03:03:17 -0400

PORTLAND, Oregon - The mayor of Portland, Oregon, has conceded defeat in an effort to add fluoride to the city's drinking water.

Foster Farms recalls grilled chicken breast strips

Wed, 22 May 2013 00:02:08 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO - California-based chicken producer Foster Farms is recalling about 6,165 pounds of its ready-to-eat grilled chicken breast strips because the strips contain wheat and soy - known allergens - which are not listed on the labels of its packages, federal agriculture officials said.

Officials link E. coli outbreak to restaurant

Tue, 21 May 2013 15:59:04 -0400

BRYAN, Texas - Authorities have traced an E. coli outbreak in Central Texas to meat served to customers of a Mexican restaurant.

Study: Casper air quality improves since smoke ban

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:10:45 -0400

CHEYENNE, Wyoming - A study conducted by anti-smoking groups found that air quality improved in Casper businesses that ceased to allow smoking when a city-wide smoking ban took effect.

Cholera outbreak hits Malian refugee camp in Niger

Tue, 21 May 2013 10:55:04 -0400

NIAMEY, Niger - The United Nations refugee agency said that they are working to contain a cholera outbreak in Niger in a refugee camp for people fleeing the conflict in Mali.

After a decade, global AIDS program looks ahead

Tue, 21 May 2013 03:11:23 -0400

WASHINGTON - The decade-old law that transformed the battle against HIV and AIDS in developing countries is at a crossroads. The dream of future generations freed from epidemic is running up against an era of economic recovery and harsh budget cuts.

Report: NPS hantavirus response followed policy

Tue, 21 May 2013 00:13:16 -0400

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, California - Federal investigators probing the hantavirus outbreak blamed for three deaths at Yosemite National Park recommended on Monday that design changes to tent cabins and other privately run lodging first be reviewed by National Park Service officials.

Maley recommends ways to combat painkiller abuse

Mon, 20 May 2013 18:29:29 -0400

COLUMBIA, South Carolina - Prescription painkiller abuse is rampant in South Carolina, but there's no statewide effort to combat it, the state inspector general said Monday.

4 ND cases tied to multistate salmonella outbreak

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:55:18 -0400

BISMARCK, North Dakota - North Dakota officials have linked four cases of salmonella infection to a multistate outbreak associated with baby chicks.

Measles surges in UK years after flawed research

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:44:00 -0400

LONDON - More than a decade ago, British parents refused to give measles shots to at least a million children because of now discredited research that linked the vaccine to autism. Now, health officials are scrambling to catch up and stop a growing epidemic of the contagious disease.

Court: woman can seek lawyer fees in vaccine case

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:23:20 -0400

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court says a woman can seek lawyers' fees from the government even though her lawsuit over damage she said was caused by a vaccine was ruled untimely.