Epidemic

As of this writing, the measles outbreak in Florida is up to nine cases, including the first one recorded outside the epicenter in Broward County, in the vicinity of Fort Lauderdale.Nine cases may not seem like a lot, but it’s enough to alarm epidemiologists. They point out that measles is among the most contagious viruses known to humankind, which means that the cases identified thus far are likely to be the tip of the iceberg.Who’s unconcerned? The chief public health official of the state of Florida, that’s who.…

The Current24:29Will lab-grown meat ever reach our plates?Read transcribed audio.What's cultivated, meat-like, and could help lower greenhouse gas emissions? Lab-grown meat — and it could be the future of protein.Sometimes known as cultured meat, lab-grown meat is unlike plant-based alternatives from companies such as Beyond Meat or Impossible Foods. Instead, it's made by taking a few stem cells from an animal's muscle, then placing them in a nutrient broth where they multiply and are triggered to turn into muscle…

February 19, 20244min readPeople struggling with addiction cite untreated withdrawal, pain, discrimination and stringent policies as reasons for leaving hospitals against medical advice. We need to take their complaints seriouslyBy Zoe Adams At 3 A.M., a high-pitched beep rang on my pager from a patient’s nurse. The page read: “Please come to bedside ASAP. Patient agitated and threatening to leave AMA. Security on their way.”Like many medical trainees, I have received countless pages like this one. Fred (not his real…

It is not just individual lives that are at risk. Democracy requires the capacity to feel connected to other citizens in order to work toward collective solutions.In the face of this crisis, tech companies offer a technological cure: emotionally intelligent chatbots. These digital friends, they say, can help alleviate the loneliness that threatens individual and national health.But as the pandemic showed, technology alone is not sufficient to address the complexities of public health. Science can produce miraculous…

Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain According to media reports, in 2023 the UK experienced an unprecedented wave of shoplifting. The theory goes that the cost of living crisis and poor police responses are driving a crime wave. Is that really true? Here, we assess six of the most popular assertions made about shoplifting in 2023. Are they myth or…

As a victim of the “troubled teen industry,” Paris Hilton spoke on Capitol Hill in 2021 to advocate on behalf of survivors of the controversial child-rehabilitation system. The opening moments of Netflix’s Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare features a clip of Hilton’s speech in front of Congress detailing her experience as a 17-year-old at Provo Canyon School, a youth treatment center in Utah. “I was strangled, slapped across the face, watched in the shower by male staff,” she says. Hilton’s story sets the tone for Hell…

This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.In Bangladesh, roughly 300,000 people have been infected with dengue this year during the country's worst-ever outbreak of the mosquito-transmitted disease. By mid-November, the death toll hit close to 1,500, as hospitals in the densely populated South Asian country struggled to cope with the surge in…

At some point in your life, you could have about a one in five chance of developing an autoimmune disease. The odds are greater if you are a woman, you have a genetic predisposition to autoimmunity, or you are exposed to certain pollutants. These diseases include more than 100 lifelong and costly illnesses such as type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and multiple sclerosis. They are often difficult to diagnose and currently impossible to cure.The effects of autoimmune disease are devastating. As a person’s own…

This story is part of CBC Health's Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven't subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.Shift workers sleeping at erratic hours. Students pulling all-nighters. Menopausal women tossing and turning in bed from hot flashes.There are a host of reasons why people have periods of poor sleep. And anyone who's endured back-to-back nights of sub-par slumber likely knows the result: Feelings of brain fog,…

A joint investigation reveals over 35,000 cases of sexual misconduct in NHS trusts between 2017 and 2022, prompting demands for an independent inquiry. With most incidents involving patients as perpetrators, the report suggests NHS is failing to safeguard staff and patients, has inadequate policies to deal with such cases, and a systemic reluctance to take strong disciplinary actions.Medical colleges and unions are calling on the government to initiate an independent investigation as NHS trusts are failing to protect…