Wildfire Smoke Now Kills 41,000 Americans a Year, Study Finds

Every summer, hazy skies and the smell of burning wood remind Americans that wildfires affect far more than just the communities where they ignite.

Their smoke drifts for hundreds, even thousands of miles, darkening the air in cities across the nation. But the health impact goes far beyond watery eyes and coughs.

A new study shows wi...

Organ Donation Agency Could Be First Ever Shut Down by U.S. Government

Federal health officials have moved to close down a Miami-based organ donation agency, citing unsafe practices, missed donations and critical paperwork errors.

The Life Alliance Organ Recovery Agency, part of the University of Miami Health System, is one of 55 nonprofit organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States.

Th...

CDC Advisers Limit MMRV Combo Vaccine, Delay Hepatitis B Vote

Top vaccine advisers hand-selected by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voted Thursday to limit the use of a combination shot that protects against measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.

By an 8 to 3 vote, with one person abstaining, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended that the combined MMRV vaccine no...

West Coast States Issue Their Own COVID, Flu, RSV Vaccine Rules

Four Western states are taking a different approach from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on vaccines for COVID-19, flu and RSV.

California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington — now working together as the West Coast Health Alliance — issued joint guidance Wednesday encouraging broader vaccine use than what&...

Mouth Microbes Might Contribute To Pancreatic Cancer

A person’s risk of pancreatic cancer might be tied to the microbes living in their mouths, a new study says.

People have a more than tripled risk of pancreatic cancer if their mouths contain 27 types of bacteria and fungi, including some directly linked to gum disease, researchers reported Sept. 18 in JAMA Oncology.

&l...

Sepsis Risk Doubled With Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes appears to double a person’s risk for life-threatening sepsis, a new study says.

Men and people under 60 with diabetes are particularly at risk for sepsis, a condition in which the immune system overreacts to infection, researchers reported this week at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of D...