Reuters
Health - Reuters

MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria strain is seen in a petri dish containing agar jelly for bacterial culture in a microbiological laboratory in Berlin March 1, 2008. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

Drug-resistant bacteria on increase in U.S.: study

Tue Nov 24, 12:41 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cases of a drug-resistant bacterial infection known as MRSA have risen by 90 percent since 1999, and they are increasingly being acquired outside hospitals, researchers reported on Tuesday.

  • Sun An, originally from Korea, covers her face with a tissue, as a precaution against the Swine Flu virus, as she waits for her incoming sister arriving from Korea at the Bradley Terminal at the Los Angeles International Airport  Tuesday Nov. 24, 2009 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
    WHO probing drug resistant swine flu Tue Nov 24, 12:46 PM ET

    GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization is looking into reports in Britain and the United States that the H1N1 flu may have developed resistance to Tamiflu in people with severely suppressed immune systems, a spokesman said Tuesday.

  • University students carry large red ribbons on a street during an HIV/AIDS awareness rally ahead of World AIDS day in Shenyang, Liaoning province November 29, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer
    Over 33 million infected with AIDS virus: U.N. Tue Nov 24, 6:40 AM ET

    SHANGHAI (Reuters) - An estimated 33.4 million people worldwide are infected with the AIDS virus, up from 33 million in 2007, but more people are living longer due to the availability of drugs, according to a United Nations report.

  • 'Covert' coping with job conflict ups heart risk Tue Nov 24, 11:13 AM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Walking away or letting things pass may be an unhealthy way to deal with unfair treatment on the job, research from Sweden shows.

  • Antioxidants could help preserve muscle strength Tue Nov 24, 4:16 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In a study in older adults, dietary intake of vitamins C and E was linked with muscle strength, leading the researchers to suggest at a meeting in Atlanta this past weekend that a diet high in antioxidants could play an important role in preserving muscle function in older adults

  • Fertility drugs may pose some uterine cancer risk Tue Nov 24, 4:19 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Though the use of fertility drugs does not seem to generally increase uterine cancer risk, a Danish study identified small increases in risk from certain fertility drugs used for longer duration.

  • Consumer ads pump up prescription drug costs Tue Nov 24, 12:22 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Medicaid pharmacy costs for the blood-thinning drug Plavix jumped at around the same time the drug's maker started advertising it to consumers -- even though the number of people prescribed the drug didn't change, new research shows.

  • Co-ed dorms linked to more drinking, sex Tue Nov 24, 1:37 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In findings that may confirm parents' worries, a new study suggests that co-ed college dorms are encouraging kids to drink heavily and have more sex.

  • A boy crosses a flowing stream of raw sewage in front of his home in the Mbare neighbourhood of Zimbabwe's capital Harare, June 1, 2009. REUTERS/Philimon Bulawayo
    Zimbabwe child mortality up 20 percent, U.N. says Tue Nov 24, 12:21 PM ET

    HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's infant mortality rate has risen by 20 percent over the past two decades as children under five succumb to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and pneumonia, a joint government and United Nations survey showed on Tuesday.

  • Venezuelans borrow for plastic surgery in hard times Tue Nov 24, 12:04 PM ET

    CARACAS (Reuters) - Unfazed by a recession and rampant inflation, image-conscious Venezuelans show no signs of cutting back on the facelifts, liposuction, and breast augmentation that have become de rigueur beauty treatments.

  • Exposure to smoke, lead ups risk of ADHD Tue Nov 24, 10:55 AM ET

    By Megan Brooks NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - If you need another reason to stop smoking while pregnant, or to rid your home of lead, a new study suggests that children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy and who are exposed to the metal have more than twice the usual risk of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Study co-author Dr.

  • Italy finds proposal to skip lunch hard to digest Tue Nov 24, 5:54 AM ET

    ROME (Reuters) - Food-loving Italy responded with indignation on Tuesday to a minister's comments that lunchbreaks -- still a sit-down ritual for many Italian workers -- are bad for waistlines and the economy, and should be skipped.

  • Meet flu's rival in kids: respiratory syncytial virus Tue Nov 24, 11:09 AM ET

    By Megan Brooks NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - With all the public's attention focused on flu, particularly H1N1 swine flu, doctors in Boston are warning that another highly contagious seasonal virus takes a substantially greater toll in some ways than does seasonal flu, particularly in young children.

  • Child care doubles TV time for some children Tue Nov 24, 10:52 AM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Think you know how much TV your kid is watching? If you're not taking the time they spend in child care into account, you may be way off, according to a study from the University of Washington in Seattle.

  • Selenium supplementation may boost cholesterol Tue Nov 24, 10:42 AM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Taking too much selenium, an essential mineral touted for immune boosting and anti-cancer benefits, could increase cholesterol levels by 10 percent and, as a result, raise the risk of heart disease, a new study suggests.

  • A special agent looks into the files of healthcare fraud cases at a warehouse near Miami, Florida November 23, 2009. It's a crime so profitable that even dead people are in on the act and law enforcement experts, who say it costs U.S. taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars a year, see little hope of reining it in any time soon. Healthcare fraud has garnered increased attention amid the congressional debate about overhauling the U.S. healthcare system, especially since President Barack Obama wants to cover some of the cost of reforms by fighting abuse. Picture taken November 23, 2009. To match feature USA-HEALTHCARE/FRAUD  REUTERS/Carlos Barria (UNITED STATES HEALTH CRIME LAW BUSINESS)
    Healthcare reform faces challenges in Senate Mon Nov 23, 11:47 AM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's U.S. healthcare overhaul plan has cleared an important Senate hurdle but lawmakers warned on Sunday of challenges ahead in winning support for passage, even among Obama's own Democrats.

  • Swine flu shots are advertised outside of Airport MD at Miami International Airport in Miami Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
    Swine flu may have hit one peak; more to come Mon Nov 23, 12:00 PM ET

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

  • Vioxx risks could have been detected earlier: study Mon Nov 23, 5:33 PM ET

    CHICAGO (Reuters) - Heart risks from taking Merck & Co Inc's painkiller Vioxx could have been detected more than three years before the company withdrew the drug from the market in September 2004, had the data been openly available, U.S. researchers said on Monday.

  • Health care reform may hurt hospital credit Mon Nov 23, 2:45 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters) - High-cost urban U.S. hospitals may face debt rating downgrades if large cuts to Medicare funding are implemented as part of U.S. health care reform, Moody's Investors Service said on Monday.

  • Psychotropic drugs boost fall risk in the elderly Mon Nov 23, 5:21 PM ET

    NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new analysis of studies including nearly 80,000 people aged 60 and older confirms that certain types of widely prescribed drugs, such as antidepressants and sedatives, can increase their risk of falling.