13 h. ago UKHSA issues 'do not' warning to tackle one of 'UK's biggest health threats'

Health officials have advised Brits to "act now" and follow "simple steps" so that common infections don't become life-threatening

Events

68 h. ago Microplastics have a 'more reactive' counterpart that pose an unknown threat to human health

These counterparts to microplastics are smaller than 1/50th of a human hair and are far more reactive.

Events

4 d. ago Leona Lewis' secret health issue triggered major decision about her hairstyle

X Factor star Leona Lewis is best known for dominating the charts with her vocal ability, but she opened up on health discovery that meant her curly hair was under threat

Society

5 d. ago Could antibiotics stop working? Yes – but the biggest danger isn’t prescription

To prevent a catastrophic failure of the drugs modern medicine relies on, look to animal farming in middle-income countriesIf the antibiotics we use to treat infections ever stopped working, the consequences would be catastrophic. It is estimated that the use of antibiotics adds about 20 years of life expectancy for every person worldwide (on average). As the King’s Fund put it, if we lose antibiotics, “we would lose modern medicine as we know it”. Doctors, public health experts and governments take the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) very seriously, yet the problem appears to be getting worse.A report from the National Audit Office in February finds that out of five domestic targets set in 2019 to tackle AMR, only one has been met – to reduce antibiotic use in food-producing animals. Others, such as the target to reduce drug-resistant infections in humans by 10%, haven’t made much progress; in fact, these infections have actually increased by 13% since 2018.Prof Devi Sridh...

Politics

6 d. ago Why your muscles could be streaked with fat like bacon without you knowing

We all know to worry about fat around our waists or clogging our arteries. But now there is a new place to potentially be concerned about - secret stashes of fat accumulating in your muscles.

Politics

1 week ago Dying for Sex to The Bondsman: the seven best shows to stream this week

Michelle Williams stars in a beautiful and hilarious story about a woman with cancer embarking on a voyage of sexual discovery. Plus: Kevin Bacon plays a bounty hunter for the devil in his truly daft new showWho knows how they would react to receiving a life-threatening health diagnosis? The response of Molly Kochan was striking: when she was told her cancer was incurable, she left her husband for a voyage of sexual discovery. After all, the couple had stopped having sex anyway because of her chemotherapy (“You said my bald head made you think about my dad”). Based on a podcast about the final stages of Molly’s life, this comedy drama starring Michelle Williams is beautifully realised – a story about sex, love, friendship and grasping life’s intensity. It’s full of human warmth and complexity and, crucially, is very funny which is probably the only way such a story could be told. Disney+, from Friday 4 April Continue reading...

Events

1 week ago A patient finally got off the organ transplant list. A month later, they died of rabies

Michigan health officials say there is ‘no threat’ to the public after the first human case of the disease in the state in more than 15 years

Science

1 week ago Serious health issues including stroke and diabetes linked to microplastics found in food and water

This form of pollution represents an emerging health threat, researchers said.

Society

1 week ago Health experts reveal 24 infectious diseases that could pose major threat to public health

The list of 24 infectious diseases has been created to help scientists make new tests, vaccines and medication in preparation

Science

1 week ago UK experts urge prioritising research into 24 types of deadly pathogen families

UK Health Security Agency’s tool highlights viruses and bacteria, many not yet seen in the country, that could pose biosecurity riskDeadly disease-causing organisms from pathogen families that include bird flu, plague and Ebola pose a threat to health in the UK and should be prioritised for research, government experts have said.The first tool of its kind from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) lists 24 types of viruses and bacteria where a lack of vaccines, tests and treatment, changes due to the climate crisis or growing drug resistance pose a biosecurity risk. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago Officials list ‘priority pathogens’ that pose greatest risk to public health

The list of 24 pathogen families is the first to consider global health threats, as well as threats specific to the UK population.

Politics

2 w. ago How bottled water companies are draining our drinking water – video

As droughts become more prevalent, corporate control over our drinking water is threatening the health of water sources and the access people have to them. Josh Toussaint-Strauss explores how foreign multinational companies are extracting billions of litres of water from natural aquifers to sell back to the same communities from which it came – for huge profits‘It’s not drought - it’s looting’: the Spanish villages where people are forced to buy back their own drinking waterForeign firms taking billions of litres from UK aquifers to make bottled water Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Trump administration weighs deep cuts to CDC’s HIV prevention program

LGBT+ groups and public health advocates warn against potential threats that could jeopardize progress and ‘set us back decades’

Politics

2 w. ago Parents put on high alert over rash linked to 'highly infectious' illness

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued a warning after cases were reported, caused by the same bacteria as strep throat

Events

2 w. ago Listeria infection symptoms as outbreak linked to NHS desserts leaves one dead

The UKHSA warns that some people are at risk of life-threatening health problems after infection

Science

2 w. ago France preparing ‘survival manual’ for every household, report says

Booklet to give guidance on preparing for ‘imminent threats’ including armed conflict and natural disasterThe French government is reportedly planning to send a “survival manual” to every household in the country with instructions on how to prepare for an “imminent threat” including armed conflict, a health crisis or a natural disaster.If approved by François Bayrou, the prime minister, the 20-page booklet will be sent to households before the summer, French media reported. Continue reading...

Events

2 w. ago ‘It’s back to drug rationing’: the end of HIV was in sight. Then came the cuts

The abrupt halt to US funding threatens to undo decades of advances, dramatically increasing infections and deaths, but some see an opportunity for Africa to lead the responseThis year the world should have been “talking about the virtual elimination of HIV” in the near future. “Within five years,” says Prof Sharon Lewin, a leading researcher in the field. “Now that’s all very uncertain.”Scientific advances had allowed doctors and campaigners to feel optimistic that the end of HIV as a public health threat was just around the corner. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Neurodegenerative disorder could become ‘great public health threat’ affecting 25 million, study finds

More than 25 million people are expected to be diagnosed by 2050

Science

3 w. ago Wes Streeting threatens to defy trade unions and axe 'hundreds' more health quangos which he accuses of 'cluttering up' the NHS

West Streeting has raised eyebrows as he warned that there is 'far more change to come', saying the Government's move to abolish NHS England was just the tip of the iceberg.

Sport

3 w. ago Trump officials decimate climate protections and consider axeing key greenhouse gas finding

EPA takes aim at almost every major pollution rule in what environmentalists call act of ‘malice toward the planet’Donald Trump’s administration is to reconsider the official finding that greenhouse gases are harmful to public health, a move that threatens to rip apart the foundation of the US’s climate laws, amid a stunning barrage of actions to weaken or repeal a host of pollution limits upon power plants, cars and waterways.Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an extraordinary cavalcade of pollution rule rollbacks on Wednesday, led by the announcement it would potentially scrap a landmark 2009 finding by the US government that planet-heating gases, such carbon dioxide, pose a threat to human health. Continue reading...

Society