Health News

Muslim pilgrims circled Islam's holiest site Wednesday in their traditional white robes, with a few additions _ umbrellas and face masks _ as the opening of the annual hajj was complicated by torrential rains and fears of swine flu. Read More

There's no evidence that the swine flu vaccine is causing any serious side effects, U.S. health officials said Wednesday, in their first report on the safety of the new vaccine. Read More

Cutting global warming pollution would not only make the planet healthier, it would make people healthier too, new research suggests. Read More

China has detected eight people infected with mutated forms of the swine flu virus, a health official said Wednesday, but flu drugs and vaccines still work against it. Read More

Let us give thanks _ and pass the Purell. Read More

The virus that causes AIDS is now spreading fastest in China through heterosexual sex, a trend demanding new strategies to stave off a rebound in the epidemic after years of progress in containing it, a United Nations report said. Read More

China has detected eight cases of swine flu mutation, a health official said Wednesday, amid longstanding concerns among scientists that the virus could change into a more dangerous form. Read More

Just as the swine flu pandemic seems to be waning around the country, some health officials are worried that Thanksgiving gatherings could lead to more infections. So the government has launched a new travel-health campaign. Read More

Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 doses of swine flu vaccine while authorities investigate reports of allergic reactions among recipients, drug maker GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Tuesday. Read More

Canadian doctors have been advised not to use a batch of 170,000 swine flu vaccines after six reports of serious allergic reactions among recipients, but there are no similar reports from other countries, pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Tuesday. Read More

The number of people worldwide infected with the virus that causes AIDS — about 33 million — has remained virtually unchanged for the past two years, United Nations experts said Tuesday. Read More

Schoolteacher Kinzi Blair makes only $46,000 a year, but she has what many would consider a "Cadillac" health plan, now targeted for a big tax increase by health reformers. Read More

A man who emerged from what doctors thought was a vegetative state says he was fully conscious for 23 years but could not respond because he was paralyzed, his mother said Monday. Read More

Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday. Read More

Parents who thought their preschoolers were spending time in home-based day cares, taking naps, eating healthy snacks and learning to play nicely with others may be surprised to discover they are sitting as many as two hours a day in front of a TV, according to a study published Monday. Read More

Lawmakers broke along party lines on a new aspect of the health care debate Sunday as a former National Institutes of Health chief urged women to ignore guidelines that delay the start of breast cancer screenings. Read More

The former director of the National Institutes of Health is advising women to ignore new guidelines that delay the start of routine mammogram testing for breast cancer. Read More

Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday. Read More

The White House is on a collision course with Catholic bishops in an intractable dispute over abortion that could blow up the fragile political coalition behind President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. Read More

Several doctors groups and advocacy groups set guidelines for cancer screening, and they update that advice periodically as new information emerges. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't. Last year, a number of groups got together and issued consensus guidelines for colon cancer. Read More