DEVI SHASTRI

AP Health Writer
FILE - Turkeys gather together at a farm in Lebanon, Pa., on April 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
USDA moves to limit salmonella in raw poultry products
Federal officials are moving to set new limits on salmonella in raw poultry products in the U.S. The Agriculture Department’s proposal is aimed at reducing the number of people who get sick.
 
This photo provided by the family in 2024 shows Gary Baulos, left, with his daughter, Alison, and her daughter, Athena, at the Art Institute of Chicago. Alison Baulos says her 73-year-old father was about to head to a Kentucky hospital for open-heart surgery when it was abruptly canceled Friday morning, July 19, 2024. His was one of the many operations and medical treatments halted across the country Friday because of a global technology outage. (Courtesy Alison Baulos via AP)
Tech outage halts surgeries, medical treatments across the US
A global technology outage has curtailed treatment at hospitals across the country. Medical centers reported Friday morning that they were postponing procedures, suspending hospital visits and delaying treatments.
 
FILE - In this Aug. 10, 2019 file photo, a sign warning of bubonic plague is displayed at a parking lot near the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge in Commerce City, Colo. The bacteria which causes the disease is transmitted through the bites of infected fleas, which spread it between rodents, pets and humans. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The plague rarely affects humans, though the US sees about 7 cases a year. Here’s why
Colorado health officials have confirmed a human case of the plague. The rare bacterial infection is infamously known for killing tens of millions in 14th century Europe. Today, it’s easily treated with antibiotics.
 
This microscope photo provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows gram-negative, Haemophilus influenzae bacteria. The microorganism is one of the more common causes of pink eye in children. (William B. Cherry/CDC via AP)
Most kids get antibiotics for pink eye, study shows. Experts say they’re usually not needed
Researchers say doctors are prescribing antibiotics to most kids and teens who have pink eye, despite guidelines that discourage their use.
 
FILE - Claire Fritz rallies for abortion rights at the Capitol, in Austin, Texas, May 14, 2022. A new study released by Johns Hopkins University on Monday, June 24, 2024, shows the infant death rate in Texas went up in the wake of the state's abortion ban. ( Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP, File)
Infant mortality rate rose 8% in wake of Texas abortion ban, study shows
A new study shows the infant death rate in Texas went up in the wake of the state’s abortion ban. The analysis published Monday out of Johns Hopkins University is the latest research to find higher infant mortality rates in states with abortion restrictions.
 
FILE - A woman walks to her room at a senior care home in Calistoga, Calif., on Dec. 5, 2019. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)
Lower your risk of falling as you get older with these simple steps
One in four older adults in the U.S. fall each year, putting them at risk of injury, broken bones and even death. Falls are not inevitable.
 
FILE - A sign at an Abbott Laboratories campus facility is displayed, April 28, 2016, in Lake Forest, Ill. A report released on Thursday, June 13, 2024, says the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took more than 15 months to act on a whistleblower complaint it received about conditions at an Abbott Nutrition factory that was at the center of a nationwide shortage of infant formula. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh, File)
FDA took months to react to complaint about Abbott infant formula factory, audit finds
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration took 15 months to act on a whistleblower complaint about the Abbott Nutrition factory at the center 2022’s nationwide infant formula shortage.
 
Camilla Hancock fills a prescription at Basin Pharmacy in Basin, Wyo., on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024. “We’ve definitely tried to do everything we can to run lean to find other options to try and make money to keep our doors open so we can continue to serve patients,” Hancock says. “But when you’re working so hard and you’re trying your darndest to accomplish these things, and you just kind of get kicked in the gut over and over, it’s really disheartening.” (AP Photo/Mike Clark)
Rural pharmacies fill a health care gap in the US. Owners say it’s getting harder to stay open
Rural pharmacies can be a touchstone for their communities. The staff knows everyone’s names and drugs, answers questions about residents’ mail-order prescriptions or can spot the signs of serious illness.
 
FILE - Ground beef is displayed for sale at a market in Washington, Saturday, April 1, 2017. The U.S. Department of Agriculture will test ground beef samples for bird flu particles, though officials said Tuesday, April 30, 2024, they're confident the nation's meat supply is safe. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
The USDA is testing ground beef for bird flu. Experts are confident the meat supply is safe
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will test ground beef for bird flu. Officials say they’re confident that the nation’s meat supply is safe, but are launching the studies after inactive viral particles were found in pasteurized milk.
 
FILE - An oak tree with new leaf growth also shows pollen and a drop of water hanging among the branches at a park in Richardson, Texas, Thursday, March 21, 2024. There are three main types of pollen. Earlier in the spring, tree pollen is the main culprit. After that grasses pollinate, followed by weeds in the late summer and early fall. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
Allergies can make you miserable. Here’s how to track pollen levels near you
Allergy season is here, but it doesn’t have to make you miserable. Experts say people can manage most symptoms by using over-the-counter medicines and knowing pollen levels.
 
A patient receives a Botox injection at a clinic in Arlington, Va., on June 5, 2009. On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a warning about counterfeit Botox injections after more than 20 people got sick. All of the people told health officials that they got the shots from unlicensed individuals or in settings like homes or spas. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
US health officials warn of counterfeit Botox injections
U.S. health officials are warning of counterfeit Botox injections after more than 20 people got sick. All of the people told health officials that they got the shots from unlicensed individuals or in settings like homes or spas.
 
FILE - In this March 27, 2019, file photo, a woman receives a measles, mumps and rubella vaccine at the Rockland County Health Department in Pomona, N.Y. Measles outbreaks in the U.S. and abroad are raising health experts' concern about the preventable, once-common childhood virus. The CDC on Thursday, April 11, 2024 released a report on recent measles case trends, noting that cases in the first three months of this year were 17 times higher than the average number seen in the first three months of the previous three years. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
US measles cases are up in 2024. What’s driving the increase?
There have been 17 times as many U.S. measles cases in the first three months of this year compared with the average number seen in the first three months of the previous three years. That’s according to a government report published Thursday.
 
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes speaks to reporters at the state Capitol in Phoenix on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jonathan Copper)
Arizona’s abortion ban is likely to cause a scramble for services in states where it’s still legal
Doctors and clinic leaders say there’ll be a scramble across the Southwest and West for abortion care. The Arizona Supreme Court said this week officials may enforce an 1864 law criminalizing abortion except when a woman’s life is at stake.
 
The branches of an oak tree are stained with a green tint from pollen at park in Richardson, Texas, Thursday, March 21, 2024. The 2024 allergy season in the U.S. is starting sooner than experts expected. There are three main types of pollen that cause seasonal allergies. Earlier in the spring, tree pollen is the main culprit. After that grasses pollinate, followed by weeds in the late summer and early fall. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
Allergy season arrived early in US. Here’s how to keep pollen from ruining your spring
Allergy season in the U.S. is starting sooner than experts expected. Experts say climate change is leading trees and grasses to pollinate longer and more intensely.
 
FILE - A dental X-ray is displayed in St. Johnsbury, Vt., on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007. The American Dental Association Council on Scientific Affairs said Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024, it will no longer recommend the use of lead aprons and thyroid collars on patients who are getting dental X-rays. (AP Photo/Toby Talbot, File)
Getting a dental X-ray? A new recommendation says you don’t need a lead apron
People do not need to wear lead aprons or thyroid collars when getting X-rays at the dentist. That’s according to the American Dental Association. The new recommendation is just that, however.
 
Dr. Matthew Kusher, clinical director of Plaza del Sol Family Health Center checks a patient at the Plaza Del Sol Family Health Center in the Queens borough in New York, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024. “What we provide here is only 20% of what goes toward somebody’s health,” Kusher said. “Their health is more driven by the other factors, more driven by the poverty, and the lack of access to food or clean water or healthy air.” (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Community health centers serve 1 in 11 Americans. They’re a safety net under stress
Federally funded community health centers serve 1 in 11 Americans. Most of them are low-income and many are underinsured.
 
FILE - Travis Jensen, of Dowagiac, Mich., finishes in first place, driving a John Deere 4640 in the 18,000 pound weight class division, during a farm tractor pulling competition, Aug. 14, 2023, at the Berrien County Youth Fair in Berrien Springs, Mich. A new estimate Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, shows hearing loss affects approximately 37.9 million Americans and is more common in rural areas than urban ones and in men than women. (Don Campbell /The Herald-Palladium via AP, File)
New estimate shows rural Americans and men are more likely to suffer from hearing loss
A new estimate shows hearing loss affects approximately 37.9 million Americans and is more common in rural areas than urban ones.
 
FILE - Opponents of a bill to repeal Connecticut's religious exemption for required school vaccinations march down Capitol Avenue before the State Senate voted on legislation on April 27, 2021, in Hartford, Conn. Connecticut eliminated its longstanding religious waiver for vaccinations in 2021, joining California, West Virginia, New York and Maine in allowing only medical exemptions. (Mark Mirko/Hartford Courant via AP, File)
Health officials push to get schoolchildren vaccinated as more US parents opt out
Parents are opting out of school vaccinations at the highest rate ever. Last school year, that amounted to 3% of U.S. children entering kindergarten.
 
FILE - CBD wax is displayed at a shop in Sunset Hills, Mo., on June 27, 2019. CBD use increased 50% in the past four years, according to a new survey published Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023, in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (Brian Munoz/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP, File)
More people are using CBD products. There’s still little research on the benefits and risks
A new survey shows 1 in 5 Americans used CBD in the past year. This is despite a lack of research on the benefits and risks of CBD and other compounds that come from hemp.
 
FILE - A nurse checks the vitals of a 33-year-old woman in Shreveport, La., on Oct. 9, 2021. A survey by KFF, a health policy research group, released Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023, shows 60% of Black patients said they prepare for insults or feel they have to be careful about their appearance in order to be treated fairly by health providers. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)
Patients of color more often brace for unfair treatment in health care, survey finds
A new survey shows 55% of Black patients said they feel like they must be very careful about their appearance to be treated fairly at medical visits.
 
FILE - Cantaloupes are displayed for sale in Virginia on Saturday, July 28, 2017. U.S. health officials recalled three more brands of whole and pre-cut cantaloupes Friday, Nov. 24, 2023 as the number of people sickened by salmonella more than doubled this week. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FDA expands cantaloupe recall after salmonella infections double in a week
The number of people sickened by salmonella from cut and whole cantaloupes has more than doubled in a week. Health officials have identified 99 infections across the U.S.
 
FILE - Owners bring their dogs to a park in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2022. Veterinary laboratories in several states, including Oregon, Colorado and New Hampshire, are investigating an unusual respiratory illness in dogs that causes lasting illness and doesn't respond to antibiotics. The Oregon Department of Agriculture, which is working with state researchers and the U.S. Deparment of Agriculture's National Veterinary Services Laboratory to find out what is causing the illnesses, has documented more than 200 cases of the disease since mid-August 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
Dogs are coming down with an unusual respiratory illness in several US states
Veterinary laboratories in several states are investigating an unusual respiratory illness in dogs. Oregon, Colorado and New Hampshire are among the states that have seen cases of the illness. It does not respond to antibiotics.
 
Julio Figuera, 43, has his temperature taken at the Cook County, Ill., medical clinic on Monday, Oct. 16, 2023, in Chicago. "I rarely get sick," he said. "It was the journey that got me sick." Figuera, developed pneumonia since arriving in the U.S. and has been living with hundreds of other asylum seekers at O'Hare International Airport while awaiting more city permanent shelter. When migrants began arriving in Chicago last year, city leaders tapped the county's health system to take over medical care. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
Migrants in cities across the US may need medical care. It’s not that easy to find
Migrants who have crossed the U.S.-Mexico border and travel to cities around the country are running into a disjointed health care systems when they need treatment.
 
FILE - A nurse practitioner holds a COVID-19 vaccine card at a New York Health and Hospitals vaccine clinic in the Brooklyn borough of New York on Jan. 10, 2021. Now that COVID-19 vaccines are being distributed through the commercial markets instead of by the federal government in 2023, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention won't be shipping out any more new cards. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
Say goodbye to the COVID-19 vaccination card. The CDC has stopped printing them
The once-critical white COVID-19 vaccination cards are being phased out. Vaccines are not being distributed by the federal government anymore, so the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stopped printing new cards.
 
FILE - A Moderna Spikevax COVID-19 vaccine is seen at a drugstore in Cypress, Texas on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2023. Since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention signed off on them for ages 6 months and up in September 2023, people seeking the newest COVID-19 vaccine are running into high demand, insurance headaches and supply delays coast to coast. (Melissa Phillip/Houston Chronicle via AP, File)
Booking a COVID-19 vaccine? Some are reporting canceled appointments or insurance issues
Pfizer and Moderna say they have sent out millions of doses of the new COVID-19 vaccines in the past week. But availability depends on where you live. People across the country are having trouble getting the new shots.
 
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