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The infamous Black Death -- a pandemic that killed as many as one third to one half of Europeans within just a few years -- may have been aided in its devastation by an unknown volcanic eruption.That's the hypothesis presented in research published December 4 in Communications Earth & Environment, which argues that the eruption triggered several seasons of climate instability and crop failures. That instability, in turn, forced several Italian states to import grain stores from new sources -- specifically, from regions surrounding the Black Sea. Riding along on those grain stores, the researchers posit, were fleas infected with...

"...the New York City Health Department warns that “progress toward ending the HIV epidemic in New York City has slowed at a time when federal funding for HIV testing, treatment and prevention is under significant threat.” ... "...,the health department reports that 1,791 people were newly diagnosed in 2024. This marks a 5.4% increase from 2023. In total, the surveillance data show that 136,034 people report living with HIV. Of those, 68,600 have AIDS. (New York City’s population is nearly 8.5 million.)"

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States and Europe face a new health threat from a mosquito-borne disease far more unpleasant than the West Nile virus. Chikungunya virus has spread beyond Africa since 2005, causing outbreaks and scores of fatalities in India and the French island of Reunion. It also has been detected in Italy, where it has begun to spread locally, as well as France. Unlike West Nile virus, where nine out of 10 people are going to be totally asymptomatic, or may have a mild headache or a stiff neck, if you get Chikungunya you're going to be sick....

Gov. Greg Abbott originally called for the removal of rainbow crosswalks and other symbols of pride from public roads across Texas on Oct. 8, saying they pose safety concerns and misuse taxpayer dollars. In a statement, Abbott said any city that does not comply within 30 days could risk the “withholding or denial of state and federal road funding and suspension of agreements with TxDOT.” Almost a month later, the City of Dallas has submitted a request for an exception from compliance with the standards outlined in the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) October letter. "The City of Dallas installs...

A Maryland mayor’s decision to eliminate the city’s only rainbow crosswalks has become the latest flash point in a nationwide campaign to strip LGBTQ+ symbols from public spaces. The Salisbury crosswalks, installed in 2018 and repainted each year by volunteers, were removed on November 11 after Salisbury Mayor Randy Taylor ordered crews to mill away the paint at dawn, The Washington Post reports. Taylor, who narrowly won office in 2023, said the city must ensure “neutrality” on government property.

bout two years ago, an HIV outbreak was first identified in Penobscot County, Maine, home of Bangor. In recent weeks, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed another case, bringing the total of new HIV diagnoses in the cluster to 30. Of note, 29 of those people were coinfected with hepatitis C virus; 29 reported injection drug use within a year of their HIV diagnoses; 27 have been unhoused within a year of diagnoses; 20 were linked to care within 30 days of diagnoses; and 16 of the 27 people currently living in Maine were virally suppressed at...

The United States will need more than 1,500 additional experienced HIV health care providers to meet goals for HIV testing and treatment, according to an analysis presented at IDWeek 2025. The study identified substantial geographic and racial/ethnic disparities, with especially pressing shortages in the South. As HIV treatment has improved, fewer people living with the virus are developing advanced immune suppression and opportunistic illnesses. Modern antiretroviral therapy is highly effective and generally convenient and well tolerated, so some routine HIV care can now be managed by primary care providers. But people aging with HIV have a host of coexisting health...

Treatment Action Group (TAG) is profoundly disappointed and outraged at the lack of health care protections for people living with and affected by HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and hepatitis C (HCV) in the bill to end the U.S. government shutdown. With only a promise of a future vote to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, millions of people now face unaffordable health insurance costs. As we approach World AIDS Day on December 1, we demand that legislators defend access and affordability of health care, especially for those with preexisting conditions. Several of the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills, which...

A 47-year-old airline pilot from New Jersey is the first person known to have died from alpha-gal syndrome, a red meat allergy caused by a tick bite. Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine publicly reported the cause of death Wednesday after months of investigation. Their findings were published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice. The man’s death had previously been seen as a mystery, since medical examinations showed no evidence of a heart attack or other life-threatening issues. According to the researchers, the man started feeling sick four hours after consuming a hamburger...

A study presented at the recent 20th European AIDS Conference (EACS 2025) has found that the apparent rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs), at least in gay and bisexual men with HIV in France, are due to more frequent testing rather than more infections. Dr Sophie Novelli of the Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (CESP) of the French national scientific health research agency INSERM presented data from 2016 to 2023 taken from the PRIMO cohort. PRIMO is a long-standing cohort, founded in 1996, of people diagnosed with HIV during very early infection. It includes men and women of all...

Just 40 percent of the $110 billion the United States has invested into global HIV/AIDS prevention since 2003 actually went toward on-the-ground deliveries of life-saving medical supplies, with at least two recipients using more than $30 billion in taxpayer money to pay "exorbitant" executive salaries and push "leftwing ideology," a State Department audit found. When the Trump administration unveiled its "America First Global Health Strategy" earlier this month, it contended the nation’s "foreign assistance programs are deeply broken" and often plagued by fraud, mismanagement, and waste. An internal State Department review of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)...

Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry's, has resigned because the company they sold to back in 2000, Unilever, doesn't want them to be woke anymore. I have to give you the full text because it's hilarious. Grab your popcorn. It's with a broken heart that l've decided I can no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee of Ben & Jerry's. I am resigning from the company Ben and I started back in 1978. This is one of the hardest and most painful decisions l've ever made. This isn't because l've lost my love for...

Chagas disease, a potentially deadly condition caused by an infected triatomine insect or "kissing bug," may be becoming endemic in the United States, according to a new report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. "Autochthonous (or, locally acquired) human cases have been reported in 8 states, most notably in Texas. Labeling the United States as non-Chagas disease-endemic perpetuates low awareness and underreporting," the report noted, adding the insect has been reported in 32 states. Other states with human cases include California, Arizona, Tennessee, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi and Arkansas.

DAKAR, Senegal — (AP) — Congo’s health ministry on Thursday announced a new Ebola outbreak, the 16th in the central African country, after a case was confirmed in the southern Kasai province. “To date, the provisional report shows 28 suspected cases and 15 deaths, including 14 in Boulapé and 1 in Mweka, as well as four healthcare workers,” said Samuel-Roger Kamba, Congo’s health minister. He added that the case fatality rate, estimated at 53.6%, showed the gravity of the situation. He said that the figures were provisional and research was ongoing. The suspected cases and deaths presented symptoms such fever,...

Health officials upgraded a recent travel warning amid a concerning surge of a mosquito-borne illness that causes pain potentially lasting for years. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued a Level 2 travel warning for Guangdong Province in China, advising visitors to “practice enhanced precautions” due to an outbreak of chikungunya. The outbreak has shaken the province, with Foshan city at the epicenter, sparking an aggressive response from authorities that some are comparing to early COVID-era measures. Thousands of people in China have been infected with the painful virus. It’s an illness that is spread when a mosquito...

Monkey Pox Dr. Demetre Daskalakis Back in September 2023, Joe Biden announced a new team to lead the White House’s national monkeypox response. Biden named Dr. Demetre Daskalakis as the White House National Monkeypox Response Deputy Coordinator. Demetre Daskalakis Instagram On Wednesday Dr. Daskalakis turned in his resignation at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). His resignation came hours after news broke that CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted from the agency. His resignation comes on the same day that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a slew of changes to limit access to...

A team of investigators report that adults who later develop cardiovascular disease show declining physical activity levels beginning roughly 12 years before their event, with the gap versus their healthy peers persisting long afterward. Scientists analyzed data from 3,068 participants in CARDIA, a prospective study initiated in 1985–1986 with up to 10 physical activity assessments through 2020–2022. Participants were followed in four US cities with a median follow-up of 34.0 years. Physical activity decreased steadily from young adulthood into middle age, then stabilized in later years across the full cohort. Black men had a more sustained decline, while Black women...

Ivermectin administered to the whole population significantly reduces malaria transmission, offering new hope in the fight against the disease. The BOHEMIA trial, the largest study on ivermectin for malaria to date, showed a 26% reduction in new malaria infection on top of existing bed nets, providing strong evidence of ivermectin's potential as a complementary tool in malaria control. Ivermectin, a drug traditionally used to treat neglected tropical diseases like onchocerciasis, which causes river blindness, and lymphatic filariasis, which causes elephantiasis, has been shown to reduce malaria transmission by killing the mosquitoes that feed on treated individuals. Given the rising resistance...

Eight essential nutrients make up the suite of B vitamins also known as the B complex. Research has revealed that these B vitamins influence a vast spectrum of human health and disease. "It's hard to study the B vitamins in isolation," says gastroenterologist Joel Mason. "Four of these B-vitamins cooperate as co-factors in many critical activities in cells in what we call 'one carbon metabolism.'" One of the most active areas for B vitamin research is cognitive health. By the age of 75–80, 40% of people have a diminished ability to absorb food-bound B12, says Mason. This deficiency leads to...

Researchers have linked brighter night-time light exposure to elevated risks of five major cardiovascular diseases. Circadian rhythms govern fluctuations in blood pressure, heart rate, platelet activation, hormone secretion, and glucose metabolism. Long-term disruption of those rhythms in animal and human studies have produced myocardial fibrosis, hypertension, inflammation, and impaired autonomic balance. Researchers conducted a prospective cohort analysis to assess whether day and night light exposure predicts incidence of cardiovascular diseases and whether relationships vary with genetic susceptibility, sex, and age. Data came from 88,905 UK Biobank participants, average age 62.4 ± 7.8 years and 56.9% female, who wore wrist-based light...