Free Republic

A child who died in a Texas hospital after developing pneumonia following a measles infection died as a result of “medical error” — including failure to administer the correct antibiotic in time, according to a medical expert who reviewed the child’s medical records. Children’s Health Defense (CHD) obtained the medical records from the family of the 6-year-old girl. The parents said they wanted people to know what happened to their daughter so it wouldn’t happen to other children. Dr. Pierre Kory, who has extensive experience in pulmonary and critical care medicine, analyzed the records and said ... "this case was...

Ailing Pope Francis’ health deteriorates as he has suffered a worrying breathing crisis, Vatican sources reveal. In his 13th day in the hospital, the pontiff suffered a bout of bronchospasm, with caused him to breath vomit, among other complications. The Sun reported: “Vatican insiders detailed the alarming episode, stating: ‘This afternoon, after a morning spent alternating respiratory physiotherapy with prayer in the chapel, the Holy Father presented an isolated attack of bronchospasm which, however, led to an episode of vomiting with inhalation and a sudden worsening of his respiratory condition’.

Pope Francis is suffering from pneumonia but is nevertheless in “good spirits”, the Vatican has said.The Holy See has been forced to cancel this weekend’s Holy Year events, the Vatican added, after scans of his chest on Tuesday which revealed the inflammatory condition in both lungs.In a statement, the Vatican said: “The follow-up chest CT scan to which the Holy Father underwent this afternoon... demonstrated the onset of bilateral pneumonia, which required additional drug therapy.”

Former CNN chief anchor Bernard Shaw died Wednesday at the age of 82. Shaw died of phenomena unrelated to the coronavirus, according to his family in a statement to CNN.

Two men from New York died from pneumonia they contracted from bat feces — after they used the excrement as fertilizer to grow marijuana, a new study found. The unidentified men from Rochester, ages 64 and 59, smoked pot that had been tainted with a fungus found in the bat droppings, known as guano, that caused fatal lung infections, according to a study published in Open Forum Infectious Disease earlier this month. Their deaths were not connected to each other, which the researchers said highlights a growing trend of using bat waste to produce marijuana since the drug has been...

After they struggled with COVID-19 symptoms for two weeks, Joel Mahoney drove his parents to Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, where his mother, Nancy Mahoney, was admitted on Dec. 19, 2021 for complaints of labored breathing, fatigue and a cough. She was treated for COVID pneumonia that required supplemental oxygen. She told the hospitalist treating her that a doctor, Ellsworth internist Meryl Nass, had diagnosed her with COVID “over the phone” earlier that month and prescribed a five-day supply of the antiparasitic drug ivermectin. The proponents of using the drug to treat COVID have been roundly criticized, and the...

Avery Koonce, 19, of Tyler, Texas, died Sept. 4 as the result of “paeniclostridium sordelli sepsis complicating parainfluenza laryngotraceobronchitis,” according to an autopsy report from the El Paso County Coroner’s Office. “In essence she died of untreated pneumonia,” said famed forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Baden, who reviewed the autopsy report obtained by The Post. The coroner described paeniclostridium sordelli as a “relatively rare but potentially fatal anaerobic bacteria” that is “associated with a toxic shock-like syndrome that can rapidly progress to death.” But it was “secondary” to the parainfluenza — or viral lung infection — the coroner’s report found. ......

Convicted and imprisoned former Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein has been hospitalized for a “myriad of health conditions” and has tested positive for Covid-19 and double pneumonia, a representative said. Weinstein was taken to the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward, his representative and prison consultant Craig Rothfeld said. New York Corrections Department records also show that Weinstein, 72, is at Bellevue. Weinstein was taken to the hospital to be treated for the "conditions that he is still afflicted with on a daily basis such as diabetes, high blood pressure, spinal stenosis, fluid on his heart and lungs, and various other conditions,"...

My doctor has been pushing me to get the 23 valent pneumonia vaccination. I already had the PCV 15. Any recommendations from health professionals on site would be appreciated. Thanks.

A mystery dog disease which began to sweep the US last summer is still being investigated. Vet labs in many states are looking into a new, unusual disease that's been threatening the pet population and worrying animal health professionals, who are working tirelessly to determine the cause of the mysterious disease and work on cures. Described as a respiratory disease and pneumonia that doesn't respond to antibiotics, the symptoms of the new disease include coughing, sneezing, discharge from the eyes or nose and general fatigue. The illness is progressing quickly in some dogs, researchers say, with a few falling severely...

Less is also better—that is what researchers have found while conducting a tri-nation clinical trial to see if shorter courses of antibiotics are as effective as longer prescriptions of the drug to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia. The four-year long study involved 460 patients. While personalized short-course treatment duration for patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was just as effective in comparison to the standard treatment duration, the short-course treatment strategy also successfully reduced antibiotic side effects from 38% to 8%. VAP is a common lung infection among critically ill patients who are dependent on ventilators to breathe. The infection risk of death...

A mystery outbreak of pneumonia has hit several parts of China, and now Ohio is the first American location to report an outbreak of the illness, with an ‘extremely high’ number of children being hospitalized. The strain of pneumonia, now dubbed ‘white lung syndrome,’ has spawned 142 pediatric cases in Warren County since August. Warren County Health Department told Daily Mail, that not only is the number of cases above average, but it also meets the Ohio Department of Health’s definition of an outbreak. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that nationally, cases are not out of the...

An 'extremely high' number of children are being diagnosed with pneumonia in Ohio — which is now the first US state to report an outbreak like the one in China. Health officials in Warren County, 30 miles north of Cincinnati, said there have been 142 pediatric cases of the condition — dubbed 'white lung syndrome' — since August. 'Not only is this above the county average, it also meets the Ohio Department of Health definition of an outbreak,' the county's health department said Wednesday. The spread of cases has raised fears that an American outbreak of the infection that has...

An 'extremely high' number of children are being diagnosed with pneumonia in Ohio — which is now the first US state to report an outbreak like the one in China. Health officials in Warren County, 30 miles north of Cincinnati, said there have been 142 pediatric cases of the condition — dubbed 'white lung syndrome' — since August. 'Not only is this above the county average, it also meets the Ohio Department of Health definition of an outbreak,' the county's health department said Wednesday. The spread of cases has raised fears that an American outbreak of the infection that has...

Several countries are taking steps to prepare against the spread contagious respiratory illnesses as China battles a concerning spike in pneumonia cases. Many parts of China have been hit by the surprising surge in the illness, which has particularly impacted children. Northern provinces in China have experienced a jump in flu-like illnesses for five weeks straight since mid-October. The fast spread of the COVID-19 in 2020 prompted extreme public health restrictions and quarantine measures, and several nations are on edge given the uptick in illnesses in China. The ailments have stretched China's hospital system and are reminiscent of the coronavirus...

HONG KONG — Hospitals in northern China appear to be “overwhelmed with sick children” as the country grapples with a surge in respiratory illnesses and clusters of pneumonia, prompting the World Health Organization to ask Beijing for more data.

A study reveals that the use of doxycycline may help protect against Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) infection for some patients with pneumonia. Specifically, study authors found that for hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia who had experienced C. diff infections in the prior year, the use of doxycycline, instead of the more commonly used azithromycin, reduced the development of new C. diff infections by 45%. More than a third of patients who suffer a C. diff infection will go on to have another in the future. For patients who are admitted to a hospital with pneumonia, clinical guidelines typically recommend the...

Retton, who won the Olympic individual all-around gold medal at the 1984 games, is battling a "very rare form of pneumonia," her daughter wrote on a fundraising page.Mary Lou Retton, a former Olympic gymnast, is “fighting for her life” in the intensive care unit with pneumonia, her daughter McKenna Kelley said. Kelley shared the news on her Instagram Story Tuesday as well as a link to a Spotfund page dedicated to her mom. In a message on the fundraising page, Retton’s daughters wrote, “My amazing mom, Mary Lou, has a very rare form of pneumonia and is fighting for her...

On March 3, an illegal bio lab was discovered in a believed-to-be vacant building in Reedley, California in Fresno County. City code enforcement stumbled upon the building in December 2022 when they discovered a garden hose running up into the building through a hole in the wall. In March, they obtained a warrant to inspect the property, and in April, the Fresno County Department of Public Health ordered an inspection of the facility. Investigators inspected the building that contained the lab in July and found a room used to make COVID-19 tests and pregnancy tests. They also found over 35...

You would think that this would get a bit more attention than it has. It certainly piqued my interest when I saw it.A China-linked company ran a grossly unsafe bio lab filled with deadly pathogens in a supposedly empty warehouse in Fresno, California. A company without much of a backstory, addresses that don’t exist, and a president who can only be reached by email.China-linked Bio Lab in Fresno Co, California Had Over 900 Mice “Genetically Engineered to Catch and Carry the Covid-19 Virus” https://t.co/SAvzAx53gU— The Gateway Pundit (@gatewaypundit) July 29, 2023No, this is not the plot of a bad movie....