Health

Scott shows off ‘Sarina’ the AI avatar he created in the app Replika. — ABC News (NEW YORK) — As artificial intelligence gains more capabilities the public has flocked to apps like ChatGPT to produce content, have fun, and even to find companionship. “Scott,” an Ohio man who asked ABC News not to use his […]

urbazon/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Cases of invasive group A strep infections, which can cause severe illness and be deadly, remain elevated in some parts of the country, officials warned Wednesday. In a statement to ABC News, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that “preliminary” data from 2023 suggests cases have remained elevated […]

Allison Dinner/Bloomberg via Getty Images (NEW YORK) — Death rates from COVID-19 varied dramatically across the United States, a major new analysis finds. The report, published Monday in medical journal The Lancet, looked at the rate of deaths throughout the country between January 2020 and July 2022. COVID death rates in states like Arizona and New […]

Google Maps Street View (SANDPOINT, Idaho) — An Idaho hospital said it will no longer be providing obstetrical care due in part to the state’s “legal and political climate.” In a news release, Bonner General Health in Sandpoint — 400 miles north of Boise and serving about 9,000 people — said it would end its labor […]

Peter Dazeley/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Health Resources and Services Administration announced plans to overhaul the U.S. organ transplant system, after congressional scrutiny of the current operation — which critics said has poor oversight that has led to wasted organs, serious errors, and patient deaths. The department says it aims to modernize the IT systems, improve […]

Shana Novak/Getty Images (NEW YORK) — A new study is offering more information for women about whether the type of birth control they take increases their risk of breast cancer more than another. The study, published Monday in PLOS Medicine, found that new forms of progestin-only hormonal birth control — including pills, patches, implants and […]

Jrgen Hopf / EyeEm/ Getty Images (ATLANTA) — The death toll of an outbreak linked to contaminated recalled eye drops has risen and more people have lost their vision. According to an update issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday, the number of deaths has risen from one to three. What’s […]

FDA (NEW YORK) — Some of Gerber’s powdered infant formula products that were manufactured at a facility in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, have been voluntarily recalled due to possible bacterial contamination. The infant formulas are “being recalled out of an abundance of caution due to potential presence of cronobacter sakazakii,” Perrigo Company, which makes the recalled […]

WLADIMIR BULGAR/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images (WASHINGTON) — The Drug Enforcement Administration is warning that a powerful veterinary sedative is being combined illicitly with fentanyl, making it even more dangerous. DEA issued a public safety alert about the widespread threat posed by a mixture of a non-opioid animal sedative called xylazine, also known as “Tranq,” and fentanyl. […]

KATERYNA KON/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/Getty Images (ATLANTA) — A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed the fungus Candida auris is spreading rapidly through U.S. health care facilities. Also known as C. auris, reports of cases linked to the drug-resistant fungus have doubled in 2021. In addition, the fungus is behind an outbreak […]