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Superbug fungus cases rose dramatically during pandemic | HealthNews

The fungus, Candida auris, can be a fatal risk to fragile hospital and nursing home patients. Cases of a dangerous fungus tripled in the United States over just three years and more than half of the states have now reported it, according to a new study. The COVID-19 pandemic likely drove part of the increase, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wrote in a paper published on Monday by Annals of Internal Medicine. Hospital workers were strained by coronavirus patients, and that likely shifted their focus away from disinfecting some other kinds of germs, they said.…
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Catch it, Kill it, Bin it… Then What? – RoSPA Workplace Safety Blog

Core messaging during the COVID -19 pandemic has focused on the role each citizen plays in bringing the situation under control. Good hygiene and social distancing have been spoken about widely and it is acknowledged that the latter is the primary risk control measure. The role of key workers has also been widely discussed, such as the value of NHS staff and care workers, the role of educators and the rapid transition to home schooling. And as I sit here at home thinking about the 27 million households in the UK on lockdown, and the impact on people and their…
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Prescription for housing? California wants Medicaid to cover 6 months of rent

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose administration is struggling to contain a worsening homelessness crisis despite record spending, is trying something bold: tapping federal health care funding to cover rent for homeless people and those at risk of losing their housing. [–States are barred from using federal Medicaid dollars to pay directly for rent, but California’s governor is asking the administration of President Joe Biden, a fellow Democrat, to authorize a new program called “transitional rent,” which would provide up to six months of rent or temporary housing for low-income enrollees who rely on the state’s health care…
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Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE:BHC) Receives $10.25 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Bausch Health Companies Inc. (NYSE:BHC – Get Rating) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $10.25. Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Bausch Health Companies in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bausch Health Companies Stock Down 2.4 % Shares of NYSE BHC opened at $7.60 on…
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COVID: How different variants affected Canadian children

A new study of more than 1,400 Canadian children who contracted COVID-19 found that fever and cough were associated more heavily with Omicron and Delta variants, but that serious outcomes like hospitalization and being moved to the intensive care unit remained even across all variants. The fact that rates of hospitalization and being moved to the intensive care unit remained stable even with later variants could be a sign that when it comes to children, the virus is not getting milder, researchers said. “Unlike in adults, it does not appear that children are being less severely affected by emerging variants,…
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Experts warn that the Tik Tok trend of eating borax is highly dangerous

Health officials are fighting to convince people that one of the latest Tik Tok trends — adding borax to their drinking water to reduce inflammation and ease joint pain — is dangerous and can kill. Photo by Chemicalinterest/Wikimedia Commons July 22 (UPI) — Health officials are fighting to convince people that one of the latest Tik Tok trends — adding borax to their drinking water to reduce inflammation and ease joint pain — is dangerous and can kill. Borax is found in laundry detergents and in cleaning supplies. And another formulation of boric acid, boron, can kill cockroaches and other…
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Alberta wildfires: Experts address long-term mental, physical impacts of smoke

Summer in Alberta: another day, another smoke-filled sky. A shift in wind direction pushed smoke from the wildfires in northern Alberta — near High Level and Fort Chipewyan — and the Northwest Territories south into central and southern Alberta. “The bulk of the ongoing wildfire activity in our region is in the northern extreme of the province,” said Justin Shelley, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada. He said there’s been quite a bit of fire activity and the wind shift transported the smoke south. “It’s widespread across the province as of today,” Shelley said Friday. He said wind…
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‘Heat storm’ stretches into southern Europe

ROME – Italy issued hot weather red alerts for 16 cities on Sunday, with meteorologists warning that temperatures will hit record highs across southern Europe in the coming days. Spain, Italy and Greece have been experiencing scorching temperatures for several days already, damaging agriculture and leaving tourists scurrying for shade. But a new anticyclone dubbed Charon, who in Greek mythology was the ferryman of the dead, pushed into the region from north Africa on Sunday and could lift temperatures above 45 Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in parts of Italy early this week. “We need to prepare for a severe heat storm…