Centers for Disease Control and Prevention news and stories

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

CDC to baby boomers: Get tested for hepatitis C
All baby boomers should get a one-time blood test to learn if they have the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus, U.S. health officials said Thursday.
Doctors target gun violence as a social disease
Is a gun like a virus, a car, tobacco or alcohol? Yes say public health experts, who in the wake of recent mass shootings are calling for a fresh look ...
CDC: 158 cases of new swine flu strain from pigs
Don't pet the pigs. That's the message state and county fair visitors got Thursday from health officials who reported a five-fold increase of cases ...
HIV prevention pill for heterosexuals at risk too
U.S. health officials said Thursday that doctors should consider giving an AIDS prevention pill to women and heterosexual men who are at high risk for ...
Kids' cholesterol down; fewer trans fats cited
Finally some good news about cholesterol and kids: A big government study shows that in the past decade, the proportion of children who have high ...
CDC issues fair warning about pig flu
It's the season for state and county fairs, and health officials are reminding fairgoers to be careful around pigs because of a new flu spreading from ...
CDC: West Nile season off to an early start
More serious illnesses from West Nile virus have been reported so far this year than any since 2004, health officials said Wednesday. Through the end ...
Big AIDS meeting's bottom line: More treatment
Call it a triple win for fighting the AIDS epidemic: Treating people with HIV early keeps them healthy, cuts their chances of infecting others, and ...
Aging AIDS epidemic raises new health questions
AIDS is graying. By the end of the decade, the government estimates, more than half of Americans living with HIV will be over 50. Even in developing ...
More teens using condoms over past two decades
Nearly half of high school students say they've had sex, yet progress has stalled in getting them to use condoms to protect against the AIDS virus, ...
CDC: Whooping cough rising at alarming rate in US
The U.S. appears headed for its worst year for whooping cough in more than five decades, with the number of cases rising at an epidemic rate that ...
CDC: 1 in 13 pregnant women say they drink alcohol
A government survey shows 1 in 13 pregnant women drink alcohol and some even go on binges. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says ...
Methadone deaths still high but may have peaked
Overdose deaths from powerful painkillers have been surging at an alarming rate in the U.S., but here's a sliver of good news: The number blamed on ...
CDC trying out free AIDS tests at drugstores
Getting an AIDS test at the drugstore could become as common as a flu shot or blood pressure check, if a new pilot program takes off. The $1.2 million ...
CDC: Motorcycle helmet laws reduce deaths
Fewer motorcyclists die in states that require helmets, and the costs to society are lower too, according to a new federal study released Thursday.