A new report by leading health and safety agencies finds millions of sanitation workers in developing countries are forced to work under horrific conditions that put their health and lives at risk.Sanitation workers everywhere occupy the lowest rung of society and are stigmatized and marginalized because they do the dirty …

New rules from the Trump administration Friday would require insurers and hospitals to disclose upfront the actual prices for common tests and procedures to promote competition and push down costs.But the sweeping changes face stiff pushback from the health care industry. A coalition of major hospital groups quickly announced that …

U.S. regulators on Friday approved a new medicine that can prevent some extremely painful sickle cell disease flare-ups.The Food and Drug Administration approved Novartis AG’s Adakveo for patients 16 and older. The monthly infusion, which halves occurrences of sickle cell pain episodes, will carry a list price of roughly $85,000 …

The World Health Organization warns disease outbreaks are flourishing in Yemen and many people are dying from a lack of health care and serious shortages in supplies and personnel.Yemen’s economy is in tatters and its health care system in a state of near total collapse after more than five years …

There was a collective sigh of relief for more than 350,000 HIV-positive patients in Botswana, after the southern African country’s Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the government in a legal tussle over the supply of life-prolonging anti-retroviral (ARV) drugs.In January, Botswana’s government was taken to court by a …

Australia’s national carrier Qantas Friday successfully completed a 19½-hour, nonstop flight from London to Sydney, which was used to run a series of tests to assess the effects of ultralong-haul flights on crew fatigue and passenger jetlag.The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner took off from London’s Heathrow Airport Thursday morning and touched …

The founder of a Malawian maternity clinic for poor women says it has set a record – delivering more than 8,800 babies with not a single death of mother or child. For her efforts improving access to safe childbirth, Charity Salima has become known as “Malawi’s Florence Nightingale,” the English …

Cigarette smoking among American adults fell to an all-time low last year, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The report, out Thursday, said 13.7% of adults smoked cigarettes in 2018, a dramatic drop from the 42% adult smoking rate in 1965, when the …

A plan to protect corals in the Gulf of Mexico is close to becoming a law, drawing cheers from environmental groups who believe leaving the corals alone would help vulnerable ocean ecosystems to grow.The plan would create 21 protected areas off the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. …

U.N. agencies say early next year, several countries will begin testing a nuclear technique that sterilizes male mosquitoes to control the spread of dengue, Zika and chikungunya to humans. Guidance for testing countries has been developed by the Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases, the International Atomic …

Can old dogs teach us new tricks? Scientists are looking for 10,000 pets for the largest-ever study of aging in canines. They hope to shed light on human longevity too.The project will collect a pile of pooch data: vet records, DNA samples, gut microbes and information on food and walks. …

A 17-year-old male in Michigan is said to be the first person in the United States to receive a bilateral lung transplant for vaping-related injuries.The boy’s severe injuries included extreme lung inflammation, scarring and dead tissue, which alarmed medical professionals — especially given the patient’s age.”What I saw in his …

Drug-resistant “superbug” infections have been called a developing nightmare that make conquered germs once again untreatable.So there’s some surprising news in a federal report released Wednesday: U.S. superbug deaths appear to be going down.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated about 36,000 Americans died from drug-resistant infections in 2017. …

On the eve of World Diabetes Day, November 14, the World Health Organization is launching a new initiative it believes will allow greater access to life-saving insulin at lower prices for a greater number of people suffering from diabetes.  More than 420 million people globally suffer from diabetes and are in …

A Michigan teenager was the recipient of what could be the first double lung transplant on a person whose lungs were severely damaged from vaping, health officials said Tuesday.Doctors at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit described to reporters Tuesday the procedure that saved the 17-year-old’s life and pleaded for the …

Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg will leave North America and begin her return trip across the Atlantic on Wednesday aboard a 48-foot (15-meter) catamaran sailboat whose passengers include an 11-month-old baby.The boat leaves little to no carbon footprint, boasting solar panels and a hydro-generators for power. It also has …

The ghosts are all around the gently rolling farmlands of eastern England. But you have to know where to look.These are not the kind of phantoms that scare or haunt — they are ghost ponds. Over the years, landowners buried them, filling in wetlands so they had more land for …

Deep in the rainforest of Volcanoes National Park, a 23-year-old female gorilla named Kurudi feeds on a stand of wild celery. She bends the green stalks and, with long careful fingers, peels off the exterior skin to expose the succulent inside.Biologist Jean Paul Hirwa notes her meal on his tablet …

Over the past couple of years, many smokers have made the switch to electronic cigarettes in what is called vaping. The appeal is the idea that vapers get all the benefits from smoking cigarettes without the tar and ash. However, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at …

This week the European Commission gave approval to a Ebola vaccine — an act that the World Health Organization calls landmark moment for global health and a likely game-changer in the battle against this deadly disease. This is the first time an Ebola vaccine has been licensed anywhere in the world.  The …

Zimbabwe’s parks agency says more than 200 elephants have died amid a severe drought, and a mass relocation of animals is planned to ease congestion.   Spokesman Tinashe Farawo on Tuesday said at least 200 elephants have died in vast Hwange National Park alone since October and other parks are …

French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting an international peace forum in the notable absence of the United States, to discuss solutions to ease the world’s tensions, including fighting terrorism and climate change.Some 30 heads of state or government, high level officials from other countries and the leaders of 10 international …

Pneumonia killed more than 800,000 babies and young children last year — or one child every 39 seconds — despite being curable and mostly preventable, global health agencies said Tuesday.In a report on what they described as a “forgotten epidemic,” the United Nations children’s fund UNICEF, the international charity Save …

Some good health news: Americans’ cholesterol levels are dropping, and more people at especially high risk are getting treatment.Researchers say Monday’s report suggests a controversial change in recommendations for cholesterol treatment may be starting to pay off.”It is very heartening,” said Dr. Pankaj Arora of the University of Alabama at …

Stargazers witnessed a rare celestial event on Monday, as Mercury passed directly across the face of the sun.Mercury, the solar system’s smallest planet and closest to the sun, won’t make the next such transit until 2032.The tiny planet traveled directly between Earth and the sun on Monday, creating a perfect …