The Guardian Health

Trump’s deep public health cuts hinder response to record US cyclosporiasis outbreak

Experts say layoffs, reduced disease surveillance and Medicaid cuts have made the foodborne parasite more difficult to track and containAs soon as Michigan detected the first sign of cyclosporiasis cases in late June, health officials swung into action, notifying federal agencies and releasing a notice on 1 July ahead of the holiday weekend alerting home cooks and commercial kitchens alike to the risks of potentially contaminated produce. They worked through the holiday weekend and haven’t had a

health  6d ago

The Guardian Health

Faced with inadequate US healthcare, Black women fly to South Korea: ‘It could save your life’

Black women who feel minimized or dismissed in the US are traveling thousands of miles for South Korea’s patient-first approachFor years, Americans have crossed borders in search of affordable healthcare, whether it be for dental work in Mexico, prescription drugs in Canada, or hair transplants in Turkey. But a new destination in medical tourism is gaining momentum among Black American women, who are increasingly booking flights to Seoul, South Korea, for something else: care that feels inclusiv

health  Jul 18, 2026

WHO News

WHO Member States continue negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing Annex

WHO Member States have advanced negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex, a central component of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, while agreeing that continued discussions are needed to finalize a framework that supports a faster, more effective and equitable response to future pandemics.

health  Jul 18, 2026

The Guardian Health

London Underground users should know about toxic dust risk, whistleblower says

Former tube network cleaner says tribunal vindicated his health concerns, including about asbestos, that could affect publicA London Underground worker who was unfairly sacked after whistleblowing about his concerns over exposure to asbestos and other toxic dust has said he wants all tube passengers to know about the potential hazards his case has revealed.Micky Steeds, a former professional boxer from Aveley in Essex, started working for London Underground in 2018 cleaning up decades of dust fr

health  Jul 18, 2026

The Guardian Health

One person dies amid legionnaires’ disease outbreak in New York City

Officials haven’t released additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell illA legionnaires’ disease outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in New York City has claimed its first life, health officials said Friday.Officials didn’t release additional information about the person’s identity, age or details on when and how they fell ill. Continue reading...

health  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Health

A friend, Facebook or ... Ukraine? No easy surrogacy options for Australian families desperate for children

With huge amounts of money at stake and power imbalances in play, the Australian Law Reform Commission is looking at how to better regulate the industryOver eight years, Ethan and his wife went through nine rounds of IVF in Melbourne.They travelled to Spain for two more, without success.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best read Continue reading...

health  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Health

Twelve days nursing my father in the ‘dying room’ taught me the value of planning for death

Dying is difficult, a nurse told me. It might have been even more appalling had Dad not been clear about his wishes. Yet most of us remain deeply reluctant to outline how we want the end to goMy father spent the last 12 days of his life unconscious, unresponsive, in a hospital bed on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.My mother sat beside him night and day, holding his hand. I massaged Dad’s legs, horribly swollen, the effects of oedema – a buildup of fluids. His mouth fell open, dried out; I swabbed i

health  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Health

Help, my sofa is killing me! The toxic chemicals hiding in your home – and how to avoid them

From mattresses to saucepans, scientists offer tweaks to help detoxify your spaceThe problem Whenever we burn anything inside our homes, we cause indoor air pollution, whether we’re cooking using gas, frying bacon, lighting a wood burner, an open fire, a cigarette or incense, or ruining the toast. “ We spend 80-90% of our time indoors,” says Prof Francis Pope, chair of atmospheric science at the University of Birmingham. “And there is potential to have quite high concentrations of pollution indo

health  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘Forever chemicals’ – the national cancer scandal brewing in a Lancashire town

In this week’s newsletter: residents living near a chemical factory are the latest community concerned about the health and environmental impact of Pfas contamination• Don’t get Down to Earth delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereResidents within a kilometre of the AGC Chemicals Europe factory in Thornton-Cleveleys in the north of England, have found themselves at the centre of what is quickly becoming a national scandal.In 2024, the UK Environment Agency and the local authority initiated an inve

health  Jul 17, 2026

The Guardian Health

Energy drinks to be banned from sale to under-16s in England

About 100,000 children across the country drink the high-caffeine beverages dailyHigh-caffeine energy drinks “have no place in children’s hands” and will be banned from sale to under-16s in England from April next year under new laws designed to improve health outcomes in young people.About 100,000 children across the country currently drink high-caffeine energy drinks daily, with those in more deprived areas and households more likely to consume them, according to the government. Continue readi

health  Jul 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

As a frontline worker, my anger over the Tories’ handling of Covid has not abated | Letter

Responding to the Covid inquiry’s findings on PPE, midwife Laura Matthews recalls the fear she felt working without adequate protectionI am a midwife who still feels extreme anger about the way the pandemic was handled (Johnson government wasted £10bn on PPE, Covid inquiry finds, 14 July).I remember being fitted for a FFP3 mask and then being told there weren’t enough to go around and given a basic paper mask instead. I remember being told that the hospital where I worked couldn’t keep providing

health  Jul 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

What does an air purifier do and can it help with wildfire smoke?

As wildfires burn in Canada and parts of the US, air purifiers can be useful when the air outside is unhealthyWith smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota spreading across the US, more than 20 states have issued air quality alerts. Local leaders urged people to stay inside as “unhealthy” air quality levels affected the US midwest and north-east.For several decades, air quality in the US was trending up by many measures. Data indicated that fine, inhalable airborne particulate matter, known

health  Jul 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

Drugmaker Merck announces approval of new cholesterol-fighting drug

Lipfendra can be taken in conjunction with or an alternative to statins, the most prescribed medication in the USSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email The drug giant Merck on Thursday announced it had received FDA approval for a daily pill that can be an alternative to statins for treating high LDL levels, or so-called bad cholesterol. The new pill, Lipfendra, is a version of a drug called a PCSK9 inhibitor.For decades the go-to therapy to treat high cholesterol levels has been stati

health  Jul 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

Cyclospora is easy for doctors to miss. The US made it even harder to spot | Robert B Shpiner

Last year the federal government downgraded active surveillance for this parasite. Now thousands are sickA patient arrives after two weeks of relentless watery diarrhea, sometimes 20 episodes a day. She has lost weight and cannot keep fluids down. Her stool tests come back negative. Unless someone thinks to order an assay that includes Cyclospora cayetanensis, she may leave without a diagnosis and stay ill for weeks longer.Cyclospora is easy to miss in a clinic. Many routine stool tests do not i

health  Jul 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

All newborns in England to be screened for spinal muscular atrophy from 2027

Campaigners hail ‘landmark moment’ in early detection and treatment of rare muscle-wasting diseaseEvery baby born in England will be screened for a rare muscle-wasting disease, starting next year, the Department of Health and Social Care announced on Thursday.Campaigners said the “landmark moment” should lead to babies who were found to have spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) being treated early and thus growing up without any of its debilitating symptoms. Continue reading...

health  Jul 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

‘Social media bans are likely to make things worse’: psychologist Candice Odgers on kids, tech and mental health

She has studied adolescent mental health for 25 years and fears the debate obscures some of the biggest issues facing teenagers – from the impact of Covid to the health of their adult caregiversThe quickest way to make being online safer for children and teens would be to kick all adult men off the internet, the Canadian psychologist Candice Odgers believes. Men are the biggest perpetrators of sextortion and most likely to spread misinformation, she says.Odgers is not recommending this as a poli

health  Jul 16, 2026

The Guardian Health

Black doctors in England four times less likely to get training places than white counterparts

For one placement, black applicants had a less than 1 in 100 chance of being offered a place, NHS data showsBlack doctors in England are four times less likely to be offered a training place than their white counterparts, according to analysis.As part of their medical training, doctors across the NHS are able to apply to placements within specific branches of practice such as psychiatry, obstetrics and gynaecology, and emergency medicine. Continue reading...

health  Jul 15, 2026

The Guardian Health

Reducing ultra-processed foods could prevent thousands of heart disease deaths, study suggests

Researchers in Canada say that UFPs could be ‘substantial and potentially preventable’ contributor to the diseaseThousands of people could avoid dying of heart disease by reducing ultra-processed foods (UPFs), experts have said, as a modelling study suggests junk food may be driving up to a third of cases.Millions of people increasingly consume UPFs such as ready meals, breakfast cereals, protein bars, fizzy drinks and fast food. Continue reading...

health  Jul 15, 2026

The Guardian Health

CDC nominee Erica Schwartz pressed on whether she will resist RFK Jr’s vaccine agenda

During confirmation hearing Wednesday, Trump’s pick tells Senate health committee she will ‘never betray the science’Erica Schwartz, the Trump administration’s latest nominee to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), faced sharp questioning from senators who pressed her to say whether she would stand up to her boss, the health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.During her confirmation hearing on Wednesday, Schwartz, a deputy surgeon general in the first Trump administration, told

health  Jul 15, 2026

The Guardian Health

The Guardian view on obesity: put public health before food industry pressure | Editorial

Obesity reflects prices, advertising and access, not simply weak willpower. Ministers must now actBritain has spent the last three decades asking individuals to make healthier choices inside a market that makes those choices more expensive and less visible. It is no surprise then that the proportion of adults in England living with obesity nearly doubled in that time, to 30%. MPs on the health select committee have decided enough is enough. Preventing obesity in future generations, they say, mus

health  Jul 15, 2026