CDC

Amianthus, a variety of asbestos. Exposure to the fibers can cause mesothelioma, a cancer of the thin membranes that line the chest and abdomen.

Asbestos Deaths Remain A Public Health Concern, CDC Finds

5:40pm April 11, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

Exposure to the tiny fibers in asbestos can lead people who work around the material to develop mesothelioma, a cancer of the thin membranes that line the chest and abdomen.

Puerto Rico resident Michelle Flandez caresses her two-month-old son Inti Perez, diagnosed with microcephaly linked to the mosquito-borne Zika virus. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the Zika virus continues to impact a small numbe

51 Babies Born With Zika-Related Birth Defects In The U.S. Last Year

2:18pm April 04, 2017

by Michaeleen Doucleff

The Zika virus continues to impact a small number of pregnant women and their babies in the U.S., and there is no sign of it slowing down. "Zika is here to stay," the CDC's acting director says.

The National Institutes of Health is based in Bethesda, Md., but the vast majority of its research funding flows to universities around the country.

Trump Administration Proposes Big Cuts In Medical Research

3:32pm March 16, 2017

The National Institutes of Health, which funds research in treatments and cures, could lose 20 percent of its budget under the administration's proposal. More money would go for addiction treatment.

Under the old rules, the CDC's authority was primarily limited to detaining travelers entering the U.S. or crossing state lines. With the new rules, the CDC would be able to detain people anywhere in the country, without getting approval from state and lo

CDC Seeks Controversial New Quarantine Powers To Stop Outbreaks

7:53am February 02, 2017

by Rob Stein

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wants more flexibility in deciding whom to quarantine and why. But critics say the changes the agency has proposed raise civil liberties questions.

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Health & Safety

Heroin Death Rate Spike In North Carolina Among The Highest Nationwide

11:04am December 28, 2016

by Sean Bueter

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show North Carolina has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic.

The proportion of cigarette smokers in the U.S. population, broken down by age, in 2005 and 2015.

Cigarette Smoking In The U.S. Continues To Fall

3:45pm November 10, 2016

by Richard Harris

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says smoking rates have fallen from 21 percent of the adult population in 2005 to 15 percent in 2015, when the agency conducted its latest survey.

Candida auris is a fungus that can cause invasive infections, is associated with high mortality and is often resistant to multiple antifungal drugs, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

First Cases Of New, Infectious Fungus Reported In U.S.

3:21pm November 04, 2016

by Richard Harris

The fungus Candida auris has infected hospitalized patients with weakened immune systems or other serious conditions. Four of the seven patients died, but it's unclear if the fungus was the cause.

Sammy Mack got tested for the Zika virus after realizing she had been in the suspected transmission zone in Miami while pregnant.

Reporter's Notebook: Pregnant And Caught In Zika Test Limbo

6:21pm September 20, 2016

by Sammy Mack

Pregnant women in South Florida can get free Zika tests through the state's health department. But delays in getting back the results are heightening worries and may affect medical options.

Fourth-grader Jasmine Johnson got a FluMist spray at her Annapolis, Md., elementary school in 2007. This year, the nasal spray vaccine isn't recommended.

Pediatricians Recommend Flu Vaccination, Just Not With The Spray

1:33pm September 06, 2016

by Richard Harris

The American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't recommend using the nasal spray flu vaccine. In late August, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded it wasn't up to snuff.

These pills were made to look like Oxycodone, but they're actually an illicit form of the potent painkiller fentanyl. A surge in police seizures of illicit fentanyl parallels a rise in overdose deaths.

Illegally Made Fentanyl Seems To Be Fueling A Spike In Overdoses

3:23pm August 25, 2016

by Katherine Hobson

Fentanyl is showing up in heroin and counterfeit pain pills, and users may not even know they're taking the extremely potent drug.