Infectious Disease

A sick employee can spread illness to customers or patients.

Sick? People Say They Still Go To Work, Even When They Shouldn't

6:38pm July 11, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

An NPR poll found that most working adults say they go to work when they're sick. For people who work in hospitals or restaurants that can be a problem, since it's easy to spread disease.

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Donald G. McNeil Jr. is a global health reporter for The New York Times.

'Nobody Is Immune': Bracing For Zika's First Summer In The U.S.

3:45pm June 28, 2016

Author Donald. G. McNeil Jr. predicts that 2016 will be the worst year for Zika transmission in the U.S. "After this year, a fair number of people will be immune, and ... immunity will grow," he says.

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So far it looks like Zika virus doesn't pose the same neurological risk to small children as it does to fetuses in the womb.

Zika And Children: What Parents Need To Know

2:22pm June 20, 2016

by Michaeleen Doucleff

So far, data suggest that Zika doesn't pose the same risk of neurological defects to babies and children as it does to fetuses in the womb. But doctors don't know the long-term effects of the virus.

Children sometimes can run a fever after getting a vaccine.

Febrile Seizures After Childhood Vaccines Are Rare, Study Finds

1:22pm June 06, 2016

by Tara Haelle

Seizures caused by fever are frightening, even though they don't harm long term. And a few vaccines do slightly raise the risk of a febrile seizure. But not being vaccinated poses a greater risk.

A silver-haired bat, the type that transmitted rabies to a woman in Wyoming after apparently biting her while she slept.

Bats In The Bedroom Can Spread Rabies Without An Obvious Bite

2:37pm June 02, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

When a Wyoming woman fell ill, no one suspected that she could have rabies from a bat in her bedroom. Health officials say sleeping in a room with a bat is a rabies risk because bites are hard to see.

Aedes aegypti mosquito photographed through a microscope.

CDC: 157 Pregnant Women In The U.S. Have Tested Positive For Zika

7:06pm May 20, 2016

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

The women being monitored now include those who had positive lab tests but no symptoms, according to the CDC. Also affected are 122 women in U.S. territories, almost all in Puerto Rico.

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In some parts of the country, this might require bug spray.

Who Should Be Worried About Zika And What Should They Do?

5:38pm May 17, 2016

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Mosquito season is just getting underway in the U.S., and some areas have the mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus. Pregnant women in places like Florida and Texas are at greatest risk.

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Kelli Glenn holds a photo of her father while he was in the hospital.

Suddenly Paralyzed, 2 Men Struggle To Recover From Guillain-Barre

8:30am May 16, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Guillain-Barre syndrome can render healthy people temporarily paralyzed. It's something you're likely to hear more about as Zika continues to spread. And for those who get it, it is one wild ride.

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Zika Virus Can Be Transmitted Through Anal Sex, Too

3:48pm April 14, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

A Texas man who had traveled to Venezuela passed the Zika virus to his male partner through sex. CDC officials say that people should be aware that Zika can be transmitted through semen.

People in Pinar del Rio, Cuba, make their way through a fumigation fog that's meant to kill the mosquito that transmits the Zika virus.

White House Says It Will Cut Ebola Funding To Address Zika

4:22pm April 06, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

The Obama administration requested $1.9 billion in emergency funds to prepare for Zika, but Congress has yet to respond. Now the White House plans to divert funding intended for Ebola.