Meningitis Outbreak Tied to Students Leaves 2 Dead and 11 Sick in England

• HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
• March 18, 2026
• Full Page

Health officials in southern England are investigating a meningitis outbreak that has led to the deaths of two young people and sickened at least 11 others.

Many of the cases were linked to students in the city of Canterbury, about 60 miles southeast of London, the UK He...

Women More Likely To Survive Cancer Than Men — At A Cost

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 18, 2026
• Full Page

Women are more likely to survive cancer than men, but they’re also more likely to develop severe side effects to treatment, a new evidence review says.

Female cancer patients have a 21% lower risk of death than men across 12 different types of advanced cancers, res...

Belly Fat Linked To Heart Failure Risk

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 18, 2026
• Full Page

Want to figure out your heart health risk?

Look at your belly fat, not your body mass index, a new study says.

Excess fat stored around the waist is more strongly associated with heart failure risk than BMI, an estimate of body fat based on height and weight, resea...

Ultra-Processed Foods Linked To Heart Attack, Stroke, Cardiac Arrest

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 18, 2026
• Full Page

Munching down loads of ultra-processed foods can increase your risk of suffering or dying from a heart attack, stroke or heart disease, a new study says.

Each additional daily serving of ultra-processed foods increases a person’s risk of a major cardiac event by 5%...

The Sunshine Vitamin and COVID: New Study Finds Mixed Results for Recovery

• Deanna Neff HealthDay Reporter
• March 18, 2026
• Full Page

Since the pandemic’s early days, many people have looked to vitamin D as a possible shield against the worst effects of COVID-19. 

Studies have yielded mixed results, with no clear benefit to vitamin D supplementation when it comes to COVID.

But a new ma...

Too Much Smartphone Use Linked to Disordered Eating in Teens

• Deanna Neff HealthDay Reporter
• March 18, 2026
• Full Page

For many teenagers, a smartphone is essentially an extra limb. 

But new research suggests that spending too much time peering into that digital world might be altering how young people view their bodies and their relationship with food.

A comprehensive review ...

Norovirus Sickens Close to 200 People on Caribbean Cruise

• HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

A Caribbean vacation took an unpleasant turn for dozens of cruise passengers after a stomach virus spread across their ship.

Nearly 200 people aboard a Princess cruise vessel became sick with norovirus during a recent trip, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Contr...

Federal Judge Pauses Kennedy’s Changes to Childhood Vaccine Schedule

• HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

A federal judge has stopped a major effort to change the nation’s childhood vaccine schedule.

The ruling, issued Monday in Massachusetts, blocks U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan to revise vaccine recommendations for children. 

The...

Listening to Music for 24 Minutes May Ease Anxiety, Study Finds

• HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

A short music session may help ease anxiety and researchers say there’s a "sweet spot" for how long to listen.

A clinical trial found that listening to specially designed music for 24 minutes can significantly reduce anxiety symptoms. The music was paired with audi...

Cream Cheese Recall Upgraded Over Listeria Risk, FDA Says

• HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

Health officials are warning consumers about a cream cheese recall that has been raised to the most critical level due to possible bacterial contamination.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said certain cream cheese products made by Made Fresh Salads Inc. may c...

New Moms Need Weeks Of Monitoring To Catch Post-Pregnancy Complications, Study Argues

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

New mothers need to be monitored weeks after delivery for pregnancy complications, a new study suggests.

About 40% of pregnancy complications would have been missed had doctors not kept tabs on new moms for six weeks following delivery, researchers reported March 16 in t...

VR Effective In Educating Patients About Upcoming Procedures

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

Imagine a doctor offering you a virtual reality headset to help explain an upcoming procedure.

It turns out such an explanation might go farther to easing your worries than the usual handout leaflet, researchers reported Friday at a meeting in London of the European Asso...

Prebiotic Eases Arthritis Pain, Trial Finds

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

Making your gut happy might help angry arthritis-affected joints, a new study says.

A prebiotic fiber supplement helped ease pain in people with knee arthritis, researchers recently reported in the journal Nutrients.

The results suggest that improving gut ...

Drug Protects Against Chemo-Caused Bleeding, Trial Shows

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

An already approved drug can help protect cancer patients against excessive bleeding caused by chemotherapy, a new study says.

Chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia occurs when chemo destroys platelet-producing bone marrow cells, increasing a person’s risk of dange...

Cholesterol Needs Lifelong Management, New Heart Guidelines Say

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

Heart experts are calling for a full-court press against cholesterol, including lifelong screening and treatment, a set of new guidelines says.

Blood testing for cholesterol should start in childhood, and take place at least every five years to track each person’s ...

Insurance Red Tape Delays Crucial Heart Failure Drug Prescriptions, Study Finds

• Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter
• March 17, 2026
• Full Page

Insurance requirements could keep people from getting life-saving heart medications in a timely fashion, a new study says.

Prescriptions for heart failure medications take two to six times longer to fill if insurance companies require prior authorization — a proces...

Officials Examine Deaths After Plasma Donations in Winnipeg

• HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
• March 16, 2026
• Full Page

Canadian health officials are investigating the deaths of two people who donated plasma at private clinics in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

The deaths happened about three months apart, one in October 2025 and the other in January 2026, according to Health Canada, the federal agen...

New Flu Strain Weakened This Year’s Vaccine Protection, CDC Says

• HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
• March 16, 2026
• Full Page

Flu activity in the United States is finally slowing down, but health experts say this year’s flu vaccine didn't offer as much protection as officials hoped.

New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that the vaccine was only abo...

New EPA Rule Could Loosen Limits on Medical Device Sterilization Gas Emissions

• HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
• March 16, 2026
• Full Page

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to loosen limits on emissions of ethylene oxide, a gas used to sterilize many medical devices that is also linked to cancer.

The proposal, announced Friday, would ease pollution rules for about 90 commercial ste...

Food Stamp Users Fight Restrictions on Soda and Sweets

• HealthDay Staff HealthDay Reporter
• March 16, 2026
• Full Page

Five people who qualify for food stamps are suing the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) because new rules stop them from using their benefits to buy sugary drinks and candy.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., argues the limits are ille...