Health | WPN World People News

New guidelines outline steps to eliminate catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI), one of the most deadly and costly threats to patient safety. Released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC), the guidelines were developed by a working group led by clinical scientists from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center Critical Care Medicine Department (CCMD) along with 14 other professional organizations.

Teen birth rates have decreased by 37 percent in the last two decades, though U.S. rates are up to nine times higher than in other developed countries, according to the latest CDC Vital Signs report. About 46 percent of teens have had sexual intercourse. About 14 percent of sexually active teen girls and 10 percent of teen boys report that they do not use any type of birth control, the report says.

Triple-negative breast cancer is an aggressive disease with few therapeutic options. Patients with such tumors can be treated only with chemotherapy. If the cancer spreads, the median survival rate is one year. Pictured is a breast cancer cell.

Hundreds of people die of rabies in rural Cambodia

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A new national study indicates that the number of hospital emergency visits involving the illicit drug Ecstasy increased from 10,220 in 2004 to 17,865 visits in 2008 – a 74.8 percent increase. According to this new study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) most of these Ecstasy-related visits (69.3 percent) involved patients aged 18 to 29, but notably 17.9 percent involved adolescents aged 12 to 17.

DEA agents escort Esteban Rodriguez-Olivera upon his arrival in the U.S.

Magnifying state and national self-reported data for older adults who are not receiving recommended vaccinations, screenings, and other preventive services underscores fundamental gaps and the need for linking community and clinical strategies focusing on the underserved.

A child running a fever is no cause for alarm, but that doesn't stop many parents from worrying — a lot.

Starting this month, members of Congress will be looking closely at U.S. spending as they work with the White House to build the 2012 budget. One area that has come under increased scrutiny is U.S. spending on global health programs. Many fear that even flat spending in this area could jeopardize important programs in vaccine research and treatment.