#public-health

#public-health

Getty Images Parents are being urged to get their children vaccinated against flu over half-term as the NHS warned of rising cases of the disease. There is an early flu season, health officials say, and the latest data for England showed cases and hospitalisations were increasing. NHS England said many school children will have already received the vaccine at school but there are still options for those who have not, including pop-up clinics.

Bacon and ham sold in the UK should carry cigarette-style labels warning that chemicals in them cause bowel cancer, scientists say. Their demand comes as they criticise successive British governments for doing virtually nothing to reduce the risk from nitrites in the decade since they were found to definitely cause cancer. Saturday marks a decade since the World Health Organization in October 2015 declared processed meat to be carcinogenic to humans, putting it in the same category as tobacco and asbestos.

William "Bill" Patterson, who had been called the "Conscience of the District," died at the age of 94 on Tuesday.

Pictures show that even the neighborhood cats have given up the fight and are sharing food sources with the rodents.

Only one prosecution for illegal wood burning has been made in the past year despite 15,195 complaints across England, data shows. Additionally, just 24 fines were issued by local authorities between September 2024 and August 2025, responses to freedom of information requests by the campaign group Mums for Lungs revealed. In smoke control areas alone, 9,274 complaints were made a 65% increase on the previous year.

It's been more than six decades since New York City banned the use of lead paint in residential buildings-one of the first cities in the nation to do so, recognizing the health risks it posed, particularly for children. But the age of the city's housing stock means lead paint is still a presence: last year, 4,655 New York City children under the age of 6 tested positive for elevated lead levels in their blood, according to public data.

Travellers are advised to watch out for signs of methanol poisoning such as blurry vision and confusion, which can lead to serious illness and death. Methanol is an industrial chemical found in antifreeze and windscreen washer fluid. It is not meant for human consumption and is highly toxic. But there have been instances of unscrupulous backyard brewers adding methanol to drinks to make them go further, and some bars and street sellers mixing it with spirit-based drinks and cocktails to cut costs.

As the first in the nation to add a warning icon for added sugars, this rule underlines our longstanding work to ensure New Yorkers have information about the food they eat,

Musings on manifesting a world of sanitary homes and hospitals, and thoughts on an essay that defines rhythm, in this week's pick from the Nature archive.

Last year's flu season was the worst California had seen in years - and state health officials warn this year could potentially be just as bad. While forecasting disease isn't an exact science, there are some troubling signs. In Asia, the flu has made an early comeback, and quickly swelled to epidemic proportions in Japan and Taiwan. And stateside, some experts are sounding the alarm about continued lower uptake of the flu vaccine. There's also the possibility of a seasonal COVID-19 wave - the likes of which didn't materialize last winter, but had been commonplace since the pandemic - as well as a simultaneous rise in respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

It is unconscionable that anyone should be allowed to spray known neurotoxins and environmental toxins over our nation's citizens, their land, food and water supplies,

The shutdown of the US government, about to enter its third week, is starting to take a toll on US science. Since the shutdown began, the administration of US President Donald Trump has cancelled funding for clean-energy research projects and laid off public-health workers. The activities of some federally funded museums and laboratories have been suspended, along with the processing of grant applications by agencies such as the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Driving the news: Nineteen states have adult obesity rates at or above 35% as of 2024, per a new "State of Obesity" report from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Trust for America's Health (TFAH). That's a drop from 23 states the year before - and the first decrease since states began hitting the 35% mark in 2013, the group says. Yes, but: Back in 2014, only three states had obesity rates at or above 35%.

But the shakeup has former leaders of the program, and mothers who participated, raising alarms. "There are so many women who went through this program because they trusted and knew Dr. Bev and any of the referrals she gave. Putting someone in there they don't know - it will be like starting over again," Alma Burrell, who formerly managed the program as a county employee for two decades, told San José Spotlight.

complete dismantling

Numbers are still sketchy, but reports from Friday indicate that more than 4,000 federal workers overall were initially targeted for layoffs. The Trump administration linked the firings to the ongoing government shutdown, which legal experts have suggested is illegal. Unions representing federal workers have already filed a lawsuit challenging the move. Of the reported 4,000 terminations, about 1,100 to 1,200 were among employees in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

One incident involved a driver on route 159 who discovered a cockroach in their drink during a break. The driver described the experience in a video recorded inside the affected vehicle. I went to take a sip from my drink and felt something in my mouth, the driver said. I spat it out and saw it was a cockroach. I felt sick and ended up vomiting.

After host­ing the International Symposium on Olive Oils of Croatia and the Adriatic Coast in September, orga­nized by Olive Oil Times, the spot­light returned from October 9 to 11 for the eighth World Championship of Olive Picking. "We're build­ing a des­ti­na­tion brand that doesn't imi­tate but inspires," said Ivana Jelinčić, direc­tor of the Postira Tourist Board. Alongside the Tourist Board, the event was sup­ported by the Municipality of Postira, the local agri­cul­tural coop­er­a­tive and the Aldura Sport agency.

Researchers who study post-war reconstruction have told Nature that the recovery of public health, environment, higher education and research in Gaza will not succeed unless it is led by experts from the Palestinian territory. Their warning comes amid images of jubilant scenes in Gaza yesterday as negotiators in Egypt sealed the first phase of US President Donald Trump's ceasefire plan, which today was ratified by Israel's cabinet.

California is the first state to define ultra-processed foods and phase them out of school meals,

Loneliness is by now widely recognized as a serious public health problem the world over. Research has robustly documented the across-the-board negative effects of loneliness and social isolation for both physical and mental health. A debate exists about the root causes of this so-called loneliness epidemic. Among the proposed culprits are some of the usual modern suspects including pervasive new technologies, as well as our modern, harried, and competitive lifestyle, with its high stress and workload demands.

About 15 million deaths could be avoided each year and agricultural emissions could drop by 15% if people worldwide shift to healthier, predominantly plant-based diets, according to the EAT-Lancet Commission, which brought together scientists worldwide to review the latest data on food's role in human health, climate change, biodiversity and people's working and living conditions. Their conclusion: Without substantial changes to the food system, the worst effects of climate change will be unavoidable, even if humans successfully switch to cleaner energy.