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THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- With U.S. health officials this week declaring a domestic outbreak of coronavirus a "not if, but when" situation, one expert in infectious illness offers guidance on how you can prepare and protect yourself. First of all, if you do develop symptoms such as fever, congestion and coughing, "it's important to stay calm and not panic," said Dr. Robert Glatter, an emergency medicine physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. So far, the large majority of cases tracked in China have been mild or moderate, and most cases do appear to resolve. The current fatality rate is anywhere from below 1% to 4%, and most of those deaths have been occurring in older people with underlying chronic health issues -- much the same as is seen with another...

THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- In a sign that suggests America's obesity epidemic is far from under control, a new government report shows that more than 40% of people in the United States are obese. And almost 1 in 10 is severely obese, the researchers added. "Over the time period from 1999 to 2018, the obesity prevalence increased about 12% -- from 30.5% of Americans to 42.4% of Americans. Severe obesity almost doubled," said study author Dr. Craig Hales. He's a medical epidemiologist with the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Much more than just a cosmetic issue, obesity is associated with type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, arthritis,...

THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Vice President Mike Pence will lead the U.S. response to a potential global pandemic of the coronavirus COVID-19, President Donald Trump announced Wednesday evening. The move came amid growing political pressure on his administration to take a more energized response to the coronavirus, which has infected more than 82,000 people in 37 countries and killed nearly 3,000. The situation within the United States may have gained new urgency as well: Shortly after the news briefing, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the first case of COVID-19 within the United States in a person who "did not have relevant travel history or exposure to another known patient with COVID-19." The case, occurring in California, "could be an...

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 26, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- The immunotherapy drug Keytruda might offer a new treatment option to women with an aggressive form of breast cancer, a clinical trial suggests. The study found that for women with "triple-negative" breast cancer, adding Keytruda to standard chemotherapy improved their odds of responding. And in the months afterward, women treated with the drug were less likely to see their cancer come back. The findings are encouraging in a disease that is challenging to treat, said Dr. Skip Burris, president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. "I think these results will be greeted enthusiastically by doctors and patients," said Burris, who was not involved in the trial. Triple-negative breast cancers account for about 10% to 15% of all...