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FRIDAY, April 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) – Two ongoing outbreaks of Marburg virus in Africa prompted U.S. health officials to issue an alert on Thursday for doctors to be on the lookout for any cases that might surface in the coming weeks. The virus causes a deadly hemorrhagic disease that is similar to Ebola. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also plans to reach out to some travelers arriving in the United States after being in either Equatorial Guinea and Tanzania, the two countries where the outbreaks are happening."Currently, the risk of MVD [Marburg virus disease] in the United States is low; however, clinicians should be aware of the potential for imported cases. It is important to systematically assess patients for the possibility of viral hemorrhagic fevers,"...

FRIDAY, April 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For what they say is the first time, British researchers report that they have found the spread of COVID-19 in households is linked to the presence of the virus on hands and surfaces, not just in the air.The investigators collected data from households at the height of the pandemic, finding that people were much more likely to get COVID-19 from someone in their house if virus was present on hands or frequently touched places, like refrigerator door handles or sink faucets. “There’s no doubt that if you have COVID-19, you’re emitting the virus into the air as micro-aerosols as well as large droplets that land on your hands and the surfaces around you. What hasn’t been shown, until now, is that the presence of the virus on people’s...

FRIDAY, April 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Four out of 10 people who have lingering health issues after COVID-19 infection can count bothersome sleep problems among them.About 41% of those with so-called long COVID have moderate to severe sleep issues, according to new research from the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Black patients are three times more likely to develop these sleep disturbances. “Sleep difficulties and fatigue are widely reported by people with long COVID, but little is known about the severity and factors associated with these symptoms,” said lead author Dr. Cinthya Pena Orbea, assistant professor of medicine at Cleveland Clinic’s Sleep Disorders Center. “Our findings not only emphasize the importance of identification of sleep disturbance in long COVID considering...

FRIDAY, April 7, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- New research suggests that gender and money matter when it comes to getting a last-resort treatment after mechanical ventilation.Funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the study found that certain groups are more likely to receive advanced pulmonary support through ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation).Who is more likely to get it? Men, those with higher incomes and those with health insurance, investigators discovered.ECMO is a machine that helps patients with life-threatening illness or injury breathe by allowing the heart or lungs to rest while simulating their functions. It involves pumping blood out of the body, sending it through devices that feed it oxygen and then returning it to the body.“The goal is to really get...