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SATURDAY, Sept. 4, 2012 (HealthDay News) -- It's still not OK to kiss your chickens or your ducklings -- you could catch a salmonella infection from barnyard birds. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has offered that warning before, and now an agriculture expert reminds backyard farmers that it's better to have a less hands-on approach with their feathered friends.People should take simple sanitation precautions after visiting or cleaning their chicken coop or even simply handling the birds, eggs and meat, said Craig Coufal, an associate professor in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Poultry Science.The CDC reported an uptick in recent salmonella cases, with 198 since June 24. Over a longer period, there have been 672 cases including...

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Two new government reports confirm that while the power of coronavirus vaccines wanes over time, they still protect strongly against severe disease, even as the highly contagious Delta variant overtakes America.One study that looked at Los Angeles County reaffirmed that fully vaccinated people are far less likely than unvaccinated people to be hospitalized, admitted to an intensive care unit, require mechanical ventilation or die from COVID-19. Meanwhile, a second study that followed front-line health workers for months found vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19 infection dropped from 91% to 66% once the Delta variant accounted for the majority of circulating virus, but the vaccinated were still far less likely to be infected."While we did...

WEDNESDAY, Aug.. 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Johnson & Johnson reported Wednesday that a booster shot of its vaccine dramatically raised the levels of antibodies against the coronavirus.Johnson & Johnson said it will submit its data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is evaluating similar studies from Pfizer and Moderna. "We have established that a single shot of our COVID-19 vaccine generates strong and robust immune responses that are durable and persistent through eight months. With these new data, we also see that a booster dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine further increases antibody responses among study participants who had previously received our vaccine," Dr. Mathai Mammen, global head of Janssen Research & Development at Johnson & Johnson, said in a...

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 25, 2021 (HealthDay News) -- Does having an enlarged prostate doom you to prostate cancer?Far from it, a new study suggests.Also called benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), the condition may actually provide some protection for men from developing prostate cancer, researchers report."Men are often anxious about prostate cancer, as it is the second most common cancer in men, with some worrying BPH increases their risk of prostate cancer," said lead researcher Dr. Kiran Nandalur. He is vice chief of diagnostic radiology and molecular imaging at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich. "Some previous studies have demonstrated BPH may increase the risk of cancer, given common driving forces such as genetics, hormones and inflammation. Our study should alleviate their concern,...