Centers for Disease Control and Prevention News

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Add more ammunition to the arsenal of anti-smoking efforts with the latest report on secondhand smoke from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Stocks had their worst day of the year Friday after Greece hit a roadblock on its way to a critical... Norovirus information from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/revb/ gastro/norovirus.htm Dutchess County residents should be aware of a stomach bug that's going around.

The Walking Dead returns tomorrow night in the wake of a moral dilemma: Should zombies be killed on sight, or quarantined as sick humans? We look at some of the issues surrounding zombie murder, and want to hear what you think about the ethics of killing these infection-spreading cannibals.

A maintenance man cleaning out the unit at the Willow Creek Apartments on Friday found 25 vials marked "E. coli" in a foam box in a refrigerator, officials said.

Celebrate this month, and every month, by taking extra care of your heart. Purchase some tasty, delicious and nutritious foods that keep your heart pumping healthy and strong.

Doctors in the US are increasingly advising adults to exercise or be more physically active, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published online on Thursday.

It's like the voice-over to a movie trailer: One of the most dangerous viruses ever known may soon be set free.

Jill Lecorchick of Hightstown has her lunch on campus at the dining hall after officials suspect norovirus is to blame for sickening dozens of students at Rider University on Thursday, February 9, 2012.

Stephanie Morris, left, leader of the Second Baptist Church HIV/AIDS Ministry, and Pastor Cornell Carter, will be hosting an open house at the church to help educate the congregation and the community about the disease.

TAMPA, Fla. - A possible case of Tuberculosis , has been identified in a University of South Florida student and has been reported to the Hillsborough County Health Department.

Bread is the No. 1 source of salt in the American diet according to a report released Tuesday by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The following is a press release from the Hudson Valley Hospital: Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, for both men and women.

Reyna Flores knows pain and despair, particularly that experienced by young Latina women. Flores, a counselor at Salinas-based Sunrise House, says young Latinas are often abused — partly victims of their gender and age, partly victims of a culture that values family over independence. These conflicts lead many to think there is no way out — save one: taking their own lives. And, statistics show, young Latinas who feel trapped in such situations are turning to suicide as a way of stopping the pain. 'Suffering is going on behind closed doors,' Flores, 25, said. She counsels young Latinas who have been bullied and abused. Some come from broken homes or feel neglected by their parents. Others regularly injure themselves by cutting themselves to numb their emotional pain, and many have considered suicide, she said. Across the country, almost 14 percent of high school students thought seriously about killing themselves in the 12 months before the 2008-09 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this age group, Latinas were among the most vulnerable: One in five said they had seriously considered suicide. Fifteen percent said they had come up with a plan to kill themselves and 11 percent — almost twice the rate among white girls — said they had attempted suicide at least once, according to the survey. Suicide attempts have been consistently higher among Latinas than among black or white high school girls since 1991, the first year for which data are available on the CDC website. Researchers and health professionals don't understand these trends completely, but some studies suggest these girls may struggle with living between two cultures — the American culture they experience with their friends and the Latino culture that fills their homes. 'Parents frequently find out something they did not envision: their hijas (daughters) taking advantage of opportunities for success that do not always involve the family,' wrote Jesse Herrera, cultural competence manager for Monterey County's Behavioral Health Bureau, in an email. The clash between American independence and Latino 'familismo' (family interdependence) often results in 'internalized conflicts,' he said. Nationally, suicidal thoughts among Latina youth have decreased in the past 20 years: In 1991, a record 34.6 percent of Latina high schoolers considered suicide seriously, and roughly 21 percent had planned out how they were going to kill themselves, according to the CDC. Although the latest CDC statistics suggest improvement, the high rates of suicidal thoughts among high school Latinas are still cause for concern. 'Young Latinas frequently do not access mental-health services,' Herrera said. And when they do seek help, he added, their cultural context is often not taken into account. Latinos made up about 16 percent of the U.S. population in the 2010 census, but only 5 percent of physicians are Latino, according to the American Medical Association's 2010 report, Physician Characteristics and Distribution in the U.S. 'That underrepresentation is even more pronounced among mental health clinicians,' said Dr. Michael Rodriguez of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, whose research focuses on the interplay among ethnicity, socioeconomic status and health. Culturally, Latino families tend to feel embarrassed about discussing suicide and related mental-health issues, such as depression. 'Suicide carries so much stigma,' said Carly Galameau, assistant program director of the Suicide Prevention Service of the Central Coast. Many say suicidal people are crazy or cowards or that they're just seeking attention, she said. But the reality may be more complicated. Suicide and suicide attempts are highest among people going through rapid life changes. For teenagers, that includes changes in their bodies; how they feel about themselves; and how they connect to their families, as well as the uncertainty of what lies beyond high school. Girls are dealing with these issues as they try to figure out who they are and where they fit in, Galameau said. That's not always easy, especially in high school, when kids often scramble to find their niche in the social order. No one wants to be branded the school pariah. She was always alone and people called her 'weird,' said Everett Alvarez High School senior Marvin Yasay, 17, about a middle school classmate who killed herself. Few people ever asked her why she was sad, he said. Yasay was one of about 10 boys gathered in November for a meeting of the school's chapter of My Strength, a California Department of Health Services program that teaches young men to avoid sexual violence. Kids' reluctance to help struggling classmates may boil down to peer pressure, some of the Alvarez students said. They fear friends will associate them with outsiders, although they would want someone to comfort them if they were feeling down, they added. 'For most people, if they're able to find a safe place to express suicidal feelings, they're much less likely to go through with it,' Galameau said. But many young Latinas may not have that. Even in tight-knit families, parents may not know how to handle depression, anxiety and trauma, which are linked with suicide. Some parents may be battling emotional problems of their own. 'There's a lot of trauma and mental health problems in the parents,' said Rosalva Vargas, a therapist at Rebekah's Children Services, a Gilroy-based social services organization with offices in Salinas. 'When they come here as immigrants, they're highly stressed. They're still carrying that trauma without resolution.' Less than one in 11 Latinos with mental illness seek help from a mental health specialist, according to the American Psychiatric Association. 'Poverty is endemic here and parents will do anything they have to do to support their children (financially),' said Kimberly Prohaska, the clinical program manager at Rebekah's. Financial burdens and the pressures of keeping a job may mean they don't have time to talk with their kids about problems at school, such as bullying or peer pressure to have sex or use drugs. Studies suggest that bullying may result in low self-esteem, a problem Flores sees among many of the girls she counsels. And one in four Latina girls say they've been sexually, physically or emotionally abused, Vargas said. To prepare girls to handle these problems, Vargas and the staff at Rebekah's counsel Latina girls and their families through Latina Leadership, a nine-month program that caters to at-risk high school girls with a history of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, domestic and gang-related violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and anger. Many have experienced bullying or have been in and out of foster homes. They discuss relationships, teen pregnancy, family violence and mental health with the girls. The staff tries to create an atmosphere of family togetherness through group dinners, outings and conversations, said Vargas, who calls the girls 'mijas' (my daughters). The program helps girls recognize their own wisdom, which in turn boosts their self-esteem and sense of empowerment, she said. Outreach programs — such as Rebekah's and Monterey County's Behavioral Health Bureau, "La Cultura Cura" (Culture Cures), which focuses on helping young Latinas discover their strength within the context of their cultural values and traditions — raise community awareness about suicide and mental illness. Some programs teach students about problems that may contribute to suicide, such as harassment, violence, sexual abuse, fear and pressure from family and friends. Young people are more likely than adults to notice if friends are going through a difficult time or if they've posted suicidal thoughts or goodbye statements ('All my problems will be over soon' or 'I may not be around') on Facebook or Twitter. If kids are aware of what these warning signs mean, they can act as a first line of defense, Galameau said. Other programs target teachers, police officers, counselors and health professionals. The Suicide Prevention Service of the Central Coast, for example, reaches out to more than 10,000 people annually to help reduce the stigma of suicide and mental illness. How these community programs affect suicide among teens and young Latinas is not clear because comprehensive statistics are scant, Galameau said. But in the past five years, Monterey County has undergone a shift, she said. Schools and churches are addressing suicide more willingly; textbooks portray it in a less stigmatizing way, and ad campaigns like San Diego County's 'It's Up to Us' are helping to reduce stigma and foster conversation. 'Doors are opening where doors had been closed,' she said.

According to Glenn Stokes, of Mosquito Control Contractors Inc. , complaints about mosquitoes are on the rise thanks in part to a warm, wet February.

The 19-year-old Grand Rapids sophomore, identified as Carly Christine Glynn, was taken to Sparrow Hospital late Thursday night and passed away a few hours later.

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A Jan. 20 rule issued by the federal Department of Health and Human Services requires almost all private health insurance plans to provide coverage for all U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved prescription contraceptives.

THURSDAY, Feb. 9 -- A case study of two men who were poisoned and turned blue after ingesting what they thought was a recreational drug that they had bought on the Internet highlights the dangers of such purchases, a new report claims.

9 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. In July of 2011, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released "Cephalosporin Susceptibility Among Neisseria gonorrhoeae Isolates -- United States, 2000-2010," which signaled the potential for resistance to the cephalosporins, the last line of defense for treating gonorrhea.