Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a health emergency in four counties of the state because of the Zika virus. At least nine cases of the mosquito-borne illness have been detected in Florida. Health officials believe all of the cases are from people who contracted the disease while traveling to affected countries. Scott signed the […]

Sharing bacteria in the operating room normally is a no-no but in a novel experiment, researchers are giving babies born by C-section a dose of presumably protective germs from mom’s birth canal. We share our bodies with microbes — on the skin, in the mouth, in the gut — that help keep us healthy, a […]

The World Health Organization declared a global emergency over the explosive spread of the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects in the Americas, calling it an “extraordinary event” that poses a public health threat to other parts of the world. The U.N. agency took the rare step despite a lack of definitive […]

A Detroit-area couple marketing body parts for medical training failed to disclose that heads and necks came from bodies infected with disease, according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday. Arthur Rathburn and wife Elizabeth Rathburn of Grosse Pointe Park operated International Biological Inc., which rented out body parts for medical or dental training. They’re charged […]

Britain’s fertility regulator has approved a scientist’s application to edit the human genetic code using a new technique that some fear crosses too many ethical boundaries. In a statement Monday, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said it has granted a research application to a team led by scientist Kathy Niakan to try to understand […]

The Zika virus is “spreading explosively” in the Americas, which could see up to 4 million cases over the next year, international health officials said Thursday, announcing a special meeting next week to decide if they should declare an international health emergency. The warning from the World Health Organization came amid a call to arms […]

If you want to improve your sense of well-being, leave the Lower 48. A new report ranking all 50 states based on residents’ sense of well-being puts Hawaii at No. 1, followed by Alaska, which held the top spot last year. Hawaii has been No. 1 in the poll five times since 2008. “Alaska and […]

Health officials say a Virginia resident who traveled outside the United States has tested positive for Zika, a mosquito-transmitted virus. Health Commissioner Dr. Marissa Levine said Tuesday that the resident traveled to a country where the Zika virus transmission is ongoing. She says this person poses no risk to other residents because it is not mosquito […]