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Boston poised to begin condom giveaway in high schools
By Stephanie Simon (Reuters) - Students at all Boston public high schools will soon be able to obtain free condoms at school - as long as they sit through a few minutes of counseling about safe sex - under a policy approved Wednesday by the school board. Condoms are already available in 19 high schools with on-site health centers. The policy, endorsed on a 5-0 vote by the Boston School Committee, expands distribution to all 32 high schools and their 17,000 students. Parents will have the right to exempt their children. Several U.S. ...
Officials: Urban Outfitters pulls pill glasses
FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. has responded to a multi-state campaign and stopped selling flasks, shot glasses and pint glasses that look like prescription pill bottles, political leaders in drug-plagued Kentucky said Wednesday.
U.S. doctors target sugary drinks bought by government
By Madeline Will NEW YORK (Reuters) - The American Medical Association joined the effort to discourage consumption of sugary drinks on Wednesday with a pledge to work to get them off U.S. government food aid programs for the poor. The nation's largest physician group said removing the sugary beverages from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would help reduce weight-related health problems. "The AMA is working to improve the nation's health care outcomes, particularly cardiovascular disease and diabetes, which are often linked to obesity," said AMA President Dr. ...
HPV vaccine cut infection by half in teen girls
ATLANTA (AP) — A vaccine against a cervical cancer virus cut infections in teen girls by half in the first study to measure the shot's impact since it came on the market. The results impressed health experts and a top government top health official called them striking.
New MERS virus spreads easily, deadlier than SARS

LONDON (AP) — A mysterious new respiratory virus that originated in the Middle East spreads easily between people and appears more deadly than SARS, doctors reported Wednesday after investigating the biggest outbreak in Saudi Arabia.
Lawmakers float bill for Medicare to cover obesity treatment
By Yasmeen Abutaleb WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A day after the American Medical Association classified obesity as a disease, U.S. lawmakers introduced bipartisan bills in the Senate and House of Representatives that would require Medicare to cover more obesity treatment costs. ...
Deadly new coronavirus a "serious risk" in hospitals - Saudi study

By Kate Kelland LONDON (Reuters) - The new Middle East coronavirus that has killed 38 people after emerging late last year is a serious risk in hospitals because it is easily transmitted in healthcare environments, infectious disease experts said on Wednesday. In a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the researchers said the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)was not only easily transmitted from patient to patient, but also from the transfer of sick patients to other hospitals. ...
Nowhere to hide from diarrhea-causing bacteria: study
By Andrew M. Seaman NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Otherwise healthy people with a diarrhea-causing infection may have picked up the bacteria in doctors' offices or other healthcare sites, according to a new government study that also hints heartburn medications might increase the risk. Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that about 82 percent of Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, cases in healthy people occurred after visiting healthcare settings - like doctors' offices and emergency rooms. "I think people should be aware of the source," said Dr. ...
Organ Donation Around the World
How does the U.S. compare to other countries when it comes to organ donors?
Researchers Find Possible Biological Basis for Fibromyalgia
Researchers have discovered a potential biological basis for fibromyalgia in patients' skin. Current treatment uses medications that act solely within the brain. It brings varying degrees of relief.