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The World Health Organization (WHO) is investigating an unexplained increase in severe liver infection in children around the world including in the United States and the United Kingdom.

The severe acute hepatitis cases have led to hospitalizations and even some liver transplants, but not deaths, CBS News report...

The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic brought a big jump in hospitalizations for life-threatening alcoholic hepatitis at a Detroit health system, new research shows.

Alcoholic hepatitis is a liver disease caused by heavy drinking, and these findings add to mounting evidence that many Americans t...

More older folks are winding up on liver transplant waiting lists than ever before, as obesity and alcoholism supersede hepatitis C as the main cause of liver failure in the United States.

The percentage of liver transplant candidates aged 65 or older rose from 9% in the early 2000s to 23% by 2020, researchers found. Most seniors' liver failure is due to fatty liver disease, in which exce...

All U.S. adults younger than 60 should be vaccinated against hepatitis B, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended Wednesday.

Until now, the shots were recommended only for certain groups of adults, including prisoners, health care workers, international travelers, people with diabetes and certain other conditions, and those who inject drugs or who have multiple sexual...

Contaminated water is the leading cause of large-scale outbreaks of infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people, researchers say.

These health threats are called zoonotic infectious diseases, and recent outbreaks include COVID-19 and Ebola.

"In the age of COVID-19, it is understandable that many people may not realize how many outbreaks of other infectious dis...

Many people drank more to cope with the stress of the coronavirus pandemic and the restrictions it placed on daily life, and now a new study suggests that all of this drinking is causing a serious spike in alcohol-related diseases.

"Incidence of hospitalizations for alcohol-related gastrointestinal (GI) and liver disease increased quite dramatically since the beginning of the COVID-19 loc...

Black people with hepatitis C develop liver cancer sooner than people in other racial groups and the cancer is often more aggressive, but current screening guidelines may not be broad enough to catch these cases early, according to a new study.

Why? Despite often being more advanced, liver cancer in Black people is slower to cause liver damage and scarring, and current guidelines call for...

They're medical miracles: A new report finds that vaccines against 10 major diseases prevented 37 million deaths between 2000 and 2019 in low- and middle-income countries worldwide, with young children benefiting most.

Vaccinations are also projected to prevent a total of 69 million deaths between 2000 and 2030, researchers say.

Their modeling study also shows that vaccination again...

New hepatitis C medications are allowing people to receive a kidney transplant from a deceased donor who had the liver disease -- a strategy aimed at getting more lifesaving organs to patients languishing on waitlists.

Two new studies are highlighting the promise of the approach, showing that if patients are given the drug Mavyret, they can safely receive the kidneys and the organs fu...

An experimental blood test may improve screening for the most common form of liver cancer, researchers at the U.S. National Cancer Institute say.

The test checks people for previous exposure to certain viruses that may interact with the immune system and increase the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), according to their new study.

"Together with existing screening test...

People with hepatitis B or C are at greater risk for liver cancer, but a low-dose aspirin a day might significantly lower that risk, a new study suggests.

Over a median of nearly eight years of follow-up, 4% of those taking low-dose aspirin developed liver cancer, compared with 8.3% of those not taking the drug, researchers found.

"It's not clear how aspirin works ...

Every adult in the United States should be tested for hepatitis C as part of their basic health care, an influential panel of preventive medical experts says.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends that screening for hepatitis C infection occurs in everyone between 18 and 79, the group announced Monday.

Hepatitis C infections have soared as a result of the op...

Hepatitis, appendicitis and viral meningitis are among the serious complications that can occur when you get the measles, doctors warn in a new report.

The study -- which outlines cases involving three adults who developed major complications -- is also a reminder of the importance of vaccination against the illness.

Measles is highly contagious, but it's also easily prevent...

One-year survival rates are similar for transplant patients who receive a heart from a donor with hepatitis C or one without the infectious virus, a new study finds.

The researchers suggest that using hearts from donors with hepatitis C, a viral infection of the liver, may be safe and could help reduce a U.S. organ shortage.

The study included nearly 7,900 adults with heart ...

Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases are on the across rise in the United States, often fueled by "anti-vaxxer" parents reluctant to immunize their kids.

However, states are countering these trends with laws to boost childhood vaccination rates and safeguard children, a new study finds.

"Vaccines are our best public health tool for controlling many childhood diseases," ...

Kidneys from donors with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are routinely used in kidney transplants in the United States and function well in the first year after transplantation, a new study says.

The findings provide reassurance that the use of HCV-infected kidneys for transplantation is safe and effective, said Dr. Vishnu Potluri and Dr. Peter Reese of the University of Pennsylvania, and...

Taking the hepatitis C drugs Mavyret, Zepatier or Vosevi can trigger rare cases of severe liver problems or liver failure in patients who already have moderate-to-severe liver impairment, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warned Wednesday.

The agency has identified 63 cases of worsening liver function, some resulting in liver failure or death, among patients taking the drugs.

Hepatitis C infection rates have exploded in the United States, more than tripling over the past decade.

Because of this, routine screening for hepatitis C -- which can destroy the liver over time -- should occur in all American adults, a key government panel recommended Tuesday.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued a draft guideline calling for hepati...

Preemies often lag behind full-term babies in getting routine vaccinations -- and the difference remains at age 3, a new study finds.

Misguided parental "hesitancy" over the safety of vaccines for preemies might be to blame, researchers said.

The study found that preterm babies were less likely to be up-to-date on seven recommended vaccines by 19 months of age. More than hal...

All pregnant women should be screened early for hepatitis B, to prevent the viral infection from being passed to newborns.

So says the latest guideline from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

"Clinicians can help mothers and their babies by screening all pregnant people at their first prenatal visit for hepatitis B," said task force member Dr. John Wong.

"Scr...

The number of Americans infected with hepatitis A has grown nearly 300% in just three years, health officials reported Thursday.

The staggering increase has come despite an effective vaccine and is seen mostly among drug abusers and the homeless, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Hepatitis A virus can linger in feces and be spread hand-to...

Patients in dire need of an organ transplant can safely receive a new heart or lung from donors who have hepatitis C, a new clinical trial has shown.

By swiftly administering powerful antiviral drugs, doctors can prevent the organ recipient from contracting hepatitis C following their transplant, said lead researcher Dr. Ann Woolley. She's an infectious disease doctor with Brigham and...

It's safe to use antiviral drugs to treat hepatitis C in liver cancer survivors, a new study reports.

The findings contradict previous research suggesting that antiviral drugs might increase these patients' risk of liver cancer recurrence.

That prior research involved a single-center study from Spanish investigators in 2016 that "gained a lot of press and sparked fear about ...

New (and pricey) hepatitis C medicines, such as Harvoni and Sovaldi, are living up to their promise and greatly reducing patients' odds for liver cancer and death, a new French study finds.

The news came as little surprise to one U.S. liver expert.

The advent of this class of drugs "has led to almost universal cure of chronic hepatitis C infection," said Dr. David Bernstein,...

More than 70,000 lives were lost to drug overdoses in the United States in 2017. Now, some of those touched by these tragedies might take a little comfort knowing their loved one's heart helped save a life.

Nearly 18 percent of hearts recovered for organ transplant in 2017 came from people who had died of drug intoxication. That number was up from 1.5 percent in 1999.

"Over ...

An effort to make the opioid painkiller OxyContin harder to abuse drove addicted patients to heroin and caused a dramatic increase in hepatitis C, a new study suggests.

In a classic case of unintended consequences, Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma reformulated its powerful and popular drug OxyContin for the right reasons. It became harder to crush or dissolve, thus making it harder to...

Millions of hepatitis C cases and related deaths could be prevented, but it will require a significant investment, researchers say.

In the first study to model such measures worldwide, the authors concluded that sweeping prevention, screening and treatment efforts could prevent 15.1 million new hepatitis C infections and 1.5 million cirrhosis and liver cancer deaths by 2030.

A large number of U.S. cancer patients with hepatitis B and C don't know they have the virus, which can cause life-threatening complications during some cancer treatments, researchers say.

The findings suggest screening for hepatitis B and C may be appropriate in community cancer clinics, according to investigators from the SWOG Cancer Research Network, an international group funded b...

Add another hardship to the many already triggered by the opioid epidemic: More donated organs infected with the hepatitis C virus.

"The ongoing U.S. opioid crisis has resulted in an increase in drug overdose deaths and acute hepatitis C virus infections, with young persons (who might be eligible organ donors) most affected," explained a team led by Dr. Winston Abara. He's a hepatitis...

The percentage of U.S. liver transplant recipients with alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) doubled over 15 years, but significant regional variations remain, a new study finds.

ALD has replaced hepatitis C as the most common reason for U.S. liver transplants. One reason is that hepatitis C rates have decreased due to antiviral therapy. But a more likely cause for the change is the...

Infection with the hepatitis C virus can cause liver disease and even liver cancer. But once found, the virus can be cured, so screening is vital for those at risk, health experts say.

For hepatitis A and B, preventive vaccines exist, but there is none for hepatitis C.

"We can eliminate the virus and keep people from developing liver disease," said Dr. James Spicher, an inte...