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Gynecologists, patients focus on making procedures less painful

Federal officials affirmed this month that the pain people might feel when getting an IUD can be more than doctors’ promises of “just a pinch.” The local anesthetic lidocaine “might be useful for reducing patient pain” when inserting intrauterine devices,…

Fauci recovering at home after being hospitalized for West Nile virus

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former top U.S. infectious disease expert, spent time in the hospital after being infected with West Nile virus and is now recovering at home, a spokesperson confirmed Saturday. Fauci is expected to make a full recovery,…

Cholera poses new risks for millions of Sudan’s displaced

GENEVA —  U.N. agencies are scaling up cholera prevention and treatment programs to get on top of a new, deadly cholera outbreak in Sudan that threatens to further destabilize communities suffering from hunger and the ill effects of more than…

NASA decides to keep 2 stranded astronauts in space until February

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida —  NASA decided Saturday it’s too risky to bring two astronauts back to Earth in Boeing’s troubled new capsule, and they’ll have to wait until next year for a ride home with SpaceX. What should have been…

US scientists hunt for answers as bird flu outbreak spreads among cows

At first glance, it looks like an unassuming farm. Cows are scattered across fenced-in fields. A milking barn sits in the distance with a tractor parked alongside. But the people who work there are not farmers, and other buildings look…

Cholera spreads as Sudan grapples with rains and displacement

Port Sudan —  For the second consecutive year Sudan is in the grip of a cholera outbreak that has left at least 28 people dead in the last month as rains fall in areas crammed with those fleeing the country’s…

Second set of giant panda cubs born in Berlin

BERLIN —  The Berlin Zoo announced Friday that longtime resident giant panda Meng Meng has given birth to twins — for a second time. The cubs were born on Thursday, the zoo said in a statement. They were born only…

FDA approves new COVID-19 vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved on Thursday updated COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna designed to target currently circulating COVID-19 strains and offer better protections against the virus’s severe symptoms. The pharmaceutical companies are set to begin…

Volcano in Iceland erupts for sixth time since December

COPENHAGEN, denmark —  A volcano in southwestern Iceland erupted on Thursday, the meteorological office said, spraying red-hot lava and smoke in its sixth outbreak since December. “An eruption has begun. Work is under way to find out the location of…

UN agencies help in attempts to contain mpox in south, east Africa

Harare, Zimbabwe —  The United Nations said Thursday it is working with governments and health officials in Eastern and Southern Africa to contain the outbreak of mpox there. UNICEF, the World Health Organization and the Africa Centers for Disease Control…