Public/Global Health

Nearly one in three Americans has high blood pressure and more than half of those cases are "out of control," according to federal health officials.

A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that high blood pressure contributes to nearly 1,000 deaths per day by increasing the risk of heart disease and stroke.

Sixty-seven million Americans have high blood pressure, and of these, 36 million cases are uncontrolled, according to the report. Another 16 million Americans take medication from the condition but still struggle, the report found.

A new strain of pig flu has killed a 61-year-old Ohio woman — the first human death tied to the virus.

According to reports, 14 others have been hospitalized as a result of the new strain, which is primarily caught through direct contact with pigs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said that it could spread from person to person.

The new strain, known as "H3N2v," is usually no more dangerous than seasonal flu. Officials said that the Ohio woman who died after she contracted it may have had other health problems.

The first human case of H3N2v was confirmed in July 2011, the year after it was discovered in pigs.

"Pig flu" is often associated with the H1N1 strain, which caused a global pandemic in 2009.

Summer visitors to Yosemite National Park in California may have contracted a deadly rodent-borne virus, federal health officials are warning.

The outbreak of hantavirus, a lung disease, has already killed two and sickened four others. Officials have linked the flare-up to deer mice nesting in the walls of the park's popular tent cabins.

Warnings from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) pertain to people who stayed at the park between June and August — particularly those who bunked in the valley's Curry Village campground.

Americans younger than 65 are more likely to die from a lack of timely healthcare than their peers in France, Germany or the United Kingdom, according to a new study.

Research published in Health Affairs looked at the rate of "potentially preventable" deaths — deaths before age 75 that could be avoided with timely and effective healthcare — and found that the United States lags behind its U.K. and European peers.

The United States was also less effective than France, Germany and the United Kingdom in remedying the problem between 1999 and 2007, study authors wrote. 

Health officials warned Wednesday that the current outbreak of West Nile virus is still breaking records and prompting deaths in many states.

The number of reported U.S. cases has reached 1,590 this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The figure includes 66 deaths, 30 of which occurred in Texas. 

Federal health officials on Wednesday announced new programs worth about $50 million to train public health workers.

The notice comes as outbreaks of whooping cough and West Nile virus are grabbing state and national headlines.

"Public health workers are on the front lines, educating their community members and doing the hard work to ensure we stay healthy and can respond to public health challenges when they arise," said Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Administrator Mary K. Wakefield.

The two new programs are sponsored by HRSA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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The platform committee chairman said it was no "surprise" that Republicans were a "pro-life party."

The appellate court found the label requirement from the FDA violates the free-speech rights of tobacco companies.

U.S. West Nile cases, deaths jump in latest week.

A Q-and-A looks at the virus. 

Dallas sees run on bug spray.

Cases confirmed in Canada.

At 55 and 53, couple is split by Romney Medicare plan. 

The Health and Human Services Department announced $68 million in new grants to support comprehensive HIV/AIDS care for women, infants and youth.

The disbursements will help 114 hospitals, health departments and community organizations care for HIV/AIDS patients with limited or no access to treatments, the department stated.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius praised the funding as an investment that will "target our resources to the communities that need them most."