New research shows that humans and deer passed the coronavirus back and forth in late 2021 and early 2022, raising concerns that this animal reservoir could become a source of new variants.

Humans passed the virus to deer more than 100 times during that period, according to the study...

Researchers can now detect the COVID-19 virus in any animal using a new all-species test.

It's an advance that they say will help track COVID-19 variants in wild and domesticated animals.

“Highly sensitive and specific diagnostic reagents and assays are urgently needed for rapid detection and implementation of strategies for prevention and control of the infection in animals,” t...

Americans ages 60 and up can get their vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) this fall, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday.

On Thursday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the outgoing CDC director, gave her signature to a recommendation made last week by an advisory panel of outside experts for a single dose of the vaccines made by Pfizer and GSK. The FDA ...

Having even a mild COVID-19 infection could trigger a months-long drop in sperm, a new study finds.

Researchers found both lower sperm concentrations and fewer sperm that were able to swim when studying men an average of 100 days after COVID-19 infection, which is enough time for new sperm to be produced.

“There have been previous studies that show semen quality is affected in th...

U.S. intelligence officials have released a report that rejects some points made by those who say the new coronavirus leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China.

The report was issued Friday in response to a Congressional bill that gave agencies 90 days to declassify intelligence garnered about the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

The new report angered some Republicans who say the admini...

Hepatitis C can ruin your liver, and there's no vaccine to prevent it, but you can take steps to lower your chances of infection.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,...

Hepatitis C is a serious viral infection that can damage your liver over time, but is there a cure for this insidious disease?

Over 2 million adults in the United States are infected with hepatitis C, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This virus attacks the li...

A safe, generic diabetes pill can help people avoid long COVID, a new clinical trial shows.

Metformin cut the risk of long COVID by about 40% for patients who received a two-week course of the drug while battling their infection, the researchers reported.

The results were even more dramatic if COVID-19 patients began taking metformin soon after infection. Starting on the drug w...

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel on Thursday recommended that the agency approve an RSV vaccine for infants and some toddlers.

The monoclonal antibody shot would protect against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants born during or entering their first RSV season, the New York Times reported. It could also be used for toddlers up to 24 months old who are p...

Hepatitis C is a serious viral infection that can scar your liver, cause your liver to fail and raise your risk for liver cancer, but there are a multitude of medications that can treat it.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an estimated 2.4 million Am...

One of the signature symptoms of COVID-19 infection in the early months of the pandemic was a loss of the sense of smell.

Now, new research finds that is no longer the case, thanks to the new variants that have been circulating more recently.

The risk of losing sense of taste or smell is now only about 6% to 7% of what it was during the pandemic's early stages, according to researc...

People unvaccinated for COVID-19 have significant odds of lingering illness if they get the virus, with one in six still suffering symptoms two years later, new research shows.

A study from Switzerland found that 17% of that group did not return to their previously normal health, and 18% reported COVID symptoms such as shortness of breath 24 months after their infection was gone.

Older adults may have a second vaccine option for RSV following the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of a Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday.

The other shot for adults 60 and up is made by GSK. It was approved May 3.

Both should be available by fall, before the seasonal spread of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), The New York Times reported.

The Pfizer ...

Lack of energy for exercise is a common problem for folks with so-called long COVID.

New research pinpoints the most likely reason why: diminished capacity to get the heart pumping fast enough to support the effort. The name for this is chronotropic incompetence.

“The amount of aerobic exercise an individual can do is limited largely by the delivery of oxygen by the heart, lu...

A key to living to 100 may be the viruses living in a centenarian's guts.

“This snapshot of how the virome interacts with gut microbiomes could tell us about how microbial and viral ecology evolves over the lifetime of a person,” said Ramnik Xavier, director of immunology and co-director of the infectious ...

U.S. health officials are bracing for the possibility that mpox could surge again this summer as cases mount in several states.

On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 21 more cases of mpox, with Illinois, New York and Maryland reporting the most new infections. Illi...

Researchers have developed a definition and symptom checklist for long COVID, based on initial findings from a study of nearly 10,000 Americans.

The study identified a set of 12 long-term symptoms that can occur following infection with COVID-19. These symptoms — ranging from "brain fog" to chest pain — are linked to the effects of the coronavirus on multiple organ systems.

Usin...

Some HIV patients are naturally able to keep the virus fully in check without any medicinal help, a phenomenon that has intrigued scientists for decades.

New research appears to identify at least one reason why: an abnormally powerful version of an infection-fighting white blood cell called CD8+ T cell.

CD8+ T cell's are a type of T cell, a normal feature in everyone's immune s...

Most cases of mpox are spread from skin-to-skin contact, but it is possible to catch the virus by touching a contaminated surface in a house or a hospital room, according to a new study.

Researchers studying this found temperature made a difference. The virus could survive at room temperature on a surface for up to 11 days. At 4 degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit), it could survive f...

It's been known for years that Epstein-Barr virus can trigger multiple sclerosis or drive progression of the degenerative disease, and Swedish researchers think they now understand why.

Some people have antibodies against the common Epstein-Barr virus that mistakenly attack a protein found in the brain and spinal cord, researchers at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden say.

Antibodie...

While the official COVID-19 public health emergency has ended, the virus hasn't disappeared.

Some of the special programs put in place during the pandemic have ended, however, and the University of Michigan offers a guide to help Americans understand what's changed and what hasn't.

Get vaccinated

What hasn't changed is that the virus continues to cause serious...

Severely obese people may need more frequent COVID-19 booster shots to keep their immunity going, new research suggests.

Protection from the shots declines more rapidly in those who are severely obese compared to those at a normal weight, according to scientists at the Universities of Cambridge and Edinburgh in the United Kingdom.

"Because of the high prevalence of obesity across ...