Health

(PORTLAND, Ore.) — A lawsuit is accusing an Oregon health care system of negligence after more than 2,000 patients were possibly exposed to HIV and hepatitis.

The plaintiffs — known as E.P, K.R., C.R. and D.C. — all of whom live in Clackamas County, Oregon, said they all received anesthesia for surgeries at various medical centers under Providence Health between March 2022 and February 2024, according to the complaint.

All the patients were later informed that the physician who administered anesthesia “failed to adhere to infection control procedures” and, as a result, all had potentially been exposed to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, the complaint says.

It is unclear which protocols were violated. Providence Health declined ABC News’ request for comment, citing “pending litigation.”

Hospital and health officials announced earlier this month that as many as 2,200 patients were possibly exposed to the infections. Providence said in a statement on July 11 that patients were at low risk of exposure and that those who were exposed would either receive a letter in the mail or a notification on the MyChart portal used by Providence.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we are encouraging these patients to get a blood test to screen for the aforementioned infections, at no cost,” Providence said in a statement. “If a patient tests positive, Providence will reach out to discuss their test results and next steps. ”

At the time, Oregon Health Authority said in a statement there were no investigations underway but “acknowledge[d] the worry, pain and loss suffered by anyone affected by a health care-associated infection (HAI).”

According to the complaint, the anesthesiologist was employed by Oregon Anesthesiology Group (OAG) but treated patients at various Providence medical centers between 2017 and 2023.

OAG stopped providing services to Providence in November 2023. In June 2024, OAG learned that one of its anesthesiologists had violated infection control practices. The physician was suspended and, following an investigation, terminated, the lawsuit states.

The group did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.

“The safety of our patients is our top priority. When we learned that the physician had violated infection control practices, we suspended him, informed our partners Legacy Health and Providence, and then began an investigation that resulted in the physician’s termination,” OAG said in a statement earlier this month, according to USA Today. “Even though the risk of infection was low, new protocols and procedures have been put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.”

The lawsuit states that the patients now have to undergo medical treatment for exposure “which would not have been necessary in the absence of [the d]efendants’ violations alleged herein, and have to live with severe emotional and mental anguish due to [the defendants’] negligence.”

Additionally, the complaint states that hepatitis and HIV are often not detectable for months after initial infections, so the patient “will live with the anxiety, stress, and emotional distress that they may be infected with hepatitis B, hepatitis C and/or HIV.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that HIV and Hepatitis C may be detected as early as weeks after exposure.

The plaintiffs are suing for negligence and/or gross negligence on the part of Providence and OAG and have asked for a jury trial. They are seeking class action certification and also asking for an unspecified amount in damages, injunctive relief, declaratory judgments, costs and attorneys’ fees, according to the complaint.

“Over 2,000 patients have now learned they were at risk of having contracted an infectious disease because of the defendants’ alleged failure to implement proper protocols to prevent this possible exposure,” Adam Polk of Girard Sharp, one of the attorneys representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement to ABC News.

“Since shortly after these notifications were sent out, we have been speaking with patients on a daily basis who were impacted by the potential exposure, they are obviously distressed and concerned about their health and the health of their loved ones,” attorney Joe Sauder of Sauder Schelkopf, who is also representing the plaintiffs, told ABC News in a statement.

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a new warning about a popular medication used for weight loss.

The FDA says it has received reports of people overdosing on compounded semaglutide, giving themselves as much as 20 times more than the intended dose of the medication.

The incidents, some of which required hospitalization, involve semaglutide that is drawn from a vial and taken by injection, according to the FDA.

The agency said the dosing errors are a result of both patients measuring and self-administering incorrect doses of the medication, as well as health care providers “miscalculating” doses of the medication.

“Many of the patients who received vials of compounded semaglutide lacked experience with self-injections, according to the adverse event reports,” the FDA said in a July 26 statement. “Unfamiliarity with withdrawing medication from a vial into a syringe and coupled with confusion between different units of measurement (e.g., milliliters, milligrams and “units”) may have contributed to dosing errors.”

The agency said patients should consult with a medical professional on how to measure and administer the correct dose, and that health care providers should “provide patients with the appropriate syringe size for the intended dose and counsel patients on how to measure the intended dose using the syringe.”

Semaglutide is the active ingredient in three FDA-approved medications, Wegovy, Ozempic and Rybelsus.

While the FDA-approved medications are administered via either an oral tablet or pre-filled pens, compounded versions of semaglutide have patients draw the dose themselves from vials, which can lead to dosing errors.

Overdose symptoms of compounded semaglutide include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fainting, headache, migraine, dehydration, acute pancreatitis and gallstones, according to the FDA.

People should contact their health care provider if they feel any symptoms.

The FDA is also encouraging people to report “adverse events” and “medication errors” to the agency via its online portal or by downloading and faxing an adverse event report.

The FDA has previously warned against the use of compounded semaglutide, citing safety concerns.

Compound pharmacies create their own semaglutide or tirzepatide compounds using raw ingredients. They are not the same as generic drugs, which are FDA-approved and monitored for safety and effectiveness.

There are currently no generic versions of semaglutide medications, including Ozempic and Wegovy.

“Patients should not use a compounded drug if an approved drug is available to treat a patient. Patients and health care professionals should understand that the agency does not review compounded versions of these drugs for safety, effectiveness, or quality,” the FDA said in a safety warning earlier this year.

The warning came as many people reported turning to compounding pharmacies to get cheaper doses of semaglutide.

Without insurance coverage, the cost of medications like Ozempic, Rybelsus and Wegovy can run more than $1,000 a month.

Both Ozempic and Rybelsus are approved by the FDA to treat Type 2 diabetes, but some doctors prescribe the medication “off-label” for weight loss, as is permissible by the FDA.

Wegovy is FDA-approved for weight loss for people with obesity or who are overweight with a comorbidity like high blood pressure.

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has proposed a new rule that aims to protect consumers from foodborne illnesses by significantly reducing salmonella in poultry products that make it onto grocery store shelves and into shoppers’ kitchens.

After three years of reevaluating its strategy for controlling salmonella rates in poultry, the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced a new proposal on Monday that would require poultry companies to keep salmonella levels under a certain threshold and ensure they test for six specific forms of bacteria in raw chicken and turkey products.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said in a statement that the newly proposed framework “marks a historic step forward to combat” poultry-related Salmonella contamination and hopes it will keep contaminated meat out of stores to help lessen the number of recalls and illnesses.

“This proposed framework is a systematic approach to addressing Salmonella contamination at poultry slaughter and processing, which includes enforceable standards that will result in safer food for consumers and fewer illnesses,” he said.

Citing the Poultry Products Inspection Act, the FSIS said this rule would “establish final product standards based on these Salmonella levels and serotypes” and prevent adulterated raw chicken and turkey products from entering the retail supply.

FSIS also proposed revisions to regulations that would require all poultry slaughter establishments to “develop a microbial monitoring program to prevent pathogen contamination throughout the slaughter system.”

“The proposed Salmonella framework is grounded in data and rigorous scientific evaluation, and it reflects feedback from extensive stakeholder engagement,” USDA Under Secretary for Food Safety Dr. José Emilio Esteban said in a statement. “We encourage all interested stakeholders to submit comments and relevant data on the proposal as we work to finalize data-driven, science-based regulatory policies to address Salmonella in poultry.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, salmonella bacteria cause over one million human infections in the U.S. each year.

Food is the leading source of salmonella infections and poultry is among the leading sources of foodborne salmonella illnesses, the CDC has found.

The FSIS estimates there are 125,000 chicken-associated and nearly 43,000 turkey-associated foodborne salmonella illnesses per year. Despite agency data that indicates salmonella contamination in poultry products has been decreasing, the agency said there has not been an observed reduction in salmonella illnesses.

The CDC has published a list of safety tips to avoid food-borne illnesses on its website, which include washing hands for at least 20 seconds “with soap and warm or cold water before, during, and after preparing food and before eating” — especially after handling uncooked meat, chicken and other poultry, seafood, flour or eggs — as well as any utensils, cutting boards and countertops; avoiding cross-contamination; cooking foods to a safe internal temperature; and refrigerating food promptly afterward.

“Bacteria can multiply rapidly if left at room temperature or in the ‘Danger Zone’ between 40°F and 140°F,” the CDC states. “Never leave perishable food out for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour if exposed to temperatures above 90°F).”

The CDC also recommends washing hands thoroughly with running water and soap after touching pets and other animals or their belongings.

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(NEW YORK) — The World Health Organization announced Monday that it has launched an initiative to help accelerate the development of a human bird flu vaccine using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.

The project, which will be led by Argentinian pharmaceutical company Sinergium Biotech, will aim to identify vaccine candidates for manufacturers in low- and middle-income countries, the WHO said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has previously said the risk of bird flu, also known as avian influenza, to the general public is low and there is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission. Federal health officials have also prepared millions of vials of an available non-mRNA bird flu vaccine as a precautionary measure, just in case it becomes necessary.

mRNA technology is the same type that was used in the development of COVID vaccines. Most vaccines use a weakened or inactive virus to stimulate an immune response, but mRNA vaccines teach the body how to make proteins that can trigger an immune response and fight off an infection.

Researchers can often design mRNA vaccines more quickly than they can produce the live or weakened pathogens needed for a traditional vaccine.

The initiative is part of the WHO’s mRNA Technology Transfer Program, which has a goal of building capacity in low- and middle-income countries to produce mRNA vaccines.

Sinergium Biotech has already developed candidates for H5N1 vaccines, according to the WHO. The company is looking to perform proof-of-concept studies, in which researchers decide whether to continue studying the product based on its efficacy.

If the proof-of-concept study is successful, Sinergium said it plans to share the “technology, materials and expertise” with other manufacturing partners so they can develop the vaccine themselves.

“This initiative exemplifies why WHO established the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme — to foster greater research, development and production in low- and middle-income countries, so that when the next pandemic arrives, the world will be better prepared to mount a more effective and more equitable response,” WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

The WHO says that avian influenza viruses are a “significant public health risk” because they spread widely in animals and have the potential to cause a future pandemic. However, the global health agency indicated that its preparedness efforts are an example of being proactive, rather than reactive, by increasing access to vaccines.

In the United States, there have been 13 human cases of bird flu since April of this year, according to an update last week from the CDC. All the human patients either came into contact with sick dairy cows or infected poultry, according to the CDC.

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday morning approved a blood test to screen for colorectal cancer in certain individuals.

The blood test, known as Shield and manufactured by Guardant Health, is already commercially available, but FDA approval will help broaden availability and insurance coverage.

The test was approved for people aged 45 and older with an “average risk” of colon cancer.

Specialists warn that the blood test is not an equivalent alternative to colonoscopies, but it could lead to more people getting screened since it takes less time and effort to get screened. Colonoscopies are more accurate at detecting cancer, allow for the removal of precancerous polyps, and are recommended every 10 years instead of every three years for the blood test.

The false positive rate of the Shield test is about 10%, and it only found 13% of large polyps as compared to 95% with a colonoscopy in a clinical trial.

Shield detects colorectal cancer by detecting DNA shed by tumors in blood samples. Results take about two weeks after the samples are received by the laboratory.

Shield is not the first blood-based screening tool available for colorectal cancer, and colonoscopies are still considered the gold standard for screening.

However, the test presents another option to screen for a type of cancer that has been affecting many Americans at younger ages than before.

Earlier this year, an FDA advisory panel — the Medical Devices Advisory Committee (MDAC) — recommended that the federal health agency approve the test. Although FDA approval isn’t guaranteed, the agency usually agrees with its advisers.

Despite the high overall sensitivity rate, the clinical trial data indicated Shield may miss one in 10 people who have precancerous lesions and one in 1,000 people with cancerous lesions.

These “false negatives” may result in tests finding no evidence of cancer, but patients actually have precancerous or cancerous lesions, according to the clinical trial data.

Although members of the MDAC did express concerns about false negatives, the committee ultimately found the test to be safe and effective and that the benefits of use outweighed potential risks.

“The FDA approval of the Shield test is a significant victory for patients and an important milestone in Guardant Health’s mission to conquer cancer with data. Shield can help improve colorectal cancer screening rates so we can detect more cancers at an early stage, when they are treatable,” AmirAli Talasaz, Guardant Health co-CEO, said in a press release.

“We are now getting ready to launch this test in the near future and are very excited to empower physicians with a viable blood-based screening option to tailor the screening regimen to the unique needs of their patients,” Talasaz said.

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(NEW YORK) — As summer begins to wind down and many children and teenagers across the U.S. get ready to head back to school next month, it also means updated COVID-19 vaccines are around the corner.

Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Americans receive the updated 2024-25 vaccine when it becomes available later this year.

Health officials have used the term “updated vaccines” in anticipation of needing to formulate a new vaccine every year to match circulating variants as is done for the flu shot.

“Historically, when we’re talking about COVID vaccines, we’re talking about boosters that would happen at some time post your previous vaccine,” said Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital and an ABC News contributor.

“Now we’re targeting annual vaccines for COVID-19 that is similar to flu. It’s a reformulation based on what’s circulating, and this is why we’re talking about an annual campaign rather than a booster,” he continued.

Here’s what you need to know about the updated COVID vaccines:

What variants does it target?

The updated 2024-25 COVID-19 vaccines will target the JN.1 lineage of the virus, an offshoot of the omicron variant.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked manufacturers to formulate a vaccine that closely matches the KP.2 strain of JN.1.

Who is eligible?

The CDC recommends everyone ages 6 months and older receive an updated vaccine.

Vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna will be available for those 6 months old and older while the Novavax vaccine will be available for those aged 12 and older.

When will the vaccines be available?

Updated vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Novavax will be available in either August or September.

The CDC has said that it is safe to receive a COVID-19 vaccine at the same time as a flu shot or an RSV vaccine, for those who are being eligible.

For those who decide to get multiple vaccines in one appointment, “we suggest probably using different [arms] so you don’t exacerbate tenderness at the injection site,” Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor of medicine and infectious disease specialists at University of California, San Francisco, told ABC News. “But essentially, you can get all three at the same time.”

Are the vaccines free?

Those who are covered by Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance will receive coverage for the updated vaccines.

In previous years, the CDC had a Bridge Access Program that provided free COVID-19 vaccines to adults without health insurance and adults whose insurance does not cover all COVID-19 vaccine costs. The program is ending in August 2024.

“This year we won’t have the luxury of having the Bridge Program be a safety gap,” Chin-Hong said. “Those who have no insurance, which comprises millions of Americans, will have to be covered by different states’ safety net programs.”

For children whose parents or guardians cannot afford vaccine coverage for them, there is the federally funded Vaccines for Children Program, which provides access to vaccines.

Why should I receive a vaccine?

Data has shown that COVID-19 vaccines can reduce the risk of severe disease, hospitalization and death as well as lower the risk of developing long COVID.

A September 2023 analysis by the CDC suggested making the COVID-19 vaccine recommendation universal could prevent about 400,000 hospitalizations and 40,000 deaths over the next two years.

“We have to remember that this virus is constantly changing, and that your protection from previous infection or from previous vaccines declines over time,” Brownstein said. “Making sure that you receive the most updated formulations of vaccine will ensure that you have the most recent protection and we of course assumed that like previous years.”

He added that protection from the updated vaccines will likely last through the winter months, when cases typically increase and, as a result, hospitalizations and deaths increase as well.

Chin-Hong said it’s important for those who are at risk of serious disease and hospitalization to get vaccinated including those who are older and immunocompromised as well as those who live with high-risk individuals to prevent spread.

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(HOUSTON) — A family in Texas has welcomed home all four of their rare identical quadruplets after the infants spent over three months in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

The sisters — named Hannah Grace, Lucy Marie, Rebecca Claire and Petra Anne — were born on May 1, after their mom, Mercedes Sandhu, delivered them at 29 weeks and three days.

Sandhu carried what is known as a monochorionic pregnancy, meaning all four babies shared the same placenta, according to Texas Children’s Hospital, where Sandhu gave birth.

The babies were born just before Mother’s Day, but Sandhu did not have all four daughters at home until Thursday, when Rebecca was discharged from the NICU.

Hannah and Petra were discharged on July 12, followed by Lucy nearly one week later.

“We’re so happy they can be together too,” the babies’ father, Jonathan Sandhu, told Good Morning America. “The past few weeks are the only moments they have ever been apart. Even in the NICU, they were always within a few feet of each other.”

The quadruplets’ reunion at home was also the first time all four sisters got to meet their older brothers, Luke, 4, and Aaron, nearly 2, who were not allowed in the NICU because of their ages, according to Jonathan Sandhu.

“The best part has been watching our boys welcome their baby sisters … They are obsessed with the girls,” he said. “Seeing our little family come together has been the most heartwarming moment of our lives.”

The quadruplets’ birth on May 1, meant the Sandhus had welcomed six kids in a span of four years. The quadruplets were conceived naturally, without the help of fertility treatments.

When it comes to being able to differentiate the quadruplets, Jonathan Sandhu said they are able to tell two of the babies apart because they were born with hemangiomas, a benign growth of extra blood cells in the skin that is one of the most common skin conditions among infants, according to Texas Children’s Hospital.

The couple also keeps the babies in labeled bassinets and lines them up in birth order — Hannah, Lucy, Rebecca, Petra, for feedings.

“Because they’re identical, they literally have the exact same DNA so keeping them correctly identified is pretty important,” Jonathan Sandhu told GMA.

The Sandhus have been documenting the journey of their “miracle” babies on their Instagram account, @thesandhucrew.

They said the babies are proving to be healthy and happy at home, with no ongoing medical needs after their time in the NICU.

“With high order multiples, all sharing one placenta, they were at elevated risks for nearly all the bad things that can accompany premature infants,” Jonathan Sandhu said. “We’ve had a few little bumps, but nothing that ever became life-threatening or would need life-long care.”

Jonathan Sandhu said he and his wife are dealing with the normal challenges that accompany a newborn — like sleep deprivation — but multiplied by four.

“If you’ve ever taken care of a newborn at night, imagine that, but with a few more crying mouths and dirty diapers,” he explained. “My wife and I take shifts at night and one person feeding and changing multiple babies can take two hours. Then you have to repeat it all a few hours later.”

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(NEW YORK) — Infant mortality rates in the United States increased by 3% in 2022, according to a new federal report published early Thursday morning.

Researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics looked at linked birth and death data sets — information from the death certificate linked to the information from the birth certificate — from the National Vital Statistics System.

Data showed the rate increased from 5.44 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021 to 5.61 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022. This equates to a total of 20,577 infant deaths reported in 2022, up 3% from 2021.

Although the rate is lower than the 7.57 per 1,000 recorded in 1995 — the first year the linked birth/infant death file was available — it marks the second straight year of increases.

“It is concerning that the rate bumped up by 3% compared to ’21,” Dr. James Greenberg, co-director of the Perinatal Institute at Cincinnati Children’s and co-founder of Cradle Cincinnati — a non-profit working to improve infant mortality rates in Hamilton County, Ohio — told ABC News.

“The overall trend for the last many decades has been, in general, a downward trend, but the United States infant mortality rate is still much higher than almost every other developed country in the world,” he continued. “So, when we see an uptick like this, it’s certainly a cause for additional concern.”

The report found that the overall mortality rate increased for infants born to American Indian/Alaska Native women, white women and Dominican women in 2022 while other racial and ethnic groups did not see significant increases from 2021 to 2022.

Meanwhile, infants of Black women had the highest mortality rate at 10.90 per 1,000 live births in 2022 followed by infants of American Indian/Alaska Native women and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander women.

Greenberg, who was not involved in the report, said the data is further evidence of the racial and ethnic disparities seen in infant mortality rates when it comes to minority women.

“This has been a rather intractable problem in the United States…and the disparities between white and non-Hispanic, Black infant mortality and white and American Indian/Alaska Native infant mortality are quite striking and continue to be very, very troubling,” he said.

Greenberg called the Black infant mortality rate “extraordinary” and said it was “on par with some parts of the world that have very limited resources.”

The report also found that infant mortality rates were highest in the South and Rust Belt middle America and lowest in the Northeast, Northwest and West, which Greenberg said is in line with where rates are traditionally higher and lower.

Data from the report showed in 2022, the five leading causes of all infant deaths were the same as those in 2021 including congenital malformations, disorders related to short gestation and low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), unintentional injuries and maternal complications.

Greenberg said preterm birth is the actual leading cause of infant death based on research conducted by his team, but there’s not a single code for a death certificate that covers preterm births.

“It’s a reflection of the way coding around cause of death is done. The problem is that the causes related to preterm birth are subdivided, so you have to actually add them up in order to get the whole impact of preterm birth,” he said. “It’s not congenital malformations, certainly not to denigrate that, that cause, but preterm birth is where it’s at.”

Greenberg said other factors that may have played a role in the bump in 2022 include an RSV and flu season in 2022 that began much earlier than usual after COVID-19 pandemic mitigation measures began to be lifted. Another role may have been the impact of a COVID-19 infection in pregnant women, which may have forced some to deliver early and, in turn, raised the risk of infant mortality.

Another factor contributing to the bump may be the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, which led to anecdotal reports of women forced to carry to term babies that would die upon being born or shortly after birth.

He said it’s too soon to tell if any of the other three factors played a role, but anecdotal evidence suggests this may be the case.

Greenberg has actively been involved in working to reduce infant mortality rates in Hamilton County, where Cincinnati is located, as a co-founder of Cradle Cincinnati.

He said the county has seen a steep decrease in infant mortality since 2013 from being 70% above the national average to being right around the national average in 2023 by focusing on reducing infant mortality related to pre-term birth and improving Black infant mortality.

Efforts include promoting smoking cessation and getting pregnant people into early prenatal care by eliminating barriers in vulnerable communities.

“Our experience in Hamilton County suggests that it is possible to accelerate the reduction in infant mortality, and that it’s worth doing because infant mortality is really a signal for overall health and well-being of the whole country,” he said. “It’s not just babies. It’s a reflection of our health care system, and our ability to deliver health care effectively. It’s our reflection of our ability to do it in a way that people everywhere value and can embrace.”

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(NEW YORK) — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has delayed consideration of a long-anticipated proposal to ban formaldehyde (FA) in hair-relaxing products, which some studies have linked to certain types of cancers.

It is not clear when the agency plans to consider the proposed rule, which was first entered in the Unified Agenda, a government registry of actions that administrative agencies plan to issue, last October.

If enacted, the rule would “ban formaldehyde and other FA-releasing chemicals as an ingredient in hair smoothing or hair straightening products marketed in the United States,” according to the language entered in the Unified Agenda.

Frequent use of hair-straightening products that include chemicals like formaldehyde has been found in studies to put women at a higher risk for uterine cancer, a type of cancer that starts in the uterus and is a risk factor for anyone with a uterus but the risk increases with age, especially during and after menopause, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A 2022 study found an association that women who self-reported frequent use of hair straightening products were more than twice as likely to later develop uterine cancer than women who did not use the products.

The study found that Black women may be more affected by the increased risk of uterine cancer not because of their race, but due to the fact that they use chemical hair straightening products at a higher rate. Frequent use of the products was defined as more than four times in the previous year, according to the study, which included more than 33,000 women between the ages of 35 to 74.

Scientists caution that it’s not clear yet if these products cause cancer. For now, research only hints at a probable link.

Formaldehyde is described by the Environmental Protection Agency as a “colorless, flammable gas” that can cause “adverse health effects” with exposure. When used in hair smoothing products, the formaldehyde is released into the air as a gas when the products are heated.

The Department of Health and Human Services lists formaldehyde as a “known carcinogen.”

The FDA has previously issued a warning stating that the use of hair smoothing products in an area that is not properly ventilated could lead to a risk of a person inhaling formaldehyde. In the warning, the agency acknowledged it began receiving “inquiries from consumers and salon professionals” about the safety of formaldehyde in products as far back as 20 years ago.

Safety tips for women in the absence of a ban

Dr. Angela Lamb, a New York City-based dermatologist, told ABC News’ Good Morning America Tuesday that women should read labels on their own and ask their salon provider about the ingredients in the products they’re using prior to undergoing treatments like hair straightening.

The three key ingredients to look for are formaldehyde, methylene glycol, and formalin, according to Lamb.

“You want to make sure, if you’re at a salon and you’re using something, if you have any reactions, let your salon provider know,” she said.

According to the FDA, possible reactions that have been reported range from eye problems to headaches, dizziness, nausea, chest pain, vomiting, coughing, wheezing and throat soreness.

Consumers can report bad reactions to the FDA by phone and online.

Lamb said if women want to avoid formaldehyde-containing products completely, they can opt for heat-styling options like roller sets and presses.

With those options, no chemicals are involved at all, according to Lamb.

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(NEW YORK) — Several health departments in the U.S. say they have detected West Nile virus in mosquito samples.

Although the average number of actual West Nile cases is significantly lower than the same time last year, experts are urging the public to take precautions.

On Monday, the Cape May County Health Department in southern New Jersey sent out a press release reporting that seven mosquito collections during the months of June and July had tested positive for West Nile virus.

Denton County Public Health in Texas also reported on Monday that five positive West Nile virus mosquito traps had been collected in unincorporated Denton County, with health officials saying the locations would be fogged for treatment.

In Suffolk County, New York, the health department announced on Monday that 16 mosquito samples have tested positive for West Nile virus, bringing the total to 32 so far this season. Meanwhile, data from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene shows West Nile-positive mosquitoes have been detected in all five boroughs.

“The confirmation of West Nile virus in mosquito samples indicates the presence of West Nile virus in the area,” Suffolk County Health Commissioner Dr. Gregson Pigott said in a press release. “While there is no cause for alarm, we advise residents to cooperate with us in our efforts to reduce exposure to West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases.”

So far, only 25 cases of West Nile virus have been reported in 14 states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is lower than the 117 cases reported at the same time last year.

West Nile virus is the leading cause of mosquito-borne disease in the contiguous United States, according to the CDC. It was first introduced in the Western Hemisphere during the summer of 1999 after people were diagnosed in New York City.

Mosquitoes typically become infected with the virus after feeding on infected birds and then spread it to humans and other animals, the federal health agency said. Cases typically begin rising in July and are highest in August and September, CDC data shows.

The majority of people with the virus do not have symptoms, but about one in five will experience fever along with headaches, body aches, joint pain, diarrhea, vomiting or a rash. Most symptoms disappear but weakness and fatigue may last for weeks or months.

About one in 150 will develop severe disease leading to encephalitis, which is inflammation of the brain, or meningitis, which is inflammation of the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord — both of which can lead to death. So far this year, 11 of the 25 cases have resulted in neuroinvasive disease, according to the CDC.

There are currently no vaccines or specific treatments available for West Nile virus. The CDC recommends rest, fluids and over-the-counter medications. For those with severe illness, patients often need to be hospitalized and receive support treatments such as intravenous fluids.

To best protect yourself, the CDC suggests using insect repellant, wearing long-sleeved shirts and pants, treating clothing and gear and taking steps to control mosquitoes. This last step includes putting screens on windows and doors, using air conditioning and emptying out containers with still water.

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