Health, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 31, 2020

Poison control sees spike in calls for cleaner, disinfectant accidents amid COVID-19 pandemic

Calls to poison control centers regarding exposure to household cleaners and disinfectants have spiked amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report. The report authors found that, from January to March this year, poison control centers received 45,550 calls related to cleaner and disinfectant exposure. That's up 20% compared...

Mar 31, 2020

Nearly 9 in 10 COVID-19 patients who are put on a ventilator die, New York hospital data suggests

Around 88% of patients with COVID-19 who were put on a ventilator in a New York hospital system died, according to a new study. In the new study, researchers analyzed data from 5,700 patients who were hospitalized from March 1 to April 4 through Northwell Health, the largest health system...

Mar 31, 2020

South Dakota: Latest updates on coronavirus

Last updated on April 27 at 6 p.m. EDT. South Dakota has 2,245 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to the state's health department. An additional 14,130 tests have come back negative for the virus. At least 1,316 patients have recovered from the virus, and 150 have been hospitalized. The state...

Mar 31, 2020

COVID-19 may be tied to rare syndrome in children, UK doctors warn

Children have been thought to be largely spared from the worst of the new coronavirus, but doctors in the U.K. are now warning of a possible connection between COVID-19 and an unusual inflammatory syndrome in children. However, experts stress that serious illness related to COVID-19 in children is still very...

Mar 31, 2020

Recovered patients who tested positive for COVID-19 likely not reinfected

More than 260 COVID-19 patients in South Korea tested positive for the coronavirus after having recovered, raising alarm that the virus might be capable of reactivating or infecting people more than once. But infectious disease experts now say both are unlikely. Rather, the method used to detect the coronavirus, called...

Feb 29, 2020

Hand sanitizer sold out? Here's how to make your own.

With concerns about COVID-19 running high, supplies of hand sanitizer at local stores may start to run low. If they run out, is it safe to make your own, and will DIY hand sanitizer protect you against coronavirus infection? During recent weeks, sales of hand sanitizer have skyrocketed, peaking around...

Feb 29, 2020

Why do we use soap?

Did you wash your hands? Did you use soap? Children everywhere are grossly familiar with those questions, but it's for a good reason: Washing with soap is essential for preventing the spread of germs that make us sick. Germs, or microbes, are everywhere. Literally, everywhere. In the air, soil, water...

Feb 29, 2020

How to self-quarantine during coronavirus outbreak

With more than 378 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. and more than 15 associated deaths, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is actively monitoring, and trying to contain, the transmission of the disease, called COVID-19. In some cases, depending on risk level, the CDC may ask individuals...

Feb 29, 2020

What does quarantine mean?

Quarantine is a state or place of isolation for a person or animal who may have come in contact with contagious diseases. The period of isolation lowers the chance that person or animal could transfer illnesses to others. Quarantine isn't reserved for sick people only. People who appear healthy could...

Feb 29, 2020

Is there a cure for the new coronavirus?

Coronavirus science and news —Coronavirus in the US: Map & cases —What are the symptoms? —How deadly is the new coronavirus? —How long does virus last on surfaces? —How does it compare with seasonal flu? —How does the coronavirus spread? —Can people spread the coronavirus after they recover? Editor's note:...

Feb 29, 2020

Newborn tests positive for COVID-19 in London

A newborn in London has tested positive for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, just minutes after being born to a mother who was also infected with the virus, according to news reports. Days prior to giving birth, the woman was admitted to a hospital for symptoms of pneumonia, finding out she...

Feb 29, 2020

Coronavirus: What is 'flattening the curve,' and will it work?

Efforts to completely contain the new coronavirus — the pandemic responsible for infecting hundreds of thousands of people in 130 countries with the disease, called COVID-19 — have failed. In less than a month, the global number of confirmed COVID-19 cases doubled from about 75,000 cases on Feb. 20 to...

Feb 29, 2020

COVID-19 spread is fueled by 'stealth transmission'

Cases of the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) that fly under the radar — without being detected or diagnosed — may have fueled the rapid spread of the disease, according to a new study. The study found that people with COVID-19 who didn't get diagnosed, likely because they didn't feel very...

Feb 29, 2020

How does the COVID-19 pandemic compare to the last pandemic?

It's been a little over a decade since the world experienced its last pandemic, the 2009 H1N1 swine flu. Between the spring of 2009 and the spring of 2010, the virus infected as many as 1.4 billion people across the globe and killed between 151,700 and 575,400 people, according to...

Feb 29, 2020

US doctors being exposed to COVID-19 because they don't have protective gear

The doctors and nurses on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic are putting themselves at unnecessary risk due to the national shortages of protective gear. They also fear they are infecting their patients, according to an investigative report by ProPublica. One emergency room (ER) physician in Amite, Louisiana, John...