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A quick test to help triage emergency room patients with potential coronavirus infections is being introduced today at hospitals in the Hackensack Meridian Health system across New Jersey.The test, developed by scientists in Nutley at the Center for Discovery and Innovation, takes hours rather than days to produce results. It's intended to aid decisions about treatment and relieve pressure on the state public health laboratory. “It’s fast and it’s accurate, and crucial hours could mean the diffe …

The U.S. flu season is just beginning and can last through MayPeak infections generally hit the U.S. between December and February, according to the CDC.Predicting the duration and size of the outbreak isn’t an exact science.A surge in influenza cases in Australia and at least three deaths in the U.S. in recent weeks have some physicians worried that this year’s flu season could be a bad one for Americans.Though public health officials say they don’t know yet whether the 2019-2020 season will be …

Aside from delays and annoying passenger antics, most flights go off without a hitch. But, on occasion, you might find yourself on a flight where a fellow traveler has a medical emergency. That’s what happened on a 2016 American Airlines flight from Honolulu when Brittany Oswell suffered a pulmonary embolism, more commonly called a blood clot.Sadly, she died from the incident. And incredibly, she’s not alone.According to the National Blood Clot Alliance, an average of 274 people die from blood c …

At issue are two genes, called BRCA1 and BRCA2.More women may benefit from gene testing for hereditary breast or ovarian cancer, especially if they've already survived cancer once, an influential health group recommended Tuesday.At issue are genes called BRCA1 and BRCA2. When they're mutated, the body can't repair damaged DNA as well, greatly increasing the chances of breast, ovarian and certain other cancers. Gene testing allows affected women to consider steps to lower their risk, such as when …

A woman’s habit of keeping her contact lenses in while swimming and showering had serious consequences: She developed a rare eye infection that left her legally blind in one eye, according to a new report of the case.The 41-year-old woman, who lives in the United Kingdom, went to the eye doctor after experiencing blurry vision, eye pain and sensitivity to light in her left eye for two months, according to the report, which was published this month in the New England Journal of Medicine.She told …