An employee at a NJ surgical center who was stuck with a contaminated needle was not counseled about what to do in the wake of the injury, was not tested in a timely manner for disease and was not provided with appropriate medicine to help him avoid contracting a disease, according to OSHA inspectors, who have cited the Health East Ambulatory Surgical Center for 10 serious violations.

Female smokers have a much greater risk of death from lung cancer and chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD) in recent years than did female smokers 20 or 40 years ago, reflecting changes in smoking behavior according to a Special Article published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM).

With heart disease a virtual epidemic in the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) wants the public better informed about its most dire symptom: a heart attack.

In the 10th annual Ready or Not? Protecting the Public from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism report, 35 states and Washington, D.C. scored a six or lower on 10 key indicators of public health preparedness. The report found that while there has been significant progress toward improving public health preparedness over the past 10 years, particularly in core capabilities, there continue to be persistent gaps in the country's ability to respond to health emergencies, ranging from bioterrorist threats to serious disease outbreaks to extreme weather events.

Worried about your cholesterol? New health research finds that the benefits of diet and exercise may go beyond weight loss and muscle tone improvement. Working out may actually help raise the production of “good” cholesterol.