CAGUAS, Puerto Rico — Before the virus overwhelmed Puerto Rico, Zika already lurked in Keishla Mojica’s home. First her partner, John Rodríguez, 23, became infected. His face swelled and a red, itchy rash covered his body. Doctors at the time diagnosed it as an allergy. Two months later, Mojica, 23, had the same symptoms. Medics administered […]

SOBRE NOTICIAS EN ESPAÑOL Noticias en español es una sección de KFF Health News que contiene traducciones de artículos de gran interés para la comunidad hispanohablante, y contenido original enfocado en la población hispana que vive en los Estados Unidos. CAGUAS, Puerto Rico — Antes de que el zika abrumara a Puerto Rico, el virus ya […]

One in three women with breast cancer detected by a mammogram is treated unnecessarily, because screening tests found tumors that are so slow-growing that they’re essentially harmless, according to a Danish study published Monday in Annals of Internal Medicine, which has renewed debate over the value of early detection. The study raises the uncomfortable possibility that some women […]

Debbie Case held an insulated bag with two packaged meals — a sandwich wrap and fruit for lunch, a burrito and cauliflower for dinner. “You’re going to eat well today,” Case told 75-year-old Dave Kelly as she handed him the meals. Kelly lost his sight about two years ago and reluctantly gave up cooking. After putting […]

The plague is best known for wiping out as much as a third of Europe’s population during the Black Death pandemic of the 14th century, but it’s not entirely a thing of the past. It’s enough of a present-day threat — either as a bioterrorism weapon or because of antibiotic resistance — that scientists are […]

The day he learned he had liver cancer, Michael J. Reece, 56, was spending nights in a Seattle homeless shelter, leaving each morning to wander the city streets. For weeks, he’d been in constant pain, worried about the swelling in his legs and gut. Then he faced surgery and chemotherapy — and the dread that comes […]

It’s no secret that American children have gotten fatter in recent decades. Now a new study joins earlier research showing the consequences: A sharp rise in insurance claims for youth with Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and other conditions more often associated with older adults. Claims for Type 2 diabetes — formerly known as “adult-onset” diabetes […]

If “repeal and replace” of the Affordable Care Act is Republicans’ job one, defunding Planned Parenthood is a close second. In fact, the two priorities might be paired. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., told reporters Jan. 5 that efforts to defund the organization “would be in our reconciliation bill,” referring to a measure Congress has […]

As policymakers and health officials sound the alarm on the nation’s obesity epidemic, a team of researchers want to improve health outcomes among the most vulnerable Americans by overhauling the federal food assistance program. In articles published as a supplement Wednesday in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, more than a dozen researchers called for changes […]

OAKLAND, Calif. — What stands out upon entering Mai Dang’s nail salon, located on a busy street in Berkeley, Calif., is what’s missing — the stinging smell of nail products. That wasn’t always the case. For a decade, Dang suffered from the effects of the chemicals she used at work every day. “When you do nails, workers get […]