Nicole Richie is hospitalized in Los Angeles for pneumonia, but is said to be doing well

November 3rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Infants born to women who received influenza vaccine during pregnancy are less likely to be hospitalized due to the disease, say researchers. Influenza is a major cause of serious respiratory disease in pregnant women and of hospitalization in infants.

November 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Advertisements, campaigns and discussions marked the first World Pneumonia Day being observed Monday. A number of awareness drives were held in the capital in an effort to sensitise people about this curable disease that kills 400,000 children every year in India alone.

November 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - A vaccine targeting the rampant pneumonia haemophillus bacteria will soon be included in the countrys routine immunisation programme, health experts said Monday, also stressing the need to raise awareness on the disease that annually claims lives of 400,000 children in India. "Ten states will introduce the HiB vaccine into their routine immunisation programme next year," said Panna Choudhury of the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP), at an event to observe World Pneumonia Day (Nov 2) held as part of a campaign in 20 countries to focus on the disease.

October 31st, 2009 NEW DELHI - For the first time, World Pneumonia Day will be observed this Monday. To spread awareness about the single largest cause of death in children worldwide, netizens are urging everyone to observe it by wearing a pair of blue jeans.

October 29th, 2009 Witness: Nanny saw defendants force drugs on SmithLOS ANGELES — An investigator says a nanny who worked for Anna Nicole Smith told him that the former Playboy model's boyfriend and psychiatrist drugged her up against her will. Department of Justice investigator Danny Santiago testified Thursday at a preliminary hearing about an interview he had with the nanny in the Bahamas in September.

October 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - A coalition of over 50 child health organisations from across the world will observe Nov 2 as the first World Pneumonia Day. Two million children under five years of age die from pneumonia each year - more than from AIDS, measles and malaria combined, according to Global Coalition against Pneumonia.

October 9th, 2009 FDA: High radiation doses at Cedars-Sinai hospitalLOS ANGELES — The FDA has warned hospitals across the country about exposing patients to high doses of radiation during CT brain scans, following an investigation of errors at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. Hospital officials told the Los Angeles Times Friday that 206 patients got eight times the regular dose of radiation during scans used to diagnose strokes.

October 8th, 2009 Swine flu put many hospitalized patients into ICUOne quarter of Americans sick enough to be hospitalized with swine flu last spring wound up needing intensive care and 7 percent of them died, the first such study of the early months of the global epidemic suggests. That's a little higher than with ordinary seasonal flu, several experts said.

October 8th, 2009 US study: Swine flu's first wave put many in ICUsA new government study shows that one quarter of Americans who were sick enough to be hospitalized with swine flu last spring wound up needing intensive care, and 7 percent of them died. Health experts say that is a little higher than with ordinary seasonal flu.

October 6th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Fast-food restaurants have always been criticised for promoting unhealthy eating habits, with health campaigners calling for a ban on them. But a new study has shown that even imposing restrictions wouldn't help cut health risk among junk food lovers.

September 21st, 2009 3 pharmacists warned about Anna Nicole Smith's RxLOS ANGELES — A Los Angeles pharmacist told Anna Nicole Smith's internist that the drugs he had prescribed to the model after her son died were "pharmaceutical suicide," and refused to fill the prescriptions. According to unsealed documents written by state officials and obtained by the Los Angeles Times Monday, Smith's doctors were warned about prescription drugs by three pharmacists.

September 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A popular antacid to prevent stress ulcers in critically ill patients requiring breathing machine support heightens their risk of getting pneumonia threefold, says a new study. "Patients who develop hospital-acquired pneumonia or ventilator-acquired pneumonia have about a 20 to 30 percent chance of dying from that pneumonia," said senior study author David L.

September 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have found that a popular stomach-acid reducer, which is used to prevent stress ulcers in critically ill patients who need breathing machine support, triples the likelihood of contracting pneumonia among such patients. Hospital-acquired pneumonia-the leading cause of infection-related deaths in critically ill patients-increases hospital stays by an average of seven to nine days, cost of care, and the risk of other complications.

September 2nd, 2009 LA County quarantined to halt citrus pest's spreadLOS ANGELES — The state has placed a plant-movement quarantine on Los Angeles County to slow the spread of an invasive pest that can be carry a deadly citrus bacteria. California's Department of Food and Agriculture announced the quarantine on Wednesday, one week after discovering several dozen Asian citrus psyllids in Los Angeles.

August 28th, 2009 Coroner rules Michael Jackson death a homicideLOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles County coroner says Michael Jackson's death was a homicide primarily caused by two drugs. In a statement released Friday, the coroner said the cause of death was acute intoxication from the anesthetic propofol.