The pandemic highlighted the risk that air travel carries for the spread of infectious diseases, and that risk remains even though the health emergency has passed. “Airplanes have many touch points that are perfect for the transfer of bacteria or viruses,” said Dr. Mike Ren, an assistant professor of family and community medicine at Baylor…  read on >  read on >

Exploring Europe, taking an African safari, going on a trip to the tropics: In many cases, vaccines are needed for travel, and that’s doubly true for children. According to pediatrician Dr. Lauren Nguyen, researching what vaccines are needed and preparing well before your family’s departure is crucial. “I tell my families that it’s best to come…  read on >  read on >

If tropical lands like South America or Africa are your travel destinations, getting yourself protected against yellow fever before you go is imperative, an expert says. What is yellow fever? According to  Dr. Jill Weatherhead, an assistant professor of tropical medicine and infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, it’s a viral illness endemic to…  read on >  read on >

Teens on the verge of falling asleep behind the wheel is a common threat to public safety on U.S. roadways, a new study reports. About 1 in 6 teenage drivers say they’ve driven while drowsy, according to a National Sleep Foundation study presented Wednesday at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies in…  read on >  read on >

Booze could threaten a sleeping air passenger’s heart health, particularly on long-haul flights, a new study warns. Alcohol combined with cabin pressure at cruising altitude lowers the amount of oxygen in the blood and raises the heart rate for a long period, even in the young and healthy, researchers explained. And the more alcohol a…  read on >  read on >

In just one year, U.S. deaths linked to the use of all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) jumped by a third, according to the latest report from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. With another summer set to begin and ATVs brought out of storage, the agency is warning of the dangers from ATVs, also known as off-highway vehicles…  read on >  read on >

Experts are expecting this Memorial Day weekend to be the busiest yet, with nearly 44 million Americans projected to travel between Thursday and Monday. A fair number of those travelers will have a companion suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia-related illness, according to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America (AFA). “Taking a trip during Memorial…  read on >  read on >

Antibiotic-resistant meningitis or severe, long-lasting joint infections: That’s what three U.S. “medical tourists” brought home after seeking out unapproved stem cell treatments in Mexico, according to a new report. The germ involved in all three cases was Mycobacterium abscessus, explained a team led by Dr. Minh-Vu Nguyen, an infectious disease specialist at National Jewish Health…  read on >  read on >