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More patients may be able to safely shower after surgery

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) – Many patients may be able to shower just two days after their operations without increasing their risk of infections around the incision site, a recent study suggests. The findings, along with results from other recent research, should help convince more doctors to let patients shower after surgery, said Dr. Paul Dayton, a researcher at Des Moines University and UnityPoint Health in Iowa who wasn’t involved in the study. “Traditions are sometimes long to fade away due to lack of good evidence to support change – this paper will certainly help to drive change,” Dayton said by email.

US man’s headache caused by tapeworm larvae

Doctors told local media that the pupal parasite burrowed in the brain of Luis Ortiz, 26, a student in Sacramento, came close to taking his life, news reports said Thursday. The worm was forming in a cyst that blocked the flow of water to chambers in Ortiz's brain, “like a cork in a bottle,” his neurosurgeon Dr. Soren Singel told the Napa Valley Register newspaper. Ortiz, who had gone to the hospital emergency room complaining of terrible headaches and nausea, eventually slipped into a coma, and required emergency surgery to remove the larvae.

80 Sick, 12 in ICU After Shigella Outbreak at California Restaurant

California health officials are investigating a bacterial outbreak after at least 80 people were sickened, sending 12 of them to the intensive care unit at a hospital. An outbreak of shigella occurred at the Mariscos San Juan Restaurant on 4th Street in San Jose, California, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department said Tuesday. Individuals started to report symptoms including fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea last Saturday, health officials said.

Actor Stamos charged with driving under the influence in California

(Reuters) – Actor John Stamos, star of the Fox sitcom “Grandfathered,” has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs in Beverly Hills, California, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said on Thursday. Stamos, 52, of Los Angeles, faces one misdemeanor charge stemming from his June 12 arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, the prosecutor's office said. Stamos faces a possible maximum sentence of six months in county jail if convicted, the district attorney's office said.

Judge rules Alzheimer’s project belongs to UC San Diego

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A judge has ruled that control of a landmark project on Alzheimer’s disease belongs to the University of California, San Diego — handing the school a major victory in its lawsuit against the University of Southern California.

Anthem set to announce deal for Cigna this week: sources

The deal would follow Aetna Inc's $37 billion agreement earlier this month to acquire Humana Inc, potentially reducing the number of major U.S. insurance companies from five to three and attracting antitrust scrutiny. Most issues that were preventing Anthem and Cigna from reaching a deal, such as price and the role of Cigna Chief Executive David Cordani, have been resolved, the people said. Anthem has slightly improved on its previous cash and stock offer of $184 per share and will pay somewhere near $187 per share for Cigna, one of the people said.

Meet the Pint-Sized Vaccine Supporter Who Gives a ‘Damn’ About Vaccine Bill

A controversial California bill to end personal-belief exemptions for students who are unvaccinated has been helped by one very important, yet pint-size supporter. Rhett Krawitt, 7, became one of the faces for the new bill aimed at raising vaccination rates by ending personal-belief exemptions for students at California schools. “Vaccines save lives,” he told reporters before taking a petition to end personal-belief exemptions with 30,000 signatures to California Gov. Jerry Brown’s office earlier this week.

Anthem offers $46 billion for Cigna, says CEO role holds up deal

U.S. health insurer Anthem Inc said on Saturday it had offered $46 billion in cash and stock for smaller rival Cigna Corp but that the deal was stalled over Cigna CEO David Cordani's role in the merged company. The announcement comes as the biggest U.S. health insurers seek acquisitions to boost membership in government-paid healthcare plans and the employer-based insurance that is Cigna's specialty. Anthem, the second largest health insurer in the United States, said in a statement that it had made four offers for Cigna in June, sweetening each one with better terms.

California bill ending ‘beliefs’ exemption for childhood vaccines advances

By Sharon Bernstein SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) – California’s senate education committee approved a bill making it mandatory for children to be vaccinated before starting school despite opposition from “ant-vaxxer” parents who have packed public hearings and flooded lawmakers with calls. The bill, which has already passed the senate health committee, has several more hurdles to clear before becoming law. It next goes to the senate judiciary committee, before going to the state senate, and finally the assembly. Under the bill, only children with medical waivers to opt out of vaccinations would be exempted.

Raise minimum age to buy cigarettes to decrease use: U.S. study

By Yasmeen Abutaleb NEW YORK (Reuters) – Raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 or 25 years old would significantly reduce their use and tobacco-related illnesses in the United States, a study published Thursday found, suggesting that states and local authorities should consider passing such laws. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which sponsored the report, cannot increase the minimum age to buy tobacco in the country from 18, but states and local authorities can do so. The report was presented to the FDA on Tuesday, said Richard Bonnie, chair of the report committee. Among people who smoked daily, 90 percent had tried their first cigarette before the age of 19 while the remaining 10 percent had tried tobacco products by 26, the study found.