There is a prevalence of parasitic diseases among poor urban families in the U.S., according to Dr. Peter Hotez of the George Washington University. Other ailments like dengue fever and Chagas disease associated with developing nations may also become more common in America due to climate changes.

While these ailments do not claim lives, they negatively affect the development of a child, his intellectual development, hearing and could cause heart disease. As the malady affects poor people, it perpetuates their state of poverty since the infections could last for years or lifetimes

Brain injuries from falling account for half of all elderly deaths, a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says. In 2005, brain injuries accounted for 50 percent of unintentional fall deaths and 8 percent of nonfatal fall-related hospitalizations among older adults.

Traumatic brain injuries, which are caused by a bump or blow to the head due to a fall, caused nearly 8,000 deaths and 56,000 hospitalizations in 2005 among Americans 65 and older, the study found

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed Monday it found a cow infected with the deadly mad cow disease in the western province of British Columbia.

The agency immediately started a search for the farm where the infected cow came from even though no meat from the infected animal entered the food chain. It was the 13th case of mad cow disease reported in Canada and the third case in British Columbia in the last three years

The use of a pacifier or 'dummy' by babies has been identified as a risk factor for acute otitis media (AOM), a type of common ear infection, new study says.

The researchers from University Medical Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands studied almost 500 Dutch children who used dummies or pacifiers. The study spanning five years found that the pacifiers almost double the risk of recurrent ear infections in those who used it as compared to the non-users

A U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory panel on Wednesday recommended the psoriasis drug Enbrel to be approved for pediatric use with moderate-to-severe forms of the skin disease.

Seven panel members from the advisory committee voted in favor of recommending approval while five voted against and one abstained. The panel said the drug appears effective but expressed concerns about increased risks of malignancy and serious infections like tuberculosis