Patients hospitalized for influenza had increased odds of heart attack and stroke in the following weeks and months, according to a new study led by Temple College of Public Health epidemiologist and assistant professor Erin Kulick. Kulick and collaborators from Columbia University established the connection after analyzing the large New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) database, which includes about 98 percent of all hospitalizations in the state.  “In looking at trigger factors for stroke and heart attack, there’s been promising research i...

For Samantha Holtz, it’s all about access to clean water. More than a billion people globally lack access to safe drinking water, and Holtz has been exploring solutions at both the community level and the policymaking side of this vital public health issue.  “I've always been into water, water scarcity, contamination,” Holtz says. “It’s the most important resource on the planet. Too many people don't have access to clean water, or the water they have access to harms them.” She is pursuing her master of public health in environmental health degree at the College of...

Pregnancy loss occurs in about 20% of women with a clinically recognized pregnancy. One factor could be chronic inflammation caused by a change to the innate immune system after a sexually transmitted infection (STI), referred to as the trained innate immunity hypothesis. Anti-inflammatory aspirin therapy prior to conception has been shown to improve birth rates in some women with histories of pregnancy loss when they experience chronic low-grade inflammation prior to pregnancy. Researchers hope to learn more about factors that drive chronic preconception inflammation and pregn...

Many people who may still be weighing travel or holiday celebrations with extended family may be considering testing for COVID in order to gather safely. However, testing negative for the virus does not make gathering safe and should not be used as the basis for shortening quarantine periods. In recent weeks and months, many institutions and states, including Pennsylvania, had required that out-of-state travellers must take a COVID-19 test and/or quarantine for 14 days after travel. Then, last week, the CDC changed its guidance to a 10-day quarantine, or 7-day quarantine with a...