A new study shows that heat-related deaths are on the rise. In a 2-week period in 2012, excessive heat exposure resulted in 32 deaths in 4 states, four times the typical average for those states for the same 2-week period from 1999-2009.

Original title: “Stay cool, hydrated and informed this summer”

Sometimes foods we love and count on for good health are contaminated with germs that cause serious illness and can be deadly for certain people. Listeria, while rare, is one of the most deadly germs spread by contaminated food.

Original title: “CDC urges everyone: Get ready to stay cool before temperatures soar - Press Release”

Sometimes foods we love and count on for good health are contaminated with germs that cause serious illness and can be deadly for certain people. Listeria, while rare, is one of the most deadly germs spread by contaminated food.

Original title: “Listeria Food Poisoning Striking Hard at Nation's Most Vulnerable”

Listeria can cause serious infection in certain vulnerable groups, resulting in higher rates of hospitalization and death than most other bacteria commonly spread by contaminated food. A new Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention outlines the key groups particularly hard hit by listeria food poisoning. It also highlights the importance of safety measures to prevent contamination of cheese and raw produce, such as those included in the 2011 Food Safety Modernization

Original title: “Older Americans, pregnant women face highest risk from Listeria food poisoning - Press Release”

Awareness of anti-smoking messages on television, radio, or billboards, or in newspapers or magazines, significantly increased the odds that current smokers intend to quit in 14 of 17 countries surveyed, according to a study released in this week's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Original title: “Anti-smoking ads increase odds of quitting in 14 countries - Media Advisory”

In 2011, 20 percent of U.S. adults reported at least one emergency room visit in the past year, and 7 percent reported two or more visits, according to Health, United States, 2012, the government's annual, comprehensive report on American's health.

Original title: “One in five Americans report visiting emergency room at least once in the past year - Press Release”

As schools let out and summer approaches, it is important for us to remember to stay healthy and safe under the sun and in the water. Skin cancer is the most common kind of cancer in the United States, and melanoma is the most deadly kind of skin cancer.

Original title: “Make a Splash!”

Because a doctors' advice and assistance more than doubles the chances that a smoker will quit successfully, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is partnering with five national physician groups on the new "Talk With Your Doctor" campaign to encourage smokers to ask a doctor for help. The campaign also encourages clinicians to ask patients if they smoke and offer assistance in helping them to quit.

Original title: “CDC director discusses Extreme Heat Awareness with Atlanta area school students - Media Advisory”

No one should die from a heat wave. But every year, extreme temperatures kills an average of 675 people in the United States more than hurricanes, lightning, tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods combined. Extreme heat affects everyone, but children, the elderly, the poor or homeless, people who work or exercise outdoors, and those with chronic medical conditions are most at risk.

Original title: “CDC director discusses Extreme Heat Awareness with Atlanta area school students - Media Advisory”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced today seven new members who will serve on the Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women (ACBCYW). The Committee was chartered in 2010 and consists of external experts and stakeholders. The committee members serve two- to four-year terms.

Original title: “CDC announces new members for the Advisory Committee on Breast Cancer in Young Women - Media Advisory”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will issue a report today, "Mental Health Surveillance Among Children in the United States - 2005-2011," appearing as a supplement of CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. This is the first CDC report to track the number of U.S. children age 3-17 years who have specific mental disorders or indicators of mental health

Original title: “CDC to issue first comprehensive report on children's mental health in the United States - Media Advisory”

Four out of five U.S. adults report having voluntary smoke-free rules in their homes and three out of four report having voluntary smoke-free rules in their vehicles, according to a study published in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease, a publication of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Original title: “Large majority of adults have smoke-free rules in homes, vehicles - Press Release”

A study of public pools done during last summer's swim season found that feces are frequently introduced into pool water by swimmers. Through the study, released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), researchers found germs in samples of pool filter water collected from public pools.

Original title: “CDC study finds fecal contamination in pools - Press Release”

A total of 5,674 cases of West Nile virus disease in people, including 286 deaths, were reported to CDC from 48 states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). Of all West Nile virus disease cases reported, 2,873 (51 percent) were classified as neuroinvasive disease (e.g., meningitis, encephalitis, or acute flaccid paralysis). The dates of illness onset (when the patients' illness began) ranged from March through December 2012.

Original title: “CDC releases final West Nile virus national surveillance data for 2012 - Media Advisory”

Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released results of its Dialysis Bloodstream Infection Prevention Collaborative showing a 32 percent decrease in overall bloodstream infections and a 54 percent decrease in vascular access-related bloodstream infections after CDC prevention guidelines were used. Vascular access-related bloodstream infections are those related to devices used to access the bloodstream for hemodialysis.

Original title: “Following CDC Protocols Cuts Dialysis Bloodstream Infections in Half - Press Release”

Only half of Americans identified as ever having had hepatitis C received follow-up testing showing that they were still infected, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis of data from a multi-area study published today in the CDC report Vital Signs.

Original title: “Study suggests only half of Americans with hepatitis C receive complete testing for the virus - Press Release”

CDC will host a telephone-only media briefing to discuss the new Vital Signs report on hepatitis C testing and reporting. The multi-area analysis looks at the proportion of persons identified as ever having had hepatitis C that received complete testing for the virus, as well as the populations most affected by the disease.

Original title: “CDC Telebriefing on Vital Signs Report: Hepatitis C Virus Infection Testing and Reporting - Media Advisory”

Suicide deaths have surpassed deaths from motor vehicle crashes in recent years in the United States. In 2010 there were 33,687 deaths from motor vehicle crashes and 38,364 suicides. Suicide rates among middle-aged Americans have risen substantially since 1999, according to a report in today's CDC journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Original title: “CDC finds suicide rates among middle-aged adults increased from 1999-2010 - Press Release”

About 20 percent of U.S. adults are meeting both the aerobic and muscle strengthening components of the federal government's physical activity recommendations, according to a report published in today's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Original title: “One in five adults meet overall physical activity guidelines - Press Release”

May is Asthma Awareness Month. Throughout May, CDC will feature new information and updates about the success of CDC's National Asthma Control Program with a special focus on children and adolescents by debuting facts sheets, an asthma awareness podcast and new instructional videos on inhaler use for use by individuals with asthma and clinicians.

Original title: “Controlling asthma in schools: CDC's focus for asthma awareness month - Media Advisory”