Respiratory Diseases

A doctor and public health expert weigh in on how to limit passive vaping exposure and what you can do to protect yourself in social situations.

Sean Gibbons says he started experiencing fatigue, stomach upsets, pins and needles in his legs, and insomnia after helping decommission AGL's Torrens Island power plant. A blood test revealed he had lead levels three times higher than recommended. 

Behind the scenes governments have been steadily dismantling many other elements of a surveillance system that we were so reliant on in the emergency period of the COVID-19 pandemic, writes Casey Briggs.

As school holidays come to an end and people return to work, Australians are reminded to take precautions against another "substantial" wave of COVID-19.

Three of Australia's leading COVID-19 experts share their personal safety strategies and reflect on what must happen if we're to blunt the growing health crisis the pandemic is causing — and prepare for the next one.

Respiratory syncytial virus gets noses running, but in the last few days it's also got tongues wagging — ever since it was revealed a new vaccine would soon be made available in Australia.

Two people are in intensive care and five others are in hospital, with the alert covering the busy periods of Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.

Three women and four men were hospitalised after contracting the non-contagious disease from potentially contaminated cooling towers.

The production of engineered stone will be banned in most Australian states and territories by mid-2024. Perth stonemason John Santoro says it should've happened years ago. 

Many people’s concerns about COVID have reduced significantly this Christmas compared to previous festive periods. But for some people, COVID precautions are still front of mind ahead of family gatherings.

JN.1 appears to be more transmissible than some previous variants and, with so many of us travelling and gathering with others right now, the conditions are right for the virus to spread.

A new subvariant of COVID-19 is sweeping the US in the lead-up to Christmas, accounting for an estimated 15—29 per cent of cases. Here's what we know about it. 

A cough is necessary to keep the airways clear and to remove foreign particles such as dust. But respiratory experts say coughs that linger need to be investigated.  Here's what to look for in kids and adults.

The decision was made at a meeting of the nation's work health and safety ministers because of the deadly risk it poses to workers.

Australia recorded 43,899 cases of COVID-19 in November, up from 27,903 in October. Here's the latest on what to do if you test positive.

Internationally, countries such as the US are scaling up efforts to address long COVID but Australia continues to close its specialist clinics. Medical professionals in Australia and overseas say it is a move that needs an urgent rethink.

University of Technology Sydney students went street by street with air quality monitors and found big differences over short distances. 

A new study has found silica is not the only component in engineered stone products that can damage lungs.

With very hot temperatures in Broome projected to increase from 56 to 87 days per year by 2030, Kimberley doctors are coming together to call for stronger climate action to prevent a health disaster.

Giuliano Gaspari spent eight months in hospital with COVID. He's part of a study of long COVID patients which hasn't found the cause, but did find life can return to normal with time. 

We've been hearing about a rise in cases over the past month, but the eighth wave appears to have peaked in some jurisdictions. Let's get you up to speed.

A recent spike in respiratory illnesses in China and a request from the World Health Organization (WHO) for more information may give some people an uneasy sense of deja vu. But while scientists say the situation warrants close monitoring, they believe it's too early to be alarmed.

China battles a surge of respiratory illness in children, with hospital and doctors wait rooms full of patients. 

As a new wave of COVID-19 hits Australia, why are so few aged care residents up-to-date with their COVID-19 vaccinations?

As an eighth wave of the virus spreads across the country, health authorities are concerned about vulnerable populations in the Northern Territory.