These days, you may be tempted to crank up that heater, even in Florida. Before you do, check that you aren't accidentally exposing yourself to harmful carbon monoxide gas. Colorless, odorless and tasteless, carbon monoxide is an invisible threat that can make you sick. It can even be deadly, the American Association of Poison Control Centers warns. ...more

December 20, 2008

Ben Welch knows that he came close to death. And every time the 13-year-old Seffner boy runs a fever or gets a scratch, his family recalls the nearly two-year ordeal that cut short his soccer career and almost cut short his life. ...more

October 8, 2008

A startling fact: About 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States are put in livestock feed to promote growth and prevent disease in chickens, pigs and cattle. ...more

May 2, 2008

Members of the James P. Gills Family YMCA were notified recently that someone who used the building's Youth Activity Center had contracted the potentially deadly MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant staph infection. ...more

December 7, 2007

Hillsborough County school officials are sending letters home with students alerting parents about a common skin infection that has received some uncommon attention recently. ...more

October 24, 2007

SEBRING — When it comes to prevention of staph infections, Mom was right. A high school student from Virginia died recently after he was hospitalized with a staph infection, and one of five Hardee Senior High School football team members suffering from a staph infection was hospitalized after a reaction to medication. The Hardee outbreak was mentioned in a Tampa Bay-area TV station broadcast, but health officials say the scare is being overblown. Mothers and several local public health officials and health providers agree, the best way to prevent a staph infection is by washing your hands. ...more

October 19, 2007