Disease Archives | Snopes.com

Is There a ‘New Outbreak’ of HPV That ‘Kills Faster than AIDS’?

27 November 2017 - A fabricated health scare that originated in Africa got a new lease on life in November 2017.

Did a Johns Hopkins Scientist Expose Flu Vaccine Dangers?

23 October 2014 - An anthropologist (not a doctor) penned a non-peer reviewed piece arguing that flu vaccination benefits are overestimated and that the risks have not been sufficiently highlighted.

Coconut Oil As a Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease?

2 February 2012 - There are plausible mechanisms behind the notion that coconut oil could help with Alzheimer's, but the research is in its infancy.

Dry Drowning

17 June 2008 - An account of a 10-year-old boy's death explains dry drowning and its symptoms.

Florida Governor’s Wife Has Zika Mosquito Spray Business

8 September 2016 - Ann Scott doesn't own a mosquito spraying business, but she does have a large financial stake in a Gulf Coast company.

Catching Sexually Transmitted Diseases While Tanning

18 July 2016 - Despite a proliferation of scary articles, the likelihood of getting herpes from a tanning bed is very small.

Italian Doctor Finds Surprisingly Simple Cure for Multiple Sclerosis?

27 April 2016 - Long-debunked claims from 2009 about a novel approach to Multiple Sclerosis were misleadingly presented as news in 2016.

Three Simple Tests to Detect a Stroke

24 March 2004 - Rumor: Administering three simple tests will help diagnose a stroke, and pricking a stroke victim's fingers will prevent further harm from the cerebral attack.

Mastoiditis

Rumor: Parents should watch for signs of mastoiditis after their children develop ear infections.

Fraud at the CDC Uncovered?

The claim put forward in a video is that earlier MMR vaccination is associated with an increased risk of autism in African-American boys and that the CDC has spent the last 13 years covering this linkage up.