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Providing antiretroviral treatment to workers of large companies in Africa is feasible

Providing antiretroviral treatment to workers of large companies in Africa is feasible, according to the authors of a Viewpoint in this week's issue of The Lancet.

3 Aug 2006

AIDS deaths depleting ranks of health professionals more rapidly than recruitment abroad in Africa

AIDS deaths are depleting the ranks of health professionals more rapidly than recruitment abroad in some countries in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the author of a Comment in this week's issue of The Lancet.

3 Aug 2006

Factors determining the potential for onward transmission of vCJD via surgical instruments

A study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface has been exploring the likelihood that vCJD might be spread via the reuse of surgical instruments, and calls for more data in order to allay fears over the possible transmission of vCJD.

3 Aug 2006

Global sharing of avian influenza virus samples

OFFLU, the OIE/FAO joint network of expertise on avian influenza, will systematically make avian influenza virus sequences accessible to the entire scientific community.

2 Aug 2006

Scientists identify genetic element that the dengue virus uses to replicate

The first step in the transmission of mosquito-borne viruses is no mystery: it's the pesky insect's bite that allows the virus to enter its victim's bloodstream.

2 Aug 2006

Three more bird flu suspects in Indonesia

According to a senior health official in Indonesia three children have been hospitalized on suspicion of having the bird flu virus.

2 Aug 2006

Onchocerciasis treatment reduces prevalence and intensity by 38%

Onchocerciasis, river blindness or craw craw is an endemic disease in Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.

1 Aug 2006

Creating your own pandemic virus is not so easy

A team of scientists at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed a new research method that may help identify the types of genetic changes that would be necessary for the avian influenza virus (H5N1) to be more easily transmitted among people.

1 Aug 2006

Bird flu doing the rounds again in Thailand

The discovery of the H5N1 bird flu virus in northeast Thailand's Nakhon Phanom province near the border with Laos has prompted the culling of 310,000 hens; the lethal virus killed a teenager in the northern province of Phichit last week, the country's first victim this year.

31 Jul 2006

Thailand says Laos to blame for spread of bird flu

According to official sources an emergency cabinet meeting has been held in the communist state of Laos to discuss how to combat the latest outbreak of avian influenza in the landlocked country.

31 Jul 2006

Polio making a comeback

The World Health Organization (WHO) says increasing numbers of people around the world are vulnerable to polio because they have not been previously exposed to the disease.

30 Jul 2006

Teen in Thailand dies from bird flu caught from fighting cockrel

A teenage boy has become the first victim in over seven months to die of bird flu in Thailand.

27 Jul 2006

Simple policies could control a smallpox epidemic

A series of simple public health policies would be able to effectively contain the spread of smallpox if it were released into a population, according to research published in PNAS.

27 Jul 2006

Thailand confirms case of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza

The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand has confirmed a case of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza.

26 Jul 2006

Lassa fever reported in Germany

German health authorities have reported to WHO an imported case of Lassa fever, confirmed by laboratory tests at the Bernhard-Nocht-Institute of Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.

25 Jul 2006

Distribution of more than 18 million malaria bednets in Africa

Roll Back Malaria Partners are supporting mass distribution of malaria bednets to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from malaria in many endemic countries.

25 Jul 2006

Global early warning system for zoonoses launched

A global early warning system for animal diseases transmissible to humans (zoonoses) was formally launched this week by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

24 Jul 2006

Inadequate hospital hand hygiene is spreading MRSA

Unwashed hands in England's hospitals are contributing to the spread of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and will continue unless healthcare professionals are taught to assess risk, reveals new research.

24 Jul 2006

Combating Campylobacter with common sense

A ban on the sale of fresh chicken meat is the not answer to preventing outbreaks of campylobacteriosis says food microbiologist Associate Professor John Brooks.

24 Jul 2006

Research offers new hope in helping elderly fight infections

Thousands of infections could be prevented each year in older people and hospital stays reduced following findings from two studies which show that imbalances in the immune systems of people aged over 65 make them more prone to illnesses like flu or bacterial infections as a result of cuts and falls.

21 Jul 2006