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HIV/AIDS is the biggest killers in every South African province except the Western Cape

A new report by the Medical Research Council in South Africa has quantified the leading causes of death in each province for the first time, and has found that HIV and Aids are the biggest killers in every province except the Western Cape.

17 May 2005

The Gates Foundation approach to the world's health problems has its critics

A recent article in The Lancet criticized the premise that a Grand Challenge to scientific and technological know-how is the best route to combating malaria, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other diseases that kills millions of people each year.

16 May 2005

Two new retroviruses among central Africans who hunt nonhuman primates

A team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Army Health Research Center (CRESAR) in Cameroon have discovered two new retroviruses among central Africans who hunt nonhuman primates.

16 May 2005

Polio vaccination launched despite objection from religious group

A partnership between Mali's Ministry of Health and the UN children's fund UNICEF launched a third and final phase of polio immunisation on May 13th, aiming to reach 3.6 million children. Regardless of recent opposition from religious leaders, the three day programme plans to inoculate all children five years and under.

15 May 2005

Mystery respiratory disease sweeping through greyhound population

Dozens of dogs in the U.S. are dying from a mysterious respiratory disease which is sweeping greyhound tracks across the country, and race track owners are being forced to halt racing as researchers hunt for a vaccine to control the outbreak.

12 May 2005

Lack of samples slows bird flu fight

The World Health Organisation (WHO) in its' efforts to determine whether the virus that causes bird flu is mutating, has been hindered by a lack of samples from infected birds and people in Asia.

11 May 2005

Hong Kong looks at relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases

The relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases is being studied by the Hong Kong Government to see whether there is a major or direct link, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow says.

11 May 2005

Six million doses of polio vaccine shipped to Yemen

Six million doses of monovalent oral polio vaccine type 1 (mOPV1) have been shipped to Yemen, as part of emergency measures to stop the ongoing polio outbreak in the country.

11 May 2005

West Nile virus alert in California

The spotlight is on the Solano County Mosquito Abatement District right now as it is in the front line in the local fight against West Nile virus.

11 May 2005

Cholera outbreak on African island Sao Tome - U.N. rushes in aid

Local authorities on the tiny African island of Sao Tome say an outbreak of cholera which has already claimed three lives is now up to 131 cases. Sao Tome is the smallest country in Africa.

10 May 2005

Earlier treatment of perinatal HIV associated with decreased HIV progression

In a study in the May 11 JAMA, earlier treatment of children with HIV infection with ART is associated with less HIV progression and improved survival rates.

10 May 2005

Researchers test vaccine to prevent dangerous Staphylococcal infections

Vanderbilt University Medical Center infectious diseases researchers are launching a trial for a new vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus. The vaccine, if proven effective, could help curb the growing threat of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an emerging organism rapidly spreading through close personal contact.

10 May 2005

Australia helps stop Polio spread in Indonesia

Australia has responded quickly and generously with a $1 million contribution to help prevent the spread of an outbreak of polio in the Indonesian Province of West Java, the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr Bruce Billson, announced recently.

10 May 2005

As science gets wiser, so do the bugs

As science gets wiser, so do the bugs. The rates of drug-resistant bacteria infecting patients in the community and in the hospital have been increasing steadily in recent years, according to two new studies in the June 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

9 May 2005

Concern over outbreak of chronic wasting disease in deer

Another wild deer in New York state has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, (CWD), says the Department of Environmental Conservation. The latest confirmed case was in a 3-year-old doe less than a mile away from Verona where the first case in the wild was identified in a yearling.

8 May 2005

Squeeze of lemon and raw garlic all you need to fight AIDS!!!!

South Africa's health minister insisted last week that her government would not be pressured into meeting U.N. treatment targets.

8 May 2005

Smallpox-free for 25 years

It was in May 1980 that the World Health Assembly certified the world free of naturally occurring smallpox and the war against smallpox was won. Eradication was achieved through international vaccination programmes, global disease surveillance and public health logistics systems.

8 May 2005

15 die in India in latest meningitis outbreak

An outbreak of bacterial meningitis in India has caused one more death bringing the total number of lives lost to 15.

8 May 2005

Salmonella now linked to pet rodents

An investigation into outbreaks of salmonella poisoning by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has prompted U.S. health officials to warn the public to take care when handling mice, rats and hamsters after human cases of salmonella have been linked to pet rodents.

5 May 2005

Global epidemic of avian flu - Governments bury their heads

Governments around the world must stop burying their heads in the sand over the growing threat of a global epidemic of avian flu, argues a GP in this week's BMJ.

5 May 2005