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Ethiopia needs external help fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic

Ethiopia has taken crucial steps to fight the HIV/AIDS pandemic, but the east African country urgently needs external assistance if its efforts are to meet with success, a senior United Nations official said today.

2 Jun 2004

West Nile virus found in Illinois crows

Dead crows found in Stephenson and Winnebago counties have tested positive for West Nile virus, Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, state public health director, today reported.

2 Jun 2004

Malaria, Africa's biggest killer

It's Africa's biggest killer, but it's not HIV. It causes economic losses of US$12 billion per year, but it's not a war. And it has slowed African economic growth by around 1.3 per cent per annum, but it’s not a famine.

2 Jun 2004

Myth of disease threat posed by dead bodies after natural disasters unfounded

Fears that dead bodies will spread infection and disease following natural disasters are largely baseless, and simply serve to prolong the suffering of surviving friends and family members, according a scientific article published today.

1 Jun 2004

Chronic diseases are the largest cause of death in the world

The rising global burden of chronic diseases needs a coordinated effort from policy makers, advocates and health professionals, according to a special communication in the June 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a theme issue on Global Health.

1 Jun 2004

West Nile set to explode in summer 2004

Experts predict the continued spread of West Nile virus this summer, with the potential for serious outbreaks in numerous states, including California.

1 Jun 2004

Gay men casual about HIV

One in three HIV positive gay men don't know they are infected with the virus, suggests a large community study in Sexually Transmitted Infections.

1 Jun 2004

New UK HIV infection data

In the first three months of 2004, 1389 new diagnoses of HIV infection in the UK were reported. This brought the cumulative total to 62,709 since surveillance began in 1982.

1 Jun 2004

Call for Bush Administration to remedy failures on mad cow disease

Carol Tucker Foreman, director of Consumer Federation of America's Food Policy Institute, joined Consumers Union, Public Citizen and R-CALF in calling on the Bush Administration to remedy failures and improve protection against BSE.

1 Jun 2004

Smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body

U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona today released a new comprehensive report on smoking and health, revealing for the first time that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body.

27 May 2004

The Health Protection Agency starts surveillance programme for human cases of West Nile virus infection

The Health Protection Agency is starting its annual enhanced surveillance programme for possible human cases of West Nile virus infection. The scheme, which has been used for the last three years, operates during the summer, when there is West Nile virus activity in other countries.

27 May 2004

Cigarette smoking linked to leukemia

Cigarette smoking has been linked to acute myelogenous leukemia, according to The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General, released today.

27 May 2004

Update on West Nile virus in Texas

In 2004, West Nile has been detected in five horses in Brazoria, Fort Bend, La Salle, Leon and Montgomery counties and in seven birds in Harris, Lubbock and Montgomery counties. No human cases have been recorded in 2004 in Texas.

27 May 2004

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus re-emerges in Thailand

Thousands of chickens were culled last week after the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus was found at The North Regional Veterinary Research and Development Center by Thailand's Department of Livestock Development.

27 May 2004

Australian HIV cases have increased 22 per cent over two years

New data released by Australia's NSW Health has revealed that HIV notifications increased by six per cent from 2002 to 2003. This follows a 15 per cent increase from 2001 to 2002, and represents a 22 per cent increase over two years.

26 May 2004

Specialists work to overcome Huntington's disease

The Huntington's Disease Society of America (HDSA) recognizes the Huntington's Disease Clinic and Research Group at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as one of only 17 national Huntington's Disease Centers of Excellence.

25 May 2004

Study indicates the number of people in the UK who could be incubating vCJD

The Journal of Pathology recently published a paper entitled Prevalence of lymphoreticular prion protein accumulation in UK tissue samples. The study looked at 12,674 stored appendix and tonsil samples, and found that 3 of them showed evidence of the prion protein associated with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

25 May 2004

$3.5 million grant to develop AIDS vaccinations

Researchers at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) and the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University have received a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop new methods for vaccinating humans against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.

25 May 2004

Data suggests potential target for Alzheimer's disease treatment

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons have discovered at least one way in which beta-amyloid, the protein that forms stubborn plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's disease patients, can kill nerve cells.

25 May 2004

New findings suggest mammograms may help predict cardiovascular disease

The presence of breast vascular calcifications found through common mammograms is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in women, according to an article in the May Journal of Women's Health.

25 May 2004