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Thursday, August 02, 2012

Shots - Health News

West Nile Virus Makes A Comeback This Summer

Christopher Doll releases fish into the water of a neglected pool to kill mosquitoes that might carry West Nile Virus in Concord, Calif., in 2009.

August 2, 2012 An unusual number of severe West Nile cases has prompted a warning from federal health officials. Most of the cases have occurred in just three states — Texas, Mississippi and Oklahoma — but cases are occurring throughout the country.

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Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Shots - Health News

NIH Official Calls For Extension Of Moratorium On Bird Flu Experiments

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said a voluntary halt to bird flu research should stay in effect.

July 31, 2012 Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said public discussions about controversial bird flu experiments are needed before a moratorium on them can be lifted.

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Shots - Health News

As Ebola Cases Rise In Uganda, Health Workers Seek To Contain Virus

The Ebola virus causes a deadly form of hemorrhagic fever.

July 31, 2012 Since the World Health Organization reported an Ebola outbreak in Uganda on Saturday, the number of cases has risen to 36 from 20. The cases remain limited to a small area in western Uganda. An international team is on the scene to identify the source and contain the outbreak.

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Monday, July 30, 2012

Shots - Health News

What Does The Future Hold For Bird Flu Research?

A government official in Bali, Indonesia, holds a chicken before administering an injection to cull it as a precautionary measure in April to prevent the spread of bird flu.

July 30, 2012 Scientists gather in New York to consider the future of bird flu research after a moratorium on the work passes. Critics say the work and its findings could pose security risks, but scientists defend their experiments as preparation for outbreaks.

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Shots - Health News

Ebola Outbreak Kills At Least 14 In Uganda

Although infections with the Ebola virus are rare, they can be deadly.

July 30, 2012 At least 20 people have been infected with the deadly Ebola virus in rural Uganda. The number of infections is expected to rise, as more patients are admitted to hospitals. An international team has been dispatched to the region to contain the outbreak.

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Thursday, July 26, 2012

Shots - Health News

'Calling My Children' And The Faces Of AIDS

Gail Farrow, who contracted HIV from a blood transfusion, rests on the hood of the family sedan following a fun morning with her husband and four children at the Brockton Fair in Massachusetts, 1989.

July 26, 2012 Photographer David Binder has been telling the stories of people with AIDS for 25 years. Binder's photographs of Gail Farrow, who contracted AIDS from a blood transfusion, and her family shattered prevailing perceptions of the epidemic. His documentary on her struggle was screened this week in Washington.

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Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Shots - Health News

Epidemics Prefer Changing Planes In JFK Over ATL

Travelers crowd around a ticketing counter at John F. Kennedy International Airport in April 2010 in New York.

July 25, 2012 Researchers at MIT have developed a pretty nifty computer model to figure out the most influential U.S. airports in the early stages of an epidemic's spread. John F. Kennedy International is No. 1, followed by Los Angeles International. You might be surprised to learn that Honolulu's airport ranks third.

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Shots - Health News

Track The Spread Of AIDS Across The Globe

Detail from an infographic showing the change in HIV prevalence over time.

July 25, 2012 A handful of AIDS cases were first recognized in the U.S. at the beginning of the 1980s. By 1990, there was a pandemic. In 1997, more than 3 million people became newly infected with HIV. A multimedia chart lets you track the cases by country over time.

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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Shots - Health News

Needle Exchanges Often Overlooked In AIDS Fight

A heroin user keeps a syringe tucked behind his ear at a park in the city of Medan on Indonesia's Sumatra island. Cordita-Caritas Medan, a nongovernmental organization active there, works to reduce HIV infections through rehab of drug users and a needle exchange program.

July 24, 2012 Few strategies to prevent HIV infection are so effective, or so thoroughly proved. Yet needle exchanges aren't offered in some places that have been hit hard by the virus. In the U.S. there is pressure on funding that raises concerns the programs could be curtailed.

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Monday, July 23, 2012

Shots - Health News

U.S. AIDS Cases Come Into View

Almost half of new AIDS cases in the U.S. each year are seen in the South.

July 23, 2012 The first reports of AIDS were from Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco among gay and bisexual men. Even now, you can see the lingering geographic contours of how the epidemic unfolded with AIDSVu, an interactive map developed by Emory University's school of public health.

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Shots - Health News

AIDS Returns To The U.S. Spotlight

Sir Elton John speaks Monday at the 19th International AIDS Conference in Washington.

July 23, 2012 The leading international AIDS conference returns to the U.S. after a 22-year hiatus. A lot has happened in the years since the conference was last here. Treatments have turned a disease with a near-certain death sentence into a disease that people can live with for decades. And there is evidence that the epidemic could be greatly slowed or even stopped.

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Shots - Health News

San Francisco Thwarts HIV With Wide Testing, Universal Treatment

HIV patient Darnell Hollie, 47, talks to her doctor Monica Gandhi (right) at San Francisco General Hospital. Her path from drug addict to model patient was "a lot of work, but if you want it, it's there for you," Hollie says.

July 23, 2012 A new approach in San Francisco provides HIV testing and treatment for patients with the virus who didn't know they were at risk. "Test and treat" requires long-term vigilance by doctors and patients, but early evidence suggests that it is reducing HIV in the city.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

Friday, July 20, 2012

Shots - Health News

Activists Fear Brazil's Triumph Over HIV Has Fizzled

Drag queens at an outdoor restaurant in Copacabana incorporate safe sex messages into a show of lip-synced songs and risque jokes.

July 20, 2012 When other countries were struggling to deal with the HIV epidemic, Brazil openly acknowledged the problem and launched aggressive campaigns to raise awareness and treat the disease. But activists now say say there are no longer organized HIV prevention efforts.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Shots - Health News

HIV Cure Is Closer As Patient's Full Recovery Inspires New Research

Nurse Priscila-Grace Gonzaga with Gregg Cassin, a San Francisco gay man who has been infected with HIV since the early 1980s. He's a volunteer in a cutting-edge gene therapy experiment to see whether HIV-infected people can be given an immune system that is invulnerable to HIV infection.

July 18, 2012 After Timothy Ray Brown became the first person to be cured of HIV, scientists became more optimistic that they could find other ways to cure patients. Two of the most promising possibilities include a vaccine and gene therapy that would re-engineer the immune system.

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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Shots - Health News

Cholera Vaccination Test Reached Targets In Haiti

A lone pig roots through trash dumped over the side of a sewage canal that runs from the center of Port au Prince through Cite de Dieu. During the rainy season, the canal overflows its banks and fills nearby houses with sewage, which can carry cholera.

July 17, 2012 Almost 90 percent of the target population – half in Port-au-Prince and the other half in a remote rural area – got fully protected against cholera. The results defy the forecasts of skeptics who said in advance of the campaign that it would be lucky to protect 60 percent of the target populations.

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