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Global Health

Wednesday

Before Sandy Hit U.S., Storm Was A Killer In Haiti

Hurricane Sandy's tear across the Caribbean left at least 54 dead in Haiti, where many people still live in tents because of damage from the 2010 earthquake. Thony Belizaire/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Thony Belizaire/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Before Sandy Hit U.S., Storm Was A Killer In Haiti

Haiti had documented 54 deaths caused by Sandy — most in the nation's southern peninsula, which points toward Jamaica. Another 21 Haitians were still counted as missing, and many fear the death toll will rise as officials reach affected areas isolated by impassable roads and ruined bridges.

Malaria Drug Subsidies: Good Idea Or Wrong Path?

Dr. Esther Dalizu holds a pack of Coartem Malaria drugs in a pharmacy in Nairobi, Kenya, last year. Sayyid Azim/AP hide caption

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Sayyid Azim/AP

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Malaria Drug Subsidies: Good Idea Or Wrong Path?

A test of subsidies in Africa for the most effective malaria drug treatment is drawing fire. Supporters say the subsidies helped improve access and drive out less effective drugs. But critics say the approach is risky and a distraction from other efforts to fight the disease.

Sunday

Museum Teaches Anatomy And Disease With Ghoulish Body Part Bake-Off

STD cupcakes: From Two Little Cats Bakery in Cambridge & Hertfordshire, these chocolate cupcakes feature symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases, including gonorrhea, syphilis, genital warts, chlamydia and HIV. Eat Your Heart Out 2012 hide caption

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Eat Your Heart Out 2012

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Museum Teaches Anatomy And Disease With Ghoulish Body Part Bake-Off

Get an anatomical education through cakes, cookies, and cocktails. A British museum is hosting an anatomy-themed bake sale this weekend.

Friday

Malaria Creeps Back Into Greece Amid Health Budget Cuts

Health employees protest outside the Health Ministry in Athens against pay and budget cuts. Fewer resources for malaria treatment and mosquito control may be contributing to malaria's comeback in Greece. Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images

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Malaria Creeps Back Into Greece Amid Health Budget Cuts

After decades of being malaria-free, Greece is seeing a spike in malaria cases. And it's showing up in communities where the disease has never been seen before. Fewer resources for mosquito control and medications are fueling the reappearance of the forgotten disease, health workers say.

Thursday

Polio's End Depends On Three Tough Countries

Vaccination campaigns have erased polio in almost every country in the world, but the disease persists in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria. Obstacles in each country, including religious extremism, difficult terrain and transient populations, make eradication efforts difficult.

Polio's End Depends On Three Tough Countries

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Wednesday

How Does The Polio Vaccine Reach A Remote Corner Of The World?

Health workers transport the polio vaccine by donkey in southeastern Pakistan. Asad Zaidi/Courtesy of UNICEF Pakistan. hide caption

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Asad Zaidi/Courtesy of UNICEF Pakistan.

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How Does The Polio Vaccine Reach A Remote Corner Of The World?

We're right on the verge of wiping out polio globally. But to do that, children in remote regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan must be inoculated with the heat-sensitive vaccine — not once, but multiple times. Time to call in the donkeys.

Tuesday

'Addictive' Cigarette Smoking Games On Smartphones Target Kids

The iPhone app Electronic Smoke simulates smoking by detecting sound waves. When you breathe into the microphone, the virtual cigarette burns. Screenshot from Electronic Smoke. hide caption

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Screenshot from Electronic Smoke.

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'Addictive' Cigarette Smoking Games On Smartphones Target Kids

Researchers have found dozens of free apps on iPhones and Androids that promote and glamorize smoking. Many of the apps target children and teens by using cartoons, celebrities and games. Health experts say these apps, downloaded by millions of people, violate bans on tobacco advertising.

Monday

HIV Finding Opens New Path For Vaccine Research

The HIV-1 virus cultivated with human lymphocytes. C. Goldsmith, P. Feorino, E. L. Palmer, W. R. McManus/CDC Public Health Image Library hide caption

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C. Goldsmith, P. Feorino, E. L. Palmer, W. R. McManus/CDC Public Health Image Library

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HIV Finding Opens New Path For Vaccine Research

Researchers in South Africa tracked how the evolution of the virus in two infected woman shaped the antibodies they produced to fight it. Several months after infection, the researchers saw that the patients had developed more "broadly neutralizing antibodies," which target different versions of the virus.

Friday

Health

When Infections "Spillover"

In his new book Spillover writer David Quammen traces the evolution of Ebola, HIV and other diseases that moved from animals to humans. Quammen describes how scientists look for the reservoirs of the infectious agents, and what might be done to prevent the next pandemic.

When Infections "Spillover"

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Thursday

With An Army Of Vaccinators, India Subdues Polio

An Indian child receives the oral polio vaccine. Twice a year, an army of 2 million volunteers fans out across India to administer the vaccine. India has not reported a single case of polio in more than a year-and-a-half. Julie McCarthy/NPR hide caption

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Julie McCarthy/NPR

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With An Army Of Vaccinators, India Subdues Polio

Despite poverty and poor sanitation, the world's second-most populous country is eradicating polio, which has afflicted India for millennia. Health officials hope India's successful war plan against polio will serve as inspiration for its archrival, Pakistan, in its own fight against the disease.

With An Army Of Vaccinators, India Subdues Polio

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Old Drug Gets A Second Look For TB Fight

Under the microscope, Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria. The germs that cause TB have become resistant to many drugs. Janice Haney Carr/CDC hide caption

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Janice Haney Carr/CDC

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Old Drug Gets A Second Look For TB Fight

Adding a 12-year-old antibiotic to the regimen of patients with highly drug-resistant tuberculosis cured nearly 90 percent of patients in a study involving about 40 people in South Korea. The study, though small, suggests that the battle against the ancient scourge is far from lost.

Wednesday

How The Taliban Is Thwarting The War On Polio

Children in a Lahore slum after heavy rains. The slum has a large population of Pashtuns who came from Pakistan's lawless tribal regions; many carry the polio virus with them. Jackie Northam/NPR hide caption

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Jackie Northam/NPR

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How The Taliban Is Thwarting The War On Polio

Polio is deadly, but so is what's required to stamp it out once and for all in Pakistan: facing down Islamist extremists. The virus thrives in Pakistan's lawless — and largely inaccessible — tribal regions. To stop polio's spread, health workers must be courageous, clever and relentless.

How The Taliban Is Thwarting The War On Polio

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Tuesday

At Polio's Epicenter, Vaccinators Battle Chaos And Indifference

Sahya Idriss, a service provider at the health clinic in Minjibir, carries a vial of the polio vaccine. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption

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David Gilkey/NPR

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At Polio's Epicenter, Vaccinators Battle Chaos And Indifference

Northern Nigeria is the only region in the world where the number of polio cases is on the rise. International groups have poured money and volunteers into the area to combat the disease. But vaccinators face daunting challenges — from security threats like terrorist bombings to a lack of basic resources like electricity.

At Polio's Epicenter, Vaccinators Battle Chaos And Indifference

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