Global Health : NPR

Swine Flu Spread Mirrors Air Travel

June 30, 2009 • Analysis of flight destinations of passengers departing from Mexico in March and April show that air travel was key in virus transmission across the globe, according to new research.

Research News

Using Weather Satellites To Predict Epidemics?

June 20, 2009 • Scientists can use weather satellites to track things like sea surface temperature and cloud cover, but how can that stop disease from spreading?

Using Weather Satellites To Predict Epidemics?

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Economic Crisis Jeopardizes Global Health

June 15, 2009 • U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announces Monday a $20 billion initiative to support women and children in developing countries whose health has been jeopardized by the global economic crisis. President Obama already has stepped up with a call for an increase in maternal and child health funding to half a billion dollars.

Economic Crisis Jeopardizes Global Health

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Swine Flu Hits Pandemic Level

WHO Declares Swine Flu A Pandemic

June 11, 2009 • The H1N1 virus has spread to a number of countries and is not stoppable, says World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan. But the agency cautions against overreaction; so far the strain remains mild.

WHO Declares Swine Flu A Pandemic

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Swine Flu Hits Pandemic Level

Australia Is Tipping Point In Swine Flu Outbreak

June 10, 2009 • The spread of swine flu in Australia has convinced the World Health Organization that the world has a flu pandemic — the first in four decades. But the WHO is still nervous about officially declaring a pandemic.

Australia Is Tipping Point In Swine Flu Outbreak

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World

One Doctor's 'Six Months In Sudan'

May 26, 2009 • Dr. James Maskalyk went to contested border town in Sudan with Doctors Without Borders. He treated patients and fended off a measles epidemic with limited resources. His six-month stint affected him more than he expected.

One Doctor's 'Six Months In Sudan'

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Hold The Panic: Swine Flu Falls Short Of Pandemic

May 24, 2009 • Why has the World Health Organization decided not to call the swine flu a pandemic, even though more than three weeks ago it declared that a pandemic was "imminent?"

Hold The Panic: Swine Flu Falls Short Of Pandemic

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World

U.N. Chief Visits Displaced Tamils

May 23, 2009 • United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is in Sri Lanka to discuss how to handle the quarter-million people displaced by that island nation's 25-year civil war. The government said more than 6,200 of its forces were killed and almost 30,000 wounded in the final three years of its war against the Tamil Tiger rebels, which ended last weekend.

U.N. Chief Visits Displaced Tamils

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Swine Flu Hits Pandemic Level

Countries Clamor For New 'Pandemic' Definition

May 21, 2009 • With its rapid spread through North America and Japan, many experts say swine flu has reached pandemic proportions. So why is the World Health Organization stalling on its declaration?

Swine Flu Update

May 19, 2009 • Despite deaths reported in New York, the uproar over swine flu seems to have faded. Where are we now? Rear Admiral Anne Schuchat, a doctor with the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, discusses the behavior of the H1N1 virus.

The CDC's Anne Schuchat Discusses The Virus On 'All Things Considered'

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Health

Official: Flu Cases Likely Much Higher Than Reported

May 19, 2009 • Dr. Anne Schuchat, deputy director of the CDC's Science and Public Health Program, told NPR on Tuesday that the 5,000 confirmed flu cases in the United States is "a great underestimate."

Swine Flu Hits Pandemic Level

Swine Flu Bumps Up Price Of Chinese Spice

May 18, 2009 • Spice prices in a dusty covered market in Shanghai may seem an unlikely barometer of the level of public panic about new pandemic flus. But many people in China believe that star anise, used in the production of the drug Tamiflu, is a silver bullet against swine flu.

Swine Flu Bumps Up Price Of Chinese Spice

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Swine Flu Hits Pandemic Level

Swine Flu Takes Toll On Mexico Tourism Industry

May 14, 2009 • The swine flu panic has faded, but the damage could be lasting to Mexico's tourism industry. Millions of dollars of have been lost from the country's third largest source of revenue. The Caribbean resort of Cancun has been particularly hard hit, with 22 hotels closed and about 10,000 workers furloughed.

Swine Flu Takes Toll On Mexico Tourism Industry

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Swine Flu Hits Pandemic Level

How Have We Handled Swine Flu?

May 12, 2009 • The danger from swine flu may not be over, but many complain that the threat was overblown. Students have returned to their desks, and the World Health Organization sees no signs of the virus going from person to person outside of North America. Neal Conan talks with medical experts about how the outbreak has been handled.

How Have We Handled Swine Flu?

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Health

Polio Pioneer Helps Survivors Hold On To Strength

May 11, 2009 • People come from around the world to see Dr. Lauro Halstead. He's one of only a handful of doctors in the U.S. who specializes in polio, and he was one of the first to spread the word about post-polio syndrome, a condition that affects polio survivors. Halstead has special insight into the challenges of the disease, because he is a polio survivor, too.

Polio Pioneer Helps Survivors Hold On To Strength

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