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Global Health

Saturday August 29, 2015

Ebola Flashback: Nancy Snyderman's Experience Was Different From Mine

After her quarantine for Ebola had ended, Dr. Nancy Snyderman was photographed waiting to appear on a Today show segment. Peter Kramer/NBC/Getty Images hide caption

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Peter Kramer/NBC/Getty Images

Ebola Flashback: Nancy Snyderman's Experience Was Different From Mine

August 29, 2015 • The Today show medical editor gave a new interview about her controversial quarantine. It triggered powerful memories for an NPR journalist who was in Liberia around the same time.

Friday August 28, 2015

When He Says Yoga Saved His Life, He's Not Exaggerating

Walter Mugwe Mahafreen H. Mistry/NPR hide caption

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Mahafreen H. Mistry/NPR

When He Says Yoga Saved His Life, He's Not Exaggerating

August 28, 2015 • A boy loses his father. A family loses its livelihood. The boy runs drugs and picks pockets so his siblings can eat. He is convinced he will die. And then ... he takes a yoga class.

Thursday August 27, 2015

A Man Shed Live Polio Virus In His Stool For 28 Years

A strain of polio virus, magnified. RCSB PDB hide caption

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RCSB PDB

A Man Shed Live Polio Virus In His Stool For 28 Years

August 27, 2015 • That's the longest span for one individual to excrete the live virus in history. It's not the norm, that's for certain. But how much of a concern is it in the war to wipe out polio?

Monday August 24, 2015

Sierra Leone's Last Ebola Patient Released, But Nation Not Yet 'Ebola-Free'

Adama Sankoh, 40 (center), who contracted Ebola after her son died from the disease late last month, stands with health officials the moment after she was discharge from Mateneh Ebola treatment center outskirt of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Alie Turay/AP hide caption

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Alie Turay/AP

The Two-Way

Sierra Leone's Last Ebola Patient Released, But Nation Not Yet 'Ebola-Free'

August 24, 2015 • The country celebrates but the World Health Organization says it must go six weeks without a new case before the nation can be declared virus-free.

Sunday August 23, 2015

Posters, Bullhorns And Skirts Help Spread The Word About Vaccines

These two Portuguese language posters are pro-inoculation. The one at left, produced in 1977, says, "Vaccinate and protect the children." The one at right, from '87, sends a similar message, noting that vaccination offers an opportunity for every youngster. National Library of Medicine hide caption

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National Library of Medicine

Goats and Soda

Posters, Bullhorns And Skirts Help Spread The Word About Vaccines

August 23, 2015 • One in five children in the developing world misses out on routine immunizations. How do you recruit them? With town criers, public notices — and even a call to action emblazoned on a garment.

Thursday August 20, 2015

Politics

Jimmy Carter 'Completely At Ease' Despite Cancer Diagnosis

August 20, 2015 • In a news conference to discuss his health, former President Jimmy Carter also looked back on his life, his presidency and his work with the Carter Center.

Jimmy Carter 'Completely At Ease' Despite Cancer Diagnosis

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What Jimmy Carter Did After His 'Involuntary Retirement'

A long legacy in global health: Former President Jimmy Carter has worked to end neglected diseases since 1982. Here he sits with former South African President Nelson Mandela at a ceremony in Soweto, celebrating a new AIDS project in 2002. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/Getty Images

Goats and Soda

What Jimmy Carter Did After His 'Involuntary Retirement'

August 20, 2015 • The former president is now fighting cancer. For the past 30 years, he has fought to wipe out diseases that plague millions of people. The efforts have brought one parasite to the edge of eradication.

Zero Ebola Cases Reported In Sierra Leone, As Epidemic Peters Out

A celebration erupts in the streets of the Massessehbeh village on Friday, after President Ernest Bai Koroma officially ended Sierra Leone's largest remaining Ebola quarantine. Sunday Alamba/AP hide caption

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Sunday Alamba/AP

Goats and Soda

Zero Ebola Cases Reported In Sierra Leone, As Epidemic Peters Out

August 20, 2015 • A year ago, West Africa was reporting more than 500 new Ebola cases each week. This week, the region had just three. Could the epidemic finally be grinding to a halt?

Wednesday August 19, 2015

Price Rises For Ticket To A Quicker Drug Review By FDA

Drew Kilb/Duke University's Fuqua School of Business

Shots - Health News

Price Rises For Ticket To A Quicker Drug Review By FDA

August 19, 2015 • A voucher that can get a drug through the Food and Drug Administration faster was created to reward companies that develop medicines for neglected diseases. The market for vouchers is heating up.

If You Spill Water On This Book, That's A Good Thing

Tear out a page from The Drinkable Book and pour water through it. The built-in filter can wipe out bacteria. Courtesy of Brian Gartside hide caption

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Courtesy of Brian Gartside

Goats and Soda

If You Spill Water On This Book, That's A Good Thing

August 19, 2015 • The Drinkable Book has water filters in each page. Tear out a page, pour dirty water over it and bacteria will be killed. But is this the best way to clean up the developing world's water supply?

Friday August 14, 2015

Laws Prohibiting Bush Meat Are Actually A Boon For The Bush Meat Biz

The dik-dik is a small antelope that is hunted as bush meat. This picture was taken in Voi, a town in southern Kenya. Marcus Bleasdale/VII hide caption

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Marcus Bleasdale/VII

Goats and Soda

Laws Prohibiting Bush Meat Are Actually A Boon For The Bush Meat Biz

August 14, 2015 • That's what researchers in Equatorial Guinea have found. Endangered animals are at risk. So are humans, from diseases the animals could harbor. So how do you stop the bush meat trade?

Thursday August 13, 2015

A Doctor's Gift To The Brave Nurses Of Sierra Leone

Nurse Issa French with his wife Anita, who's holding a copy of Time magazine's issue devoted to front-line workers. He's earned that title, treating more than 420 Ebola patients. Amy Maxmen for NPR hide caption

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Amy Maxmen for NPR

Goats and Soda

A Doctor's Gift To The Brave Nurses Of Sierra Leone

August 13, 2015 • Dr. Nahid Bhadelia volunteered to help fight Ebola in the African nation. When she learned that many of the nurses there didn't always receive a salary, she sprang into action via crowdfunding.

Wednesday August 12, 2015

What is in that kiss, anyway, beyond the 80 million bacteria? GraphicaArtis/Corbis hide caption

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GraphicaArtis/Corbis

Shots - Health News

Not Everybody Likes Kissing

August 12, 2015 • A passionate kiss may make you swoon, but many cultures don't do it, anthropologists say. And some cultures find such lip locks downright disgusting.

Monday August 10, 2015

One Man's Quest To Combat Counterfeit Drugs — With A Suitcase

The PharmaChk is a bit like a litmus test for drugs: You pop in a pill at one end, and in 15 minutes, a number appears on a screen telling you the drug's potency. Mahafreen H. Mistry/NPR hide caption

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Mahafreen H. Mistry/NPR