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Global Health

Wednesday September 30, 2009

Progress In Treating HIV; Still A Long Way To Go

September 30, 2009 • More than 4 million people in low- and middle-income countries are currently receiving life-preserving drug treatments for HIV, a 39 percent increase in one year. Still, in many countries in Africa, the number of people infected continues to rise, and funding for treatment is in danger.

Progress In Treating HIV; Still A Long Way To Go

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Thursday September 10, 2009

Q&A: Where Did The Swine Flu Come From?

September 10, 2009 • The new H1N1 virus was first identified in April 2009 after a rash of outbreaks in Mexico and the U.S. that quickly spread around the globe. Health officials are worried about this strain because of its rapid spread and the high number of young people sickened, and because few are resistant to the new virus.

Friday September 4, 2009

Swine Flu Prevention: Preparing For Another Wave

September 4, 2009 • Public health officials are preparing for the swine flu to make a strong comeback this fall. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is emphasizing prevention, stressing the importance of personal hygiene and vaccinating as many people as possible.

Monday August 24, 2009

Courtesty of Jay Scruggs

CDC Tuberculosis Rule Slows International Adoption

August 24, 2009 • The CDC now requires that internationally adopted children with TB be treated in their home countries. For 4-year-old Harper that meant two weeks in a Beijing hotel with her new parents, instead of a flight to her new home in Virginia.

CDC Tuberculosis Rule Slows International Adoption

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Panel Calls H1N1 'Serious Health Threat'

August 24, 2009 • Health officials are pushing to expand their use of the Internet to educate the public about an H1N1 flu epidemic, as they prepare to fight what's been called a "serious health threat" with tweets, blogs and posts on Facebook and MySpace.

Friday August 14, 2009

Age Doesn't Mean Heart Disease For Bolivian Tribe

August 14, 2009 • Researchers are studying Bolivia's Tsimane tribe to better understand the effects of aging in the developed world. Gerontologist Eileen Crimmins describes a study that looked for signs of heart disease in the Tsimane, who still live a relatively traditional lifestyle.

Age Doesn't Mean Heart Disease For Bolivian Tribe

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Monday August 10, 2009

Swine Flu Vaccine Trials Begin Testing Volunteers

August 10, 2009 • In effort to prepare for a major outbreak this fall, the government began testing an H1N1 influenza vaccine Monday. Eight centers across the nation are moving quickly to test the vaccine's safety and determine the necessary dosage to build antibodies.

Thursday July 30, 2009

The International Organ Trafficking Market

July 30, 2009 • With tens of thousands of Americans on a waiting list for donations, there is a thriving international black market for organs. Lindy Washburn, senior writer at The Record, and Nancy Scheper-Hughes, director of Organs Watch, explain the exchange of money for human organs.

The International Organ Trafficking Market

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Sunday July 26, 2009

In Africa, Bringing AIDS Treatment Closer To Home

Charles Kibe, right, a volunteer who works with HIV/AIDS-infected people in the Korogocho slum in Nairobi, Kenya, attends a patient at a health clinic in December 2007. Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Simon Maina/AFP/Getty Images

In Africa, Bringing AIDS Treatment Closer To Home

July 26, 2009 • The results of a five-year clinical trial underline problems with forcing rural Africans to travel to cities for routine lab tests. The findings could lead to new protocols that free up money currently used for testing to provide treatment for more African HIV/AIDS patients.

In Africa, Bringing AIDS Treatment Closer To Home

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Monday July 20, 2009

Swine Flu Hits Pandemic Level

Officials Scramble To Prep Swine Flu Vaccine By Fall

July 20, 2009 • For the first time ever, U.S. health officials will vaccinate Americans against two flu strains in one season. They're aiming to have an H1N1 vaccine ready by the fall, but slow growth of the vaccine strain means there likely won't be enough for everyone until December.

Officials Scramble To Prep Swine Flu Vaccine By Fall

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Sunday July 12, 2009

Environment

Birds' Survival Relies On World's Largest Crab Orgy

July 12, 2009 • Mating season for horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay brings millions of crabs onto the beaches. It's a feast for tens of thousands of migratory shorebirds, including the red knot, but lately their population has been dropping.

Birds' Survival Relies On World's Largest Crab Orgy

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Friday July 10, 2009

Research News

Pigs Harbor A Form Of Ebola Virus

July 10, 2009 • Reporting in the journal Science, researchers say they've found a form of Ebola virus in pigs in the Philippines. The strain doesn't harm humans, but there's concern it may mutate. USDA foreign animal disease expert Michael McIntosh explains how the virus was found and what happens next.

Pigs Harbor A Form Of Ebola Virus

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Sunday July 5, 2009

Swine Flu Pandemic: What May Lie Ahead

July 5, 2009 • Swine flu has been out of the headlines lately, but it's still making people sick in more than 100 countries. In fact, the World Health Organization recently named it the first official pandemic since 1968.

Swine Flu Pandemic: What May Lie Ahead

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Tuesday June 30, 2009

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.

Saturday June 20, 2009

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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