Global Health

New Questions Raised On Chemicals In Soaps, Plastics

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New Questions Raised On Chemicals In Soaps, Plastics

November 29, 2010 • A new study is linking higher levels of triclosan to allergies in kids and Bisphenol-A exposure to changes in adult immune systems raises new health questions. But the concerns about these chemicals are far from settled.

Global Health Leader Sees AIDS At Turning Point After 30 Years

A pedestrian passes an AIDS education billboard in Johannesburg, South Africa. Denis Farrell/AP hide caption

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Denis Farrell/AP

Global Health Leader Sees AIDS At Turning Point After 30 Years

November 24, 2010 • Since the HIV/AIDS pandemic peaked in 1999, safer-sex education and widespread condom use have brought down the number of new infections by 19 percent, according to a new report from UNAIDS.

Pill Cuts HIV Infection Risk Significantly, For A Price

There's a lot going on with the little blue pill called Truvada made by Gilead Sciences of Forest City, Calif. Paul Sakuma/AP hide caption

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Paul Sakuma/AP

Pill Cuts HIV Infection Risk Significantly, For A Price

November 23, 2010 • A large study shows that men who took the pill Truvada nearly every day cut their risk of HIV infection by 73 percent. But those who took their pills half the time just cut their risk by 50 percent.

Pill Cuts HIV Infection Risk Significantly, For A Price

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Among Rich Countries, U.S. Rates Worst For Patients

Being a patient in the U.S. is costlier than other rich countries, a recent international survey found. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Among Rich Countries, U.S. Rates Worst For Patients

November 18, 2010 • A survey of 11 developed countries compared the experience of patients and found the U.S. came out at the bottom on almost every count. Some weak spots include costs of care and dealing with insurance companies.

Cholera Vaccine In The Caribbean: A Hypothetical Lifesaver

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Cholera Vaccine In The Caribbean: A Hypothetical Lifesaver

November 17, 2010 • Vaccines against cholera exist, but they're unlikely to be used to blunt the epidemic unfolding in Haiti. The global supply of the vaccines is quite small, and public health experts are divided on whether they would be worthwhile.

Dengue Vaccine Hunt Heats Up With Big Human Test

A man helps his dengue fever-stricken daughter in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In June, Honduran authorities declared a state of emergency due to the high rate of dengue cases reported around the country. Orlando Sierra/AFP hide caption

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Orlando Sierra/AFP

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Dengue Vaccine Hunt Heats Up With Big Human Test

November 13, 2010 • Drug giant Sanofi-Aventis is moving ahead with a big clinical test of a vaccine that could protect people against the four main types of dengue fever. The results, if positive, could pave the way for regulatory approval in a few years.

Respiratory Disease Atlas Charts Forgotten Health Threat

In developing countries, lung infections kill more people of any age than anything else. iStockphoto.com hide caption

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Respiratory Disease Atlas Charts Forgotten Health Threat

November 9, 2010 • More than four million people die every year of acute respiratory infections like pneumonia, but few experts consider them a distinct group of diseases, according to a new atlas from the World Lung Foundation.

Cholera May Have Come To Haiti From South Asia

Tests of cholera samples from Haiti suggest the strain behind the outbreak came from South Asia. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory hide caption

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

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Cholera May Have Come To Haiti From South Asia

November 1, 2010 • An analysis of DNA from bacterial samples taken from cholera victims in Haiti finds the were identical. The results indicate a single strain is responsible and its source may have been South Asia.

Cholera May Have Come To Haiti From South Asia

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Tracking The Origins Of Haiti's Cholera Strain

Scientists are still unsure of the exact origin of Haiti's cholera strain. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory hide caption

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

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Tracking The Origins Of Haiti's Cholera Strain

October 30, 2010 • Scientists investigating the origin of the Haiti cholera strain say it's possible the strain will be one that's never been seen before.

Two trucks crashed on a road toward Saint-Marc in Haiti. One truck was carrying Coke bottles, the other was full of people. The head-on collision knocked the bed off the back of one truck, killing several and injuring many more. Christopher Joyce/NPR hide caption

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Christopher Joyce/NPR

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DISPATCH: The Road To Saint-Marc

October 28, 2010 • Haitians have shown extraordinary resilience -- or perhaps it's that they are hardened. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports from the scene of a horrific traffic accident on the way to Saint-Marc, where the cholera epidemic got its start.

Cholera Vaccine Isn't The Answer For Haiti

People distribute potable water near a tent city in Port-au-Prince. Officials say a vaccine would do little to prevent more cases of cholera there. Thony Belizaire/AFP hide caption

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Thony Belizaire/AFP

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Cholera Vaccine Isn't The Answer For Haiti

October 28, 2010 • Vaccines can give up to 90 percent protection against cholera – at least in the short term. But don't expect them to get widespread use in Haiti to contain the current cholera epidemic.

Chaos In Haiti As Cholera Patients Seek Treatment

Sick cholera victims and families wait at St. Nicolas Hospital in Saint-Marc, north of Port-au-Prince. Saint-Marc residents burned down nearby tents Wednesday that were supposed to relieve pressure on the hospital. Thony Belizaire/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Thony Belizaire/AFP/Getty Images

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Chaos In Haiti As Cholera Patients Seek Treatment

October 27, 2010 • An emergency treatment center being built to relieve the pressure on a key hospital in the cholera epidemic was burned down, reportedly by people upset that it was too close to a school. Cholera cases are slowing, yet the scene remains chaotic.

Chaos In Haiti As Cholera Patients Seek Treatment

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Haiti's High-Tech Town Crier: Text Messages Against Cholera

October 27, 2010 • The Red Cross has been blasting SMS messages twice a day to cell phone users in the epicenter of Haiti's cholera outbreak, the Artibonite River Valley, and to those in Port-au-Prince, who might see a cholera epidemic any day.

Cholera In Haiti Here To Stay, Experts Say

Artibonite Lake in Haiti has been infected with cholera after 50 years without a single case in the country. Thony Belizaire/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Thony Belizaire/AFP/Getty Images

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Cholera In Haiti Here To Stay, Experts Say

October 25, 2010 • Now that cholera has returned to Haiti after a 50-year hiatus, it'll be almost impossible to get rid of, experts say.

Cholera In Haiti: Preparing, Crossing Fingers

A health care worker washes her hands in clean water before leaving St. Nicolas Hospital in St. Marc, north of Port-au-Prince on October 24, 2010. THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP hide caption

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THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP

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Cholera In Haiti: Preparing, Crossing Fingers

October 25, 2010 • As the toll of cholera in Haiti mounts, public health officials are pushing to contain the outbreak. The disease can be deadly. But fairly simple precautions can slow the spread of the disease.

Monday November 29, 2010

Wednesday November 24, 2010

Tuesday November 23, 2010

Pill Cuts HIV Infection Risk Significantly, For A Price

Thursday November 18, 2010

Wednesday November 17, 2010

Saturday November 13, 2010

Tuesday November 9, 2010

Monday November 1, 2010

Cholera May Have Come To Haiti From South Asia

Saturday October 30, 2010

Thursday October 28, 2010

Wednesday October 27, 2010

Chaos In Haiti As Cholera Patients Seek Treatment

Monday October 25, 2010