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Thursday

Wednesday

In South Africa, A Clinic Focuses On Prostitutes To Fight HIV

A prostitute in Johannesburg waits for a client on a street corner. An estimated two-thirds of sex workers in South Africa are HIV positive. Yoav Lemmer/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Yoav Lemmer/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

In South Africa, A Clinic Focuses On Prostitutes To Fight HIV

Treating sex workers infected with HIV can save their lives and reduce the odds that they will spread HIV to clients. To make it easier for prostitutes to get care, a university-run clinic in Johannesburg is located in a neighborhood where they work.

In South Africa, A Clinic Focuses On Prostitutes To Fight HIV

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Tuesday

After Missteps In HIV Care, South Africa Finds Its Way

A nurse takes a blood sample from Nkosi Minenhle, 15, in a mobile clinic set up to test students for HIV at Madwaleni High School in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

After Missteps In HIV Care, South Africa Finds Its Way

The nation with the worst HIV epidemic on the planet is finally turning the corner on the disease. South Africa is simplifying AIDS care and giving antiviral drugs to nearly 2 million people every day.

After Missteps In HIV Care, South Africa Finds Its Way

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Wednesday

Deadly Middle East Coronavirus Found In An Egyptian Tomb Bat

So cute, but not cuddly. The Egyptian tomb bat, Taphozous perforatus, is a likely carrier of the Middle East respiratory syndrome virus, or MERS. Courtesy of Jonathan H. Epstein/EcoHealth Alliance hide caption

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Courtesy of Jonathan H. Epstein/EcoHealth Alliance

Shots - Health News

Deadly Middle East Coronavirus Found In An Egyptian Tomb Bat

Just a fragment of genes in bat guano was enough for researchers trying to find out how a deadly new virus spreads. It's the first time the Middle East respiratory syndrome virus has been found in an animal, and offers strong evidence that bats carry the virus.

Wednesday

Violence Causes Doctors Without Borders To Exit Somalia

Somali women and children wait to get medicine in July 2008, from a clinic run by Doctors Without Borders about 20 miles south of Mogadishu. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/AFP/Getty Images

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Violence Causes Doctors Without Borders To Exit Somalia

After suffering dozens of attacks against staff members, including kidnappings and murders, the nonprofit is closing all operations in Somalia. In many parts of the country, the aid group was the only source of health care.

Monday

Friday

Camels May Be A Source Of The Middle East Coronavirus

A dromedary camel waits for a tourist to hop on its back in Petra, Jordan. The country has recorded two cases of the Middle East respiratory syndrome. Chris Jackson/Getty Images hide caption

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Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Camels May Be A Source Of The Middle East Coronavirus

Scientists find the a tantalizing clue about where people may be catching the Middle East respiratory syndrome. Camels on the Arabian Peninsula and Canary Islands show signs that they've been infected with the virus or a close relative.

Thursday

Experimental Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise In Human Test

A red blood cell infected with malaria parasites (blue) sits next to normal cells (red). NIAID/Flickr.com hide caption

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NIAID/Flickr.com

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Experimental Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise In Human Test

In a preliminary study, a new type of vaccine offers strong protection against malaria when given at high doses. The study was extremely small and short-term. But health leaders say they are cautiously optimistic about the approach.

Experimental Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise In Human Test

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Scientists Disclose Plans To Make Superflu In Labs

Some scientists think new types of bird flus should arise only in chickens, not in labs. Here a worker collects poultry on a farm in Kathmandu, Nepal, where the H5N1 virus was infecting animals in October 2011. Prakas Mathema/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Prakas Mathema/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

Scientists Disclose Plans To Make Superflu In Labs

The proposed studies would essentially create a recipe for a more contagious bird flu. Some scientists worry these viruses could escape the lab and possibly kill millions. But others think the information gleaned from the experiments is critical for keeping H7N9 from becoming a global threat.

Tuesday

Genetic Code Shows Bird Flu In China Spread Between People

A man who just recovered from the H7N9 bird flu leaves a hospital in Bozhou, China, in April. Since early May, the number of new H7N9 cases has dramatically declined. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/Getty Images

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Genetic Code Shows Bird Flu In China Spread Between People

Chinese scientists offer the first clear evidence that the H7N9 bird flu virus can be transmitted from human to human. A father, who became sick in March, passed the virus to his daughter. But the risk of transmission is quite low, and the virus still doesn't appear to pose a global threat.

Friday

Could Hotter Temperatures From Climate Change Boost Violence?

A police officer guards Cambodia's famed temple of Angkor Wat. The powerful city-state collapsed in 1431 after suffering through two decades of droughts. Heng Sinith/AP hide caption

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Heng Sinith/AP

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Could Hotter Temperatures From Climate Change Boost Violence?

In one analysis, economists predict that extreme weather could boost the number of international conflicts by as much as 50 percent by 2050. Higher temperatures might also increase the rates of murder, rapes and domestic violence, they say because aggression seems to rise with the mercury.

Wednesday

Last Person To Get Smallpox Dedicated His Life To Ending Polio

Ali Maow Maalin said he avoided getting the smallpox vaccine as a young man because he was afraid of needles. He didn't want others to make the same mistake with polio. Courtesy of the World Health Organization hide caption

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Courtesy of the World Health Organization

Shots - Health News

Last Person To Get Smallpox Dedicated His Life To Ending Polio

In the 1970s, Ali Maow Maalin, a Somali hospital worker, was the last member of the general public to catch smallpox — worldwide. Once recovered, he worked for years to wipe out polio in Somalia. Maalin, called "an inspiration" by world health leaders, died unexpectedly last week.

Tuesday

Female Genital Mutilation On The Decline, But Still Too Common

A mother and daughter walk home after attending a community meeting about eradicating female genital mutilation in the western Senegalese village of Diabougo. Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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Finbarr O'Reilly/Reuters /Landov

Shots - Health News

Female Genital Mutilation On The Decline, But Still Too Common

The most comprehensive survey on female genital mutilation and cutting finds the practice has decreased in more than half of the countries where it persists. But in parts of eastern Africa, about 90 percent of girls still undergo the abusive procedure.