Providing independent advice to Member States is a very important function of the World Health Organization (WHO). We take this work seriously and guard against the influence of any improper interests. The WHO influenza pandemic policies and response have not been improperly influenced by the pharmaceutical industry. [More]

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is the one of the leading pathogens causing hospital-acquired infection in the United States. It may cause diarrhea, colitis, sepsis and lead to prolonged hospitalization and death. [More]

No matter what Washington does on health reform, there's a lot you can do to reform your own health -- and two of the best places to start are your kidneys. [More]

A new study linking funding increases in the global fight against malaria to a drop in deaths from the disease also shows that resources from donor governments still fall short of those needed for maximum impact against the world's fourth-biggest killer of children, according to a global health policy analyst at international aid agency World Vision. [More]

Microorganisms are everywhere and most of them are harmless, but they can do a lot of damage in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals or in tissue transplants. With the aid of a new device, germs can be detected in artificial cartilage within a few hours. [More]

During the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections, the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology awarded their first Partnership in Prevention Award to the National Guard Health Affairs in Saudi Arabia. [More]

There were an estimated 440,000 cases of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) around the world in 2008 - one-third of which were fatal, according to a new WHO report on drug-resistant TB, the Los Angeles Times reports (Maugh, 3/19). [More]

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a safe and inexpensive antibiotic in use since the 1970s for treating acne effectively targets infected immune cells in which HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, lies dormant and prevents them from reactivating and replicating. [More]

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center found an Infrared Thermal Detection System to be a fast and effective fever screening tool in clinical settings during the H1N1 influenza pandemic. The ITDS detected fever in patients through split-second, non-contact skin temperature measurements. [More]

LiftSeat Corporation, a leading healthcare toileting solutions company, is now the exclusive distributor in the United States of the Hygie Hygienic Cover System, which is proven to help prevent the spread of potentially fatal healthcare-associated infections. The joint announcement was made today at the Fifth Decennial International Conference on Healthcare-Associated Infections 2010. [More]