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New hospital gowns to combat MRSA

The fight against the MRSA bug will take a step forward this week when a new-style hospital gown goes on trial at a London hospital.

11 Feb 2007

Second worker tested for bird flu on British farm

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) in the UK has announced that the vet who became ill after working on the farm where an outbreak of bird flu has occurred, has tested negative for the virus.

7 Feb 2007

Worker involved in British bird flu outbreak undergoing tests for the virus

According to the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in Britain one of the workers who had been dealing with the bird flu outbreak in Suffolk in England has been admitted to hospital.

7 Feb 2007

Brits on high alert as bird flu kills thousands of turkeys

British health officials have confirmed that the avian flu virus which killed 2,600 turkeys at a farm in Lowestoft, Suffolk was indeed the H5N1 virus.

4 Feb 2007

Value based insurance design

Like a one-size-fits-all shirt that doesn't fit anyone very well, American health insurance plans charge every person the same out of pocket cost for medical services - regardless of their effect on a person's health.

30 Jan 2007

New understanding of cholera pathogen

Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have discovered new details about how bacteria generate energy to live. In two recently published papers, the scientists add key specifics to the molecular mechanism behind the pathogen that causes cholera.

29 Jan 2007

Study "on-the-job physical activity" released

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) recently released results of its exclusive study that examined on-the-job physical activity of 10 common occupations.

29 Jan 2007

Violence against women fueling spread of HIV worldwide

Violence against women worldwide is fueling the spread of HIV in the population, and unwillingness among some governments to acknowledge the issue will continue to undermine prevention and education efforts, advocates said this week at the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, Inter Press Service reports.

28 Jan 2007

Free seasonal flu vaccinations for poultry workers in UK

Free seasonal flu vaccinations will be offered to those who work in close contact with poultry as a precautionary public health measure, the UK Department of Health announced.

8 Jan 2007

Iran's "sex for clothing" hampering efforts to fight HIV/AIDS

The "increasingly common" practice in Tehran, Iran, between commercial sex workers and shopkeepers of trading sex for no-cost or discounted fashion clothing is undermining efforts to fight the spread of HIV in the country, according to health education workers, London's Guardian reports.

7 Jan 2007

India told to wake up to AIDS catastrophe

India has been warned by the director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and a senior official of the UN that it is on the brink of an AIDS catastrophe.

20 Nov 2006

Toyota builds employee health clinic in new factory to reduce health care costs

In an effort to contain health care spending, Toyota Motor will construct a $9 million medical clinic for employees and their families at its new San Antonio truck factory, the Detroit News reports.

8 Nov 2006

U.S. companies consider overseas medical treatment for employees

According to the National Coalition on Health Care (NCHC), the number of Americans who are travelling overseas for medical treatment reached somewhere in the region of 500,000 last year.

6 Nov 2006

Shortage of health workers in developing countries is affecting global health efforts

The critical shortage of health workers in developing countries is affecting global health efforts, including the fight against HIV/AIDS, and must be addressed, a panel of experts said Tuesday at an event sponsored by the Global Health Council, CQ HealthBeat reports.

30 Oct 2006

Teen's radiation overdose down to paperwork

A report into the death of a teenage cancer patient who was given, in error, massive overdoses of radiation to treat a brain tumour, was apparently down to paperwork.

30 Oct 2006

Paroxetine effective in treating patients with compulsive hoarding syndrome

In a paper published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, Sanjaya Saxena, M.D., Director of the Obsessive-Compulsive Disorders (OCD) Program at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, reports the surprising finding that the serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SRI) medication, paroxetine, is effective in treating patients with compulsive hoarding syndrome.

24 Oct 2006

Clinton Foundation trains HIV-positive people in Lesotho to assist medical workers

The Clinton Foundation's HIV/AIDS Initiative has trained 10 HIV-positive people in Lesotho to help doctors, nurses and pharmacists cope with treating people with HIV/AIDS in a country with a severe shortage of health workers, South Africa's Independent Online reports.

22 Oct 2006

Health workforce exodus will push health systems to the brink of collapse

What will happen if the Western Pacific's health workforce, seeking better-paying jobs and professional advancement abroad, continue to migrate as the region's population ages, the burden of chronic disease rises and new health threats emerge?

21 Sep 2006

WHO backs health sector response to HIV pandemic

The World Health Organization Western Pacific Region, in collaboration with international partner agencies, is seeking to scale up HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities in line with the goal of universal access for HIV/AIDS treatment throughout Asia and the Pacific by 2010.

21 Sep 2006

More companies opening in-house clinics for employees to help reduce health costs

A "combination of both definable and intangible savings are driving more companies to open medical clinics to cope with ever-rising health care costs," the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

11 Sep 2006