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Post-9/11 travel restrictions delayed 'bird flu'

The onset of the flu season in the USA has been shown to be influenced by air travel. After flights were restricted following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, the flu season started about two weeks later than usual.

12 Sep 2006

Fewer young men in Canada are being diagnosed with cancer

...while the number for young women is stable, according to the Cancer in Young Adults in Canada report released today by Cancer Care Ontario in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada.

12 Sep 2006

Was the "ABC" approach responsible for Uganda's decline in HIV?

The much-publicized "ABC" approach to HIV prevention continues to be mired in controversy, partly because of its focus on abstinence-only sex education programs over condom promotion, a focus that pits political and religious conservatives against their liberal counterparts.

12 Sep 2006

Vitamin D cuts the risk of pancreatic cancer

Consumption of Vitamin D tablets was found to cut the risk of pancreatic cancer nearly in half, according to a study led by researchers at Northwestern and Harvard universities.

12 Sep 2006

Unprecedented number of CDC staff resigned or retired in last two years

In the last two years, an "unprecedented" number of CDC staff has resigned or retired from the agency, prompting some officials to express concern, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (Young, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/10).

11 Sep 2006

Johns Hopkins ACG team releases pharmacy-based predictive model

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed Johns Hopkins ACG Rx-PM - new predictive modeling software based on retail pharmacy claims information.

11 Sep 2006

WHO publishes new guidelines for safe use of wastewater, excreta and greywater

In many parts of the world, good quality fresh water resources are becoming increasingly scarce. At the same time, wastewater is produced in ever-larger quantities, mainly as a result of the continued growth of the human population and the process of rapid urbanization.

11 Sep 2006

Claims that the discovery of a gene could help prevent diabetes may raise unrealistic expectations

Earlier this year, scientists discovered that a variant of the TCF7L2 gene was associated with type 2 diabetes. In subsequent media coverage, they claimed this could lead to a diagnostic test to identify people who carry the variant gene and that people who knew of their extra risk would then be motivated to avoid the lifestyle habits that lead to diabetes.

7 Sep 2006

Mexico's health system reforms working

Julio Frenk, Minister of Health of Mexico, outlines the results of the country's 6-year project of health system reform in a Public Health article in this week's issue of The Lancet.

7 Sep 2006

Medicare should increase oversight to ensure privacy, security

Nearly half of insurers who sponsor Medicare Advantage plans experienced security breaches involving Medicare beneficiaries' private health records in the last two years, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Tuesday, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

7 Sep 2006

Many adults need help understanding basic medical instructions, as most are written at above-average level

Fewer than one in six U.S. adults have proficient health literacy, according to report released on Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics, the AP/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

7 Sep 2006

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital learning from 9/11

With the nation's busiest burn center and the metropolitan area's largest hospital Emergency Medical Services (EMS) fleet, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital rescued and treated many survivors of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center.

7 Sep 2006

Iran-U.S. collaboration on HIV/AIDS treatment

Despite the "political chasm" between Iran and the U.S., "some courageous doctors and scientists on both sides have been reaching out to collaborate on important projects," including HIV/AIDS treatment programs, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius writes in a Post opinion piece.

6 Sep 2006

Hospitals, local governments have more work to do to prepare for disasters

Hospitals and local governments since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks have been working to improve disaster preparedness and better equip their facilities to handle large surges of patients, though for "all the progress in improving readiness, experts warn that there is still a long way to go," the Wall Street Journal reports.

6 Sep 2006

New assessment shows continued serious fuel and water shortages at Lebanese health facilities

A newly-published assessment of health facilities in Lebanon shows that a quarter of those examined are not functioning due to physical damage, lack of staff or lack of accessibility, and that water and fuel shortages remain a serious concern.

6 Sep 2006

Extensive Drug Resistant TB now a major threat

The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed concern over the emergence of virulent drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) and is calling for measures to be strengthened and implemented to prevent the global spread of the deadly TB strains.

5 Sep 2006

Three top global health positions need filling

Three key global health posts are to be filled later this year, and the individuals selected to fill the vacancies will help shape the global strategy to combat diseases such as HIV/AIDS, the Wall Street Journal reports.

5 Sep 2006

Study highlights differences in Anthropometric characteristics between Asian and European population

World Congress of Cardiology Report - Results from a large scale international study assessing prevalence of abdominal obesity in over 170,000 people have previously confirmed that a high waist circumference is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) independently of body mass index (BMI) and age.

5 Sep 2006

The world is in danger of missing targets for providing clean water and sanitation

The world is in danger of missing targets for providing clean water and sanitation unless there is a dramatic increase in the pace of work and investment between now and 2015, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF.

5 Sep 2006

Televised movie trailers expose youth to images of tobacco use

Despite a ban on tobacco advertising on television, nearly all U.S. children age 12 to 17 years may have been exposed to tobacco use through movie advertisements televised in 2001 to 2002, according to an article in the September issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

4 Sep 2006