Disease/Infection News

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Screening for liver diseases benefits outweigh costs for some, but not all, conditions

Screening programs for liver diseases can detect asymptomatic conditions which might have better outcomes if diagnosed and treated earlier.

14 May 2004

WHO admits target on AIDS drugs may be unrealistic

In its Annual World Health Report 2004, the WHO said that more donor funds than ever before, at least $20.5bn (£11.5bn; 17.3bn), are available for AIDS relief in the world's poorest countries, but a huge concerted effort will be needed to get antiretroviral drugs to millions of people who need them before it is too late.

14 May 2004

National effort to detect life-threatening non-cardiac vascular diseases

The University of Arizona Medical Center for the first time will be part of a national effort to detect life-threatening non-cardiac vascular diseases. UMC is partnering with the American Vascular Association to offer free screenings for people at high risk: 60 years or older with a history of hypertension, diabetes, smoking, high cholesterol, or known cardiovascular disease.

14 May 2004

AIDS Foundation praises Governor Schwarzenegger for restoring AIDS funding

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the nation's largest AIDS organization -- issued the following statement in response to today's news that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's "May Revise" budget includes a 13% increase to the state's AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP).

14 May 2004

Research into placebo effect among Parkinson’s patients

Parkinson’s disease patients who thought they had received a transplant of human neurons into their brains—but who actually hadn’t—reported an improved quality of life one year later.

14 May 2004

West Nile virus found in Illinois mosquitoes

A dead crow and two pools of mosquitoes collected in DuPage County have been identified with West Nile virus, the first positive test results in Illinois this year for the mosquito-borne disease, Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, state public health director, today announced.

13 May 2004

WHO reports on dengue haemorrhagic fever in Indonesia

From January 1 to April 30 2004, a total of 58,301 cases of dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and 658 deaths have been registered with the Indonesian Ministry of Health (see previous report ). The case-fatality rate of 1.1% is lower this year than in previous years.

12 May 2004

WHO reports on treating tuberculosis in Ukraine

Multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) is the disease caused by TB bacilli that are resistant to at least isoniazid and rifampicin – the two most powerful anti-TB drugs. It results from inconsistent or partial treatment of TB, and develops when public health programmes fail to deliver regular and reliable treatment to TB patients.

12 May 2004

Illinois spends $2.3 million to fight West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases

Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today announced the state has awarded grants to local health departments totaling $2.3 million as part of this year's efforts to detect and control mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus or other mosquito-borne diseases.

12 May 2004

Study shows states will see an average 44 percent increase in Alzheimer’s disease by 2025

According to the May 11 issue of Neurology, U. S. states will see an average 44 percent increase in Alzheimer’s disease by 2025, with the Western and Southeastern states to be hit the hardest.

11 May 2004

Urgent need for increased awareness about lupus

The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation believes that significantly raising awareness about lupus, both among women who may be at risk, as well as physicians, whose accurate diagnosis could be a matter of life or death, is critical.

11 May 2004

2 SARS patients in Beijing discharged from hospital

Xinhua reported today that there were no new cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) over the past 24 hours in China and 2 SARS patients in Beijing were discharged from hospital.

11 May 2004

Botswana begins massive emergency polio campaign

The Minister of Health of Botswana today kicked off a massive emergency immunization campaign in the southern African nation of Botswana, following the re-introduction of poliovirus into the country from Nigeria in February.

10 May 2004

The outbreak of SARS is under control in China's eastern province of Anhui

A labratory worker who was China's first SARS patient in the recent outbreak has fully recovered and has been discharged from hospital today as Chinese health officials claimed success in controlling the disease in eastern Anhui province.

10 May 2004

China recognizes 10 million Chinese may be HIV-positive by 2010

The Official Chinese News Agency reported today that the Chinese cabinet has admitted that AIDS epidemic is out of control and spreading rapidly through the country. They have also recognized the need for urgent measures to be put into place to change the situation.

9 May 2004

No evidence of CJD associated with the Garden State Racetrack

The Department of Health and Senior Services released a report today on an investigation of a suspected cluster of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) associated with the Garden State Racetrack.

8 May 2004

Disease control strategies in Africa could help to halve deaths from malaria by 2010

Linking malaria programmes to other disease control strategies in Africa could help to halve deaths from malaria by 2010, say researchers in this week's BMJ.

6 May 2004

International research team have decoded the genetic blueprint of the tularemia (rabbit fever) bacterium

Two teams of researchers, one based in the United States and the other in Europe, have decoded the genetic blueprint of the tularemia (rabbit fever) bacterium, a highly infectious human and animal pathogen.

6 May 2004

West Nile virus found in Arizona mosquito samples

Mosquito samples collected by Maricopa County health officials in the Maricopa County, Arizona have tested positive for the West Nile virus, marking the arrival of the virus in the state in 2004.

6 May 2004

Research into Chinese herbal medicine Qian Ceng Ta may help Alzheimer’s

Georgetown University Medical Center researchers today opened a new clinical trial designed to test if huperzine A, a natural product derived from a Chinese herb, can slow down or prevent cognitive decline in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s Disease (AD).

6 May 2004