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Sierra Leone cholera outbreak continues to spread

"Sierra Leone's health ministry said Thursday that deaths from a cholera outbreak had reached 220, affecting over 12,000 people in the west African nation, which is struggling to curb the disease," Agence France-Presse reports.

24 Aug 2012

Few state laws restricting abortion make exceptions for rape victims

Politico Pro examines state abortion laws and finds few waivers for rape victims. Also, California lawmakers spar over rape comments made by Missouri Republican Rep. Todd Akin.

24 Aug 2012

On campaign trail, polls and politics swirl around Medicare, abortion debates

A New York Times/CBS News/Quinnipiac poll finds that even in the midst of the Medicare debate, presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney appears to have gained ground in Florida and other swing states.

24 Aug 2012

Bushmeat blamed for Ebola outbreak in DRC

"Health officials in the Democratic Republic of Congo's north-eastern Orientale Province are urging the population to desist from activities that could put them at risk of contracting the Ebola virus, including contact with infected individuals and the consumption of bushmeat," IRIN reports.

24 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 24, 2012

Now on Kaiser Health News blog, KUHF's Carrie Feibel, working in partnership with KHN and NPR, reports: "When Ashley Beecher had her first daughter, nursing was a struggle, and she sometimes had to supplement her baby's diet with formula. But when she had her second daughter in January, it was a very different story. … Beecher was reluctant to throw away the milk – mothers and doctors call it 'liquid gold' because of its health benefits - so she was excited to find out about the donor milk bank at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston."

24 Aug 2012

State Senator honors UCLA lung transplant doctors during special ceremony

Dr. Abbas Ardehali, professor of cardiothoracic surgery and director of the UCLA Heart and Lung Transplant program, and Dr. David Ross, professor of pulmonology and medical director of the UCLA Lung Transplant program, were honored by State Senator Sharon Runner (R-Antelope Valley) during a special ceremony at the State Senate Chamber in Sacramento on Aug. 21.

24 Aug 2012

Quantitative look at the whole experience of patients with pancreatic cancer

Every year, nearly 45,000 Americans are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The odds against those stricken by the disease are truly dismal; pancreatic cancer almost always kills within two years after diagnosis, no matter how it is treated. Even aggressive intervention with chemotherapy, radiation or surgery rarely yields more than an extra month to a year of survival, depending on the stage of the disease.

24 Aug 2012

Aetna sponsorship provides support for children's activities at the US Open

For the second year, Aetna is sponsoring children's activities at the US Open and is determined to deliver twice the fun as part of its three-year sponsorship agreement with the United States Tennis Association (USTA).

24 Aug 2012

Guidelines for parents to beat back-to-school bugs

School bells are beginning to sound again across the country, so it will only be a matter of time until every parent comes face-to-face with a child who wakes up with a cold, fever or upset stomach.

24 Aug 2012

McGill University experts to present at World Cancer Congress

The following list includes some of the McGill University experts who will be attending or presenting at the World Cancer Congress (WCC), the largest gathering of international leaders in the field of cancer, taking place in Montreal from August 27 to 30, 2012.

24 Aug 2012

Abortion issues continue to stir political pot

Although GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's campaign advisers say they don't anticipate the need to adjust their strategy to respond to the latest fracas over reproductive rights, news outlets analyze the possible repercussions of the dust-up regarding Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin's statements about "legitimate" rape and pregnancy.

24 Aug 2012

Loyola University Chicago MNSON receives $279,571 from HRSA

Loyola University Chicago Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing (MNSON) recently received $279,571 from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Advanced Education Nursing Program.

24 Aug 2012

WHO releases 2012 verbal autopsy instrument

"In today's world, the majority of deaths go unregistered," but "the information that comes from accurate and complete records of deaths -- who died, and why -- constitutes a huge resource for evidence-based health planning and development," Peter Byass, a professor of global health at Umea University in Sweden and director of the Umea Centre for Global Health Research, writes in this post in the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog.

24 Aug 2012

ISSA questions IRS on health law insurance subsidies

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., has raised questions about the implementation of a key part of the health law -- the tax treatment of subsidies for low-income people to purchase health insurance.

24 Aug 2012

CBO: Medicare spending growth slower than expected

The Congressional Budget Office released new projections for the country's economic outlook Wednesday, forecasting that despite slower-than-anticipated spending growth, Medicare will account for an even larger share of the economy in the next decade.

24 Aug 2012

State Department blog reflects on global hunger event

In this post in the U.S. Department of State's "Dipnote" blog, Tjada McKenna, deputy coordinator for development for Feed the Future, reflects on the Global Hunger Event that took place at the conclusion of the Olympic Games in London.

24 Aug 2012

Religion not a barrier to HIV testing, treatment, study finds

"Preachers who promise divine healing have often been blamed for turning desperate HIV-positive people against their life-prolonging antiretroviral (ARV) medication and risking their health, but recent research suggests that religious beliefs may not be a barrier to treatment after all," IRIN/Plus News reports.

24 Aug 2012

White House issues first-ever national biosurveillance strategy

In an article on the U.S. Department of Defense webpage, the American Forces Press Service reports on the first U.S. National Strategy for Biosurveillance, issued by the White House "to quickly detect a range of global health and security hazards." According to the article, "the Defense Department has a running start in implementing the new plan, a senior defense official said," and "many of the activities described in the strategy are ongoing at DOD."

24 Aug 2012

Planned Parenthood in Texas braces for end to state funding

Officials are moving quickly to end state funding for Planned Parenthood, which for now remains a part of the Texas' Women's Health Program despite a judge's ruling that state funds can be stopped while a related lawsuit is pending.

24 Aug 2012

Kansas officials promise smooth transition for Medicaid overhaul

State officials and health insurance providers on Tuesday promised a smooth transition into KanCare, the proposed overhaul of Kansas' $2.9 billion Medicaid program. "There is nothing simple about Medicaid," said Joe Ewert, commissioner of survey and certification with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services.

24 Aug 2012