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Check that Thanksgiving ham and turkey

In the latest food scare in the United States thousands of pounds of ham and turkey have been recalled because they are suspected of contamination with listeria.

27 Nov 2006

Bird flu crops up again in South Korea

South Korea has found the H5N1 strain of bird flu in chickens at a poultry farm.

27 Nov 2006

Man sent to prison for knowingly spreading HIV

A man in the U.S. infected with HIV, who knowingly exposed three women to the virus, has been sentenced to almost three years in prison.

27 Nov 2006

Finance Committee approves $181M loan to California's Stem Cell Research Institute

The California Stem Cell Research and Cures Finance Committee on Monday unanimously approved a $181 million loan to the state's stem cell research institute, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, in an effort to start the program, which has been stalled by lawsuits, the Los Angeles Times reports (La Ganga, Los Angeles Times, 11/21).

23 Nov 2006

Incoming Congress should enact legislation to reduce abortion rate

Although "[t]aking substantial steps to reduce the abortion rate will not settle the larger ethical argument over the practice," the "election of a new congressional majority" for the 110th Congress should "open the way for a better approach to the abortion question," Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne writes in a Post opinion piece.

23 Nov 2006

Nicaragua bans all abortions

Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolanos on Friday signed into law a bill that bans abortion in all cases, the New York Times reports (McKinley, New York Times, 11/20).

23 Nov 2006

Many cancer patients, family members cite positives in experience

Almost two out of three cancer patients and their families believe that "something good has come out of their experience," according to a recent telephone survey jointly conducted by USA Today, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health (Szabo, USA Today, 11/21).

23 Nov 2006

Target to expand discounted generic drug program to all pharmacies

The Minneapolis-based company said all of its 1,287 pharmacies now will offer a 30-day supply of certain generic drugs for $4. The company previously offered the program only in states where Wal-Mart was offering generic drugs at the same price (Reuters/New York Times, 11/21).

23 Nov 2006

74 House members pressure Amnesty International to reject abortion proposal

Seventy-four House members in a letter recently sent to Amnesty International USA Executive Director Larry Cox call on the group to reject a proposal that would support access to abortion in cases of rape, incest, sexual assault or to save the life of the woman, the AP/Los Angeles Times reports.

23 Nov 2006

Australia, cloning and abortion drug mifepristone examined

The New York Times on Tuesday examined the political debates in Australia over the legalization earlier this year of the medical abortion drug mifepristone and whether to pass legislation that would legalize some forms of cloning of human embryos for therapeutic purposes.

23 Nov 2006

Birth rate among teens at record low and C-sections at record high

The birth rate among U.S. women and girls ages 15 to 19 declined to a record low in 2005, while the rate of infants delivered by cesarean section increased to a record high of 30.2% of all births, according to data from a preliminary report released on Tuesday by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, USA Today reports.

23 Nov 2006

Summary of FDA's approval of silicone breast implants

Two editorials respond to FDA's approval on Friday of the use of silicone breast implants manufactured by Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Mentor and Irvine, Calif.-based Allergan for breast reconstruction and cosmetic breast augmentation.

23 Nov 2006

TB drug isoniazid could reduce AIDS-related illnesses among children

The inexpensive tuberculosis drug isoniazid could help reduce by half the number of deaths from AIDS-related illnesses among children, according to a study published earlier this month in BMJ, the Pretoria News reports.

23 Nov 2006

Reproductive health agendas hampered by global focus on HIV/AIDS programs, controversies over abortion, other issues

The global focus on HIV/AIDS initiatives and "ideological controversies" surrounding issues such as abortion have "marginalized" reproductive and sexual health in the global health agenda, according to a panel of public health experts said on Friday at a news conference on Friday, CQ HealthBeat reports.

23 Nov 2006

40 million with HIV/AIDS

The number of people living with HIV/AIDS over the past two years has increased and the worldwide total now stands at nearly 40 million, according to a report released on Tuesday by UNAIDS and the World Health Organization, Reuters UK reports.

23 Nov 2006

U.S. law banning HIV-positive foreigners from entering country harming testing efforts

A provision of U.S. law that bans HIV-positive foreigners from entering the country is harming testing efforts and excluding eligible candidates for citizenship, according to members of a panel held by the Global Health Council on Nov. 15, CQ HealthBeat reports.

23 Nov 2006

Hospital-acquired infections in most cases are the result of poor hygiene

Hospital-acquired infections in most cases are the result of poor hygiene within the facilities and not of how sick patients were at the time of admission, according to three studies published on Monday in the American Journal of Medical Quality, the Washington Post reports.

23 Nov 2006

Reaction to UNAIDS/WHO report on HIV/AIDS

Health officials on Tuesday reacted to a report from UNAIDS and the World Health Organization showing that the number of people living with HIV/AIDS over the past two years has increased and that the worldwide total now stands at nearly 40 million, the New York Times reports (Altman, New York Times, 11/22).

23 Nov 2006

Number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in China increased 28% in 2006

The number of reported HIV/AIDS cases in China increased by 28% in the first 10 months of 2006, and the virus appears to be spreading to a broader population, China's Ministry of Health said Wednesday in a report posted on its Web site, Reuters reports.

23 Nov 2006

Wal-Mart generic drug discount program indicates markets can provide medications at affordable prices

The generic prescription drug discount program introduced earlier this year by Wal-Mart Stores indicates that "markets are, in fact, capable of providing medicines at affordable prices," Peter Pitts, director of the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest and a former associate commissioner at FDA, writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece.

23 Nov 2006