Egypt reports third bird flu death in week (AFP)
AFP - An Egyptian woman died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu on Monday, the health ministry said, the third such death in less than a week as officials and experts warned against the relaxation of precautions. More »
Uganda: Mengo Post-Test Club Brings Hope to HIV-Positive People
ENTRY to a Post-Test Club only requires an HIV test and once admitted, members receive support, health-education and the ability to tell others the advantages of testing. More »
Tanzania: Caring for the Sick Carefully
In 2000, When Anna was in standard five she had to take care of her parents who fell sick. She was 12 years old and was the oldest female child so it was her duty to take care of the parents. In 2001 the parents died. More »
Zimbabwe: 'Zim Committed to Meeting ARV Universal Access Targets'
ZIMBABWE is committed to meeting its target for universal access to anti-retroviral drugs for people who need them by 2010, Mashonaland West Governor Cde Nelson Samkange has said. More »
Sleep Disruptions May Increase Diabetes Risk
A new study suggests a good night's sleep may help prevent the most common form of diabetes. More »
Chinese-made 'supplements' contain Viagra drug, US regulator warns (AFP)
AFP - The US drug safety watchdog warned Monday on its website that several Chinese-made 'dietary supplements' contain the active ingredient found in Viagra, and could be harmful to consumers. More »
Officials seek passengers on TB flight (AP)
AP - A 30-year-old woman infected with a hard-to-treat form of tuberculosis is recovering at a Bay Area hospital, as health officials search for dozens of international air passengers who may have come in contact with her as she traveled back from India. More »
Copper, silver tested as germ wards (AP)
AP - Out with stainless steel, in with copper? It might be a new hospital trend — not for looks, but for germ-fighting. Some intensive-care units in New York and South Carolina are about to get copper fittings as part of a project to test if drug-resistant bacteria survive better on hospitals' ubiquitous stainless steel than on copper. More »
UVa. tests Viagra-like drug for women (AP)
AP - A drug that could do for women what Viagra has done for men is being tested at the University of Virginia. The drug is a testosterone-laden ointment called LibiGel and it's intended to boost the libido of women who have lost interest in sex. It will be prescribed at UVa in coming months to women who are suffering from hypoactive sexual desire disorder. More »
Doctors target germs' ability to cluster (AP)
AP - Think of germs as gangsters. One thug lurking on a corner you might outrun, but a dozen swaggering down the street? Yikes. Bacteria make their own gangs, clustering quietly in the body until there's a large enough group to begin an attack. This is the next frontier in fighting drug-resistant superbugs. The idea: Don't just try to kill bacteria. The bugs will always find a way to thwart the next antibiotic. More »
Sleep disruptions may up diabetes risk (AP)
AP - When Shakespeare called sleep the "chief nourisher of life's feast," he may have been well ahead of his time, medically at least. Researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center report that disrupting sleep damages the body's ability to regulate blood sugar levels, potentially raising the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. More »
"Swish-and-spit" test screens for cancer (Reuters)
Reuters - A simple mouth rinse may provide a new way to screen for head and neck cancers in people at high risk for these diseases, researchers said on Tuesday. More »
Passenger with TB in Calif. hospital (AP)
AP - Health officials were searching Monday for dozens of airline passengers who may have come in contact with a 30-year-old woman infected with a hard-to-treat form of tuberculosis on a flight from India. More »
Tuesdays Mesothelioma Daily News (1st January 2008)
Briefs: Asbestos ruling upheld (Daily Herald) The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed a previous Cook County circuit court ruling that Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 failed to notify its insurance company in a timely manner of asbestos removal efforts carried out from the mid-1980s through the early '90s. Asbestos drug listed on ... More »
Bird flu forces Bangladesh to cull 20,000 chickens (Reuters)
Reuters - Nearly 20,000 chickens were culled after the H5N1 bird flu virus was detected at a government poultry farm in the Bangladesh capital, officials said on Tuesday. More »
Fourth bird flu death in a week in Egypt: reports (AFP)
AFP - Egypt's health ministry said another woman has died from the H5N1 strain of bird flu, the fourth such death in a week, local media reported on Tuesday. More »
Children Who Sleep Less Weigh More (HealthDay)
HealthDay - TUESDAY, Jan. 1 (HealthDay News) -- Children who get less than nine hours of sleep a night are more likely to be overweight or obese, new research shows. More »
ER docs give whites narcotics more often (AP)
AP - Emergency room doctors are prescribing strong narcotics more often to patients who complain of pain, but minorities are less likely to get them than whites, a new study finds. Even for the severe pain of kidney stones, minorities were prescribed narcotics such as oxycodone and morphine less frequently than whites. More »
Researchers work on cocaine vaccine (AP)
AP - Two Baylor College of Medicine researchers in Houston are working on a cocaine vaccine they hope will become the first-ever medication to treat people hooked on the drug. "For people who have a desire to stop using, the vaccine should be very useful," said Dr. More »
Smoking banned in the cafes of France (AP)
AP - Non-smokers reveled. Some smokers grumbled. But others pondered kicking the habit as France's smoking ban went into effect Tuesday with the start of the new year. Owners of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and cafes, where smoking is now prohibited, worried it would be bad for business. More »