Infections

Nigeria Polio Could Be Halted by Year-End

The United Nations said it was confident of stopping the spread of polio in Nigeria by the end of the year as it races…    

High hepatitis B rates in prisons are preventable

Rates of hepatitis B virus infection are high in state correctional facilities. However, most inmates appear to be willing to undergo vaccination, which would…    

Chickenpox vaccination may not prevent infection

During an outbreak of chickenpox in Minnesota in the fall of 2002, more than half the children who became infected had been immunized with…    

Disease spreads death in flood-ravaged South Asia

Rain fell on the flooded Bangladesh capital on Wednesday, compounding the misery of half a million people crammed into emergency shelters as waterborne diseases…    

SE Asia urged to pull together against bird flu

Southeast Asian bird flu experts met in Thailand Wednesday to work out how to prevent a second wave of the virus, which has already…    

California death shows dramatic march of West Nile

West Nile virus has claimed its first death in California, evidence of the disease’s unrelenting march across America since entering the country through…    

Thai bird flu suspects cleared, more areas hit.

Two Thai children suspected of contracting bird flu were cleared of having the H5N1 variant that can infect humans, Health Ministry spokeswoman Nitaya Chanruang…    

More travelers should get typhoid shots, CDC says

Travelers to high-risk areas should receive typhoid fever vaccinations even if they plan to stay for only a few weeks, according to a…    

Thailand has two suspected human bird flu cases

Thailand is testing two children for possible infection with bird flu, which has erupted again after devastating Asian poultry flocks earlier this year, officials…    

Over 100 Tajiks feared to have typhoid - doctor

Over 100 people are thought to have caught typhoid in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe after heavy rains cut water supplies to the city of 1…    

Nigerian state to restart polio immunization

Nigeria’s Muslim-run Kano state said it would restart polio immunizations on Tuesday after tests proved vaccines safe, ending fears its eight-month ban would allow…    

WHO urges bird flu protections for humans

Outbreaks of a deadly bird flu in Asia require tough precautions against the emergence of a new virus strain that could sweep through the…    

Mutant syphilis strain resists common cure

A fast-spreading mutant strain of syphilis has proved resistant to the antibiotic pills that are offered to some patients as an alternative to painful…    

Hong Kong official resigns over SARS

Bowing to pressure over a slow response to SARS, Hong Kong’s health secretary resigned yesterday and took the blame for the crisis that killed…    

China culls 20,000 chickens to contain bird flu

China culled more than 20,000 chickens in central Anhui province to isolate a new outbreak of bird flu, a local official said on Thursday,…    

Deadly bird flu erupts again in Thailand, China

The strain of bird flu that killed 24 people in Southeast Asia early this year has erupted again in Thailand and China, but authorities…    

Hepatitis: A Common Virus

It’s estimated that up to a third of all Americans will be infected with a form of hepatitis in their lifetimes. Despite its prevalence,…    

WHO urges safety reviews for SARS laboratories

The World Health Organisation urged countries on Friday to review safety in laboratories after finding that this year’s outbreak of SARS likely originated…    

N. Carolina firm recalls chicken over listeria fear

A North Carolina-based chicken processor is recalling about 404,730 pounds of chicken products over possible Listeria contamination, the U.S. Agriculture Department said on…    

China blames SARS outbreak on lab workers

China’s Health Ministry has blamed this year’s outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome on several people at the country’s Center for Disease Control and…    

Nigerian north will fight polio with vaccine - WHO

The governor of Nigeria’s northern Kano state, focus of polio outbreaks in parts of west Africa, has pledged to start an immunization program in…    

Bird flu mutating into more deadly threat - study

A frightening strain of bird flu that can kill people is mutating into an ever more deadly form in ducks and needs to be…    

Woman with human form of mad cow disease dies in US

A Florida woman suffering from the only known case in the United States of the human form of mad cow disease has died, her…    

Bangladesh begins immunisation against anthrax

Bangladesh launched an immunisation drive on Sunday against anthrax in a southeastern region after a wild elephant died of the disease and triggered a…    

Doctors find SARS virus in tears of patients

Tears might spread SARS, but analysing samples taken from tear ducts could also help with detecting the virus early, doctors in Singapore said on…