Infectious disease

07 June 2007 -- As G-8 leaders debate what action they are going to take to tackle climate change, poor communities in Kenya's highlands are already feeling the impact of global warming. Katy Migiro reports from our Nairobi bureau that increased temperatures are bringing malarial mosquitoes to areas that were previously safe from the disease that kills more Africans than any other.

Africa is considered the continent that has done the least to contribute to climate change, but that has not made it immune to the problems caused by climate change.    » read more »

Senate Hearing Today Continues to Raise Questions About Failures to Monitor, Treat and Control Diseases like Drug-Resistant TB

June 6, 2007 -- Washington, DC - Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton today called on Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to immediately develop protocols to guide the actions of national, state and local health officials when suspected cases of extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) or multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) arise.    » read more »

05 June 2007 -- International public health officials are calling for a stronger global response to drug-resistant tuberculosis. The call was made after American lawyer Andrew Speaker, who is infected with a form of tuberculosis that is resistant to most antibiotics, traveled aboard commercial airliners from the United States to Europe and back. VOA's Jessica Berman reports.

Officials at the World Health Organization estimate there are at least 400,000 new cases of tuberculosis each year that do not respond to two or more standard antibiotics.    » read more »

04 June 2007 -- A U.S. man with a rare form of tuberculosis may soon be considered "relatively non-contagious".

Physicians from the Denver hospital, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, treating Andrew Speaker say he has had two negative tests for TB bacteria and could be allowed brief trips out of his isolated hospital room if a third test comes back negative.

Earlier Monday, Speaker's parents and in-laws said he would not have traveled to Europe if he thought he was at risk to others.    » read more »

Any Kentuckians on Flights Should Contact Local Health Dept. Despite Low Risk

June 1, 2007 --The Kentucky Department for Public Health (DPH) has learned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that two Kentuckians have been identified so far as being on an international flight earlier this month with the patient with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).    » read more »

Border Patrol Is Understaffed And Overworked; TB Traveler was Allowed to Cross Plattsburgh Border Despite U.S.    » read more »

31 May 2007 -- Vietnam says avian flu has spread to two more provinces. The country has seen a string of outbreaks during the past month, including its first human case since 2005, and a United Nations official says the country's farmers might have lost some of their enthusiasm for fighting what is now an endemic disease. Matt Steinglass reports from Hanoi.

Vietnam's Department of Animal Health confirmed that avian flu had been found in poultry in Ha Nam and Vinh Phuc provinces. That means 12 Vietnamese provinces have reported outbreaks since the beginning of May.    » read more »

May 30, 2007 -- THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all for coming. Welcome to the Rose Garden. Today, I'm joined by some very determined people who are battling one of the worst epidemics of modern times: the spread of HIV/AIDS.    » read more »

Briefing Transcript

May 29, 2007 -- DR. JULIE DR. GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CDC: Good afternoon, and thank you for joining us for this press conference. I'm here today to describe a situation that has involved many public health officials from around the world who acted together to protect people's health in a circumstance where an individual with drug resistant tuberculosis may have served as a source of exposure.    » read more »

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2007 – The Defense Department is preparing a pandemic flu guide for civilian managers and rank-and-file employees, a senior official said.

The Defense Department released its Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan in April, Patricia S. Bradshaw, deputy undersecretary of defense for civilian personnel policy, said May 25 in an interview with the Pentagon Channel and American Forces Press Service.

The department’s plan is part of the president’s initiative to prepare the nation for a potential mass outbreak of deadly flu virus.    » read more »

28 May 2007 -- Vietnamese agriculture authorities say the current outbreak of bird flu has spread to two more provinces, bringing the number of cities and provinces affected by the disease to 10.

The national animal health department says about 2,000 birds were killed at a farm in Hoa Lu district in Ninh Binh province after 250 poultry died of the H5N1 bird flu virus there.

The department also says about 950 poultry have been killed at a farm in the northern province of Bac Ninh after bird flu was discovered there.    » read more »

May 17, 2007 -- SPRINGFIELD – Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, Illinois state public health director, announced today a mosquito sample collected in Tazewell County has been confirmed as positive for West Nile virus.

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) was notified by Tazewell County Health Department of the findings as part of its routine surveillance for West Nile virus. A positive mosquito sample each was collected May 11 from Creve Coeur.    » read more »

May 11, 2007 -- State and local health officials are advising consumers to avoid eating raw oysters from Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, better known as Rocky Point, following the identification of 13 cases of hepatitis A associated with raw oyster consumption.    » read more »

10 May 2007 -- German conglomerate Siemens signed an agreement with a Catholic organization to lower the costs of lab tests for HIV patients in Africa. These tests aim to establish whether HIV patients are becoming resistant to drug therapies they are undergoing. For VOA, Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome

The agreement between the well-established Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio, and Siemens Medical Solutions Diagnostics was signed at the end of the fifth international conference of the DREAM project titled "Long life to Africa: Fighting Aids and Malnutrition".    » read more »

5/9/2007 - WASHINGTON (AFNEWS) -- The Defense Department is teaming with other federal agencies to prepare the nation to deal with a potential pandemic outbreak of influenza, a senior official said May 8 here.

"Right now, we're as ready as we can be at this point," said Richard Chavez, director of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear preparedness and response at the department.    » read more »