India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and mainland China also experienced new outbreaks of H5 N1 influenza in December. During the same period, four new human cases - in Egypt, Cambodia and Indonesia - were reported to the World Health Organization. A 16-year-old girl in Egypt and a 2-year-old girl in Indonesia have died.
Scientists have uncovered a chain reaction which could link Enterococcus faecalis bacteria living in our intestines to the development of colon cancer.
A report from Sun 11 May 2008 shows that 183 children from the capital city Ulaanbataar and provincess have been infected and have been admitted to hospitals for treatment.
As of 28 March, 2008, the Brazilian health authorities have reported a national total of 120,570 cases of dengue including 647 dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) cases, with 48 deaths.
There is seemingly consistent and compelling evidence that there is no association between breastfeeding and breast cancer. We challenge the assumption follows that milk borne viruses cannot be associated with human breast cancer.
Scientists are no further forward in developing a vaccine against HIV after more than 20 years of research says Nobel Prize-winning biologist David Baltimore.
The 1918 influenza strain developed two mutations in the hemagglutinin which allowed it to bind tightly to receptors in the human upper respiratory tract.
Ciguatera poisoning is caused by the consumption of tropical reef fish that have assimilated ciguatoxins through the marine food chain from toxic microscopic algae.
While individual prizes can encourage research in specific areas, they cannot address the wider problem of high drug prices. The cost of new medicines has skyrocketed in the past 20 years
In a 13-month period in the UK there were six deaths and 112 cases of severe complications among children. Vaccinating all children is the only way to prevent severe illness and death from chickenpox.
Health officials say 2 recent incidents in which swimmers in Maryland were attacked by a rabid beaver should remind people that those "no swimming" signs are there for a reason. One rabid beaver, now dead, was responsible for an attack on a swimmer on Sun
An outbreak of Q Fever is being investigated in the Cheltenham area. A total of 28 cases have been identified among local people, most requiring hospital treatment.
A hunt is on for 2 patients with a deadly form of tuberculosis who disappeared after the Cape High Court ordered they return to a South African hospital. The pair, diagnosed with extremely drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis, are presumed to be in hiding.
Sewage systems do not break down Tamiflu, which means the main weapon against bird flu could seep into natural waters and make certain viruses resistant to the drug during a pandemic.
An outbreak of measles has struck up to 21 children across South Yorkshire. All those affected are children aged between just three months and 12 years who have not had the MMR inoculation.
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved BinaxNOW as the first malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) authorized for use in the United States. Malaria RDTs, which detect circulating malaria-specific antigens, already are available in other countries
Diagnoses of new sex infections rose by 2% to 376,508 from 2005 to 2006, largely among young people and gay men, the UK Health Protection Agency repoerts.
Scientists say the power of copper to fight germs lies in the fact that copper ions separate on contact with bacteria and cause irreversible damage to the bacteria's cells.
Bacteria have tiny channels in their walls which operate like the valve on a pressure cooker - they open to release material when the pressure in a bacterial cell gets too great. If the channel didn't open to relieve pressure the bacteria would explode and die, so this is a target for drug development.
A US meat company has issued a nationwide recall for 21.7 million pounds (9843 tons) of ground beef products after reports of up to 25 cases of illness caused by suspected E. coli [O157:H7] in 8 states, including New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
University of Leicester scientists have made a discovery which could make probiotic yoghurts healthier. Dr Primrose Freestone has discovered that a natural food supplement could help make the bacteria in the yoghurts more effective. A fruit extract enabl
The death toll in China's outbreak of hand-foot-mouth disease has risen to 42 children, with the capital Beijing reporting its first case on Wednesday.
Since the previous monthly statistics were released on 4 Jun 2007, the total number of deaths from definite vCJD remains 161. The number of probable vCJD cases still alive is unchanged at 4, and the overall total number of definite or probable vCJD cases
The vast majority of women do not know that most cervical cancer is caused by a sexually transmitted infection. In a survey of 1,600 women only 2.5% cited human papillomavirus as a risk factor for cervical cancer.
A single vaccine based on the M2 protein that could give lifelong protection against all types of influenza A has produced promising results in human trials.
The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of Congo has declared an outbreak of Ebola haemorrhagic fever. As of 26 December, WHO is aware of 34 suspected cases including 9 deaths associated with the ongoing event.
Increased routine measles vaccine coverage implemented during 2000-2007 resulted in a 74% decrease in the estimated number of measles deaths globally. An estimated 197 000 deaths from measles occurred in 2007.
Scientists announce that they had been able to pass on human rhinovirus to a special strain of genetically modified mice – the first time a non-primate has caught a cold.
Officials are deeply concerned that the high level of virus circulation in birds in the country could create conditions for the virus to mutate and to finally cause a human influenza pandemic.
US researchers have discovered a promising new drug for schistosomiasis, a parasitic worm disease that affects more than 200 million people in 70 countries.