52,821 - 52,840 of 112,177 Results

  • National Biosecurity Board To Review State Of Bird Flu Research

    Federal officials have asked the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) "to review the state of the science looking at human transmission of deadly bird flu, says panel chief Paul Keim of Northern Arizona University," USA Today reports. "In December, the NSABB asked the journals, Science and Nature, to withhold details of studies that showed how to make the flu strain transmissible between ferrets, the closest mammal model for human-to-human transmission of the bug," the newspaper notes. "'We are now involved in a broader review,' Keim says. ... 'This research is valuable, but saying this is just "basic" research ignores that influenza is a very special pathogen,' Keim adds," according to the newspaper (Vergano, 1/10).

  • HIV/AIDS Awareness Workshop Held In Pakistan

    The International Herald Tribune's "Express Tribune" reports on a two-day HIV/AIDS awareness workshop held in Pakistan this week. Speaking on Monday at the inaugural session of the event, titled "The State of HIV in Pakistan-2011," Amir Maqbool, acting program manager of the National AIDS Control Program (NACP), stated that HIV/AIDS could not be controlled in the country without legislation and strong financial funding for prevention and control efforts, according to the newspaper. "In the aftermath of the devolution of the Ministry of Health, there is no mechanism to implement the legislation; something which previously fell under the purview of the Senate Standing Committee on Health," the newspaper notes. The article highlights findings from multiple studies presented at the workshop (Wasif, 1/10).

  • The Nation Examines Whether Nigeria Will Be Able To Attain MDGs Related To Maternal, Infant Mortality

    Nigeria's "The Nation" examines whether, with three years until the deadline for attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the country will be able to meet the targets of reducing maternal and infant mortality by one-third as set by the U.N. The newspaper provides statistics from UNICEF regarding maternal and infant mortality in the country and quotes a number of health experts, including Edamisan Temiye, chair of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Lagos State Branch, who "said with the rate Nigeria is going, it may not realize its target of one-third reduction of maternal and infant deaths by 2015." According to the newspaper, Temiye cites a "virtually failed" immunization program, a high poverty level, and limited access to education, water, and housing as contributing factors to Nigeria's maternal and infant mortality rates (Adepoju, 1/10).

  • First Edition: January 11, 2012

    Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including a report that the 26 states opposed to the health law have filed their Supreme Court arguments against the measure's Medicaid expansion.

  • 2010 Health Spending Grew Slowly

    This slowing of health spending brought the rate of growth in line with that of the U.S. economy. The Obama administration pointed to the new figures as evidence that the health law isn't making health care more expensive.

  • OMB Chief Jack Lew Tapped As New White House Chief Of Staff

    Jack Lew will replace Bill Daley in the post later this month after work is completed on the 2013 budget. Democrats and progressives are cheering this Obama administration pick because he has a long record of protecting entitlement programs, especially Medicaid.

  • Medicaid News: Advocates Decry Maine Plan To Cut Rolls

    In wide-ranging news about state Medicaid programs, outlets look at the controversy in Maine, the lawsuit in Texas that could have ramifications across the country, a suit in Connecticut that charges the state doesn't have enough staff to process applicants, efforts to require prompt state payments to health care providers and Kansas' realignment of its Medicaid operations.

  • Restricting Publication Of H5N1 Research ‘More Perilous’ Than Threat Of Biological Warfare

    In this Reuters opinion piece, New York-based writer Peter Christian Hall responds to "the U.S. government's move to restrict publication of vital research into H5N1 avian flu," writing, "This unprecedented interference in the field of biology could hinder research and hamper responsiveness in distant lands plagued by H5N1," yet "no one seems to be challenging a key assumption -- that H5N1 could make a useful weapon. It wouldn't."

  • Melinda Gates, Nicholas Kristof Answer Readers’ Questions About Development Issues

    Last week in a Huffington Post "Impact" blog post, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, asked readers to submit questions about her recent trip to Bangladesh. In this post in New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's "On the Ground" blog, Kristof and Gates answer readers' questions about development issues in the region. Questions address ways in which those with limited resources can help women around the world, how to factor in unintended consequences -- such as rapid population growth -- of global health programs, and investing in health versus other sectors (1/9).

  • In New Hampshire, Romney’s Comments Draw Fire From Rivals

    GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney is under the microscope for his comments during a campaign appearance in which he said he liked "being able to fire people." Romney made the comments while he was talking about why he wants people to be able to choose their own health insurance.

  • Questions Continue About The Health Law’s Future

    CQ HealthBeat reports on the courses available for the law's implementation as stakeholders await the Supreme Court's rulings. Politico Pro reports that the recent denials by the Department of Health and Human Services regarding state medical-loss ratio adjustment requests is very different than earlier experiences.

  • Social Media Faster Than Traditional Sources In Tracking Cholera In Haiti, Study Says

    "Internet-based news and Twitter feeds were faster than traditional sources at detecting the onset and progression of the cholera epidemic in post-earthquake Haiti ..., according to a new study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (AJTMH)," an AJTMH press release states. "The study is the first to demonstrate the use of data from 'informal' media sources in monitoring an outbreak of a neglected tropical disease in a resource-limited setting, and shows that these sources can yield reliable decision-making data during deadly disease outbreaks almost in real-time, often far earlier than traditional surveillance methods that include surveys of hospitals and health clinics," the press release adds (1/9).