Latest KFF Health News Stories
CDC Releases H1N1 Seed Strains To Vaccine Makers
Vaccine makers on Wednesday began receiving H1N1 (swine flu) virus seed strains, a key ingredient for producing an H1N1 vaccine, the Canadian Press/Google.com reports.
WHO Reports 1,500 African Women Die Each Day From Pregnancy Complications, Childbirth
The WHO on Thursday announced the maternal mortality rate in Africa has failed to decline over the past decade, AFP/Yahoo! News reports.
Flu Experts Debate Potential Number of H1N1 Infections Worldwide
Infectious disease experts on Thursday debated the WHO’s earlier statements that one-third of the world’s population
UNAIDS Director Says Africa Should Manufacture Own Generic AIDS Drugs
The executive director of UNAIDS, Michel Sidib
World Health Assembly Closes; Global Health Resolutions Adopted
Several global health resolutions were adopted by the time the 62nd World Health Assembly (WHA) closed on Friday in Geneva, Xinhua reports.
Scientists Publish Consensus Statement Critical of DDT Use for Malaria Control
Spraying of the insecticide DDT in malaria-endemic areas in Africa and Asia should be significantly reduced because of the possibility of serious health effects that might result from exposure, according to a panel of scientists, Environmental Health News reports.
Advocates Aim To Raise Awareness on World Hepatitis Day
To mark the second annual World Hepatitis Day on Tuesday, health officials and patient groups from around the world are hoping to generate greater awareness about a disease that affects more people than HIV or cancer, the Times of India reports.
Opinion Piece Addresses Poverty and Global Health
“Eradicating global poverty starts with the health of the world’s poor,” writes William Frist, former U.S. Senate Majority leader and currently a member of the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) Board of Directors, in an opinion piece appearing in the Charlotte Observer.
World Bank, IMF Warn Global Recession Could Cause ‘Human Calamity,’ Meeting MDGs Unlikely
The global financial crisis could “drive more than 50 million people into extreme poverty, particularly women and children,” the World Bank and International Monetary Fund warned Sunday at a conference of member countries.
MMWR Looks at High-Risk Behavior, New HIV Cases in Southern China
U.S. and Chinese researchers on Thursday reported on the impact of injection-drug use and high-risk heterosexual contact on HIV/AIDS in China’s southern Guangdong province, Reuters reports.
Swine Flu Has ‘Pandemic Potential’, WHO Director-General Says
“Exactly how the disease is spread remains a mystery, though it is known to be able to move from one human being to another,” reports the Wall Street Journal. The virus is a combination of genetic materials from the swine, bird and human viruses (McKay, Wall Street Journal, 4/27).
CNN Profiles ‘Generation’ Of Teenagers, Young Adults Born With HIV
CNN looks at the lives of teenagers and young adults who were born with HIV before advancements in antiretroviral drugs in the 1990s helped prevent mother-to-child transmission.
Media Looks At County-Level HIV, AIDS Map Data
Major population centers such as those in New York and California have the highest numbers of HIV cases, however, many of the areas that have the highest rates of people with HIV are in the South, according to data from an online mapping tool launched by the National Minority Quality Forum yesterday.
Houston Task Force To Target Hispanic Residents For HIV Testing
The Latino HIV Task Force in Houston will offer free HIV testing as part of National HIV Testing Day on June 27.
Columnist Examines Wisconsin Needle Exchange Program
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Mike Nichols examines a needle exchange program run by the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin called Lifepoint. Nichols writes, “There is little doubt it is saving lives,” by reducing HIV infections and deaths from overdoses, but he questions whether Lifepoint is “legitimizing” drug use.
Number Of Polio Cases In Nigeria Decreases, Some States Still Showing Low Immunizations Rates
The number of polio cases in Nigeria has gone down from 799 in 2008 to 353 this year, according to the country’s National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Africa Science News Service reports.
Merck Partners With Non-Profit For Neglected Diseases Initiative
The pharmaceutical company, Merck, announced Monday it was partnering with the non-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in an effort to improve treatments for neglected tropical diseases (NTD), the AP/CNBC reports.
