In The News

Bird Flu Strain in China “Passed Between Humans”

August 9, 2013
The viruses that cause flu can mutate quickly, and researchers have detected a probable human-to-human transmission of an emerging form of bird flu in China. “Until now there had been no evidence of anyone catching the H7N9 virus other than after direct contact with birds,” reports BBC News. “But experts stressed it does not mean the virus has developed the ability to spread easily between humans...

H7N9 Bird Flu Is “Serious Threat,” Researchers Warn

James Gallagher May 3, 2013
Researchers continue to study the outbreak of a new type of bird flu, H7N9, in China for any signs that the virus can spread through person-to-person contact. “As long as it can spread only from a bird to a person through direct contact it poses a relatively small risk globally – particularly in richer countries where such contact is rare,” reports James Gallagher of BBC News. “If it can spread...

WHO Puzzled by Deadly Chinese Bird-Flu Strain

Esther Fung April 22, 2013
A World Health Organization team of researchers is in China, trying to determine how a new strain of bird flu, H7N9, spreads. Human-to-human transmission would be dangerous, and researchers are investigating family members who share the flu strain. “So far, investigators have said they can't rule out limited person-to-person transmission, which could include unusually close contact, such as...

CDC Begins Work on Vaccine for China Flu

Donald G. McNeil Jr, Andrew Jacobs April 8, 2013
US researchers are developing a vaccine to block H7N9 flu that’s killed six in China. China reports that “No cases of human-to-human transmission have been confirmed, even though China’s disease control agency has traced hundreds of people who had contact with the 14 known cases,” report Donald G. McNeil Jr, Andrew Jacobs for the New York Times. Global cooperation to tackle the flu is underway,...

Is a Pandemic Being Born?

Laurie Garrett April 4, 2013
Epidemiologists are investigating whether the deaths of three unrelated Chinese individuals, showing symptoms of respiratory distress and pneumonia, are connected to thousands of dead pigs, ducks and swans found in three rivers, the Huangpu, the Xiang and the Sichuan. The events may be unrelated or, if connected, could signal the start of a flu virus mutating and crossing species, suggests...

An Interview with John Dramani Mahama

John Dramani Mahama February 18, 2013
In an interview with Nayan Chanda, Ghana's Vice President John Dramani Mahama, now President, says how stigma of homosexuality hampers fighting AIDS, talks about the role of telecommunication in political transformation, voices concern about NATO attacks on Libya, and Ghana's effort to avoid the curse of wealth from natural resources. – YaleGlobal

The UN’s Battle with NCDs

Sheri Fink and Rebecca Rabinowitz October 19, 2011
Sheri Fink and Rebecca Rabinowitz of the New America Foundation call attention to rising danger of non-communicable diseases, or NCDs. Such diseases, including heart and lung disease, cancer and diabetes, now account for two out of every three deaths worldwide. A UN meeting signals new priority on the challenges of such diseases. Non-communicable diseases, many preventable, have become prevalent...