In The News

Desperate Chinese Seek Medical Care Abroad

Fanfan Wang September 10, 2014
Health tourism flows in two ways: Patients from the United States seek to save on routine procedures, while the wealthy in countries like China pay cash to top medical centers in the United States and Europe for treatment. “The majority of such travelers go on tourist visas, often not stating the purpose of the trip in the visa interview, according to Saint Lucia, a Beijing-based consultancy on...

The Economics of Ebola

Amara Konneh August 14, 2014
The Ebola threat disrupts daily routines in the four countries where infections are spreading and concern is high in neighboring nations and beyond about doing business or accepting travelers and students from the region. The numbers of infections are small. Meticulous attention to precautionary measures can prevent the spread, but a 60 percent fatality rate is alarming. “The reason this...

Delhi Gets Its First Internet De-Addiction

Durgesh Nandan Jha July 28, 2014
Addiction is when a substance or activity gets out of control, consuming so much time that it interferes with work, family relationships or health. Video games, online shopping, mobile-phone use and constant internet browsing join the list of addictions. “Worried over the complete lack of socialization arising out of an internet-driven lifestyle among children, an NGO has launched Delhi's...

Costly Cures

July 9, 2014
New drug regimens that can cost $100,000 or more are frustrating insurers, employers, physicians and patients who cannot afford rising prices, suggests an article from the Economist. The release of new and expensive medicines has spurred “a coalition ranging from doctors to labor unions to launch a campaign against ‘unsustainable and abusive’ prices.” Many within the industry defend high US...

MERS Outbreak Could Spread With Annual Pilgrimage: Officials

Maggie Fox June 23, 2014
Outbreaks of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, may not be a global emergency, but the annual mass pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, known as the Hajj could allow the virus to spread. The syndrome first appeared in 2012. The disease has since caused 500 fatalities and spread to 16 nations. Research from the World Health Organization suggests that camels are carriers, with no evidence of human-...

Re-Imagining Kinship

Amrita Nandy May 13, 2014
Valuing biological parenthood over other forms and the shame over childlessness is worldwide and can be pernicious. “Defining human relatedness through genes and blood has been a predominant and often unquestioned notion across most cultures,” explains Amrita Nandy, a Fox International Fellow at Yale University and a doctoral candidate at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, India. As a...

Polio’s Return After Near Eradication Prompts a Global Health Warning

Donald G. McNeil Jr. May 7, 2014
The spread of polio in Pakistan, Syria, Cameroon, Afghanistan, Iraq and Equatorial Guinea has prompted the World Health Organization to declare a global health emergency and impose travel restrictions on the first three countries. “Just two years ago – after a 25-year campaign that vaccinated billions of children – the paralyzing virus was near eradication; now health officials say that goal...