In The News

A Pause for Breath

June 17, 2003
Since it was first diagnosed three months ago, the SARS virus has spread worldwide, infecting 10,000 people and threatening tourism in Canada and East Asia. Now, new cases of the disease appear to be on the wane, due to unprecedented cooperation between public health officials as well as draconian containment measures in some affected areas. Still, it remains to be seen how affected economies...

Patient May Have Transmitted Monkeypox, Official Says

Lawrence K. Altman June 13, 2003
Small African rodents have infected over 60 Americans with Monkeypox, a virus endemic in West and Central Africa. The international and domestic trade web brought the animals from Ghana to the United States, where they were then sold to distributors. Along the way, the rodents infected prairie dogs that in turn transmitted the virus to humans, creating the first Monkeypox outbreak in American...

Researchers Have New Theory on Origin of AIDS Virus

Donald G. McNell, Jr. June 13, 2003
How HIV first infected humans is still a puzzle waiting to be solved. Past research has traced the virus to chimps in Africa. Now scientists have gone a step further – they have found that chimps got the virus from two kinds of monkeys that they ate, each with its own virus. The HIV virus may have been a combination of these two viruses. It is still unknown when and how the viruses merged,...

HK Researchers say Civet Likely Source of Sars

May 23, 2003
After months on a heightened state of alert due to the global spread of Sars, Hong Kong University's claim to have found the source of this respiratory disease is considered a "significant breakthrough." According to findings from genetic information, the virus responsible for Sars, coronavirus, has been "jumping from the Civet cat to humans." Civet belongs to the same...

Nations Join the U.S. in Banning Canada's Beef

Clifford Krauss May 22, 2003
For the first time, mad cow disease appeared in a ranch in North America. While Canadian officials are trying to find out where this cow might have gotten infected and convince people that beef from Canada is still safe to be eaten, several countries have decided to put a temporary ban on beef imports from Canada. Farmers and people in related businesses in Alberta complain that their cattle...

Historic Tobacco Control Pact Adopted

Frances Williams May 21, 2003
After several years of negotiation, countries of the world finally reached an agreement to adopt the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. The US and Germany, which previously objected to some parts of the treaty, have decided to support the pact. This global convention will bring "a ban or tough controls on advertising, prominent health warnings on cigarette packets, and measures to...

Taiwan Makes Progress at WHO

Melody Chen May 19, 2003
Sars has certainly brought enough troubles to East Asia, but for Taiwan, it also means an opportunity to legally present the health situation of Taiwan at the World Health Organization (WHO). The Taiwanese Department of Health Chief is scheduled to make a presentation at the World Health Assembly, a major WHO conference, on Sars in Taiwan. Taiwan is also trying to join the WHO as an observer at...