Full Coverage: Health

28.02.2006 A new test for the dreaded kala-azar disease, developed by scientists at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi offers a number of advantages over the old one.

27.02.2006 Bird flu may take its toll on the environment too. Indian healthcare experts are worried that the large-scale burial of infected birds, using unscientific methods, by panicked farmers may contaminate soil and water.

26.02.2006 The Indian government has said that 94 of the 95 human samples for the H5N1 strain of bird flu have tested negative, and the last is being subjected to further tests to conclusively establish its status. Meanwhile, culling operations within a 10 km radius of Navapur in Maharashtra, ground zero of the disease outbreak in India, have concluded.

26.02.2006 Tired of broken promises, survivors of the 1984 Union Carbide disaster are marching 800 km to Delhi to call attention to the continuing toxic contamination of Bhopal, the absence of adequate healthcare, and other problems.

24.02.2006 Government officials, awaiting the report on the last of the five samples that indicated human case of bird flu during preliminary tests, are hopeful this sample too would finally test negative for H5N1.

23.02.2006 UNAIDS has launched a new version of its website complete with a new navigation, branding and logo (www.unaids.org).

23.02.2006 Criminals are using the Internet to sell increasing quantities of counterfeit medicines, including fake versions of bird flu drug Tamiflu, a senior UN health expert said on Tuesday.

22.02.2006 Last week, upon prior agreement by the Ministries of Health and Economy, the asbestos factory “Salonit” in Vranjac received approval for continued production of asbestos products. The approval was granted in spite of the fact that asbestos and related compounds was official included in the list of toxic materials maintained by the Ministry of Health.

22.02.2006 On the eve of a UN meeting on bird flu today, a leading development group warns that public health precautionary planning is inadequate, particularly in fighting the epidemic in the developing world.

22.02.2006 A new multinational fund that will leverage long-term commitments from rich governments to raise urgently needed financing for health programmes in poor countries is "close to implementation", it was announced yesterday.

22.02.2006 The bird flu outbreak in India is a “serious matter” considering it has been reported in the South Asian nation for the first time, the World Health Organisation’s regional advisor S Salunke said.

21.02.2006 The Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom) is calling on members and the local information and communications technology (ICT) industry players to participate in the World Congress on Information Technology 2006 (WCIT 2006) in Austin, Texas.

21.02.2006 Nestlé admits to targeting 'pregnant and lactating women' with nutritional supplements, baby foods and milk at 'Nutrition Centres' in Chinese stores, says a leading campaign group.

21.02.2006 It isnÂ’t chicken feed. Bird flu is beginning to hurt as the Rs 28,000-crore poultry industry is turning out to be the first big casualty of the avian flu virus scare now spreading across the country.

21.02.2006 India's first confirmed cases of the highly pathogenic avian influenza or 'bird flu' surfaced in western Maharashtra state, over the weekend, catching authorities unprepared and threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of poultry workers, in this populous, farming country.

20.02.2006 Every day more than 4,000 men, women and children in the worldÂ’s poorest countries die from lethal levels of smoke in their homes. Smoke from cooking fires causes 1.6 million deaths a year, more than malaria. Join Practical ActionÂ’s campaign for urgent action to stop the killer in the kitchen.

18.02.2006 from Unplugged Living:
Not quite, but this camel is carrying a solar-powered fridge to keep vaccines cool. "ImaginIt Now! [which provided the solar array] is an organization ... that undertakes solar electricity projects for rural healthcare clinics around the world," explains Kevin Humphrey in this blog.

17.02.2006 WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb 17 (OneWorld) - Deaths from lung cancer and other health problems tied to tobacco use are expected to double to 10 million per year by 2020 but the real figure likely will be much higher, researchers warned Friday.

17.02.2006 Workers at an Indian shipbreaking yard have announced they will hold demonstrations over the next few days and, if necessary, go on hunger strike in protest against French President Jacques Chirac's decision to recall the decommissioned aircraft carrier Clemenceau.

17.02.2006 The decision by French President Jacques Chirac to withdraw the asbestos-contaminated aircraft carrier Clemenceau from dismantling in India ends an embarrassing journey for the ship, and for the French government.