Simian Immunodeficiency Virus, Precursor to AIDS is at least 32,000 years old

Why did it jump to humans only in the last few decades? Two competing theories.

Various Regions of Canada and the United States Prepare for West Nile Virus as Mosquito Season Arrives

Saskatchewan, Okanagan Country and Colorado governments gear up and issue warnings against the mosquito borne West Nile Virus.

Doctor who first advocated MMR Vaccine - Autism link has his name struck off the medical register in the UK

The General Medical Council of the UK ruled that Dr. Andrew Wakefield, who first came up with the theory that the measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine was a cause of autism in children, was guilty of serious professional misconduct in the way he carried out his research

Southern Utah Mosquitos Carrying West Nile Virus

A side effect of global warming is the spread of insect borne tropical diseases to the temperate zones. Southwest Utah Public Health Department confirmed yesterday the discovery of the presence of the West Nile Virus in a sample of mosquitoes from the region. The West Nile virus causes the debilitating West Nile Fever, similar to Dengue Fever and West Nile encephalitis.

FDA Issued Warning Letter to GlaxoSmithKline for False Advertising Regarding Topical Antibiotic Ointment

Company warned for implying that ointment is effective in treating MRSA infections and other misleading claims

C-diff outbreaks in British and Canadian Hospitals and New Research on C-diff

C. diff (Clostridium difficile) may be a normal part of a person's intestinal flora. C. diff Colitis occurs when overuse of antibiotics wipes out competing bacteria, allowing antibiotic resistant C. Diff to overpopulate. C-diff Colititis is a common hospital-spread disease, it is spread through the fecal oral route in cramped areas like hospitals due to insufficient cleanliness. A hospital in North Staffordshire recently had 28 patients affected with the disease a similar outbreak in a hospital in Nanaimo, Canada has led to the deaths of at least three patients. The Irish Health Protection Surveillance Centre reports a drop in C. diff figures. Meanwhile Researchers at New York Hospital's Queens-Weill Cornell Medical College report that C. diff infection is aggravated by low vitamin D levels.

Gonorrhea: A New Drug Resistant Super Strain Emerges

A new super strain of the bacterium that causes Gonorrhea (veneral disease, "the clap") is fast emerging that is resistant to multiple varieties of antibiotics. Misuse of antibiotics by the livestock industry is possibly to blame.

Wilful Transmission of HIV

AIDS/HIV "Patient Zero" Gaëtan Dugas reportedly used to have unprotected sex with people and then tell them that he was dying from "gay cancer" and that they would probably get it as well. Nowadays a number of countries require HIV infected individuals to disclose their infected status to their sex partners, and people who fail to disclose their infected status may face criminal prosecution for sexual assault or for murder.

The case of one such willful transmitter of HIV, 33-year-old Nushawn Williams is up in court. Williams has served 12 years for statutory rape and reckless endangerment and the government is seeking to keep him locked up indefinitely. Williams boasted of having had sex with up to 300 woman prior to his arrest.

Swine Flu: H1N1 Killing lots of Pregnant Women even before the start of the Cold Season in the Southern Hemisphere

Researchers say that 11% of pregnant women admitted to intensive care units in New Zealand and Australia died of H1N1. Swine flu killed 12% of the babies as well

Meanwhile the Australian health minister Nicola Roxon urged Australians to get themselves vaccinated for H1n1 before the flu season starts in May.

Possible Cervarix HPV Vaccine Related Death in the UK

A fourteen year old school girl has died in Coventry after being given the HPV vaccine Cervarix as a part of Britain's national HPV immunization campaign for teenage girls. The HPV vaccine protects against infection from some human papillomavirus types which are a cause of cervical cancer.

Rightwing Christians in Britain, have opposed the immunization effort because of the belief that fear of cervical cancer is a deterrent against pre-marital sex and immunization will encourage teenage girls to have pre-marital sex.

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. (MMR) Vaccine Does Not Cause Autism

A extract from Ben Goldacre's book 'Bad Science' on the false claims in the media that the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella. (MMR) Vaccine causes autism: The Media's MMR Hoax

Swine Flu: No Need for Travel Restrictions or Border Closure Says WHO

The latest WHO (World Health Organization) press release on the Swine Flu reports 20 confirmed cases of death from Swine flu in Mexico, 40 confirmed human infections from Swine Flu in the United States, 6 cases in Canada and 1 case in Spain. However WHO sees no need for placing travel restrictions or closing down borders to stop the spread of the virus. Their advice to individuals is merely to regularly wash their hands with soap and seek medical treatment if they have symptoms of flu.

Related Link
WHO Swine influenza web site

The Hilarious XKCD Webcomic Mocks Swine Flu Induced Mass Panic

Swine Flu: World Health Organization raises pandemic alert level from three to four

The WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan, has raised the level of influenza pandemic alert from the current phase 3 to phase 4. Level six denotes a full-blown pandemic, Dr Keiji Fukuda, WHO Assistant Director General says that the current level signaled a significant step towards pandemic influenza. He also said that since the virus has already spread to several countries other than Mexico, "..at this time, containment is not a feasible option."

Meanwhile Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova declared that the suspected death count of the swine flu epidemic is now at 149, with 20 death confirmed to have been from swine flu. More than 2000 people in Mexico are believed to have been infected.

The European Union Commissioner for Health, Markos Kyprianou, issued a statement advising Europeans to avoid nonessential travel both to Mexico and parts of the United States.

SCUCISD Texas School District that includes 14 Schools Closed for Fear of Swine Flu

On sunday, the the Texas Department of State Health Services, made the following press release:

All 14 schools and two district facilities in the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City Independent School District will be closed effective immediately after several more flu-like illnesses have been discovered in the ongoing Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) swine flu investigation. All extracurricular activities are also cancelled.

Public parks in Cibolo have also been closed.

The federal agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 2 confirmed cases of swine flu in texas and total of 20 cases in the US in their Human Swine Influenza Investigation.

CDC Fears US Deaths From Swine Flu as WHO Issues Warning

Following the warning issued by by the UN Agency World Health Organization (WHO) reports of swine flu infections keep turning up from more and more countries. The flu has killed a reported 81 people in Mexico. In the neighbouring US a spokesperson for the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the federal agency responsible for countering communicable diseases, Dr Anne Schuchat said in response to a question about deaths from swine flu in the US, "I do fear that we will have deaths here". Audio: CDC Podcast on Swine Flu

Cases of swine flu have been reported from New Zealand, France, Spain, Israel and Australia. UK Health officals also expect to have to deal with cases of swine flu in the near future.

Deadly Swine Flu Epidemic in Mexico

Mexican government has ordered the closure of numerous schools and other public places in an effort to stop the spread of a flu virus that may have killed more than 60 people in or around the capital Mexico City

U.S. House of Representatives Gym Source of MRSA Infection

The 'House Staff Fitness Center' (HSFC) is reported to be the source of the MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) infection that has struck down a staff member at the U.S. House of Representatives

Why Does Influenza Spread More in the Winter?

Why do Influenza epidemics occur more in the winter? Virologist Dr. Pater Palese, president of the microbiology department at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York says it's all because of the cold dry air

Graham Linehan Mourns Daily Mail's Two-Faced Policy on HPV Vaccine

Graham Lineham (writer and director of The IT Crowd) reports that while the Irish Daily Mail supports vaccination against the HPV virus, the UK Daily Mail is running a scare campaign against HPV vaccination, pandering to the fears of ill-informed members of the public.

The infection of HPV (Human papillomavirus) is the most common sexually transmitted disease. Some HPV types cause the appearance of genital warts, and others cause the appearance of precancerous lesions in women, which lead to cervical cancer.

HPV Vaccination of girls has been opposed by Conservative Christian groups in the UK and the USA, because of the belief that widespread vaccination would encourage engagement in premarital sex.