BLOG FEB. 23, 2011
Officials said this week that the effort to eradicate the Guinea Worm parasite -- a scourge that dates back to Biblical times -- is now 99 percent complete. Now that Niger and Nigeria have been declared guinea worm-free, the parasitic infection just needs to be eliminated from Ghana, Mali and Sudan. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports.
UPDATE FEB. 16, 2011
Guatemala has the highest rate of chronic malnutrition among children in Latin America, and the health consequences continue on through adulthood.
BLOG JAN. 28, 2011
Global Fund backlash, Americans support cutting foreign aid, cholera in Venezuela and Gates funds Pakistan, Afghanistan vaccine push.
BLOG JAN. 21, 2011
Push for USAID cuts, rotavirus vaccine successes, flooding in Sri Lanka, trans-gender killings and a U.S.-China health partnership.
UPDATE JAN. 18, 2011
Researchers found that the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza produced antibodies that provide protection from several flu strains.
REPORT JAN. 14, 2011
Jeffrey Brown looks at the battle against a cholera epidemic in Haiti, one year after a devastating earthquake upset an already fragile infrastructure.
BLOG JAN. 14, 2011
Promising new malaria vaccine, Haiti building back one year later, and H1N1 provides universal flu vaccine clues.
BLOG JAN. 12, 2011
Wednesday marks one year since a magnitude-7 earthquake devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, killing more than 230,000 people and injuring many more.
BLOG JAN. 11, 2011
Ray Suarez in Haiti, July 2010This past summer, I stood at the edge of a fetid pool of standing water.
BLOG JAN. 7, 2011
The emergency response phase in Haiti is not yet over, but the process of reconstruction is moving forward, Ambassador Kenneth Merten told Jeffrey Brown this week in Port-au-Prince.
BLOG JAN. 6, 2011
Jeffrey Brown is in Haiti this week reporting on efforts to control the spread of Cholera.
REPORT JAN. 3, 2011
Less than 30 percent of people in southern Sudan have access to adequate health care. Widespread disease is threatening to overwhelm the African nation, where an upcoming secession referendum appears likely to create a new country. Special correspondent Jeffrey Kaye reports.
BLOG DEC. 16, 2010
Stem cell treatment for HIV, Haiti cholera investigation, South Africa doubles HIV treatment and hospital infections in poor countries.
BLOG DEC. 9, 2010
One cigarette can cause harm, new meningitis vaccine, cholera update, half of Europe is overweight.
BLOG DEC. 6, 2010
The rollout of a new meningitis vaccine developed specifically with poor countries in mind began Monday in western Africa.
BLOG DEC. 2, 2010
World AIDS Day marked, doctors needed in Haiti, rape in South Africa and Europe goes BPA free.
BLOG NOV. 26, 2010
AIDS medications could help prevent new HIV infections, the Vatican shifts its stance on condoms for HIV protection and cholera spins out of control in Haiti.
BLOG NOV. 25, 2010
An art program started by Save the Children in Mozambique aim to help children deal with complicated emotions.
REPORT NOV. 24, 2010
In the final report of his series on health issues in Mozambique, Ray Suarez reports on the country's high levels of childhood mortality and the connections between kids' illnesses and intelligence levels.
REPORT NOV. 23, 2010
In Mozambique, where 1 in 8 adults is living with HIV, the number of patients on antiretroviral drugs has expanded thanks to international AIDS funding, but a debate is emerging over whether foreign donors can continue to fund an ever-expanding pool of patients. Ray Suarez continues his series from the southern African nation.
BLOG NOV. 23, 2010
More than 400,000 babies born to HIV-positive mothers are infected with the virus each year.
BLOG NOV. 23, 2010
One out of every eight adults living in Mozambique is HIV positive.
BLOG NOV. 18, 2010
This week: cholera cases in the DR, Miami, and organ trafficking circle in Kosovo.
REPORT NOV. 17, 2010
The number of cholera deaths in Haiti climbed to 1,100 as riots broke out in two northern cities. Gwen Ifill speaks with Miami Herald Caribbean correspondent Jacqueline Charles in Port-au-Prince, who says that the unrest is hampering efforts to contain the spread of the epidemic.
REPORT NOV. 9, 2010
Special correspondent Saima Mohsin traveled with a team from the humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders as it worked to treat Pakistan's flood victims, many of whom have had little access to health care months after the waters first rose.
ANALYSIS OCT. 28, 2010
Health experts warn cholera will continue to spread, fueled by chronically unsanitary conditions.
BLOG OCT. 11, 2010
The recent discovery that U.S. researchers intentionally infected Guatemalans with STDs in the 1940s spurred angry responses.
REPORT OCT. 4, 2010
Ray Suarez speaks with Wellesley College professor Susan Reverby about her discovery of how U.S. scientists did secret syphilis experiments on Guatemalans decades ago.
REPORT SEPT. 20, 2010
Leaders assess the future for the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.
BLOG SEPT. 14, 2010
Pneumococcal disease is one of the leading causes of death for children around the world.
REPORT SEPT. 6, 2010
Special correspondent Saima Mohsin reports in Pakistan on the potential health and safety concerns for the youngest victims of the country's flooding crisis.
BLOG SEPT. 4, 2010
Malaria causes about 1 million deaths around the world each year, but not all the medication donated to fight the disease is reaching its intended targets.
BLOG AUG. 12, 2010
A new gene mutation that can make bacteria into "superbugs" capable of resisting almost all antibiotics is spreading from India and Pakistan and popping up around the globe, according to British researchers.
UPDATE AUG. 5, 2010
The numbers of those affected by the floods in Pakistan have climbed to more than 4 million. The forecast is calling for more monsoon rains for the next three days. Jonathan Miller of Independent Television News reports from Punjab Province in the eastern part of the country.
REPORT AUG. 4, 2010
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the U.S. has already started to send aid to victims of the Pakistan floods, which have been deemed the worst there in 80 years. Jonathan Miller of Independent Television News reports on the frustrations in a remote Pakistani village.
SLIDE SHOW AUG. 4, 2010
Floodwaters spread Wednesday into Pakistan's populous Punjab province, heightening a humanitarian crisis that has killed more than 1,500 people and left 3.2 million needing food aid and assistance. Watch a slide show of some of the recent devastation.
ANALYSIS JULY 29, 2010
The tent camps of Port-au-Prince have all the makings of disease breeding grounds; thousands of people living in temporary shelters, in very close contact, completely reliant on aid for clean water and sanitation services. But a massive effort has kept any large outbreaks from occuring so far.
ANALYSIS JULY 23, 2010
This year's International AIDS Conference, drawing to a close Friday, produced among other things a high-profile scientific breakthrough, endless policy discussions and plenty of new research to digest. Jon Cohen, a correspondent for the journal Science, describes more.
BLOG JULY 22, 2010
Global AIDS leaders continue to call for sustaining and increasing HIV/AIDS funding in the face of the global economic crisis.
REPORT JULY 20, 2010
A two-year study unveiled in Vienna found that HIV infections in females were cut by 39 percent by using a new vaginal gel. Margaret Warner speaks with Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases for more.
UPDATE JUNE 25, 2010
Pakistan's aging irrigation infrastructure and years of little rain are adding up to major problems for farmers, prompting the government to subsidize a new drip-style irrigation system. But some farmers still find it too costly to install.
BLOG JUNE 18, 2010
The State Department and USAID announced eight focus countries that will get extra help from Obama's proposed six-year, $63 billion Global Health Initiative Friday.
REPORT JUNE 3, 2010
Spencer Michels reports on the campaigns to fight hepatitis B among Asian populations worldwide. The potentially fatal liver disease is100 times more likely to afflict Asians than non-Asians.
BLOG APRIL 30, 2010
Gonorrhea may soon become untreatable, due in large part to the misuse of the antibiotics currently used against the sexually transmitted disease, the World Health Organization warned Thursday.
BLOG APRIL 7, 2010
Poverty rarely gets more degrading than when people are forced to drink from the same muddy ponds as livestock and wild animals. Yet this was a common scene on my most recent visit to Southern Sudan and rural Ethiopia.
REPORT APRIL 7, 2010
Correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Sudan about a painful and debilitating parasite called Guinea worm and efforts by health workers and the Carter Center to eradicate it.
BLOG APRIL 1, 2010
Ray Suarez writes about spending time in Peru with a small and fascinating set of individuals who have been HIV-positive for years, and never get sick.
ANALYSIS APRIL 1, 2010
Bob Hoff has been HIV positive for more than 25 years but has no viral load and has never taken medication. He is now participating in several studies looking at elite controllers.
ANALYSIS MARCH 18, 2010
Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Ethiopia on the daily time-consuming job for families to reach clean water and how a partnership between an NGO and communities is helping to build and maintain new wells.
SLIDE SHOW FEB. 12, 2010
Preventing the spread of disease in Haiti's quake-damaged cities, where thousands have taken refuge in temporary camps, is a formidable task in a country that already posed sanitation challenges. William Fellows, UNICEF's global water, sanitation and hygiene coordinator, explains.
BLOG FEB. 10, 2010
British Columbia is offering an interesting gift to athletes and spectators attending the Winter Olympics in Vancouver-- a free H1N1 shot.
UPDATE FEB. 4, 2010
The British medical journal the Lancet formally retracted a 1998 study that helped set off the debate over the safety of vaccines and whether they may be connected to later diagnoses of autism in children.
REPORT DEC. 17, 2009
The U.S. worked Thursday at salvaging an agreement at the U.N. summit on climate change. It took the form of a major financial commitment and new pressure on China to cooperate. Ray Suarez reports from Copenhagen.
VIDEO DEC. 13, 2009
What is known about the current H1N1 influenza outbreak? How is the government preparing for the next big threat? Join the PBS NewsHour’s Ray Suarez for an exploration of the science and policy of this year’s swine flu pandemic, from federal vaccination headquarters to big city hospital emergency rooms.
UPDATE NOV. 12, 2009
The White House has finally named its USAID head nominee, after 10 months of a leadership vacuum that prompted public statements of frustration from Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. President Barack Obama has chosen Rajiv Shah, 36, a doctor and recently-appointed senior official at the Department of Agriculture.
UPDATE NOV. 9, 2009
U.S. health officials are dealing with shortages and production delays of H1N1 vaccine, but stand by the choice not to opt for vaccine boosters, called adjuvants, that could stretch supply of H1N1 vaccine, but are not licensed in the United States.
UPDATE NOV. 2, 2009
Healthy pregnant women had a good immune response after one dose of the H1N1 vaccine, but young children should get two doses for optimal protection, according to National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases trial results released Monday.UPDATE OCT. 30, 2009
Foreigners infected with HIV will be allowed to travel and immigrate to the United States without restriction, President Barack Obama said Friday, announcing the repeal of a twenty-year-old travel ban.REPORT OCT. 28, 2009
On the Asian island of Borneo, the Asri Clinic doesn't take credit cards. Instead, the clinic accepts payments that improve the local ecosystem, be it seedlings for replanting, eggshells for composting, even manure. Fred de Sam Lazaro reports.REPORT OCT. 27, 2009
Many poor or urban communities in the United States are dealing with potentially fatal diseases and parasites normally considered problems of the third world and developing countries. NewsHour correspondent Jeffrey Kaye looks at these “neglected diseases” that get little attention in the U.S. but affect hundreds of thousands of citizens each year.
ANALYSIS OCT. 23, 2009
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Friday that the H1N1 flu's effects have already matched those of the seasonal flu. Ray Suarez reports.ANALYSIS OCT. 20, 2009
About half of the H1N1 hospitalizations so far this fall have been among people under the age of 24. Margaret Warner talks to Thomas Frieden of the Centers for Disease Control about the H1N1 vaccine and what students and parents should do if symptoms of H1N1 are seen.
SLIDE SHOW OCT. 20, 2009
A string of disasters in Southeast Asia killed more than 1,500 people in recent weeks. A tropical storm tore through the region, earthquakes rocked Indonesia and a typhoon hit the Philippines. Kathryn Bolles, director for emergency health and nutrition for Save the Children, described the aftermath scene in the Philippines.
INSIDER FORUM OCT. 13, 2009
As part of a series looking at health care in other countries, Ray Suarez traveled to the Netherlands to explore the innovative universal Dutch system. Two experts answered your questions on what lessons the United States can take from other countries' health care systems.
REPORT OCT. 8, 2009
The flu season might start earlier than expected, complicating efforts to distribute a vaccine.
UPDATE OCT. 8, 2009
Distribution centers around the country began receiving shipments of the much anticipated H1N1 flu vaccine this week. Those costs, as well as the economic blow of closed schools and lost productivity, could set back the fragile U.S. economy.
ANALYSIS OCT. 7, 2009
In the last of a series on health care in the Netherlands, Ray Suarez reports on how the European country maintains low health care costs while delivering a high standard of care. REPORT OCT. 6, 2009
In the first of a series on health care abroad, Ray Suarez looks at how the Netherlands achieved a massive health care overhaul four years ago. Suarez visits with one U.S. family that moved to the Netherlands because of the health care system’s coverage for expensive therapies.UPDATE SEPT. 18, 2009
The World Health Organization warned Friday that global production of vaccine for the H1N1 flu strain over the next year will fall short of the 4.9 billion doses previously forecast.REPORT SEPT. 16, 2009
Senior correspondent Ray Suarez reports from Tanzania on a community drug distribution system being used to prevent river blindness, one of the conditions considered a "neglected tropical disease" because of its low profile in comparison to HIV, TB or malaria. REPORT SEPT. 15, 2009
Ray Suarez reports on how health officials in Tanzania have had to come up with new training efforts in order to meet the nation's medical needs.UPDATE SEPT. 15, 2009
Shortages in laboratory supplies and trained technicians in Tanzania cause delays and gaps in diagnosis that can put patients' health at risk.UPDATE AUG. 25, 2009
Amid predictions of a new wave of the H1N1 flu, health officials are warning that schools are especially at risk.
UPDATE AUG. 24, 2009
A mutated virus from the oral vaccine used to prevent the spread of polio in Nigeria has paralyzed at least 124 children in the West African country this year. The new figure is double the 62 vaccine-derived cases reported in the country last year, and marks the continuation of the longest vaccine-derived polio outbreak ever seen.
SLIDE SHOW AUG. 21, 2009
New development of drug resistant parasites could mean even more severe cases of malaria in Cambodia.
REPORT AUG. 4, 2009
Fred de Sam Lazaro reports from Cambodia on avian flu and concerns over potential interaction with H1N1. Many people in Cambodia live and work in close contact with animals, creating an environment that fosters transmission of disease from animals to humans.
SLIDE SHOW AUG. 4, 2009
About 75 percent of the new diseases affecting humans in the past decade can be traced to animals, reports the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Common human contact with farm animals and wildlife are among the factors that make Cambodia vulnerable to diseases jumping from animals to humans.
RESOURCE AUG. 4, 2009
Dr. Thomas DeLiberto, head of the USDA's National Wildlife Disease Program, outlines the science behind zoonotic diseases, what causes pathogens to jump from animals to human and discusses the importance of wildlife surveillance.
UPDATE JULY 29, 2009
The Centers for Disease Control's advisory committee on immunization met Wednesday in an emergency session to set priorities for who should receive the H1N1 influenza vaccine now in development. Pregnant women, healthcare workers and children six months to 18 years should be given access to H1N1 flu vaccinations first this fall, said the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.
UPDATE JULY 9, 2009
The U.S. government plans to fund a vaccination program against the new H1N1 swine flu this fall, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday.INSIDER FORUM JUNE 23, 2009
Assistant U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Michele Moloney-Kitts and Christine Lubinski, head of the Center for Global Health Policy and Advocacy, answer viewer questions on President Obama's global health initiative and how it will shift U.S. global health priorities.UPDATE JUNE 11, 2009
The World Health Organization on Thursday declared a swine flu pandemic, marking the first worldwide flu epidemic in 41 years.ANALYSIS JUNE 10, 2009
World Health Organization says the spread of swine flu has created the first global flu epidemic in 41 years. Infections climbed in the United States, Europe, Australia, South America and elsewhere to near 30,000 cases.
ANALYSIS JUNE 10, 2009
Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, discusses the timing and implications of the WHO decision to raise the H1N1 alert level to a pandemic.
REPORT MAY 30, 2009
Betty Ann Bowser reports on efforts to create a H1N1 vaccine and concerns over having the time to properly produce it.
SLIDE SHOW MAY 11, 2009
Public opinion polling after Mexico City reopened businesses and schools found that 25 percent of people in Mexico think the "swine flu," or H1N1 influenza virus, was a myth. The Online NewsHour spoke to people on the streets of Mexico City about their opinions.
UPDATE MAY 9, 2009
Senior correspondent Ray Suarez was in Mexico City all week, reporting on the H1N1 flu. In this reporter's notebook that he filed during his flight home, he reports on the next steps for Mexico's government, people and medical community.VIDEO MAY 8, 2009
Ray Suarez traveled to Mexico City in early May to report on efforts to contain the H1N1 influenza virus.
REPORT MAY 7, 2009
Ray Suarez wraps up his week of reporting on the outbreak of H1N1 influenza in Mexico City as some businesses and public institutions begin to reopen and health officials determine how to handle the flu in the weeks ahead.
VIDEO MAY 6, 2009
Mexico City's businesses and government centers are working to return to normal after the recent shutdown over the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. Ray Suarez reports from Mexico City on the latest developments.
SLIDE SHOW MAY 6, 2009
Mexican companies that cater to international tourists worry that long after the flu scare is over, they will still be without customers.
REPORT MAY 5, 2009
As word emerged Tuesday that the first American has died of the H1N1 flu in Texas, the virus appeared to be waning in Mexico. After an update from the Washington Post's Ceci Connolly, Ray Suarez reports from Mexico City.
UPDATE MAY 5, 2009
Senior correspondent Ray Suarez is in Mexico City to report on the H1N1 flu virus outbreak. In this reporter's notebook that he filed Monday, he reports on the huge city coming back to life after a days-long shutdown aimed at containing the outbreak.
UPDATE MAY 5, 2009
The serious outcomes of some of the earliest H1N1 flu cases in Mexico renewed attention on a national culture of avoiding doctor visits, and self-medicating at the pharmacy instead.
REPORT MAY 4, 2009
The cases of swine flu rose to more than 1,000, spanning 20 countries, although there was some indication the spread was on the decline. Betty Ann Bowser provides an update on the situation.
REPORT MAY 4, 2009
Public health officials are expressing cautious optimism that the number of H1N1 flu cases may be leveling off. Ray Suarez reports from Mexico City on the center of the outbreak.
VIDEO MAY 3, 2009
Mexico's Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said Sunday the H1N1 flu outbreak in his country "is now in its declining phase," even as the U.S. and other countries reported new cases. The NewsHour has sent a reporting team to Mexico City to explore the story.
SLIDE SHOW MAY 3, 2009
Much of Mexico City shut down in an effort to contain the swine flu outbreak that has sickened hundreds and stirred global health concerns. In this slide show, hear what residents of Mexico City have to say about the H1N1 flu health scare.
REPORT MAY 2, 2009
Ray Suarez is in Mexico City to report on the H1N1 flu virus outbreak. In this reporter's notebook, he writes about his state of mind en route to the city.
REPORT MAY 1, 2009
New cases of the H1N1 Flu virus continue to spread slowly in the U.S., with the number of confirmed cases at 141 in 19 states on Friday. Margaret Warner reports on efforts to halt the virus's spread both in the U.S. and Mexico City, which was largely closed down for most of the week.
UPDATE APRIL 30, 2009
Mexico is preparing for a temporary shut down of all non-essential services from May 1 to May 5, in an attempt to slow the spread of the swine flu that is believed to have killed as many as 176 people in the country.
ANALYSIS APRIL 29, 2009
The World Health Organization raised the threat level of the swine flu Wednesday and a child died of the illness on U.S. soil. The CDC's Dr. Richard Besser provides an update on the government's response.
UPDATE APRIL 29, 2009
The World Health Organization raised the pandemic threat level for the swine flu outbreak to a phase 5, meaning a a pandemic, or global outbreak of a serious new illness, is imminent.
REPORT APRIL 28, 2009
As the cases of swine flu in the U.S. and abroad continue to mount, Mexico's Ambassador to the U.S. discusses efforts to contain the H1N1 flu illness and defends how the Mexican government initially responded to the outbreak.
UPDATE APRIL 28, 2009
U.S. researchers are preparing for possible development of a vaccine for the H1N1 strain of swine flu now racing around the globe, but say a vaccine would still take months to produce, test and distribute.
UPDATE APRIL 28, 2009
About 50 cases of swine flu infections have been identified in the United States, but no one has died, as health officials reiterated Tuesday that people should be concerned -- but not alarmed -- by the emerging illness.
SLIDE SHOW APRIL 27, 2009
The swine flu outbreak in Mexico has killed as many as 103 people in the country and sickened dozens in the United States and Canada. In Mexico City, residents stayed away from public gatherings and donned masks when they had to go outside.
REPORT APRIL 27, 2009
The number of confirmed swine flu cases continued to climb Monday and the World Health Organization increased its alert level for the virus. U.S. officials urged citizens not to travel to Mexico unless necessary, while Mexico scrambled to react to the mounting number of flu-related deaths.
UPDATE APRIL 27, 2009
Key facts on swine flu and what is being done to better understand the virus.
UPDATE APRIL 27, 2009
The World Health Organization Monday raised its global alert level for the swine flu virus outbreak from a phase three to a phase four, verifying that the virus is spreading from human to human in community-level outbreaks.
SLIDE SHOW APRIL 13, 2009
Although polio has been wiped out in most of the world, it is a growing problem in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. View photos from NewsHour special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro's reporting trip to Nigeria.
UPDATE APRIL 9, 2009
Examining Web users' search terms could help public health officials identify emerging epidemics days, if not weeks, faster than more traditional forms of disease surveillance.