Food stamps estimate raises debate over 'poverty'
CHICAGO (AP) — The estimate was startling, and made headlines around the country: Almost half of all U.S. kids will be on food stamps at some time during childhood. How could it be true in the land of plenty, in the midst of an obesity epidemic, skeptics wondered.
WHO says Tamiflu still works against swine flu
GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization says isolated cases of drug-resistant swine flu in Britain and the United States have not changed the agency's assessment of the disease. It says Tamiflu remains highly effective against the vast majority of H1N1 cases.
CDC: Swine flu vaccine safe; no big problems seen
ATLANTA (AP) — There's no evidence that the swine flu vaccine is causing any serious side effects, U.S. health officials said Wednesday, in their first report on the safety of the new vaccine. Since vaccinations began in early October, the government has been tracking the safety of the swine flu vaccine. By mid-November, about 22 million Americans had gotten the vaccine and there were about 3,200 reports of possible side effects, the vast majority for minor things like soreness or swelling from the shot.
UNAIDS: Sex main cause for HIV spreading in China
SHANGHAI (AP) — The virus that causes AIDS is now spreading fastest in China through heterosexual sex, a trend demanding new strategies to stave off a rebound in the epidemic after years of progress in containing it, a United Nations report said. Data show that 40 percent of new HIV infections diagnosed in China were acquired through heterosexual contact, with homosexual sex accounting for 32 percent and most of the remainder related to drug abuse, which was previously the main source of infections and the government's main focus for prevention.
Coma recovery case attracts doubters
BRUSSELS (AP) — Rom Houben's mother remembers her son's amazement when he finally started communicating again after spending 23 years locked in a paralyzed body that was misdiagnosed as vegetative. "Early on, he was surprised that the words came out of his finger," Fina Nicolaes said. "Now, he is busy writing a book."
CDC warns: Holiday could bring more swine flu
ATLANTA (AP) — Let us give thanks — and pass the Purell. Your family might be sharing more than turkey and pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving. Swine flu may also be on the table — and at crowded airports and shopping malls.
Docs say formerly conjoined twins recovering well
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Formerly conjoined twin sisters Trishna and Krishna are enjoying a favorite DVD and trying new foods as they continue their recovery from marathon separation surgery, doctors said. Royal Children's Hospital chief of surgery Leo Donnan said Tuesday that Trishna is now sampling bread and fruit for the first time in her life, as she previously got her nutrition from her sister. The twins turn 3 next month.
UN: HIV outbreak peaked in 1996
GENEVA (AP) — The number of people worldwide infected with the virus that causes AIDS — about 33 million — has remained virtually unchanged for the last two years, United Nations experts said Tuesday. Officials say the global epidemic probably peaked in 1996 and that the disease looks stable in most regions, except for Africa. Last year, HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 72 percent of all 2.7 million new HIV cases worldwide.
China reports 8 cases of mutated swine flu virus
BEIJING (AP) — China has detected eight people infected with mutated forms of the swine flu virus, a health official said Wednesday, but flu drugs and vaccines still work against it. Flu viruses mutate easily, and scientists have been closing watching for signs that the swine flu virus is changing, which could make it more dangerous or more infectious.
Trying last-ditch lung bypass for worst swine flu
WASHINGTON (AP) — A technology originally developed for premature babies may be helping to save some of the sickest swine flu patients by rerouting their blood so their lungs can rest. It's a risky approach using equipment that only certain specialized hospitals have. But faced with children and young adults struggling to breathe despite ventilators has intensive-care doctors dusting off these machines, named ECMO, that they often consider last-ditch and almost never use for influenza.
