America.gov-Global Health: Introduction

World Is 40 Percent Prepared for Pandemic, U.N. Official Says

Cheryl Pellerin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:08:43 -0500

The world is about 40 percent prepared for the impacts of an influenza pandemic, according to a U.N. health official. “Planning for pandemics is now near global but we are worried that not enough plans have been put to the test through simulations,” Dr. David Nabarro tells reporters in Washington.

Researchers Discuss Empowering Scientists in the Arab World

Daniel Gorelick — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:43:56 -0500

Forty researchers of Arab descent meet on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience to discuss ways to empower Arab scientists and promote neuroscience in the Middle East. America.gov talks with some of the scientists about their aspirations and concerns.

Global Health Leaders Urge Continued Aid During Financial Turmoil

Cheryl Pellerin — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 19:34:15 -0500

Less than a month after officials from countries around the world met in Washington for the White House Summit on International Development, another group of leaders is meeting to discuss financial turmoil that could derail critical progress made to date on diseases that threaten global health and security.

Washington to Host International Neuroscience Meeting

Daniel Gorelick — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:37:27 -0500

More than 30,000 scientists from around the world are assembling in Washington for the 38th annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. America.gov examines how this massive concentration of brain power advances research about the brain, nervous system and related disorders.

International Partners Work to Prevent Next Pandemic

Cheryl Pellerin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:17:32 -0500

Most emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses — animal diseases that can be transmitted to people — and can arise anywhere in the world that wild animals and people interact. Google.org is supporting efforts to identify hot spots where such diseases are most likely to emerge.

Uruguayan Scientist Wins International Neurobiology Prize

Daniel Gorelick — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:02:07 -0500

Mauro Costa-Mattioli wins the 2008 Eppendorf and Science Prize for Neurobiology for identifying a protein that controls the formation of long-lasting memories. America.gov traces Mattioli’s journey from Uruguay to the United States and explores how proteins control memory formation.

Google.org to Help Scientists Forecast Disease Outbreaks

Cheryl Pellerin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 16:07:25 -0500

The relationship between people and pandemics is evolving — from plague in the 1340s and influenza in 1918 to the current hard-fought standoff among birds and people in outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu. America.gov talks to the experts about the next logical step: prevention.

Team Fights Waterborne Diseases in Developing Countries

Nancy L. Pontius — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:23:32 -0500

A program developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention uses simple technology to help developing countries control and prevent waterborne diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery, which often are spread in contaminated drinking water.

Egypt Meeting Increases Total Avian Flu Assistance

Cheryl Pellerin — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:01:10 -0500

Representatives from more than 120 nations close an international meeting focused on highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza and the need to control and then eradicate the virus in poultry. Attendees also put forth strategies to prepare the planet for a potential pandemic affecting humans.

United States Contributes $320 Million to Global Avian Flu Fight

Cheryl Pellerin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:05:36 -0500

The U.S. government, during the International Ministerial Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza, announces a pledge of $320 million to help pay for global efforts to fight avian flu and prepare populations to face a future pandemic. The threat of pandemic flu remains as serious now as in 2005.

Egypt Has Lowest Human Death Rate of Avian Flu-Affected Nations

Cheryl Pellerin — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:35:17 -0500

Journalists at a workshop in Cairo, Egypt, hear how the Ministry of Health in Egypt, one of six countries where highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu is endemic, slashed the time it takes for avian flu victims to be treated and gave Egypt the lowest fatality rate for H5N1 of any affected nation in the world.

Alcohol Causes 2 Million Deaths Annually; Many Preventable

Erika Gebel — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 13:06:28 -0500

Each year, more than 2 million people worldwide die from alcohol-related causes. U.S. health agencies are cooperating with the global health community to understand the causes of alcoholism and develop effective treatment options.

$2 Egg Beater May Help Diagnose Disease in Developing Countries

Daniel Gorelick — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:07:17 -0500

Scientists design a centrifuge made from a $2 egg beater, plastic tubing and tape. America.gov examines how this contraption could replace bulky, expensive laboratory equipment, allow diseases to be diagnosed accurately in remote areas and help health workers limited by insufficient supplies.

Ceramic Filters for Drinking Water Improving Health in Cambodia

Nancy L. Pontius — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:50:43 -0500

Use of ceramic drinking-water filters is improving human health in more than 100,000 Cambodian households. America.gov looks at how local manufacture, marketing and distribution make the affordable and easy-to-use ceramic filters such an effective health intervention.

Egypt to Host Conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza

Cheryl Pellerin — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:54:12 -0500

Amid a reduction in the numbers of birds and people fallen victim to highly pathogenic avian influenza in 2008, delegates from 116 nations and 24 international organizations will meet in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to review progress and mobilize resources for a long-term response to avian and pandemic flu.

Scientists Create New Protein Controlled by Light

Daniel Gorelick — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:41:40 -0500

Scientists design a protein that is controlled by light, paving the way for using light-activated proteins to treat disease. America.gov examines the findings and discusses their implications for innovative medicines, therapies and drug-activation systems to improve human health around the world.

New Defense Department Command Targets African Health Issues

Cheryl Pellerin — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:09:05 -0500

The U.S. Defense Department’s newest regional military command — the Africa Command, called AFRICOM and currently based in Germany – is streamlining a range of operations and stepping up health care services in a part of the world where national security and infectious disease are inextricably linked.

Scientists Discover Workings of New Class of Antibiotics

Daniel Gorelick — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:48:04 -0500

An international team of scientists discovers the workings of a new class of antibiotics that may prove effective against antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis. America.gov talks with a leading scientist, who explains how the compounds attack the tuberculosis bacterium.

Four Americans Share in Nobel Science Prizes

Daniel Gorelick — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:21:15 -0500

Nobel Prizes will go to nine scientists — including four Americans — for advances in diverse scientific endeavors, including development of a fluorescent protein, demonstration that the human papillomavirus causes cervical cancer, and discovery of the origin and mechanism of broken symmetry.

2008 Global Handwashing Day Promotes Hygiene Education

Nancy L. Pontius — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:58:16 -0500

Every year, diarrhea and pneumonia kill more than 3.5 million children under age 5 worldwide. Many of them could have been saved by the simple act of washing hands. To promote this life-saving habit, millions of children in 20 countries across five continents will participate in the first Global Handwashing Day on October 15.