The World Health Organization has confirmed a small outbreak of yellow fever in urban areas of Paraguay. These are the reports of yellow fever cases in South America in over 60 years.

A new federal advisory panel has voted to expand the federal children’s flu vaccination recommendations to all children under the age of 18, instead of just those under the age of 5. This expansion would mean 30 million more children would need to be vaccinated each year, a figure many hospitals and clinics are finding difficult to achieve. Such an increase in flu vaccination is unlikely to be ready by the 2008-2009 season.

The Food and Drug Administration has recently approved the drug Nexium in small doses of 10mg and 20mg for children 1 to 11 who suffer from acid reflux disease. The FDA has previously approved the drug in 20mg to 40mg doses for adolescents aged 12 to 17.

CNN has reported that a Vegas clinic, Endoscopy Center, is at fault for up to 40,000 hepatitis C infections. Unsafe vaccinations by needlepoint are currently being blamed for this issue; officials insist patients of this clinic be tested for Hepatitis C, B, and HIV.

WebMD reported on a possible link between lung disease and microwavable popcorn; the chemical in question is Diacetyl, which is known to be potent when directly inhaled. Lung problems have been reported at factories and one incident from a consumer has been filed.

ABC News has reported on a link between implantable microchips and tumors. The microchips in question have been approved by the FDA for both human and pet use despite this information, which was withheld from the public during testing.

Late last year the clinical research company Merck shut down its HIV vaccination tests due the trial’s failures. Some speculate that the company may now be liable for misleading research patients into believing they were vaccinated, despite being told there were ‘dummy’ shots. Forty-Five people out of 1400 have contracted the AIDS virus.

New blood tests are able to measure the amount of RBP4 protein, helping to determine the amount of fat in and around organs. Researches hope that by discovering the exact amount of fat around organs will help in the diagnosis and treatment of Tofis.

Recent reports indicate 6 Naegleria Fowleri related deaths in 2007. The Naegleria parasite is an amoeba that lives at the bottom of lakes, normally not coming into contact with humans. Incidents such as this are extremely rare, as the parasite is only lethal when it comes into contact with the olfactory nerve, connecting the nasal cavity to the brain. If the Naegleria parasite attaches itself to to the olfactory, it quickly flows to the brain, destroying nerve endings. The CDC has found that only 23 people have died from Naegleria from 1995 to 2004.

* More than 30 countries have reported outbreaks in 2007, in most cases involving wild birds such as swans.
* The virus has killed at least 205 people since 2003, according to the WHO. Countries with confirmed human deaths are: Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Laos, Nigeria, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam.
* In total, the virus is known to have infected over 400 people since 2003, according to the WHO. Many of the dead are children and young adults.
* The WHO says that Vietnam and Indonesia have the highest number of cases, accounting for 132 of the total deaths.
* The H5N1 virus is not new to science and was responsible for an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Scotland in 1959. Britain confirmed new cases in birds in Scotland in April 2006 and in eastern England in February 2007.
* H5N1 is not the only bird flu virus. There are numerous strains. For example, an outbreak in 2003 of the H7N7 bird flu virus in the Netherlands led to the destruction of more than 30 million birds, around a third of the country’s poultry stock. About 2.7 million were destroyed in Belgium and around 400,000 in Germany. In the Netherlands, 89 people were infected with the H7N7 virus, of whom one (a veterinarian) died.
* The H5N1 virus made the first known jump into humans in Hong Kong in 1997, infecting 18 people and killing six of them. The government ordered the immediate culling of the territory’s entire poultry flock, ending the outbreak.
* Symptoms of bird flu in humans have ranged from typical influenza-like symptoms, such as fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches, to eye inflammations (conjunctivitis), pneumonia, acute respiratory distress, viral pneumonia, and other severe and life-threatening complications.

Advanced Alzheimer’s blood tests are now able to detect the disease 6 years before symptoms begin to show. Researchers claim a 90% success rate. With early detection Alzheimer’s can be stalled and in some cases even reversed, however a false diagnosis and improper medication can cause harmful side effects.

The BBC has reported on a new treatment for mutated cell viruses like HIV and MRSA called Impulsive Stimulated Raman Scattering (ISRS) that uses lasers to create lethal vibrations in the protein coatings of cells, destroying any foreign micro-organisms. The vibrations are comparable to high pitched noises shattering glass. Tests have been conducted on E. coli and Tobacco Mosaic viruses in both humans and hamsters, effectively destroying the parasites while leaving mammalian cells unharmed.

The BBC has reported on a new 256-slice CT machine developed by Philips that increases the highest possible image resolution in 3D while reducing over 80% of x-ray exposure. This new CT scanner also has the ability to generate images in unprecedented time, producing a full-body scan in less than a minute.

Reuters has reported a recent outbreak of 101 Ebola cases in Uganda. Over twenty people have died so far and eleven of the infected are health workers. Nearly 400 more people are currently being monitored due to close contact; the virus spreads quickly through the eyes, ears, and other orifices. The last outbreak of this size was in 2000, also in Uganda.

A new nasal spray containing a brain hormone Orexin A is being tested on sleep deprived monkeys. After administration of the hormone, the monkeys become alert and aware of their surroundings with no known side effects. The private company developing this nasal spray hopes their product will hit the product within a few years to combat the growing number of sleep deprived citizens in North America and Europe.

The BBC has reported on a new form of technology for surgery, the i-Snake, a robot designed for keyhole surgery that doesn’t even leave skin incisions or scars. The use of imaging and sensing capabilities make this an unrivaled therapeutic procedure.

An outbreak of Norovirus has recently been reported in England, with nearly 2.8 million people possibly affected and an additional 200,000 cases each week. A strain of norovirus was found in the United States last year, causing diarrhea, fevers, headaches and projectile vomiting. This particular flu virus spreads quickly and can lie dormant for two to three weeks.

The FDA has recently stated that cloned animals are okay to consume. Dr. Stephen Sundlof said there was no trace of potentially hazardous mutations or bacteria in the meat and that the food is completely indistinguishable from anything natural. Over 600 clones animals have already been produced for testing.

A January study in the US showed that the arthritis drug Enbrel helped some Alzheimer’s patients temporarily recover from forgetfulness and acute confusion. The scientists state that the Enbrel drug, which was injected directly into the patients’ spine, deactivated tumour necrosis factor (TNF), a fluid chemical found outside the brain in people suffering from both Alzheimer’s and arthritis.

The Daily Mail has reported on a new “helmet” that emits infra-red lights that can stall the rate of cell production in the body. With just 10 minutes of treatment a day, the helmet has shown to stimulate cell growth in mice, effectively stopping the decay that dementia patients suffer. This treatment has not yet been tested in humans but could pose long term side effects due to halting the natural growth and regeneration of cells.