The cost of caring for aging Americans will add 25 percent to the nation’s health care bill by 2030 unless people act now to stay healthy, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday. more»

To prepare for a bird flu pandemic, the University of Iowa today unveiled a new tool to help public health officials better predict when the disease will strike and plan ways to stem its effects. Through a unique collaboration among the University's Colleges of Business and Medicine, the Iowa Health Prediction Market is launching the "Avian Flu Market (AFM)," an information trading and aggregation system to help public health officials around the world collect and analyze information to forecast the timing and extent of a human-to-human bird flu outbreak. The project is supported by a $245,685 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). more»

The number of people that could die in a flu pandemic that matches the 1918-19 outbreak will be "very scary" and far higher than the 62 million deaths forecast by a recent study, an adviser to the White House said on Monday. more»

Dr. Barbara DeBuono, as Senior Consultant to the WHO, was assigned to the organization’s SEARO, Southeast Asia Regional Office in New Delhi, India, to review public-health aspects of the tsunami relief and recovery operations. She worked with the WHO offices in India,Maldives, and Thailand and was on location from February through April 2005. Dr.DeBuono partnered with local governments, international agencies, and NGOs to assess the public-health aspects of the crisis, including the initial relief operations and the transition, plans, and policies leading to rehabilitation, recovery, and reconstruction. more»

Today, the U.S. Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated that the E. coli O157:H7 outbreak linked to Taco Bell restaurants in Northeastern states appears to be over. However, additional cases from the outbreak period could still be identified. Based on a number of factors, iceberg lettuce is considered overall to be the single most likely source of the outbreak at this time. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to narrow its investigation by focusing its efforts on finding the sources of shredded iceberg lettuce served at the restaurants. more»

Microfinance-essentially small loans that help impoverished individuals create jobs, small businesses, and stronger communities-may offer a window on new methods for widening access to healthcare for the poor. more»

On December 5, 2006, the Board of Health approved an amendment to the Health Code to phase out artificial trans fat in all NYC restaurants and other food service establishments. more»

Minnesota once again ranks as the healthiest state in the nation, according to United Health Foundation’s annual state health rankings report. Minnesota has ranked first in health 11 times since the rankings began in 1990, and it has never ranked lower than second. The 2006 edition of America’s Health Rankings was released today by the United Health Foundation, together with the American Public Health Association and the Partnership for Prevention. more»

San Francisco's groundbreaking plan to provide access to affordable medical coverage for an estimated 82,000 uninsured residents is an opportunity to create a system from top to bottom that could serve as a model of basic care for the rest of the nation. more»

Bangladeshi economist Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank he created won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for leveraging small loans into major social change for impoverished families. more»

By Oct. 20, Louisiana will submit a waiver proposal that is the first process in redesigning the state’s health care system. Federal, state and local officials participated today in a charter signing ceremony to officially kick off the work of the Louisiana Health Care Redesign Collaborative and begin this process. more»