The H1N1 flu strain is a heretofore unknown mixture of viruses from swine, birds and humans, with early symptoms similar to those of the common flu. Here are a few facts about the nature and spread of swine flu.
Mexico says the new epidemic of swine flu is believed to have killed 81 people in Mexico, with a further 1,300 reported ill. US confirms two cases in Kansas, while New Zealand says ten students are "likely" to have contracted the disease.
According to US health authorities, at least 10 Americans have been diagnosed with swine flu in the states of California, New York and Kansas. The World Health Organisation has termed the outbreak of the disease of "international concern".
Eight New York schoolchildren may have caught swine flu, the city's top health official said on Saturday. The World Health Organisation has termed the outbreak of the disease a "public health event of international concern".
The head of the World Health Organisation says a new flu strain that has killed up to 68 people in Mexico and infected eight in the United States has the potential to cause a worldwide pandemic, though it is too early to determine whether it will.
Saturday is the second edition of the World Malaria Day. Every year, roughly one million people die of malaria, but health experts say many countries where it is endemic are on the brink of eliminating the disease.
Africans will be able to buy more effective and affordable malaria drugs at their local pharmacies, under an international partnership launched in Norway. Malaria strikes about 250 million people a year, one million of whom die.
At least 333 Nigerians have died from an outbreak of meningitis, the inflammation of the tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord, over the last three months.
According to a study to be published in the British Medical Journal, people constantly exposed to tobacco smoke can be affected by dementia and other cognitive problems. Earlier research has shown an increased risk of heart and lung diseases.
A French court cleared six health officials charged with the deaths of 117 people infected while receiving tainted growth hormone treatment as children in the 1980s. The prosecution plans to appeal the verdict for three of the six defendants.
