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28 Apr 2011 17:02

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Politics: Researchers may have found a new leprosy risk for humans

  • Armadillos may be able to give humans leprosy. Emphasis on the “may,” but the evidence is extremely compelling. The Armadillo has long been known to be a leprosy carrier, but it wasn’t thought that cross-species infection was a concern until recently. Researchers found that a substantial amount of people with leprosy in the American deep south had been infected near their homes, and that other humans or armadillos were the only known sources in those areas. Further, some of the people afflicted had handled armadillos prior to the contraction. source

07 Feb 2011 12:57

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U.S.: This week in international disease transplantation

  • 3 cholera diagnoses in New York City, by way of the Dominican Republic source

26 Aug 2010 11:19

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World: Not harsh enough? HIV-infected singer Nadja Benaissa sentenced

  • How harsh should the punishment be for an HIV-positive person who knowingly has unprotected sex with their victims? In Germany, apparently relatively light. Nadja Benaissa, a singer in the German girl group No Angels, was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence and 200 hours of community service for her actions, which infected at least one of the people she slept with. Was the court right here? Or do they need to reconsider? source

19 Aug 2010 11:08

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Culture: Wanna get a virus? Do a search for “Cameron Diaz.” Seriously

  • If you do a search for her, there’s a ten percent chance you’ll land on some malware. We did a search for her to find this image. We took our chances. For you guys. source

03 May 2009 09:41

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U.S., World: Pigs infected with H1N1: It’s like an infinite loop of swine flu

  • The Alberta farmer recently left Mexico. Canadian officials are quarantining a bunch of pigs testing positive for swine flu after a farmer apparently gave H1N1 to them. In case you’re wondering, this does not make eating pork dangerous. If they have swine flu, it will not get you sick. So don’t freak out. source

02 May 2009 12:03

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World: Mexico’s swine flu outbreak isn’t looking quite so bad

  • Apparently the rate of infection is not as widespread as we might have thought.
  • Mexico health minister José Ángel Córdova • On the swine flu (OK, H1N1) outbreak in Mexico. Despite claims that the virus affected over 900 people in Mexico, just 397 of them actually happened to have the virus. As noted previously, Mexican officials remain cautiously optimistic that the outbreak is slowing in their country. • source

23 Jan 2009 11:31

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World: A model loses her hands and feet in a bid to save her life

  • What happened? Mariana Bridi, a 20-year-old Brazilian model, was a rising star in the international modeling world, coming in fourth in a recent competition to be Brazil’s entrant in the Miss World pageant. But after going to the doctor in December suffering from what initially were thought to be kidney stones, she was eventually diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. Unfortunately, the infection had infected the blood by then. source
  • What happened? Mariana Bridi, a 20-year-old Brazilian model, was a rising star in the international modeling world, coming in fourth in a recent competition to be Brazil’s entrant in the Miss World pageant. But after going to the doctor in December suffering from what initially were thought to be kidney stones, she was eventually diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. Unfortunately, the infection had infected the blood by then.
  • Trying to keep her alive Given just two weeks to live, Bridi had her hands and feet removed to help blood circulation through the rest of her body. In intensive care and on life support, she currently communicates with her family through blinking but thus far has held on. “They say her situation is very critical and that her chances are not really significant,” said Henrique Fontes, executive director of Miss World Brazil, “but she keeps on surprising everyone.” source