Swine Flu Crisis Is Fake —Just Like AIDS in Africa

(NEWSER) - While the world panics over swine flu, many far more serious outbreaks lie in wait, reports Foreign Policy. Here are some you won’t see on TV—yet:

• Cholera: The deadly diarrheal infection is rampant in Africa, with infections shooting up 96% in 2006. The current outbreak in Zimbabwe has killed 4,200 since August.
• Ebola: Unlikely to become a pandemic, but has an absolutely terrifying mortality rate.

Study findings could present a 'major health crisis'

(NEWSER) - Alarming new research out of eastern and southern Africa, where both unplanned pregnancies and AIDS wreak havoc: The most popular contraceptive used by women there appears to double their risk of contracting HIV—and if a woman already has HIV, it doubles her risk of transmitting it to her partner compared to women who use no contraception. The study centers around a hormone shot given once every three months, which is the best contraception available in Africa today, one expert tells the New York Times : “If it is now proven that these contraceptions are helping spread the AIDS epidemic, we have a major health crisis on our hands.” More»

A Nigerian adaptation of children's show deals with local issues

(AP) - It's finally ready to go live : A Nigerian adaptation of Sesame Street will debut later this month in Africa's most populous country, according to US officials. It will be called Sesame Square and will feature Kami, an inquisitive female Muppet living with HIV, and Zobi, a blue Muppet obsessed with yams, a staple food in Nigeria. The US is also helping to fund a Pakistani version of the show . More»

Officials had taken measures to stop spread

(NEWSER) - The H1N1 swine flu virus has reemerged in Egypt, infecting 1,172 people and killing 56 since Oct. 8, Reuters reports. Some 16,373 have been infected in the country, with 281 deaths, since it was first reported there in June 2009. Egyptian officials last year culled all pigs, shut schools, and stopped sick travelers at airports. Worldwide, 18,450 have died from the virus, says the World Health Organization. More»

We've taken big strides, but the fight's not over

(NEWSER) - When George W. Bush became president, “much of sub-Saharan Africa was on the verge of catastrophe” thanks to the HIV epidemic. So America took action, and now millions are on AIDS medication. The relief effort served US interests in helping to stabilize a region on the brink; but what’s more, taking action reflected “American character and beliefs,” Bush writes in the Washington Post . More»