News & Perspective

(CIDRAP News) – Though global rates of the most deadly form of malaria are declining in Africa, the parasite's less deadly but more difficult-to-treat cousin, Plasmodium vivax, has a firm foothold in many parts of South Asia and Latin America, according to new mapping studies.

(CIDRAP News) – Flu indicators fell again in the United States last week as the 2010-11 flu season approaches its end, with very little activity occurring elsewhere in the world, US and global surveillance organizations said today.

All levels were below baseline, even the percentage of deaths from pneumonia and flu, which has lagged the decline of other flu signals, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

(CIDRAP News) – Influenza activity in the United States continued to fade last week, but the lingering signs included reports of four more flu-related deaths in children, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization's latest global update said flu was generally low and decreasing worldwide, but there were a few patches of activity in the tropics.