poliomyelitis (polio) is a highly infectious viral disease, which mainly affects young children. the virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (e.g. contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, from where it can invade the nervous system and can cause paralysis. initial symptoms of polio include ...

background: investment in science is vital for the development and well-being of societies. this study aims to assess the scientific productivity of countries by quantifying their publication of systematic reviews taking the gross national income per capita (gnipc) into account. methods: medline and isi web of science were searched for systematic reviews published between 1st january 2006 and 3...

As the threat of invasive species to our economy, environment, human health and even our security unfolds, the importance of understanding emerging disease organisms and their vectors is increasingly clear. In a study reported in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, Dina Fonseca, Julie Smith and Robert Fleischer from the National Museum of Natural History Genetics Program, alo...

azine that we hope will keep AAAI members informed about AI efforts around the world. The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence now serves a global audience, and our members, meeting participants, councilors, and officers reside in countries throughout the world. Worldwide AI is designed to meet our expanded audience’s interests. In the columns that will appear in this and ...

The World Health Report 2002 identified hypertension, or high blood pressure, as the third ranked factor for disability-adjusted life years. Hypertension is one of the primary risk factors for heart disease and stroke, the leading causes of death worldwide. Recent analyses have shown that as of the year 2000, there were 972 million people living with hypertension worldwide, and it is estimated ...

Trachoma is an ancient scourge, described in the Egyptian Ebers papyrus in 1900 BC and well known to Hippocrates. The disease was endemic in Europe until well into this century, and would-be immigrants to the USA were screened for trachoma by examination of the everted upper eyelid on arrival at Ellis Island, New York. Those in whom the characteristic follicles were seen were put on the next bo...

The recent World Health Organization (WHO) agreement on the standardized classification of overweight and obese, based on body mass index (BMI), allows a comparable analysis of prevalence rates worldwide for the first time. In Asia, however, there is a demand for a more limited range for normal BMIs (i.e., 18.5 to 22.9 kg/m(2) rather than 18.5 to 24.9 kg/m(2)) because of the high prevalence of ...