On tour in Africa, American officials said the U.S. would keep providing aid. But Congo’s response has been uneven, and the former health minister has been jailed.
Author: DONALD G. McNEIL Jr.
This Daily Pill Cut Heart Attacks by Half. Why Isn’t Everyone Getting It?
“Polypills” of generic drugs may dramatically reduce heart attacks and strokes in poor countries, a new study suggests. Some experts still aren’t enthusiastic.
Scientists Discover New Cure for the Deadliest Strain of Tuberculosis
Once, a diagnosis of extensively drug-resistant TB meant quick death. A three-drug regimen cures most patients in just months.
A Cure for Ebola? Two New Treatments Prove Highly Effective in Congo
The therapies saved roughly 90 percent of the patients who were newly infected, a turning point in the decades-long fight against the virus.
Someday, an Arm Implant May Prevent H.I.V. Infection for a Year
In preliminary tests, a matchstick-size rod containing a new drug offered promise as a shield against the virus. But a large clinical trial must still be done.
Earlier Ebola Outbreaks, and How the World Overcame Them
Hemorrhagic fever inspires almost mythic terror, but whether it can be beaten depends more on people than on medical advances.
Polio Cases Surge in Pakistan and Afghanistan
False rumors that children are fainting or dying have led parents to turn away vaccinators, threatening the campaign to eradicate the disease.
HPV Vaccines Are Reducing Infections, Warts — and Probably Cancer
An analysis covering 66 million young people has found plummeting rates of precancerous lesions and genital warts after vaccination against the human papillomavirus.
Scabies Means Misery. This Pill Can End It.
Burrowing skin mites drive victims mad with itching, but distribution of a few pills can drive the infestation from entire communities.
Drug Companies Are Focusing on the Poor After Decades of Ignoring Them
The pharmaceutical industry once sued to keep AIDS drugs from dying Africans. Now companies boast of their efforts to get medicines to the developing world.