HEALTH

Leprosy disease has entered New South Wales

According to a Queensland University of Technology (QUT) study, which listed floods among the nation's deadliest of natural disasters, there have been at least 73 flood-related deaths from 1997 to 2008.

Victorian health authorities have been contacted by more than 1,300 people concerned they may have been infected with hepatitis C by the suspended anaesthetist, Dr James Latham.

According to a new report: Cardiovascular disease mortality - trends at different ages, released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, the number of Australians who die each year from cardiovascular disease has been steadily falling since 1960s, with older age groups experiencing the greatest decline in deaths.

Two women from the suburbs of North Ward and Deeragun have been diagnosed with type two of the dengue virus - the first locally-acquired cases in the city since December, confirmed Queensland Health.

If you have had piercing or a tattoo, have shared needles with another person, or had a blood transfusion prior to 1990 you may be part of the one per cent of the Australian population who has been exposed to hepatitis C.

(Reuters) - More U.S. babies are being born with syphilis, many of them to women in the South who use crack cocaine and work in the sex trade, according to a U.S. government report released on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People with inflammatory bowel disease commonly believe that stress can trigger their symptoms, and a new study suggests they may be right.

(Reuters) - President Barack Obama issued a memo on Thursday that would require hospitals accepting Medicare or Medicaid funds to allow visitation rights to gay and lesbian partners.

Called the Hotshot, the condom has been produced after government research showed 12 to14-year-olds did not use sufficient protection when having sex.

Before you spit out the seeds in grapes, think again, it might have some good use.

WEST Australians would automatically go on the Australian Organ Donor Register unless they opted out, under new donor laws set to be debated in State Parliament later this year.

The revolution of cell phones has been adding much functionality to its use. Its function varies from in-built camera, MP3 player, GPS to online service. What if, in the future, new functions on our cell phones could also protect us from toxic chemicals?

The project, which is unrivalled in scale, went underway in 2008 and is working to catalogue the genetic profiles of cancer cells collected from 25,000 people - 500 per targeted cancers.

Patients suffering from rare tumours can now be linked up with clinical trials and research following the launch of a new web site in Melbourne.

Residents of the Tasmanian west coast mining town of Rosebery plan to sue the state's health and environment bodies, as well as mine operator MMG Australia over alleged exposure to toxic contaminates from mining activities.

Public schools in NSW are being forced to heat classrooms with unflued gas heaters under the school building program, although health warnings that emissions from the heaters pose a risk to asthmatic children and can trigger respiratory problems.

(Reuters) - British scientists have mastered a controversial technique using cloning technology to prevent some incurable inherited diseases by swapping DNA between two fertilized human eggs.

(Reuters) - People living in countries with government-run healthcare systems like Sweden and Canada are far more confident than Americans that their families can get good, affordable care, according to a 22-nation survey released on Thursday.

Dr Yian Gu and colleagues at Columbia University Medical Centre in the US over the four years study shown that out of 2,148 retirement-age adults living in New york, 253 of these older adults developed Alzheimer's disease.

An obesity expert from the UK believes Australia has overtaken America as having one of the unhealthiest diets in the world.

An Australian study has found the previously unsuspected cause of heart disease in women, connected to the hormonal disorder polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

A Victorian cheese company has recalled some of its products due to fears over possible salmonella contamination.

New statistics show one in five people in Guam have diabetes and up to 50 per cent of Pacific islanders have the disease.

An updated Guide to Staying Alive that outlines a plan to aid troubled people in surviving a suicidal episode has just been released by a mental health support group in Australia

(Reuters) - Widely used anticonvulsant drugs, including Pfizer's Neurontin and Novartis' Trileptal, may increase the risk of suicide, attempted suicide and violent death in patients taking them for the first time, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - People who cut out saturated fatty acids while upping their intake of white bread, pasta and other refined carbohydrates that can cause blood sugar to spike aren't doing their heart any favors, new research from Denmark shows.

We all know that too much salt may increase the risk of high blood pressure, hypertension, stroke, heart failure and the list goes on. We maybe eating a healthy balanced diet right now, but chances are these foods may contain too much salt. So, what is the best way to take salt?

Testicular cancer occurs when the cells in the testicles grow abnormally and develop into a tumour, commonly a seminoma in men aged 25 to 55 and a nonseminoma in men aged 15 to 30. Usually only one testis is affected, but it may spread through the lymph nodes to the abdomen, lungs, liver, bone or brain.