Create your own free news widgets.

Vital sections of society could be paralysed if swine flu reaches epidemic proportions as expected, the government has been warned. A Whitehall meeting of emergency services and business chiefs has been told that more than a third of Britain's businesses have no response plans at all for dealing with the pandemic, while specific fears have been raised about the ability of the country's broadband network and the london Underground to operate effectively.The development follows news last week that the first British person with no underlying health problems had died of swine flu. The patient, who died on Friday at a hospital in Essex, was the 15th swine flu-related death in the UK. 'This death underlines that, although the virus is proving generally mild in most people, it is more severe in some cases,' said the government's chief medical officer, Sir Liam Donaldson.Doctors have also warned that rates of infection are reaching epidemic levels in London and the West Midlands. Several milli

Perhaps the Obama administration is trying too hard to solve too many problems at once.

Kimberly Spencer's 9-year-old son went to Colorado's Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center last month for what was supposed to be a routine surgery. What happened next shocked the family. They were notified that their son is one of 6,000 patients who may have been exposed to hepatitis C by a painkiller-addicted technician who had the disease and allegedly passed on dirty syringes to patients.

More than 2,000 people have now tested positive for swine flu across Queensland, with 18 patients currently in hospital and five of those in intensive care.

Painkiller-addicted scrub tech causes hepatitis scare, unnerving patients.

Looking at what consumers can do to avoid being bitten twice - first by the vermin and then by a venal exterminator.

A HOSPITAL patient from Essex has become the first person without underlying health problems to die after contracting swine flu.

A new Mayo Clinic study may help physicians differentially diagnose three common neurodegenerative disorders in the future. The study will be presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease on July 11 in Vienna.

Dialysis treatments do not affect the heart health of kidney disease patients who have had a heart attack, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). Since cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death in kidney disease patients, the findings are good news for individuals who need the treatments.

TREATMENT for patients with Parkinson's in the Lothians has received a boost following the appointment of a three-strong specialist team.