Health Headlines - February 21

New Tool Predicts Benefit of Mammograms

If every woman aged between 50 and 79 got a mammogram every year, it would reduce deaths from breast cancer by 37 percent, according to a new statistical tool described on Sunday.

West Africa Launches Anti-Polio Drive

Three West African countries at the center of a polio epidemic launched an immunization drive on Sunday to help stop the spread of the crippling disease by the end of this year.

Egyptian Surgeons Remove Baby's 2nd Head

Egyptian doctors on Saturday removed an undeveloped head that was linked to the skull of a 10-month-old girl, an official from the health ministry said.

Confidential AIDS Patient List E-Mailed

A confidential list of 4,500 southeast Florida residents with AIDS and 2,000 others who are HIV positive was inadvertently e-mailed to more than 800 county health workers, officials said.

Woman Dies of Rabies From Donor Lung

A German woman has died of rabies weeks after receiving a lung from a donor who was later found to be infected with the disease, hospital officials in Hanover said Sunday.

West African Leaders Push Polio Vaccine

Squeezing drops of vaccine into the mouths of wailing babies, the presidents of Nigeria and Benin launched a redoubled polio drive Sunday to regain progress lost after a vaccine-boycott led by Muslim clerics set back eradication efforts.

Threat of bird flu epidemic a "sword of Damocles": UN

The deadly bird flu epidemic, outbreaks of which have hit several Asian countries and killed 45 people since 2003, is a "sword of Damocles" hanging over the world, a top UN official said.

Gaining weight increases risk of dementia: Swedish study

People who gain even just a few extra kilos/pounds when they reach middle-age increase their risk of developing dementia later in life, according results from a new Swedish study published in a Swedish newspaper.

British Vioxx patients to sue Merck in U.S.

More than 100 British patients who suffered heart attacks or strokes while using the controversial painkiller Vioxx are pursuing its U.S. manufacturer Merck in what could become the biggest legal action against a drugs company, a newspaper reported.

West African leaders launch 'final' drive to halt polio epidemic

The presidents of Nigeria and Benin met on their countries' common border to launch what they hope will be the final stage in the battle to wipe out the world's biggest and fastest growing outbreak of the crippling disease polio.

Tempted by higher salaries, Hungarian doctors go west - 4 hours ago

Tempted by salaries more than 10 times higher than at home, Hungarian doctors are emigrating to western Europe, leaving behind understaffed hospitals and a health care system teetering on the edge of bankruptcy.