Health

"It is found that the vaccine has 31.2-per-cent efficacy in reducing the risk of HIV infection," Health Minister Withaya Kaewparadai told a press conference.

"The outcome represents a breakthrough in HIV vaccine development because for the first time ever there is evidence that HIV vaccine has preventative efficacy," he added.

The study, to appear Tuesday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, showed that hand hygiene and face masks seem to mitigate the household transmission of the flu when the measures are used in combination and within 36 hours of one person in the house getting sick.

Public Health Minister Witthaya Kaewparadai said the baby was born premature. The 26-year-old mother had H1N1 flu and gave birth only seven months into her term.

The prenatal infection was a case study, because it was the world's first recorded case, he said.

The ministry also reported new 176 A(H1N1) cases, bringing the cumulative total to 4,057 patients.

Regarding the rising number of new patients and the proposal to close schools for one month to contain the A(H1N1) pandemic, Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbhodi said that the ministry must discuss the issue with the Ministry of Education, as mid-term examinations will be held soon and the closure could affect the teaching schedule.

Mr. Manit, however, said that the A(H1N1) screening measures introduced in schools nationwide on Monday to detect at-risk students will work effectively to control the outbreak in schools. The ministry's report revealed that the measures could reduce the number of newly-infected cases in schools.

The measures include screening by teachers and health officials for students with high fevers and other flu-like symptoms when students assemble for morning exercises before class. If found likely to have contracted the A(H1N1) flu, the student will be immediately sent home for a seven-day self-quarantine period. (TNA  

Ignoring this, the government declares that milk is essential to good health, subsidizes the milk industry to the tune of billions of dollars, and requires milk in its public school lunch programs. And celebrity shills sporting milk mustaches tell us that milk is rich in proteins, calcium, and vitamins--and very cool to boot.

They forget to tell you about the dangers lurking in that innocuous-looking glass of white. Once criticized only by naturopaths and vegans, now the health effects of milk are being decried by many mainstream doctors. The supposedly hip milk mustache is actually a creamy layer of mucus, live bacteria, and pus.

Former Chairman of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University, Frank Oski, M.D. even has a book called Don't Drink Your Milk which blames every second health problem kids suffer on hormone-ridden commercial milk. Sixty percent of ear infections in kids under six years of age are milk-induced, and milk consumption is the number one cause of iron-deficiency anemia in infants today according to the American Association of Pediatrics.

But milk is also a racial issue. Almost 90 percent of African Americans and most Latinos, Asians, and Southern Europeans lack the genes necessary to digest lactose, the primary sugar in milk. The milk industry's response is classic: they have launched new campaigns arguing that non-whites can digest milk if they take in small sips during the day. There is a burgeoning industry worth $450 million a year churning out products designed to minimize lactose intolerance.

While launching his agency's 2008 report on the global AIDS epidemic, Peter Piot, UNAIDS executive director, called for more action to stop the spread of the disease among gay men who have unsafe sex and stressed the importance of working with affected communities.

But this is not the first time that we're being warned against the ill-effects of cell phones. But is it too premature to come up with such conclusive studies?

Apollo neurologist Dr Puspendra N Renjen says, "What evidence do we have to say that the waves that a cell phone is generating is going to cause a tumour? For that, we need to look into the patho-physiology of the causation of a tumour."

There have been numerous studies about how the radiation from cell phones can reduce the sperm count if kept in your pocket, how it can hamper your sleep, how it can lead to memory loss and so on and so forth.

The milk of every species of mammal is said to be unique and specifically tailored to the requirements of that animal. For example, researches show cows' milk is three to four times as much richer in protein than human milk, with five to seven times the mineral content, but markedly deficient in essential fatty acids compared to human mothers' milk. On the other hand, mothers' milk has six to ten times as much of the essential fatty acids, especially linoleic acid which cow's milk does not have. While animals stop taking in milk from weaning however, man is known to continue with his fill, and is in fact the only specie that drinks the milk of other species.

Every Thursday afternoon at the Core, a wellness centre for families on Sukhumvit Road Soi 53, children

aged from three to five, accompanied either by

their parents or sitters, spend nearly an hour

doing yoga. "Judging from the way it looks, well,

 The monastery, in the biggest city Yangon, was raided last Thursday. "Apparently, it was ordered closed. No one knows why," said Shari Villarosa, charge d'affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Myanmar.

Villarosa spoke to reporters last Friday during a visit to Bangkok in neighboring Thailand.

Three military trucks arrived outside the Maggin Monastery and told everyone inside to leave, according to the online edition of The Irrawaddy, a news magazine run by Myanmar exiles in Thailand. The AIDS patients were moved by the authorities to an unknown location, it said.

Thai healthcare and spas are well known internationally, so it would be a shame not to take advantage of the healthcare services or a spa treatment during a visit to Thailand.

In Thailand, hospitality is a way of life. An integral part of Thailand's culture, the art of caring is as much a part of the kingdom's ancient heritage as its beautiful beaches and awe-inspiring temples.

This unique Thai hospitality is evident throughout the country's service industries, placing them into a class of their own. Small wonder then that Thailand's healthcare and tourism sectors have enjoyed phenomenal growth in recent years, making the country one of Asia's top choices for quality medical treatment.

With state-of-the-art facilities both in Bangkok and around the country, internationally accredited medical personnel, a convenient location, beautiful scenery and a balmy climate, Thailand is already a preferred healthcare destination for foreigners from overseas and neighboring countries.