Swine flu can cause severe disease in people of all ages and appears to pose a special threat to those who are obese, according to an analysis of H1N1 cases in California released on Tuesday.

Men may protect more than their hearts if they keep cholesterol in line: Their chances of getting aggressive prostate cancer may be lower, new research suggests.

The opposition Democratic Progressive Party successfully pushed through a demand yesterday to revise existing regulations for a direct ban on certain beef products.

An outbreak of food-borne illness, linked to dangerous bacteria in ground beef, sickened 28 people and may have caused two deaths in the U.S. Northeast, health officials said on Monday.

Protests against U.S. beef imports raged on as the Consumer Protection Commission (CPC), Kaohsiung City legislators and members of other groups yesterday flocked to the Kaohsiung branch of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to rally against the import of American beef products such as cow intestines and backbone.

The United States welcomed Taiwan's decision to give greater access to U.S. beef imports but it also indicated to closely monitor possible artificial trade barriers to be erected by Taiwan with an intention of effectively blocking the entry of certain American beef products due to public concerns over mad cow disease.

The Korean government yesterday raised the H1N1 flu alert to its highest level, pledging all-out efforts against the further spread of the disease.

Premier Wu Den-yih yesterday rejected the idea of a referendum on U.S. beef imports, saying it would be inappropriate and there is no reason for such a move.

A mother watched with dread as a nurse inserted a tube in her baby's head. Blood streamed into the anemic 4-month-old who already has malaria, the mosquito-borne disease that kills a million African children every year.

Taiwan's health authorities have moved up the dates for young students to get vaccinations for the new influenza A (H1N1) after parents complained the youngsters had to wait too long, especially as the number of infections continued to rise, with nearly 1,000 classes suspended so far.