Where does the flu come from? Scientists at the University of Cambridge and the World Health Organization's Global Influenza Surveillance Network tracked the migrations of flu viruses and discovered that the most common originate in East and Southeast Asia and spread in a distinctive pattern around the world. Understanding how these viruses evolve and travel will lead to better vaccines against flu epidemics that currently infect 5 to 15 percent of the world's population each year.

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The World Heath Organization has released the results of a four-year study of patients in 81 countries which shows that rates of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are at their highest levels yet recorded. Extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, which is nearly untreatable, has appeared in 45 of those countries. At face value, this sounds like bad news, but the true global reality may be even worse. Only six nations in Africa, where tuberculosis has the highest incidence, were able to provide any data.

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74 million Number of African children that the World Health Organization hopes to vaccinate this October and November in an attempt to eradicate the polio virus before 2005


11 Number of months, beginning in August 2003, that the Nigerian government halted polio immunizations amid rumors that the vaccine was spiked with the AIDS virus


1,148 Polio cases contracted worldwide during that time period

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After years of warnings about the threat of global warming, its potential impact struck home in 2003 with an unexpected death toll from bouts of extreme weather.

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After years of warnings about the threat of global warming, its potential impact struck home in 2003 with an unexpected death toll from bouts of extreme weather.

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