After decades of controversy, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new H.I.V. test on Tuesday that for the first time makes it possible for Americans to learn in the privacy of their homes whether they are infected.The availability of an H.I.V. test as easy to use as a home-pregnancy kit is y

More rationing of care and charging for services in the NHS need to be considered as it faces at least a decade of austerity, experts say.The Institute for Fiscal Studies says the coming years will be the toughest since the early 1950s when dental and prescription fees were introduced.Other measures

Two days after Debra Demidon underwent in vitro fertilization, she gained more than 30 pounds in fluid and suddenly was struggling to breathe.Doctors diagnosed severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), a complication seen in some women who undergo fertility treatment. It landed Ms. Demidon in

(Reuters) – Fewer people infected with HIV globally are dying as more of them get access to crucial antiretroviral drugs, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, the United Nations AIDS program said on Wednesday.The United Nations estimates that about 34 million people are living with the human immunode

All two to 17-year-olds in the UK are to be offered annual flu vaccinations.If 30% take up the offer, there will be 11,000 fewer hospitalisations and 2,000 fewer deaths each year, the chief medical officer for England says.The children will be immunised using a nasal spray rather than an injection,

The outbreak of whooping cough in England and Wales has spread to very young babies who are most at risk of severe complications and death, the Health Protection Agency has warned.There were another 675 cases in June bringing the total to 2,466 for 2012 so far.At this stage last year there had only

(Reuters) – The Obama administration on Monday said it expects that U.S. states will eventually join its planned expansion of the Medicaid healthcare program as they evaluate the benefits of providing health coverage to more low-income people.U.S. Medicaid director Cindy Mann said states will likely

NHS urged to make reduction of problem a priority as overweight and teenage mothers found to be most likely to sufferOne in 10 women who have a baby by caesarean section go on to develop an infection around their scar, which causes them pain and discomfort and forces some to go back into hospital to

Elderly people would need to spend less time in hospital if care in England were better organised, experts say.A review by the King’s Fund found there was scope to reduce the number of overnight stays by 2.3 million.That would free up 7,000 beds – 6% of the total – saving the NHS nearly £500m a year

Philadelphia (CNN) — Beth Rutstein rolls up the sleeves of her T-shirt, juggles a stack of fliers and knocks on the door of a stranger’s home. She’s on a mission to save lives.After wiping sweat from her face beneath the sweltering afternoon sun on a recent Thursday, she ascends another set of stair