What Has Experts Stumped on Swine Flu?

Close to 400,000 cases of H1N1 infection have been confirmed by the World Health Organization, but flu experts still do not know exactly how the virus is spread, Reuters reports. Mucus droplets contain flu virus that can live on surfaces and can be spread through close contact. But there is a chance H1N1 could also get passed through feces, flu expert Tim Uyeki of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tells Reuters. There are other big unanswered questions about H1N1, Reuters reports, including the number of people infected and how often the virus turns deadly. Tests used to confirm infection are not very reliable, Reuters says, and are in short supply for the numbers of people infected. As a result, the WHO and CDC can only estimate that the number of H1N1 cases far exceeds those confirmed. The agencies guess the true number of infections is in the millions, according to Reuters.

The Obesity Epidemic Isn't Just About Willpower

Obesity has become Public Health Enemy No.1, blamed for almost a third of the rise in healthcare spending. Overeaters now find themselves in the same category as smokers or drug addicts, tainted with the aura of moral weakness and lack of willpower, U.S. News columnist and physician Bernadine Healy writes.

This perspective has begun to spawn tough-love policies geared to prod people into thinness. Discriminating against the chubby in social and even employment settings seems to be gaining on the politically correct scale. And levying a "sin tax" on sweet treats, starting with sugary sodas and fruit juices, has a growing following on Capitol Hill.

But measures that use blame and punishment in an attempt to inspire citizens to curb their appetite, eat more fruits and vegetables, and exercise more are not likely to work. Why? Because assuming willpower and discipline are the keys to reversing obesity does not begin to take into account the biological complexity of obesity and the enormous biological differences among individuals that make weight loss a snap for some and a near impossibility for others. Read more.

Abortion Down, Contraception Up: Recipe for Health Reform?

Global abortion rates are down—from an estimated 45.5 million in 1995 to 41.6 million in 2003, according to a report issued Tuesday by the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit research center that supports abortion rights. A key reason for that drop, the report says, is that the proportion of married women using contraception worldwide increased from 54 percent in 1990 to 63 percent in 2003 as pregnancy prevention methods became more available and socially acceptable.

The Guttmacher report also found that total abortions occurred at "roughly equal rates" in countries where they are legal and where they are highly restricted. That means laws that outlaw abortion are serving only to drive women to have the procedure in riskier places and with riskier methods, U.S. News's Deborah Kotz writes. At a news conference in London, Guttmacher president Sharon Camp cited the Netherlands as an example for all other countries to follow. It has the lowest abortion rate in the world, but that's in part due to an emphasis on contraception. Read more.