►January 28, 2004 - Some Migraines Linked to Brain Disease - Reuters via The New York Times - "Researchers have identified brain lesions in some victims of migraines, a finding that could indicate that those severe headaches can be a symptom of progressive brain-damaging disease, a new study says...The research, which has possible implications for treatment, involved 295 Dutch adults 30 to 60 years old, some of whom had migraines along with vision problems while the others had migraines without any such problems. They were compared with 140 similar people who were migraine-free."

►January 28, 2004 - Blood Transfusion Suspected in New Mad Cow Case in Britain (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "A Food and Drug Administration policy announced on Monday banning the feeding of cattle blood to calves was partly based on a new case of mad cow disease in which a Briton may have been infected through a blood transfusion, a Food and Drug Administration official said on Tuesday...At a Senate hearing, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, questioned why the food agency had instituted the ban when, he said, scientific evidence indicated that infectious particles that are believed to cause mad cow disease, misfolded proteins called prions, had never been found in blood."

►January 27, 2004 - An ounce of prevention: Why bird flu has put health officials on alert - The Washington Post via The Seattle Times - "The metaphor that public-health officials invoke when talking about a global flu epidemic is the same one that lies at the heart of the scariest horror movies...It is the idea of a small and deadly thing that is poking and prodding for a weak spot in whatever is protecting its intended victims. It is patient because it knows it will eventually succeed. When it does, a horrible metamorphosis makes it huge and unstoppable."

►January 28, 2004 - Rise in mumps cases prompts call to use triple MMR vaccine - The Herald, UK

Comment:  If they would have allowed single vaccines, maybe this wouldn't have happened.  On the other hand, mumps was always considered a relatively benign disease before there was a vaccine to prevent it. 

►January 27, 2004 - Appeal for Aid to Fight Growing Bird-Flu Threat in Asia (requires registration or subscription) - The New York Times - "China said late today that avian influenza had been found in fowl in three regions, and three international agencies issued a global appeal for donor nations to help bankroll Asia's fight to forestall a lethal flu epidemic in humans."

►January 27, 2004 - More children given MMR vaccine - The number of children having the MMR jab has increased for the first time in over a year, statistics have shown.  - BBC