While there have been significant gains in preventing new HIV infections in different countries, the epidemic is far from over in any part of the world, according to a United Nations report.

The 2008 report on the global AIDS epidemic, produced by the Joint U.N .Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), released on Tuesday, is the most comprehensive review of the epidemic to date with 147 countries reporting data on HIV

HIV rates among American blacks are higher than those in impoverished nations that are part of a $15 billion AIDs programs from the United States, and nearly equal to those of African nations, a new report said on Tuesday.

"More Black Americans are infected with HIV than the total populations of people living with HIV in seven of the 15 countries served by PEPFAR [President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]," Black AIDS Institute chief executive Phill Wilson said in a statement

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday warned of a multi-drug resistant tuberculosis or MDR-TB. It said that a majority of the world's population are vulnerable to the new strain.

The Manila, Philippines-based WHO told reporters that MDR-TB can cross borders and that an "uncontrolled local epidemic" can threaten the stability of health security across the globe

To prevent more Americans from acquiring adult heart problems, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends more cholesterol screening for young people and earlier use of cholesterol-lowering medication.

The recommendation, issued by the academy on Monday, is expected to generate controversy since there is a question on the safety of prescribing cholesterol-lowering drugs for children and on what are the best approaches to prevent heart diseases upon reaching adulthood

It is now a requirement for many restaurants in New York to post the calorie content of their foods for the public.

The New York City Board of Health voted Tuesday to mandate all city chain restaurants to post calorie data on their menus. This is their way of stopping the spread of obesity epidemic in the city, where 54 per cent of adults are overweight or obese