Syphilis cases in the U.S. are on the rise, while gonorrhea disease rates reach a historic low.

The annual report on sexually transmitted diseases (STD) by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that although syphilis is rarer in the United States than gonorrhea and chlamydia, the rate of infection is rising primarily among men who have sex with men

Nearly half of Americans questioned in a new opinion poll mistakenly believe they can contract bird flu by eating chicken. Forty-seven percent of respondents including nearly half of college graduates agreed with the false statement that eating an infected chicken can result in bird-flu transmission.

The survey sampled 1,007 Americans and was commissioned by the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) and conducted by Opinion Research Corporation

Swiss drug-maker Roche announced it stopped selling the antiviral drug Tamiflu in China and was turning over supplies to the government, as local officials were ordered to prepare to treat possible human cases of bird flu.

Tamiflu supplies are "now being transferred to China's Ministry of Health for centralized allocation and distribution," the Chinese arm of Roche Holding AG said in a written statement. Sales were halted in China on Nov. 1

The director of the Egg Safety Center says eggs in the US are safe, and Americans have no reason to fear eating them because of Asian bird flu.

The comments come from Hilary Shallo Thesmar, PhD amid fears from consumers over the ever increasing spread across the Atlantic of the avian flu. Egg consumption has some people thinking twice about purchasing the eggs and egg products. The American Association of Avian Pathologists and the American College of Poultry Veterinarians say an outbreak of Asian bird flu in poultry is unlikely in the United States

The President of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) warns a new British health bill misses an opportunity to provide record breaking protection from smoking in public places and the effects of second-hand smoking for the people of England and Wales.

Hemant Patel says he was "deeply disappointed" the proposed new measure fell short of a complete ban on smoking. He says, "It is simply not acceptable that the people of England and Wales will not enjoy the same protections as the people of Scotland and Northern Ireland