A man diagnosed with inhalation anthrax suffers another setback when his condition changed from fair to serious. Vado Diomande apparently became infected after importing raw animal hides from Africa for use in drums. He traveled in December to Ivory Coast and became ill shortly after he returned, bringing several goat hides with him.

The 44-year-old's condition was downgraded from fair to serious late Thursday when he "experienced a temporary setback in his recovery," according to a statement from Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pa

Researchers continue to probe the link between airplane flights and a higher risk of potentially deadly blood clots.

A Lancet study by Dutch researchers now suggests that long flights and frequent air travel heighten the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis (DVT)

United Nations officials say that the bird flu is expected to hit the United States within one year.

Dr. David Nabarro, bird flu coordinator of the U.N., says, "It is certainly within the next six to 12 months. And who knows, we've been wrong on other things, it could be earlier

Indonesia is trying to control the re-emergence of polio. The country is opening its fourth immunization campaign today, inoculating millions of infants across the country.

Indonesia wants its citizens to be free of the crippling disease over the next two years. The country's health minister says polio has sickened 329 infants and toddlers since it re-emerged in Indonesia last March

A preliminary test to diagnose the avian flu developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was approved Friday by the FDA. The test will confirm the presence of H5 influenza in humans within a few hours, an improvement over the two or three days it had taken until this point.

''Preparing for a possible flu pandemic is a top priority for our nation, and FDA acted quickly to evaluate and expedite CDC's request for approval of this test,'' acting FDA Commissioner Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach told reporters. The test is an initial step; further testing would be needed if a strain of the flu were detected