Welcome to the Rhode Island Department of Health Website

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As U.S. health officials struggle to vaccinate tens of millions of Americans against the pandemic of swine flu, some are looking regretfully at one easy way to instantly double or triple the number of doses available -- by using an immune booster called an adjuvant.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Women in the United States should start cervical cancer screening at age 21 and most do not need an annual Pap smear, according to new guidelines issued on Friday that aim to reduce the risk of unnecessary treatment.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The pandemic of swine flu may be hitting a peak in the Northern Hemisphere, global health officials said on Friday, but they cautioned it was far from over.

AP - Several doctors groups and advocacy groups set guidelines for cancer screening, and they update that advice periodically as new information emerges. Sometimes they agree, sometimes they don't. Last year, a number of groups got together and issued consensus guidelines for colon cancer.

CDC will host a press conference on its updated guidelines on antivirals as well as an update on 2009 H1N1 flu.

CDC will host a press conference to update on 2009 H1N1 Flu.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention today announced plans to distribute $40 million to state health departments to help prevent healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).

Dealing with the symptoms of a serious illness is difficult. But help is available -- a new brochure describes a comprehensive treatment that helps reduce or eliminate the pain and other distressing symptoms of illness and medical treatments. "Palliative Care: The Relief You Need When You're Experiencing the Symptoms of Serious Illness," produced by the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), a component of the National Institutes of Health, explains in easy-to-understand language what palliative care is, who it benefits, and how it works.

Public health experts encourage everyone between the ages of 13 and 64 to be HIV tested. Researchers at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and the San Francisco Department of Public Health will determine whether receiving a rapid HIV test and counseling offers healthier outcomes than rapid testing alone, with a $12.3 million grant awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The grant is being funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health, is increasing its investment in understanding the potential health, safety and environmental issues related to tiny particles that are used in many everyday products such as sunscreens, cosmetics and electronics.

18 November 2009 -- Bloomberg Philanthropies announced a five-year contribution to WHO and other agencies to support road safety work. The focus will be on reducing drink-driving, increasing the use of seatbelts, child restraints and motorcycle helmets, limiting speed, and strengthening trauma care.

17 November 2009 -- The largest-ever yellow fever mass vaccination campaign will kick off next week across three African countries. The week-long event will target 11.9 million people across Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone, all three of which are at high risk of yellow fever outbreaks.

10 November 2009 -- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to donate 50 million doses of pandemic H1N1 vaccine to WHO under an agreement signed at WHO headquarters in Geneva by the WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, and the Chief Executive Officer of GlaxoSmithKline, Mr Andrew Witty.