We remember the late Doctor William Close who passed away last month. He was the father of actress Glenn Close, and once the personal doctor of the president of Zaire. While there he worked to stop the first Ebola epidemic in Zaire. Anchor Marco Werman talks to a friend and colleague of Dr. Close, Dr. Joel Breman, of the National Institutes of Health.

William T. Close (1924-2009)

Health officials say it's not a matter of "if" but "when" the next flu pandemic will hit. The World's Katy Clark takes a look at how well prepared the United States is to deal with the impact.

The United States is the only industrialized nation without guaranteed universal access to health care. Anchor Marco Werman speaks with surgeon and writer Atul Gawande, who's been looking to how other industrialized countries managed to achieve universal health care -- and how it's worked since.

China has just reported four new human cases of bird flu -- three of them fatal -- as millions of Chinese prepare to travel throughout the country for the lunar New Year. The World's Mary Kay Magistad has this update.

Iran has one of the best HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs in the world. But two of the architects of that system, a pair of brothers, both doctors, have now been thrown in jail, charged with plotting to overthrow the state. Anchor Marco Werman hears their story from Sarah Kalloch, a spokesperson for Physicians for Human Rights.

A new study today in the medical journal, The Lancet, found that the collapse of the Soviet Union led to higher death rates in many former communist countries. It concludes that the rapid privatization of state-run companies was a major factor behind the surging death rates. Anchor Lisa Mullins finds out more from the study's lead author study, David Stuckler.

Zimbabwe's escalating cholera outbreak has prompted calls from the US-based Physicians for Human Rights to charge the country's President with crimes against humanity. The World's Laura Lynch has the story.

The use of so-called functional foods, is on the rise, especially in China and Japan. Functional foods are those fortified with additional vitamins or minerals. Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with Bob Jones of the management consulting firm Scientia Advisors about why one country will accept a particular functional food and another will reject it.

Some 17 people face trial in China in the widening scandal over milk tainted by the plastic additive melamine. Some 300,000 Chinese infants have been sickened by the contaminated milk. But so far, Chinese courts have not allowed families to file a class-action lawsuit. The World's Mary Kay Magistad reports from Beijing.

There are growing reports that young people in South Africa are stealing an AIDS medication, called Efavirenz, and using it as a recreational drug. The World's Laura Lynch reports from Johannesburg.