A mystery illness in Angola that has made at least 370 people sick may be linked to exposure to a toxin, but lead and mercury poisoning have been ruled out, the World Health Organisation (WHO) says.

International health volunteers make a small yet significant contribution in sub-Saharan Africa, according to research published in the online open access journal Human Resources for Health. Medical volunteer numbers remain low, and resources are shifting to local capacity building initiatives.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has condemned what it calls tobacco industry untruths about smoking in public places.

The Indonesian Health Minister says her country has resumed sharing samples of the H5N1 bird flu virus with the World Health Organisation (WHO) after a five-month gap.