SARS vaccine being tested in Beijing: Scientists in Beijing have begun testing a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) vaccine on humans. The vaccine was jointly developed by China's Ministry of Science and Technology and the Beijing based company Sinovac Biotech. The first four of 36 volunteers for the trial have been injected with an inactive sample of the SARS coronavirus.
Universal health insurance to be introduced in Morocco: Morocco is set to introduce a universal health insurance scheme in January 2005 despite the fact that the average gross domestic product per person is $3900 (£2175; €3245). The overhaul of Morocco's health sector follows two decades of under-funding, which left 40% of the population without access to health services.
Trials of treatment for kalaazar take place in India: A nonprofit making drug company in the United States, OneWorld Health, which is funded largely by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has completed enrolment and treatment of 667 patients in India with visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar), a parasitic disease that affects an estimated 1.5 million people worldwide.
New law to protect women from family pressures: Women in the Czech Republic will be allowed to remain anonymous when they give birth under new legislation. It is designed to shield women who are under pressure from their families to have an abortion.
New safety measures for Dutch boxers announced: The Dutch Boxing Association is launching a pilot study, offering neuropsychological tests to gauge boxers' memory, concentration, and reactions, in a bid to diagnose possible brain damage earlier. The study is part of a package of safety measures, announced by the Ministry of Health, in response to the Dutch Health Council's calls to ban boxing (BMJ 2003;327: 1186).