The average doctor visit lasts just 17 minutes, according to online medical journal Medscape.  Plans for health care reform aim to allow doctors to spend more time with patients, but until then, doctors recommend getting the most out of even short visits. They say it doesn't make sense to leave anything out. Dr. Charles Mouton is professor of community health and family practice at Howard University, and he gives us some advice on how to break the silence and talk to your doctor most effectively.

Three years ago, the Food and Drug Administration approved the vaccine Gardasil, which protects against human papillomaviruses (HPV).  The category includes around 100 sexually transmitted viruses that are the primary cause of cervical cancer. By the end of last year more than 23 million doses had been distributed – enough to vaccinate seven million girls.

A new government study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has raised some concerns about side effects associated with the drug. Merck, the drug's manufacturer, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintain Gardasil is safe and effective, and that adequate warnings are provided. To find out more, we speak with Diane Harper, a physician and one of the lead researchers for Merck's Gardasil clinical trials. She has been speaking out in favor of more warnings. We also speak with Sheila Rothman, a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. For one parent's point of view, we talk to Kenye Jones-Downing about whether she plans to give her daughter the vaccine.

Decide for yourself! Watch the ad below. Does it go too far? Or not far enough?

The U.S. government is seeking thousands of volunteers, from babies to the elderly, to roll up their sleeves for the first clinical trials of an H1N1 flu vaccine. The race is on to test whether a new vaccine really will protect against this virus before its expected rebound in the fall. Will the vaccines work? Will there be enough vaccines for everyone? What are the dangers of the vaccine itself? The Takeaway talks to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which will oversee the trials.

In the wake of fears over the spread of so-called "swine influenza," pork prices have plummeted. In Alberta, Canada, pigs have been quarantined after catching the flu from a farm employee. In Egypt, riot police clashed with pig farmers while trying to stop farmers from slaughtering their own animals. In Iraq, three wild boars at the Baghdad zoo were slaughtered. Swine flu means bad news for pigs and pig farmers, despite loud messages from the World Health Organization and CDC that the flu is not spread by eating pork. The Takeaway talks to Mike Faga, a Human Resources Director with Iowa Select Farms, the largest pig producer in Iowa.

Hundreds of schools nationwide received unexpected vacation days this week for thousands of school kids because of concerns about swine flu. In Fort Worth, Texas, all 144 schools were closed because of a suspected swine flu case.

Joining The Takeaway is Monica Davey, the Chicago bureau chief for The New York Times, and Clint Bond, spokesperson for The Fort Worth Independent School District to talk about the various reactions nationwide towards how to deal with swine flu concerns that are affecting our daily lives.

The World Health Organization announced yesterday that they no longer will be referring to swine flu as the "swine flu" after receiving constant pressure from the meat industry. Its new name, "influenza A (H1N1)" doesn't necessarily roll off the tongue. Grant Barrett, a lexicographer and the co-host of the public radio show "A Way with Words," joins The Takeaway.

Global health officials are warning that H1N1 swine flu could bloom into a pandemic. Yesterday, the World Health Organization declared a Phase Five alert. Epidemiologist and virus hunter Nathan Wolfe, of the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative, says it never should have gotten to this point. In an op-ed in today's New York Times, Wolfe argues that if global public health functioned differently, we probably could have detected the virus before it spread so widely.

Still unsure of how to spot swine flu? This video from the Centers for Disease Control explains the symptoms.

An outbreak of swine flu is raising alarms from Mexico to New Zealand. But this isn’t the first epidemic to cause widespread concern. From the great influenza pandemic of 1918 to the much-hyped, but far less deadly bird flu outbreaks, we’re nothing if not prepared to worry about a global disease threat. So, how might this current outbreak compare to others throughout history? And how much should we really worry? We’re joined by Philip Alcabes, professor of urban public health at Hunter College of the City University of New York, and the author of Dread: How Fear and Fantasy Have Fueled Epidemics from the Black Death to Avian Flu.

An outbreak of swine flu that started in Mexico appears poised to spread across the globe, with confirmed cases in California, Texas, Ohio and New York. The possibility of a pandemic is causing worldwide concern. The Center for Disease Control joins The Takeaway to talk about what you need to know to stay healthy. Also joining the discussion is epidemiologist Dr. Richard Wenzel, immediate past President of the International Society for Infectious Diseases and Chairman of the Department of Internal Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University, for a look at the the flu, the symptoms, and how we, and the government, should respond.

The Takeaway then turns to Ioan Grillo, Mexico Correspondent for Time Magazine, for look at how Mexico is responding to this health crisis.

Ever wonder how the CDC works? It's exactly like this:



Click through for a transcript.

Over the past few years a rash of food-related illnesses caused by everything from tomatoes to spinach to peanut butter has sparked nationwide concern over food safety. Conventional wisdom has always said you can assure your food is safe by buying organic. But New York Times reporter Kim Severson did some digging and she found that organic certification has nothing to do with food safety.

For more, read Kim Severson's and Andrew Walker's article, It’s Organic, but Does That Mean It’s Safer?, in today's New York Times.

Today the House Energy and Commerce Oversight and Investigations subcommittee is holding a hearing to examine the recent salmonella outbreak associated with peanut butter manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America. An extensive investigation into this nationwide outbreak, which now involves the FBI, looks at how contaminated peanut products, from one plant in Blakely, Georgia, could taint hundreds of other foods. Currently eight people have died from salmonella poisoning and nearly 600 people, in 44 states, have fallen ill. Joining us to discuss the break down in America’s food safety infrastructure is Benjamin England. England, is a 17-year FDA veteran and co-founder of FDA Imports.com.

The FDA's recall list for peanut butter and related food products has hundreds of items on it. Click here to see what is on the list that might hiding in your pantry.

'Tis the season to be groggy, nauseous and dehydrated. For a look at what it takes to not pay for one's drinking sins, The Takeaway explores the causes and cures behind the holiday hangover with Dr. Robert Swift. Dr. Swift is a professor of psychiatry at Brown University Medical School. He’s also the Chief of Staff for Research at the Providence VA Medical Center.

Everyone has an opinion about hangover cures. Here are the purported cures gathered by the BBC and its listeners. National Geographic put together a very handy chart of global cures for this pressing global problem. And a New York Times blogger weighed in, too, with a discussion of cures for the inevitable.

Here's some of what Youtube.com has to offer on the subject:



Got a cure you KNOW works? Tell us! We'll need it.

A doctor in the Congo performs an amputation with the help of a text message.