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Should male circumcision be recommended for the prevention of HIV infection?

In response to the urgent need to reduce the number of new HIV infections globally, WHO and the UNAIDS Secretariat convened an international expert consultation to determine whether male circumcision should be recommended for the prevention of HIV infection.

28 Mar 2007

Why better TB care in Africa is in European interests

The recent outbreak of a lethal combination of HIV and TB in southern Africa has prompted Britain to pledge an extra US$ 3.15 million to the World Health Organization's Stop TB partnership.

27 Mar 2007

FDA releases final report on 2006 E.coli spinach outbreak

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and California's Department of Health Services (CDHS) have released a joint report on an extensive investigation into the causes of an E.coli O157:H7 outbreak last fall that was associated with contaminated Dole brand Baby Spinach and resulted in 205 confirmed illnesses and three deaths.

27 Mar 2007

Medications plus lifestyle changes work as well as angioplasty to reduce deaths in stable heart-disease patients

Coronary revascularization with stenting or balloon angioplasty combined with optimal medical therapy is no more effective in preventing a heart attack, other major cardiovascular events or death in patients with stable heart disease, than optimal medical therapy alone, results of a new study conducted in 50 hospitals in the U.S. and Canada has shown.

27 Mar 2007

Why people eat the foods they do

People purchase foods based on their income level, their belief in a food's health benefit and cost. However, ethnicity and gender also impact people's food choices, according to researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

27 Mar 2007

Happy schools lead to lower levels of substance abuse and teen pregnancy

Promoting a positive ethos in schools, in which students are more engaged and enjoy good relationships with their teachers, can lead to lower levels of substance abuse and teen pregnancy, according to a study which appears in the British Medical Journal.

25 Mar 2007

Progress towards better access to pandemic influenza vaccines for developing countries

The World Health Organization (WHO) is reporting progress towards ensuring access to pandemic influenza vaccines for developing countries in the event of a pandemic and other vaccine-related aspects of influenza pandemic preparedness.

25 Mar 2007

Controlling HIV/AIDS in India - an immense challenge

Controlling HIV/AIDS in India is an "immense" challenge for the country's National AIDS Control Organization -- which is preparing to launch on April 1 the third phase of its National AIDS Control Program, a new five-year, $2.6 billion program that aims to reduce the number of new HIV cases and improve access to treatment in the country -- NEJM national correspondent Robert Steinbrook writes in a perspective piece.

22 Mar 2007

Georgia approves bill requiring doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

The Georgia House on Monday voted 140-14 to approve a bill (HB 429) that would require doctors in the state to offer pregnant women HIV tests, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

22 Mar 2007

Global tuberculosis epidemic has levelled off

The global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic has levelled off for the first time since WHO declared TB a public health emergency in 1993. The Global Tuberculosis Control Report released today by WHO finds that the percentage of the world's population struck by TB peaked in 2004 and then held steady in 2005.

22 Mar 2007

Thailand, pharmaceutical companies to continue talks on compulsory drug licenses

Thai public health officials plan to continue discussions with international pharmaceutical companies following recent debates over compulsory licenses issued by the country for some medications, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Daniel Christman said on Tuesday, Reuters UK reports

22 Mar 2007

Hong Kong and China's Guangdong province will increase joint HIV surveillance and prevention efforts

According to Yu Dewen, spokesperson for the Guangdong health authority, because many new HIV cases are transmitted sexually, the two health departments will "launch a series of education campaigns to increase public awareness" about HIV/AIDS.

22 Mar 2007

AACR's Sixth Annual Landon Awards recognize Richard Kolodner, Douglas Lowy and John Schiller

Scientists whose discoveries have led to fundamental advances in the science and treatment of cancer are the recipients of two prestigious international prizes offered by the Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation and the American Association for Cancer Research.

22 Mar 2007

U.S. tuberculosis rates all-time low in 2006

Drug-resistant TB, including extensively drug-resistant TB, presents significant challenges to treatment and control of the disease in the United States and abroad, according to articles in today's "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report" (MMWR).

22 Mar 2007

Flu pandemic could cost U.S. $683 billion

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released a new report today that finds a severe pandemic flu outbreak could result in the second worst recession in the U.S. since World War II. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could drop over 5.5 percent, leading to an estimated $683 billion loss.

22 Mar 2007

Emergency responses greatly increase risk to firefighters for heart disease

Firefighters engage in a dangerous occupation, risking life-threatening burns and smoke inhalation, among other hazards. So it may surprise some that the leading cause of death on duty among U.S. firefighters is coronary heart disease (CHD).

22 Mar 2007

Treating sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure reduces incidence of stroke

Patients with moderate to severe sleep apnea who have significantly higher serum levels of inflammatory markers that serve as precursors to coronary artery disease, as well as lesions associated with silent brain infarction, have an elevated risk of stroke, according to a group of Japanese medical researchers.

19 Mar 2007

FDA approves Soliris (eculizumab), first treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Soliris (eculizumab), the first product for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), a rare type of blood disorder that can lead to disability and premature death.

19 Mar 2007

Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B cases at lowest levels ever reported

The three most common forms of acute viral hepatitis in the United States -- hepatitis A, B and C -- declined dramatically between 1995 and 2005, with hepatitis A and B at the lowest levels ever recorded since the government began collecting surveillance data more than 40 years ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Hepatitis B and C are diseases that can lead to liver cancer and death.

15 Mar 2007

Obesity at the time of prostate-cancer diagnosis dramatically increases the risk of dying from the disease

Obese men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer have more than two-and-a-half times the risk of dying from the disease as compared to men of normal weight at the time of diagnosis, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

15 Mar 2007

Public Health News and Research

Should male circumcision be recommended for the prevention of HIV infection?

Why better TB care in Africa is in European interests

FDA releases final report on 2006 E.coli spinach outbreak

Medications plus lifestyle changes work as well as angioplasty to reduce deaths in stable heart-disease patients

Why people eat the foods they do

Happy schools lead to lower levels of substance abuse and teen pregnancy

Progress towards better access to pandemic influenza vaccines for developing countries

Controlling HIV/AIDS in India - an immense challenge

Georgia approves bill requiring doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

Global tuberculosis epidemic has levelled off

Thailand, pharmaceutical companies to continue talks on compulsory drug licenses

Hong Kong and China's Guangdong province will increase joint HIV surveillance and prevention efforts

AACR's Sixth Annual Landon Awards recognize Richard Kolodner, Douglas Lowy and John Schiller

U.S. tuberculosis rates all-time low in 2006

Flu pandemic could cost U.S. $683 billion

Emergency responses greatly increase risk to firefighters for heart disease

Treating sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure reduces incidence of stroke

FDA approves Soliris (eculizumab), first treatment for paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

Hepatitis A and Hepatitis B cases at lowest levels ever reported

Obesity at the time of prostate-cancer diagnosis dramatically increases the risk of dying from the disease

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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