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PATH to pave the way for cervical cancer vaccines in the developing world

The global health nonprofit PATH has launched a five-year effort to make sure that new cervical cancer vaccines - the first vaccines developed and approved just for women's health - reach women in the developing world.

9 Jun 2006

Clipping or coiling aneurysms - study

A study led by UCSF neurologist S. Claiborne Johnston, MD, has shown that coiling of ruptured brain aneurysms is very effective during long-term follow-up, similar to outcomes with surgical clipping.

31 May 2006

WHO suffers tragic loss of a visionary leader

The Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Lee Jong-wook of South Korea, has died suddenly following surgery for a blood clot on the brain.

22 May 2006

WHO report says rich must stop poaching medical staff from poor

A critical shortage of doctors and nurses is causing unnecessary disease and death across much of the developing world as rich nations poach health-care workers.

10 Apr 2006

More than a billion may suffer from vitamin D deficiency

More than a billion may suffer from vitamin D deficiency. Consequences may be more severe than thought. Prominent clinician calls for action.

6 Apr 2006

HIV infection rates down one-third in south India

A University of Toronto Indo-Canadian study reports a remarkable one-third decline in new HIV infections in the worst hit regions of India, indicating that with condom use and awareness programs, the country's AIDS epidemic is far from hopeless.

3 Apr 2006

Will the next pandemic be tuberculosis?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S., drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) are on the rise and present the threat of a pandemic.

26 Mar 2006

Scientists create a mosquito resistant to Type 2 dengue fever virus

Researchers have successfully created a genetically engineered mosquito that shows a high level of resistance against the most prevalent type of dengue fever virus, providing a powerful weapon against a disease that infects 50 million people each year.

9 Mar 2006

New neoprene suit helps save the lives of women suffering from obstetrical hemorrhaging due to childbirth

A simple, low-tech garment has the potential to prevent a major cause of death among women who give birth in many Third World countries, according to a new study by maternal health researchers.

1 Mar 2006

Australian researchers design portable diagnostic system to identify bird flu in a human sample within 2 hours

Avian Influenza (commonly known as bird flu) poses a serious threat to global health with experts predicting it could seriously affect millions of people worldwide.

24 Feb 2006

Sanofi pasteur delivers more H5N1 vaccines to U.S. Government

Sanofi pasteur has delivered more H5N1 vaccine to the U.S. government including investigational doses formulated with an adjuvant.

7 Feb 2006

New web resource provides easy access to global health data

GlobalHealthFacts.org - a new and freely available website with the latest country and region-specific data on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other key health indicators - was launched today by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit, private operating foundation focused on health care issues.

10 Jan 2006

Gene discovery may reinvigorate the body's immune system after fighting viral infections

Like boxers wearied by a 15-round bout, the immune system's CD8 T cells eventually become "exhausted" in their battle against persistent viral infection, and less effective in fighting the disease.

29 Dec 2005

ASEAN stockpiles bird flu drug in Malaysia

The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is presently meeting in Kuala Lumpur, has agreed this week to create a stockpile of antiviral drugs to combat the deadly spread of bird flu throughout the region.

12 Dec 2005

Mongolian birds provide Avian influenza virus samples

Avian influenza virus samples collected from wild birds in Mongolia by field veterinarians from the New York City-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have been selected by the World Health Organization to be part of a new human pandemic influenza vaccine currently in development.

7 Nov 2005

Updated vaccine against cervical cancer provides longer sustainable response

Drug company GlaxoSmithKline says that it's updated vaccine against the human papillomavirus (HPV), has produced a stronger immune response, than the original formula of the vaccine.

2 Nov 2005

Vaginal gel shown to protect female monkeys against an HIV-like virus

Research with female monkeys at the Tulane National Primate Research Center has for the first time shown that three different anti-viral agents in a vaginal gel protect the animals against an HIV-like virus.

1 Nov 2005

New strategies to help developing countries address neglected diseases

For the health challenges facing developing countries, the numbers alone are staggering. Every day, 40,000 people - enough to fill a sports stadium - die from preventable infectious diseases and malnutrition. Entire generations of human potential are perishing.

25 Oct 2005

Circumcision shown to significantly reduce the rate of HIV infections among heterosexual men

The peer-reviewed results of the first trial of the effect of male circumcision on HIV infection, which some experts call "a landmark trial," will be published in PLoS Medicine on October 25. The trial found that circumcision reduced the rate of new infections among heterosexual men in South Africa by about 60%.

25 Oct 2005

Separate guidelines needed for the treatment of organophosphorus insecticide self-poisoning

Organophosphorus insecticide poisoning is a major global health problem, with hundreds of thousands of deaths each year. Most of these are in developing countries but this type of poisoning is also an important type of self-poisoning in the developed countries.

20 Oct 2005