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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Views on AIDS: Despite advances, still no cure, no vaccine, and indifference grows

The story of the AIDS pandemic has been grim for so long that optimism seems hardly possible. But as the 19th International AIDS conference opens in Washington on Sunday, there is hope for control of a disease that has killed nearly 35 million people over three decades and 1.7 million in the past year.

23 Jul 2012

Implementing multifaceted global effort may help end global HIV/AIDS pandemic

Ending the global HIV/AIDS pandemic may be possible by implementing a multifaceted global effort that expands testing, treatment, and prevention programs, as well as meets the scientific challenges of developing an HIV vaccine and possibly a cure, according to a Viewpoint in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

All adult patients with HIV should be offered ART: International Antiviral Society-USA panel

Included in the 2012 International Antiviral Society-USA panel recommendations for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patient care is that all adult patients, regardless of CD4 cell count, should be offered antiretroviral therapy (ART), according to an article in the July 25 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

23 Jul 2012

BioDiem presents positive findings of their eye disease drug at international conference

Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company BioDiem Ltd (ASX: BDM) today announced positive results from formal studies of its BDM-E eye disease drug, presented over 21 – 22 July at the International Society for Eye Research (ISER) meeting in Berlin, Germany. The ISER convenes leading researchers and clinicians in the area of eye disease.

22 Jul 2012

International HIV/AIDS funding to African nations inadequate, MSF says

"African nations are not receiving adequate international funding to fight HIV/AIDS, leaving them to face catastrophic consequences without enough medication, an independent, global medical and humanitarian organization said Thursday," the Associated Press reports.

21 Jul 2012

New CHAIT initiative on development of novel immunological therapeutic interventions

The CHAIT initiative is a public-private partnership focusing on the development of novel immunological therapeutic interventions to achieve a 'functional HIV cure' with the ultimate goal of HIV eradication.

21 Jul 2012

Natural compound can virtually eradicate HIV in infected culture cells

A new study by scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute shows, in cell culture, a natural compound can virtually eliminate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected cells. The compound defines a novel class of HIV anti-viral drugs endowed with the capacity to repress viral replication in acutely and chronically infected cells.

20 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Researchers see potential to control HIV pandemic; The 'ceaseless attacks' on women's reproductive health

We are at a moment of extraordinary optimism in the response to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A series of scientific breakthroughs ... have the potential to markedly expand the available preventive tools. There is evidence of the first cure of an HIV-infected person. And most important, the finding that early initiation of antiretroviral therapy can both improve individual patient outcomes and reduce the risk of HIV transmission to sexual partners by 96% has led many to assert what had so long seemed impossible: that control of the HIV pandemic may be achievable.

20 Jul 2012

BioDiem signs agreement with RMIT to create new non-influenza vaccines

Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company BioDiem Ltd (ASX: BDM) today announced that BioDiem has signed an agreement with The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) regarding a research program that will investigate the use of BioDiem’s live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV) to create new non-influenza vaccines. Developing the potential of the LAIV technology for new indications is an important part of BioDiem’s strategy, and this research is part of the work towards that goal.

19 Jul 2012

Drug treatments, scientific advances fuel hope for HIV control as AIDS 2012 conference draws near

"A cure for AIDS remains a distant prospect but a host of drug treatments and other advances have fueled fresh hope that new HIV infections may someday be halted for good," Agence France-Presse reports.

17 Jul 2012

AIDS 2012 conference to discuss problem of HIV in Black community

In a series of presentations, panel discussions, and training sessions at the 2012 International AIDS Conference (AIDS2012), the Black AIDS Institute (The Institute) will bring together leaders in medicine, politics, journalism, and the arts to discuss the problem of HIV/ AIDS in the Black Community.

16 Jul 2012

International AIDS Conference must focus on combination prevention strategies to fight AIDS among women

Highlighting statistics showing how HIV affects more women than men worldwide, Serra Sippel, president of the Center for Health and Gender Equity (CHANGE), writes in a Huffington Post "Global Motherhood" blog post, "The XIX International AIDS Conference is coming to Washington, D.C., in two weeks and it must be different from its predecessors for one reason: HIV is now a woman's plague."

13 Jul 2012

PLoS Medicine papers examine HIV treatment as prevention

Early treatment with antiretroviral medication can significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission to an uninfected sexual partner, "but many logistical hurdles stand in the way of making this strategy feasible, affordable and effective, according to experts writing in Tuesday's edition of the journal PLoS Medicine," the Los Angeles Times reports.

12 Jul 2012

Health risks associated with H1N1 vaccine investigated

Results from two studies published in JAMA show that the H1N1 vaccination is associated with a small, but significant, increase in risk for Guillain-Barré syndrome in adults, but does not increase the risk for birth defects or problems when given to pregnant women.

11 Jul 2012

Exposure to H1N1 vaccine in pregnancy does not increase risk of adverse fetal outcomes

In studies examining the risk of adverse outcomes after receipt of the influenza A(H1N1) vaccine, infants exposed to the vaccine in utero did not have a significantly increased risk of major birth defects, preterm birth, or fetal growth restriction; while in another, study researchers found a small increased risk in adults of the nervous system disorder, Guillain-Barre syndrome, during the 4 to 8 weeks after vaccination, according to 2 studies in the July 11 issue of JAMA.

11 Jul 2012

Study assesses risk of GBS following H1N1 vaccine administration

Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is usually characterized by rapidly developing motor weakness and areflexia (the absence of reflexes). "The disease is thought to be autoimmune and triggered by a stimulus of external origin. In 1976-1977, an unusually high rate of GBS was identified in the United States following the administration of inactivated 'swine' influenza A(H1N1) vaccines.

11 Jul 2012

Einstein researchers to study molecular mechanism behind Ebola virus infection

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a five-year, $4.8 million grant to study the molecular mechanism that allows the Ebola virus to cause infection and spread in animals.

10 Jul 2012

Merck, PDS Biotechnology enter licensing agreement for Versamune

PDS Biotechnology Corporation announced today that they have entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, for use of PDS Biotechnology's novel Versamune nanotechnology platform in two of Merck's investigational antigen-specific cancer immunotherapies currently in pre-clinical development.

9 Jul 2012

FDA approves at-home HIV test, available in Oct.

The FDA has approved an at-home HIV test that gives results in under 40 minutes. The tests should be available in stores in October.

6 Jul 2012

Examining teenage pregnancy, maternal mortality in Africa

In this audio report in PRI's "The World," PRI anchor "Aaron Schachter talks to Agnes Odhiambo, a researcher on women's rights in Africa for New York-based Human Rights Watch, about the terrible toll of teenage pregnancy and childbirth in Africa."

6 Jul 2012

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Views on AIDS: Despite advances, still no cure, no vaccine, and indifference grows

Implementing multifaceted global effort may help end global HIV/AIDS pandemic

All adult patients with HIV should be offered ART: International Antiviral Society-USA panel

BioDiem presents positive findings of their eye disease drug at international conference

International HIV/AIDS funding to African nations inadequate, MSF says

New CHAIT initiative on development of novel immunological therapeutic interventions

Natural compound can virtually eradicate HIV in infected culture cells

Viewpoints: Researchers see potential to control HIV pandemic; The 'ceaseless attacks' on women's reproductive health

BioDiem signs agreement with RMIT to create new non-influenza vaccines

Drug treatments, scientific advances fuel hope for HIV control as AIDS 2012 conference draws near

AIDS 2012 conference to discuss problem of HIV in Black community

International AIDS Conference must focus on combination prevention strategies to fight AIDS among women

PLoS Medicine papers examine HIV treatment as prevention

Health risks associated with H1N1 vaccine investigated

Exposure to H1N1 vaccine in pregnancy does not increase risk of adverse fetal outcomes

Study assesses risk of GBS following H1N1 vaccine administration

Einstein researchers to study molecular mechanism behind Ebola virus infection

Merck, PDS Biotechnology enter licensing agreement for Versamune

FDA approves at-home HIV test, available in Oct.

Examining teenage pregnancy, maternal mortality in Africa

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