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Study: Pradaxa drug may increase risk and severity of viral infections

A study led by researchers at the University of North Carolina indicates that a newly approved blood thinner that blocks a key component of the human blood clotting system may increase the risk and severity of certain viral infections, including flu and myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart and a significant cause of sudden death in children and young adults.

2 Apr 2013

HAP caused by exposure to biomass fuels increases mortality risk

Almost four million people die each year from household air pollution (HAP) caused by exposure to the combustion of biomass fuels (wood, charcoal, crop residues, and dung), kerosene, or coal.

2 Apr 2013

Inovio Pharmaceuticals reports release of phase II clinical trial results of ChronVac-C

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced the release of preliminary clinical trial results by its collaborator ChronTech AS of their open label phase II clinical study of ChronVac-C, ChronTech's vaccine to treat hepatitis C virus infection.

2 Apr 2013

New strain of avian flu kills two Chinese men, officials say

"Two people in China have died and another remains critical after falling ill with a strain of bird flu not detected before in humans, the official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported," CNN reports (Mullen, 4/1).

2 Apr 2013

IRIN examines British plan to improve health care services in DRC

IRIN examines Britain's new $270 million plan to improve health care services in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

2 Apr 2013

Bill Gates recounts tour of Ghana's health systems

Writing in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, foundation co-chair Bill Gates recounts his recent trip to Ghana, where he "got to watch an effective health system in action -- from the decision makers at the national level to nurses who live and work in the villages."

2 Apr 2013

Scientists get inside look at how AIDS virus grooms its assault team

A new study by Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Pennsylvania scientists defines previously unknown properties of transmitted HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS.

2 Apr 2013

Post-disinfection clips retain aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, says study

Researchers at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and the Forsyth Institute published a study today that found that a significant proportion of dental bib clips harbored bacteria from the patient, dental clinician and the environment even after the clips had undergone standard disinfection procedures in a hygiene clinic.

2 Apr 2013

New research discovery in mosquitoes could lead to possible tools for controlling malaria

A surprising research discovery in mosquitoes could affect future prospects for malaria control. A team of scientists from West Africa, the United States and the United Kingdom found that the mosquito, Anopheles gambiae, which was thought to be splitting into two completely new species, may actually have a more complex range of forms due to frequent inter-mating.

2 Apr 2013

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals receives preliminary comment letter from FDA on peramivir

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it received a preliminary comment letter from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration that outlines a pathway by which BioCryst could file a New Drug Application seeking regulatory approval of intravenous (i.v.) peramivir.

1 Apr 2013

Post-2015 development agenda must address global health

"A proliferation of complex challenges to development, such as political conflict, economic austerity, and environmental degradation, all demand attention, but should not deflect from recognizing that good health is central to advancing global prosperity," GAVI Alliance CEO Seth Berkley, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria Executive Director Mark Dybul, World Bank Sector Manager for Health in Latin America Keith Hansen, UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake, UNFPA Executive Director Babatunde Osotimehin, and UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé, write in a Lancet opinion piece examining the post-2015 development agenda.

30 Mar 2013

Incorporating informal health providers into TB treatment, care

According to a literature review recently published in PLoS One, informal health providers account for "nine percent to 90 percent of all health care interactions in low- and middle-income countries (depending on the country, the disease in question and the methods of measurement)," Gina Lagomarsino, a principal and managing director at Results for Development Institute (R4D), writes in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

30 Mar 2013

New technique for vaccine design could prove useful against HIV, other viral strains

A team led by scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) and the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) has unveiled a new technique for vaccine design that could be particularly useful against HIV and other fast-changing viruses.

30 Mar 2013

UNAIDS reports on Russian G20 Sherpa visit

"In her first visit to Geneva as Russian G20 Sherpa, Ksenia Yudaeva" -- Chief of the Presidential Experts Directorate -- "visited UNAIDS Headquarters for a broad-ranging discussion on global issues that are priorities for the Russian Presidency of the G20, including civil society participation, youth empowerment and development for all," UNAIDS reports in an article on its webpage.

30 Mar 2013

Washington Post examines HIV, TB epidemics in Russia

The Washington Post examines how the HIV and tuberculosis epidemics are affecting Russia, where "HIV/AIDS was the third-largest cause of premature death," according to recently released data in the Global Burden of Disease Study 2012.

30 Mar 2013

Hong Kong researchers examine health risks of new SARS-like virus

"A new coronavirus that emerged in the Middle East last fall could be deadlier than the SARS virus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed 774 people between 2002 and 2003, researchers from the University of Hong Kong said ... in a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases this week," GlobalPost reports.

30 Mar 2013

Global Coalition of TB Activists lends voice to international discourse

"The Global Coalition of TB Activists came together at a February Stop TB Partnership meeting in Geneva, [an] announcement says, with the aim of closing gaps that leave those most affected by tuberculosis out of decision making at local, national, and global levels," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

30 Mar 2013

Experts discuss inclusion of HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation in post-2015 development agenda

"As a U.N. high-level panel completes worldwide consultations to pick development goals for 2015 and beyond, PlusNews consulted experts to see how HIV/AIDS might fit into this new agenda," according the news service.

30 Mar 2013

Oklahoma dentist called 'menace to the public health'

Dr. W. Scott Harrington faces an April 19 hearing over unsanitary conditions that may have exposed patients to hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV infection.

30 Mar 2013

Religion, religious leaders have been central to health, development improvements in Africa

"After decades of doom-and-gloom news about AIDS in Africa, optimism is finally in the air," Jenny Trinitapoli, an assistant professor of sociology, demography, and religious studies at Penn State University, and Alexander Weinreb, an associate professor in the department of sociology and a research associate at the Population Research Center of the University of Texas, Austin, write in a Slate opinion piece.

30 Mar 2013