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New Pope will need to consider burden of NTDs

"Almost certainly, in its deliberations [to select a new Pope,] the conclave of cardinals will consider a number of difficult and well-publicized problems now facing the Catholic Church," Peter Hotez, co-editor in chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, writes in the journal's "Speaking of Medicine" blog.

14 Mar 2013

Placing issue of HIV among drug users on global agenda

"In wide-ranging opening remarks to the current session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, the Executive Director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yury Fedotov placed HIV and drug use at the heart of the global agenda," UNAIDS reports in an article on its webpage.

14 Mar 2013

Peter Piot to be recognized with Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Research

Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, will be awarded the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Research, the Government of Japan have announced.

14 Mar 2013

Research reveals new approaches for protecting children from pesticide exposure

New research on household pesticide contamination emphasizes the need for less reliance on pesticides and more emphasis on neatness, blocking cracks where insects can enter and other so-called "integrated pest management" measures, scientists have concluded.

14 Mar 2013

More frequent HIV testing would be cost-effective for high- and low-risk groups, researchers report

Early HIV treatment can save lives as well as have profound prevention benefits. But those infected with the virus first must be identified before they can be helped.

14 Mar 2013

Mozambique to begin widespread use of GeneXpert TB testing machine

The Guardian reports on the rollout of the GeneXpert tuberculosis testing machine in Mozambique, where it "should speed up TB diagnosis from two to three months to two hours."

14 Mar 2013

New paper examines long-term damage that political strife can do to public health

As Kenyan citizens negotiated the tensions following the March 4 nationwide elections, memories of the violence that followed the December 2007 vote weighed heavily for many reasons.

14 Mar 2013

Study: Contaminated water used to dilute pesticides could be source of human norovirus

Human norovirus, also known as the winter vomiting bug, is one of the most common stomach bugs in the world. The virus is highly contagious, causing vomiting and diarrhea, and the number of affected cases is growing.

14 Mar 2013

Research findings have potential implications for treating human infections

Half of the world's human population is infected with the stomach bacteria called Helicobacter pylori, yet it causes disease in only about 10 percent of those infected. Other bacteria living in the stomach may be a key factor in whether or not H. pylori causes disease, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

14 Mar 2013

Examining the Global Fund's new funding model

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog features an interview with Deborah Derrick, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in which she discusses the Global Fund's new funding model.

13 Mar 2013

Haiti fighting cholera by recycling human waste into fertilizer

The Guardian describes a program being run by Soil (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods) in Haiti, in which human waste is being collected and recycled "into fertile soil, simultaneously helping to fight cholera and deforestation, and revive food production."

13 Mar 2013

Implications of IOM PEPFAR evaluation for Global Fund

"The U.S. Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences recently completed a congressionally mandated impact evaluation of the PEPFAR HIV/AIDS program, which is the single largest ever health initiative of the U.S. government," Todd Summers, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) Global Health Policy Center, writes in the center's "Smart Global Health" blog.

13 Mar 2013

Thanking Japan for its commitment to the Global Fund

In a post in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's blog, Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul notes "[t]he contribution Japan made in 2012 was the highest annual amount that the country had made in 10 years of remarkable support to the fight against HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through the Global Fund."

13 Mar 2013

Researchers determine way to predict and protect against new strains of flu virus

Researchers have determined a way to predict and protect against new strains of the flu virus, in the hope of improving immunity against the disease.

13 Mar 2013

New, inexpensive nano-biosensor can detect Listeria monocytogenes in food

The foodborne bacteria Listeria monocytogenes sickens about 2,500 people in the U.S. each year and many more worldwide, killing about 25-30% of those infected. Listeriosis is caused by eating food contaminated with L. monocytogenes, and current methods for detecting the bacteria are costly and time consuming.

13 Mar 2013

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement: an interview with Judit Rius, Médecins Sans Frontières

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade deal currently being negotiated between eleven countries of the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, United States, Singapore and Vietnam.

12 Mar 2013

Chimerix receives FDA Fast Track designation for CMX001 to prevent CMV infection

Chimerix, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing novel, oral antivirals in areas of high unmet medical need, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Fast Track designation for CMX001 for the prevention of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection.

12 Mar 2013

Drug to treat leishmaniasis fails in 20% of patients, study shows

"One in five people treated for a serious form of leishmaniasis in Nepal relapse after a year," Nature reports, adding, "The finding, published in Clinical Infectious Diseases last month, is 'an alarming signal' for campaigns to eliminate the neglected disease, say researchers."

12 Mar 2013

Listen to women's needs when designing HIV prevention strategies

According to "results from a large HIV prevention trial among African women" known as VOICE and released last week, "none of the prevention methods tested in the study made a difference in HIV infection rates, because few women actually used them as directed," AVAC Executive Director Mitchell Warren writes in an opinion piece published in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

12 Mar 2013

Super gonorrhea spreads important health message to Parliament House

NPS MedicineWise launched its policy priorities in Canberra, spreading super gonorrhea toys around Parliament House to highlight the importance of fighting antibiotic resistance.

12 Mar 2013