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Media examine reaction to, potential implications of 'functional cure' of infant born with HIV

"The remarkable case of a baby being cured of HIV infection in the United States using readily available drugs has raised new hope for eradicating the infection in infants worldwide, but scientists say it will take a lot more research and much more sensitive diagnostics before this hope becomes a reality," Reuters reports.

6 Mar 2013

AHRQ releases Making Health Care Safer II report

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a new report, Making Health Care Safer II, which identifies the top 10, evidence-based patient safety strategies available to clinicians.

6 Mar 2013

Prevention remains best method to stop mother-to-child HIV transmission

"If confirmed by further analysis," the case of a Mississippi infant being cured of HIV "would be the first time a person has been cured with simple drug treatments, making a lifetime of antiviral therapy unnecessary," a New York Times editorial states.

6 Mar 2013

Editorial, opinion piece address U.N.'s denial of claims for compensation for Haiti cholera victims

The U.N. in February denied claims for compensation from 5,000 victims of the Haiti cholera epidemic, stating the claims were "non-receivable" under article 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

6 Mar 2013

New report focuses on strengthening U.S. response to illness outbreaks

The Center for Biosecurity of UPMC today released online ahead of print a new report, When Good Food Goes Bad: Strengthening the US Response to Foodborne Disease Outbreaks. The authors analyzed existing data and studies on foodborne illness outbreak response, identified emerging trends, and interviewed dozens of federal and state-level officials and experts from industry, professional organizations, academia, and relevant international organizations.

6 Mar 2013

Automatic cuts to take toll on community health centers

Estimates suggest these centers will serve about 900,000 fewer patients in 2013 because of the sequester.

6 Mar 2013

Case of immigrant with XDR-TB shows global vulnerability to infectious diseases, Wall Street Journal reports

The Wall Street Journal profiles the case of a man infected with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) who is being detained in South Texas after a "three-month odyssey through 13 countries -- from his homeland of Nepal through South Asia, Brazil, Mexico, and finally into Texas -- show[ing] the way in which dangerous new strains of the disease can migrate across the world unchecked."

6 Mar 2013

Study shows community-based HIV-prevention efforts increase testing rates, reduce HIV incidence

In Africa and Thailand, communities that worked together on HIV-prevention efforts saw not only a rise in HIV screening but a drop in new infections, according to a new study presented this week at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

6 Mar 2013

Women's low adherence to daily-dose products in HIV prevention trial suggest different approach needed, researchers say

"Results of a major HIV prevention trial suggest that daily use of a product -- whether a vaginal gel or an oral tablet -- does not appear to be the right approach for preventing HIV in young, unmarried African women," a press release from the Microbicide Trials Network reports.

6 Mar 2013

National Jewish Health receives U.S. patent for POPG and related compounds

Dennis Voelker, PhD, professor of medicine at National Jewish Health, has been awarded a U.S. patent (#8,367,643) for various lipids and related compounds that can inhibit inflammation and infection in the lungs, especially those caused by influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

5 Mar 2013

GlobalPost reports on IOM evaluation of PEPFAR

GlobalPost reports on "an independent evaluation of the President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), released February 20 by the Institute of Medicine (IOM)," writing that the report "lauded the program's achievements as proof that HIV services can be delivered successfully on a large scale" and "also recommended several changes to the program, to ensure that the HIV/AIDS response is sustainable."

5 Mar 2013

U.S. researchers report 'functional cure' for infant born with HIV

"A baby born with the virus that causes AIDS appears to have been cured, scientists announced Sunday, describing the case of a child from Mississippi who's now two and a half and has been off medication for about a year with no signs of active infection," the Associated Press reports.

5 Mar 2013

Special envoy for malaria Ray Chambers to help secure investment for achieving health-related MDGs

"Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has tasked Ray Chambers, who has served as his special envoy for malaria since 2008, with promoting and securing greater investment to achieve the health-related targets within the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," the U.N. News Centre reports.

5 Mar 2013

Discovery provides clues for potentially eliminating HIV infection in children

A two-year-old child born with HIV infection and treated with antiretroviral drugs beginning in the first days of life no longer has detectable levels of virus using conventional testing despite not taking HIV medication for 10 months, according to findings presented today at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Atlanta.

5 Mar 2013

HIV might promote aging and disease progression in people with HCV, study results suggest

Infectious disease experts at Johns Hopkins have found that among people infected with the hepatitis C virus, co-infection with HIV, speeds damage and scarring of liver tissue by almost a decade.

5 Mar 2013

Sanford-Burnham enters into partnership to test furin for treatment of dengue fever

Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute and 60- Pharmaceuticals, LLC, have entered into a partnership to test furin, a human proteinase, as a drug target for the treatment of dengue fever, one of the most common infectious diseases in the tropics and subtropics.

5 Mar 2013

Editorial, opinion piece address efforts to eradicate polio

The Independent recently published an editorial and opinion piece discussing the global effort to eradicate polio.

5 Mar 2013

Examining NTD response in Obama's second term

"As President Obama's second term begins to take shape and new faces assume new leadership roles, many in Washington are trying to gauge what will happen to global health," Michelle Brooks, policy director at the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), writes in the organization's "End the Neglect" blog.

5 Mar 2013

Study finds antiretroviral-based strategies to prevent HIV infection among women prove ineffective

Three antiretroviral-based strategies intended to prevent HIV infection among women did not prove effective in a major clinical trial in Africa.

5 Mar 2013

Results of two important studies published in March issue of AIDS

The results of two important studies have been published in the March issue of AIDS, the official journal of the International AIDS Society. One study notes that screening for HIV should be performed more frequently—up to every three months for the highest-risk patients, while low-risk groups to be tested every three years. A second study demonstrates a link between heavy drinking and risky behaviors for men who have sex with men (MSM).

5 Mar 2013

Disease/Infection News

Media examine reaction to, potential implications of 'functional cure' of infant born with HIV

AHRQ releases Making Health Care Safer II report

Prevention remains best method to stop mother-to-child HIV transmission

Editorial, opinion piece address U.N.'s denial of claims for compensation for Haiti cholera victims

New report focuses on strengthening U.S. response to illness outbreaks

Automatic cuts to take toll on community health centers

Case of immigrant with XDR-TB shows global vulnerability to infectious diseases, Wall Street Journal reports

Study shows community-based HIV-prevention efforts increase testing rates, reduce HIV incidence

Women's low adherence to daily-dose products in HIV prevention trial suggest different approach needed, researchers say

National Jewish Health receives U.S. patent for POPG and related compounds

GlobalPost reports on IOM evaluation of PEPFAR

U.S. researchers report 'functional cure' for infant born with HIV

Special envoy for malaria Ray Chambers to help secure investment for achieving health-related MDGs

Discovery provides clues for potentially eliminating HIV infection in children

HIV might promote aging and disease progression in people with HCV, study results suggest

Sanford-Burnham enters into partnership to test furin for treatment of dengue fever

Editorial, opinion piece address efforts to eradicate polio

Examining NTD response in Obama's second term

Study finds antiretroviral-based strategies to prevent HIV infection among women prove ineffective

Results of two important studies published in March issue of AIDS

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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