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UNEP should work to bring about safe alternatives to DDT for malaria vector control

Some countries in Africa "still rely on dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) for malaria vector control," therefore "[i]t is ... problematic that the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), without the consent of member states, and violating its own treaties, exerts relentless pressure to ban DDT globally," Richard Tren, director of Africa Fighting Malaria, and Richard Nchabi Kamwi, Nambia's minister of health and social services, write in a BMJ opinion piece.

12 Oct 2012

Medicare penalties for hospital-acquired infections didn't cut infection rate, study finds

The research, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at the effect of a 2008 change that cut payments to hospitals for treating infections that patients received while hospitalized.

12 Oct 2012

Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces

Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces far from infected patients' beds, according to University of Leeds researchers.

12 Oct 2012

Zimbabwean AIDS activists march to National AIDS Council demanding accountability for AIDS levy funds

AIDS activists in Zimbabwe this week marched to the Harare headquarters of the country's National AIDS Council (NAC) and "demand[ed] the government account for millions of dollars it is raising through an AIDS-related tax," VOA News reports.

12 Oct 2012

Alverix receives FDA 510(k) clearance for new BD Veritor System kit

Alverix, Inc., a world leader in the design and manufacture of next-generation platforms for diagnostic Point-of-Care (POC) testing, today announced that BD Diagnostics, a segment of Becton Dickinson and Company, a leading global medical technology company, received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for nasopharyngeal wash, aspirate and swab in transport media specimens on the BD VeritorTM System for Rapid Detection of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

12 Oct 2012

Nelfinavir slows progress of HER2-positive tumor cells

After screening more than 2,300 drugs for their ability to halt the growth of breast cancer cells, Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered that the anti-HIV drug nelfinavir slows the progress of HER2-positive tumor cells, even if they are resistant to other breast cancer drugs.

12 Oct 2012

New mass spectrometry helps identify bacteria in clinical specimens within minutes

New mass spectrometry technology is helping Le Bonheur Children's physicians analyze microbiology samples quickly - identifying specific bacteria present in a sample within minutes.

11 Oct 2012

Examining funding for TB treatment in Europe

In a BMJ Group Blogs post, Caroline Robinson, global health advocacy manager for Results U.K., discusses the prevalence and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) and drug-resistant TB in Europe and provides the example of Romania.

11 Oct 2012

People living near livestock may be at increased risk of LA-MRSA

People who live near livestock or in livestock farming communities may be at greater risk of acquiring, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA), according to a new study led by an international team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Dutch Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam.

11 Oct 2012

Activists propose new model to fight HIV/AIDS in Kenya

"Twenty-eight years since the first HIV/AIDS case was reported in Kenya, organizations are proposing a new model to fight the epidemic," Sabahi reports. "The model, called 'SAVE,' an acronym for 'Safer practices, Access to treatment, Voluntary counseling and testing, and Empowerment,' hopes to improve the traditional ABC model, which focused on 'Abstinence, Being faithful, and using Condoms,'" the news service adds.

11 Oct 2012

African governments take steps to increase political support for NTD control

"This past June, more than 100 participants gathered in Accra, Ghana, for the Regional Stakeholders' Consultative Meeting on Neglected Tropical Diseases hosted by the WHO-AFRO to discuss the challenges, resources requirements, and goals to controlling and eliminating Africa's NTDs," the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' "End the Neglect" blog reports.

11 Oct 2012

Study finds how MAIT cells recognize products of vitamin B synthesis from bacteria and yeast

An Australian research team has discovered how specialised immune cells recognise products of vitamin B synthesis that are unique to bacteria and yeast, triggering the body to fight infection.

11 Oct 2012

Revamped South African National AIDS Council begins work reviewing national plan

South Africa "recently unveiled" a "newly reformed" South African National AIDS Council (SANAC), "coinciding with the announcement that the country has achieved universal access to HIV treatment," PlusNews reports.

11 Oct 2012

Blog interviews medical researcher about proposed blueprint for AIDS-free generation

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog interviews Kenneth Mayer, founding medical research director of Fenway Health, as part of its "Blueprint" series, which examines issues surrounding the creation of a blueprint for an AIDS-free generation commissioned by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July.

11 Oct 2012

Gender Action report examines international bank spending on reproductive health, HIV/AIDS

Gender Action recently released a new report, titled "Banking on Health: World Bank and African Development Bank Spending on Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa," according to the organization's website.

11 Oct 2012

Xenex Healthcare Services receives GSA contract to purchase room disinfection systems

Xenex Healthcare Services, the world leader in UV room disinfection systems, today announced it has been awarded a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) contract, making it even easier for federal agencies (including Veterans Affairs hospital systems) to purchase Xenex's room disinfection systems.

11 Oct 2012

New mechanism may alter principle understandings of molecular interactions within a cell's nucleus

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, with collaborators from Harvard University, the University of Madrid, Princeton University, and the University of Zurich, have discovered a new mechanism that may alter principle understandings of molecular interactions within a cell's nucleus.

11 Oct 2012

Viewpoints: Wis. Senate candidates Thompson, Baldwin offer competing views of health law; 'Disturbing lack' of oversight of compounding pharmacies

The meningitis outbreak that has sickened at least 119 people and killed 11 of them has laid bare a disturbing lack of regulatory oversight of pharmacies that mix drug compounds and ship them around the country. Unless Congress passes legislation to strengthen the hand of the Food and Drug Administration, the public will continue to be at risk from contaminated products.

11 Oct 2012

No link between HPV vaccination and increased sexual activity in adolescent girls

A study published in Vaccine reveals that contrary to recent discussions, the HPV vaccination does not increase sexual activity in adolescent girls.

10 Oct 2012

U-M researchers to better understand HIV virus on a molecular level

A new $21-million grant will help researchers at the University of Michigan Health System better understand the HIV virus on a molecular level, potentially paving the way for new treatment approaches to AIDS and other diseases.

10 Oct 2012

Disease/Infection News

UNEP should work to bring about safe alternatives to DDT for malaria vector control

Medicare penalties for hospital-acquired infections didn't cut infection rate, study finds

Hospital superbugs can float on air currents and contaminate surfaces

Zimbabwean AIDS activists march to National AIDS Council demanding accountability for AIDS levy funds

Alverix receives FDA 510(k) clearance for new BD Veritor System kit

Nelfinavir slows progress of HER2-positive tumor cells

New mass spectrometry helps identify bacteria in clinical specimens within minutes

Examining funding for TB treatment in Europe

People living near livestock may be at increased risk of LA-MRSA

Activists propose new model to fight HIV/AIDS in Kenya

African governments take steps to increase political support for NTD control

Study finds how MAIT cells recognize products of vitamin B synthesis from bacteria and yeast

Revamped South African National AIDS Council begins work reviewing national plan

Blog interviews medical researcher about proposed blueprint for AIDS-free generation

Gender Action report examines international bank spending on reproductive health, HIV/AIDS

Xenex Healthcare Services receives GSA contract to purchase room disinfection systems

New mechanism may alter principle understandings of molecular interactions within a cell's nucleus

Viewpoints: Wis. Senate candidates Thompson, Baldwin offer competing views of health law; 'Disturbing lack' of oversight of compounding pharmacies

No link between HPV vaccination and increased sexual activity in adolescent girls

U-M researchers to better understand HIV virus on a molecular level

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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