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Children have fewer components that strengthen their immune defense than adults do

Children have fewer components that strengthen their immune defense than adults do. This is shown in a mapping of children's saliva that was carried out at Malmö University in Sweden. The study may have found an explanation for children's inability to fend off infections.

27 Oct 2011

IAC enters cooperative agreement with NCIRD

The Immunization Action Coalition (IAC), one of the nation's premier sources of immunization information, and the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are entering into a cooperative agreement that will distribute IAC's highly regarded publications to pediatricians, family physicians, and other healthcare professionals involved in providing immunization services. The award is for $1.4 million over five years.

27 Oct 2011

Study: pGJA-P/VAX vaccine shows promise against dental caries

In a report on a preclinical investigation titled "Flagellin Enhances Saliva IgA Response and Protection of Anti-caries DNA Vaccine," lead author Wei Shi, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and his team of researchers demonstrate that anti-caries DNA vaccines, including pGJA-P/VAX, are promising for preventing dental caries. However, challenges remain because of the low immunogenicity of DNA vaccines.

27 Oct 2011

Study examines Global Fund's resource allocation decisions for HIV programs

A study published Wednesday in the Journal of the International AIDS Society assessed how the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's "investments in HIV programs were targeted to key populations in relation to disease burden and national income," concluding, "There has been a sustained scale up of the Global Fund's support to HIV programs.

27 Oct 2011

New genomic approach can trace food-borne bacteria with unprecedented accuracy

With salmonella-tainted ground turkey sickening more than 100 people and listeria-contaminated cantaloupes killing 15 this year, the ability to detect outbreaks of food-borne illness and determine their sources has become a top public health priority.

27 Oct 2011

Drug-resistant infections may not contribute to higher surgical ICU death rates

The rates of antibiotic-resistant infections in the intensive care unit (ICU) have increased over the last decade. But new research from the University of Virginia suggests that surgical ICU death rates may, in fact, be declining and that drug-resistant infections are not likely to be a significant factor in overall mortality rates.

27 Oct 2011

Council on Foreign Relations releases interactive map tracking vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks

The Council on Foreign Relations' Global Health program "has released a user-friendly interactive map on the web that tracks 'Vaccine-Preventable Disease Outbreaks' around the world," Stewart Patrick, senior fellow and director of the council's Program on International Institutions and Global Governance, writes on the group's website.

27 Oct 2011

Disconnecting global AIDS from reproductive health stalled efforts to expand family planning services, UNFPA head says

Babatunde Osotimehin, the executive director of the U.N. Population Fund (UNPFA), said in an interview with the Guardian that "efforts to expand family planning services in the developing world stalled for a decade while global health organizations turned their energies to fighting HIV/AIDS. 'We made a mistake. We disconnected HIV from reproductive health. We should never have done that because it is part and parcel,' he said."

27 Oct 2011

Addressing barriers to successful immunization programs important while vaccine development progresses

Immunizations can be a cost-effective means of disease prevention, but "[t]o reach the fully realized stage of cost-effectiveness, ... it is vital to acknowledge -- and more importantly, address -- the barriers that often prevent them from either being as cheap or as widely used as needed," Forbes contributor Sarika Bansal writes in a Forbes opinion piece.

27 Oct 2011

HIV screening can detect more cases if focused on high risk groups

“Unexpectedly, non-targeted screening identified only a few new diagnoses, often already at late stages, and most newly diagnosed patients belonged to a high-risk group and had been tested previously,” Dr. Kayigan Wilson d'Almeida and colleagues from the Emergency Department HIV-Screening Group write in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

26 Oct 2011

Patients with HIV are not being screened enough for cancers: Study

According to a latest study finding presented at the Infectious Diseases Society of America 49th Annual Meeting, patients with HIV were less likely to have routine screening for breast, cervical and colon cancer compared with patients without HIV.

26 Oct 2011

Effectiveness of present flu vaccines may not be satisfactory: Study

According to a report published online October 25 in The Lancet Infectious Diseases there are gaps in the evidence for the effectiveness of licensed influenza vaccines in the United States. Individuals who are at risk for medical complications or people who are aged 65 years or older are especially affected by the gaps, the researchers write.

26 Oct 2011

Anti-HIV vaginal gel could also reduce genital herpes by half: Study

The study appears this week in the journal Cell Host & Microbe that tested the gel on women in South Africa (where the risk of HIV and herpes is great) found that the anti-HIV/AIDS drug tenofovir reduced herpes infections by 51% and HIV infections by 39%.

24 Oct 2011

The unvaccinated population contributing to the measles outbreak

As the US faces its largest outbreak of measles in 15 years - affecting 214 children so far – new research suggests too many unvaccinated U.S. children could be the reason. Experts speculate that unfounded fears regarding safety of the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine leading to many children bring missed out could have led to this situation.

24 Oct 2011

Global Polio Eradication Initiative not on track to end transmission by 2012, report says

The latest quarterly report (.pdf) by an independent board that monitors the progress of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), released in mid-October, warned that "unless the program addresses 'fundamental problems,' there is a 'substantial risk' that stopping polio transmission will not be achieved by end-2012," AlertNet reports.

24 Oct 2011

Number of cholera cases to reach 500,000 by year's end, WHO says

The WHO on Friday "said the number of cholera cases in Haiti is expected to reach 500,000 by the end of the year" if current trends continue, Agence France-Presse reports.

24 Oct 2011

Scientists, WHO warn of public health implications of proposed mercury ban due to its use in vaccines

"Scientists are warning officials negotiating a global treaty on mercury that banning the deadly chemical completely would be dangerous for public health because of the chemical's use in vaccines," the Associated Press reports.

24 Oct 2011

Sustained 'vigilance and money' necessary to fight malaria

With the RTS,S malaria vaccine trial results showing "moderate" success, helping to reignite "optimism about eradicating malaria entirely," "there are other big hurdles still to surmount," a New York Times editorial states.

24 Oct 2011

World Health Summit provides platform to discuss incorporating NTDs into MDGs

In anticipation of next week's 2011 World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany, Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Disease, recaps gains in the treatment and prevention of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) around the world through the commitment of the U.S., the U.K. and other G8 countries and makes the case for a global NTD initiative in the network's "End the Neglect" blog.

24 Oct 2011

India polio free for 9 months, raising hopes of eradication, health experts say

"India has not had a case of polio in nine months, raising hopes the country is on the verge of defeating the disease, health officials said Monday," the Associated Press reports.

24 Oct 2011