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E-voucher program providing food to malnourished Zimbabweans living with HIV, TB

An electronic voucher system, introduced by the World Food Programme (WFP) and implemented by the health ministry and non-governmental organizations, is helping Zimbabweans living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) and their families obtain food and fight malnutrition, PlusNews reports.

22 Oct 2011

PATH B programme for patients with hepatitis B launches in Europe

A pioneering educational resource, designed to improve the lives of people living with chronic hepatitis B, was launched today at an annual conference organised by Bristol-Myers Squibb in Hong Kong where 26 patient advocacy groups from 14 countries and regions gathered to discuss viral hepatitis.

22 Oct 2011

Water shortages lead to cholera threat in Harare, government says measures in place to contain outbreak

Radio VOP reports on water shortages in the high-density suburbs of the Zimbabwean capital of Harare, writing that some "have gone for a week without water raising fears of a cholera outbreak and bringing back fresh memories of the 4,000 people across the country killed in a cholera disaster in 2008."

22 Oct 2011

Common risk factors for hepatocellular cancer

Among known risk factors for hepatocellular cancer, smoking, obesity, and heavy alcohol consumption, along with chronic hepatitis B and C infection, contribute to a large share of the disease burden in Europe, according to a cohort study published online October 21 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

22 Oct 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim announces new data from hepatitis C virus portfolio

Boehringer Ingelheim announced today that new data from its hepatitis C virus (HCV) portfolio will be presented in scientific sessions at The Liver Meeting 2011, the 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), taking place November 4 - November 8 in San Francisco, CA.

22 Oct 2011

Human innovation will lead to malaria eradication

Noting advances in bednet, mosquito repellent and malaria vaccine technologies, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in a post on the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, "People used to say eradication was impossible, but we remain optimistic because human beings have a spectacular ability to innovate."

21 Oct 2011

Wolbachia study reveals novel approaches to control insects transmitting deadly diseases

Researchers at Boston University have made discoveries that provide the foundation towards novel approaches to control insects that transmit deadly diseases such as dengue fever and malaria through their study of the Wolbachia bacteria.

21 Oct 2011

American robin plays a key role in transmission of West Nile virus

After its initial appearance in New York in 1999, West Nile virus spread across the United States in just a few years and is now well established throughout North and South America.

21 Oct 2011

Antimicrobial copper surfaces reduce hospital acquired infections in ICU rooms

Results from a comprehensive multi-site clinical trial demonstrated that the use of antimicrobial copper surfaces in intensive care unit rooms reduced the amount of bacteria in the rooms by 97 percent and resulted in a 41 percent reduction in the hospital acquired infection rate.

21 Oct 2011

Nasal irrigation safe and effective for people with chronic sinus

Before reaching for an over-the-counter medication to relieve cold and allergy symptoms, try a simple source of relief that's been around for centuries.

21 Oct 2011

India must stay the course in efforts to eradicate polio

"Clearly, there is no room for complacency" in India's efforts to eradicate polio, defined by the WHO as no recorded case of the disease for three years, because "the goal of complete eradication is within reach," Deepak Gupta, a senior U.N. professional in Strategic Health/Development Communication, writes in an Asia Sentinel opinion piece.

21 Oct 2011

The Guardian interviews GlaxoSmithKline lead researcher about new malaria vaccine

The Guardian features an interview with Moncef Slaoui, now chair of research and development at GlaxoSmithKline, who discusses his 23-year involvement in the research leading to the RTS,S malaria vaccine that has shown to halve the risk of malaria among African children.

21 Oct 2011

Aid groups, health ministry plan to administer oral cholera vaccine to 100,000 Haitians

Working in conjunction with the Haitian Ministry of Health and the Haitian aid group GHESKIO, Boston-based Partners In Health (PIH) will begin an immunization campaign in January aimed at providing two doses of the oral cholera vaccine Shanchol "to 100,000 Haitians living in two vulnerable communities: a neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, where potable water and latrines are luxuries, and to an isolated rural village in the lower Artibonite Valley region," the Miami Herald reports.

21 Oct 2011

Bringing NTDs to the forefront of the global health agenda

In this "End the Neglect" blog post, Neeraj Mistry, managing director of the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases, reports on the global burden of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in anticipation of the World Health Summit set to take place from October 23 to 26 in Berlin, Germany.

21 Oct 2011

Treating TB, HIV co-infections early, aggressively can save lives, multiple studies show

"Treating tuberculosis (TB) and HIV infections at the same time can be a challenge for patients and their doctors, but attacking both diseases early and aggressively isn't harmful and could save the lives of those who are sickest," according to a global study led by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

21 Oct 2011

Global Fund to transfer management of HIV/AIDS grant in Mali after investigation finds misuse of funds

"The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will transfer management of a $28.77 million HIV/AIDS grant from Mali's national AIDS council, the Haut Conseil de Lutte contre le Sida (the High Council for the Fight Against AIDS, or HCLNS), to a new principal recipient at the end of the year" after mismanagement of funds was discovered in the country, a Global Fund press release reports.

21 Oct 2011

Young docs not so keen on immunizations: Survey

A cross-sectional survey of 551 healthcare providers and noted that more recent graduates were less likely to think that vaccines were efficacious said Saad Omer, assistant professor of Emory University in Atlanta. They were also more likely to have doubts about the safety of some vaccines, Omer told reporters at the 49th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

20 Oct 2011

Starting HIV therapy within two weeks of TB treatment increases survival by 33%

Timing is everything when treating patients with both HIV and tuberculosis. Starting HIV therapy in such patients within two weeks of TB treatment, rather than two months as is the current practice, increases survival by 33 percent, according to a large-scale clinical trial in Cambodia led by researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Immune Disease Institute.

20 Oct 2011

Study examines potential benefits of discordant couple HIV therapy

A new study published online in the journal AIDS uses mathematical models to predict the potential impact of treating discordant couples with antiretroviral therapy, according to a Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health press release.

20 Oct 2011

Intestinal ecosystem more dynamic than previously thought

The intestinal ecosystem is even more dynamic than previously thought, according to two studies by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers published in the latest issue of Science.

20 Oct 2011