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Specific MIF gene variant plays a crucial role against bacterial infections

Why are some people prone to severe infections, while others handle them with less difficulty? A new research report appearing online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) attempts to answer this question by shedding light on the genetic differences that influence our ability to fight off bacterial infections.

13 Oct 2011

Mental health services are 'critical' to comprehensive approach for people living with HIV

In this post in USAID's "IMPACTblog," Melissa Sharer, AIDSTAR-One senior care and support officer at John Snow, Inc., writes, "Although treatment is now widely available and people living with HIV (PLHIV) are able to live normal and active lives for many years, their mental health needs are often overlooked in care, treatment, and support programs." Sharer highlights the success of programs in Vietnam and in Uganda that "combine mental health and existing health services."

13 Oct 2011

U.S. Ambassador advises Kenya to seek additional sources of funding for health programs

"U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Gration has advised Kenya to seek new sources of money to finance health programs," Kenya's the Star reports, adding, "Gration said projects initiated by donors will only be sustainable if the Kenyan government takes over."

13 Oct 2011

VOA News examines how a public-private partnership will combat cancer among women in the developing world

This VOA News editorial examines how a public-private partnership between PEPFAR, the George W. Bush Institute, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, as well as private sector partners will launch a program called Pink Ribbon, Red Ribbon to "combat cervical and breast cancer for women in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America."

13 Oct 2011

Genetic mystery of bacterium causing ‘Black Death’ revealed

Between 1347 and 1351 - a period of just five years, Europe's Black Death wiped out about 30 million people - 30 to 50% of the population on the continent. Now geneticists have reconstructed the genome of the bacterium that caused the plague. It is found to be an ancient strain of a bacterium called Yersinia pestis very similar to the strain the exists today.

13 Oct 2011

Exhibit in Atlanta's Museum of Design charts history of AIDS epidemic through posters used in awareness campaigns

On October 2, the Museum of Design Atlanta opened an exhibit called "Graphic Intervention: 25 Years of International AIDS Awareness Posters 1985-2010," which charts the history of the global AIDS epidemic "and how it has affected and continues to shape modern culture, through the posters that helped bring awareness to the world," Lauren Meir, a writer for MutualArt, reports in a post in the Huffington Post's "Arts" blog.

13 Oct 2011

USPTO issues patent to Oragenics' In Vivo Induced Antigen Technology

Florida-based nutraceutical company, Oragenics, Inc., announced today the issuance of patent number 8,034,571 from the United States Patent and Trademark office for In Vivo Induced Antigen Technology.

13 Oct 2011

Breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics

A breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics could open the way to new treatments and the development of a vaccine for this sexually transmitted disease.

13 Oct 2011

WHO says global TB cases decline for first time ever but warns funding gap, resistant strains put progress is at risk

New data published in the WHO's 2011 Global Tuberculosis Control Report on Tuesday, "shows that the number of people who fell ill with tuberculosis (TB) dropped to 8.8 million in 2010, after peaking at 9 million in 2005," the U.N. News Centre reports.

13 Oct 2011

TB rates decline for the first time: WHO report

According to Mario Raviglione, director of the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Stop TB program, for the first time, the number of people infected with tuberculosis (TB) each year is declining. He was speaking at a press conference to release Global Tuberculosis Control 2011, WHO's 16th annual report on TB, which summarizes advances made and challenges ahead. The report features data on TB in nearly 200 countries with treatment results and financing trends.

12 Oct 2011

Cholera epidemic in Africa: Largest yet

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has announced in a statement that the cholera epidemic in West and Central Africa is one of the worst the area has ever seen. So far this year more than 85,000 cases have been reported in the region, including 2,466 deaths.

12 Oct 2011

Walgreens Flu Impact Report

The typical flu season always coincides with the busiest travel period of the year, and last season that spelled trouble for more than 3 million U.S. vacationers whose trips were interrupted by flu-related illness, the Walgreens Flu Impact Report suggests.

12 Oct 2011

Study finds experimental vaccine protects monkeys from blinding trachoma

"An attenuated, or weakened, strain of Chlamydia trachomatis bacteria can be used as a vaccine to prevent or reduce the severity of trachoma, the world's leading cause of infectious blindness, suggest findings from a National Institutes of Health (NIH) study in monkeys," an NIH press release reports.

12 Oct 2011

Smoking could cause 18M more cases of TB worldwide over next 40 years

Smoking could cause 18 million more cases of tuberculosis worldwide over the next 40 years and 40 million additional deaths.

12 Oct 2011

India's Aurobindo Pharma first major generic drugmaker to Join UNITAID's Medicines Patent Pool

"India's Aurobindo Pharma has become the first major generic drugmaker to join" the Medicines Patent Pool, launched by the UNITAID health financing system and "designed to make HIV/AIDS treatments more widely available to the poor," Reuters reports.

12 Oct 2011

Vitamin D plays an essential role in the body's fight against TB

Not just important for building strong bones, an international team of scientists has found that vitamin D also plays an essential role in the body's fight against infections such as tuberculosis.

12 Oct 2011

U.S. donates record $56M to WFP for nutrition programs in Ethiopia

The U.S. has pledged a record $56 million donation from PEPFAR to the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) aimed to "dramatically increase resources for programs in Ethiopia providing vital nutrition assistance to people living with HIV (PLHIV)," according to a WFP press release.

12 Oct 2011

Evidence suggests mosquitos in Kenya have developed chemical resistance, KEMRI official says

Speaking at a national malaria forum in Nairobi on Monday, Charles Mbogo of the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) presented new evidence showing that malaria-causing mosquitos in Kenya have developed resistance to the most common chemicals derived from pyrethroids and DDT, which "could be a major blow to the country's strategy to eradicate malaria by 2017," Nigeria's the Nation reports.

12 Oct 2011

Thomson Reuters launches Infection Xpert solution

Thomson Reuters, a global provider of information for healthcare professionals, has launched Infection Xpert — a clinical intelligence dashboard that helps infection preventionists (IPs) manage and reduce hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), capture and submit mandated infection reporting metrics, and analyze hospital infection data to improve patient safety.

12 Oct 2011

UNAIDS delegation to Russian Federation visits specialized AIDS clinic, plays in charity soccer match

"On the first of a four-day mission to the Russian Federation, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe and UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador James Chau visited a specialized HIV clinic near Saint Petersburg that cares for children who have been orphaned by AIDS and pregnant women living with HIV," according to a UNAIDS feature story.

12 Oct 2011

Disease/Infection News

Specific MIF gene variant plays a crucial role against bacterial infections

Mental health services are 'critical' to comprehensive approach for people living with HIV

U.S. Ambassador advises Kenya to seek additional sources of funding for health programs

VOA News examines how a public-private partnership will combat cancer among women in the developing world

Genetic mystery of bacterium causing ‘Black Death’ revealed

Exhibit in Atlanta's Museum of Design charts history of AIDS epidemic through posters used in awareness campaigns

USPTO issues patent to Oragenics' In Vivo Induced Antigen Technology

Breakthrough in the study of chlamydia genetics

WHO says global TB cases decline for first time ever but warns funding gap, resistant strains put progress is at risk

TB rates decline for the first time: WHO report

Cholera epidemic in Africa: Largest yet

Walgreens Flu Impact Report

Study finds experimental vaccine protects monkeys from blinding trachoma

Smoking could cause 18M more cases of TB worldwide over next 40 years

India's Aurobindo Pharma first major generic drugmaker to Join UNITAID's Medicines Patent Pool

Vitamin D plays an essential role in the body's fight against TB

U.S. donates record $56M to WFP for nutrition programs in Ethiopia

Evidence suggests mosquitos in Kenya have developed chemical resistance, KEMRI official says

Thomson Reuters launches Infection Xpert solution

UNAIDS delegation to Russian Federation visits specialized AIDS clinic, plays in charity soccer match

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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