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New research aims to control transmission of infectious diseases

New research aimed at controlling the transmission of diseases among humans, other animals and the environment is being made possible by grants from a collaboration among U.S. and U.K. funding agencies.

15 Sep 2011

E.U. announces launch of 126M Euro program to fight AIDS, TB in South Africa

European Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs announced during a visit to South Africa on Monday that the European Union (E.U.) "will contribute 126 million euros to South Africa's fight against AIDS and tuberculosis (TB)," money that "will be used to improve South Africa's primary health care system, increasing access for patients," Reuters reports.

15 Sep 2011

HPV more prevalent among men with laryngeal cancer, private health insurance

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is more likely to be found in tumors of laryngeal cancer patients who are male and those with private health insurance, according to a new study from researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.

15 Sep 2011

Pakistan's Punjab province reports growing dengue outbreak

"The government in Pakistan's eastern province of Punjab is struggling to control a growing dengue fever epidemic, officials say," and they "have warned that it threatens to affect other parts of the country," BBC News reports.

15 Sep 2011

U.K. Coalition against NTDs officially launched in London

This "End the Neglect" blog post reports that the U.K. Coalition against Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) was officially launched on Tuesday at the All Parliamentary Group on Malaria and NTDs meeting in London.

15 Sep 2011

Presidential Commission report calls 1940s STD experiments in Guatemala 'gross violations of ethics'

"Sexually transmitted disease experiments conducted by federal researchers from 1946 to 1948 in Guatemala involved 'gross violations of ethics,'" according to a report published Tuesday by the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, USA Today's "ScienceFair" blog reports.

15 Sep 2011

WHO warns drug-resistant TB spreading in Europe at 'alarming' rate, releases plan to fight disease

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) "are spreading at an alarming rate in Europe and will kill thousands unless health authorities halt the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday" during the launch of "a new regional plan to find, diagnose and treat cases of the airborne infectious disease more effectively," Reuters reports.

15 Sep 2011

Without action to curb antibiotic resistance, some diseases may once again become untreatable

In this Atlantic Magazine opinion piece, Megan McArdle, senior editor at the Atlantic, echoes a warning by the FDA issued in 2001 which stated, "Unless antibiotic resistance problems are detected as they emerge, and actions are taken to contain them, the world could be faced with previously treatable diseases that have again become untreatable, as in the days before antibiotics were developed."

15 Sep 2011

Patients with hepatitis C may benefit from 24 week telaprevir-based regimen

University of Cincinnati research published in the Sept. 14, 2011, advance online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine shows that patients with hepatitis C who took a combination medication-a telaprevir-based regimen that is commonly used to treat the illness-for 24 weeks were cured.

15 Sep 2011

Major UK retailers, Liverpool scientists partner to reduce incidence of food poisoning

Scientists at the University of Liverpool are working with the major UK food retailers to reduce bacterial infections in chickens and reduce incidence of food poisoning in humans.

15 Sep 2011

First effective blood-stage vaccine against malaria

Scientists have identified the first effective blood-stage malaria vaccine, according to a New England Journal of Medicine study from University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers, in collaboration with the University of Bamako in Mali, West Africa, and other partners.

15 Sep 2011

NEJM publishes data from Vertex INCIVEK Phase 3 study on genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated today announced that the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published data from a Phase 3 study of INCIVEK (telaprevir) tablets in people with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C who were new to treatment.

15 Sep 2011

Researchers discover several chemical compounds against human prion diseases

In a new study NYU School of Medicine researchers report that they have found several chemical compounds, including an antidepressant, that have powerful effects against brain-destroying prion infections in mice, opening the door to potential treatments for human prion diseases.

15 Sep 2011

Viamet commences VT-1161 Phase 1 clinical study to treat fungal infections

Viamet Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced today that dosing has begun in a Phase 1 clinical study of VT-1161, an oral, potent and selective antifungal agent. VT-1161 is a novel small molecule discovered by Viamet Pharmaceuticals using its proprietary Metallophile Technology.

14 Sep 2011

U.S. support to Haiti in wake of ongoing cholera epidemic 'remains unfailing'

A VOA News editorial says U.S. support to Haiti since the early days of an outbreak of cholera, which has affected more than 439,600 people since it was first detected almost a year ago, "remains unfailing."

14 Sep 2011

'Achilles' heels' within HCV virus

Hopes for an effective vaccine and treatment against the potentially fatal hepatitis C virus (HCV) have received a major boost following the discovery of two 'Achilles' heels' within the virus.

14 Sep 2011

ASM to honor LA BioMed investigator for A. baumannii infection study

Ashraf Ibrahim, Ph.D., principal investigator at LA BioMed who specializes in infectious diseases, was recently honored by the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and the ICAAC Program Committee in the area of Therapy and Prevention of Microbial Disease.

14 Sep 2011

Number of global malaria deaths fell by one-fifth over past decade, RBM report says

Worldwide, the number of malaria deaths has "fallen by a fifth over the past decade, reflecting an influx of funds to fight the disease with better drugs and mosquito nets, Roll Back Malaria (RBM) said" in a report released on Monday, Agence France-Presse reports.

14 Sep 2011

U.N. report highlights innovations aimed at improving maternal and child health

PBS NewsHour's blog "The Rundown" examines a "report from the U.N.'s Every Woman, Every Child Innovation Working Group, out in the Lancet Monday, which looks at some of the promising and innovative projects" aimed at improving maternal and child health

14 Sep 2011

Inovio achieves best-in-class immune responses in PENNVAX-B HIV vaccine Phase I study

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of synthetic immunogens against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that it has achieved best-in-class immune responses in a Phase I clinical study of PENNVAX-B, its product for the prevention of the HIV sub-type prevalent in the US and Europe.

14 Sep 2011