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Measles epidemic grips Kenya and Ethiopia

The UNICEF announced Friday that children in Kenya and Ethiopia are at risk of a measles epidemic. Ethiopia has had more than 17,584 cases of measles in 2011, with 114 deaths. The WHO urges measles vaccination of young children to combat the situation.

18 Jul 2011

Rome Statement for an HIV Cure calls for accelerated research

Members of the Advisory Board for a Global Scientific Strategy "Towards an HIV Cure" today launched the Rome Statement for an HIV Cure calling for an acceleration of HIV cure research. The announcement was made at the 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2011) currently being held in Rome

18 Jul 2011

WHO to warn against use of TB blood test

The WHO on Sunday said it will release a guidance later this week on widely used blood tests for tuberculosis (TB) warning "against using such tests for the infectious lung disease that affects some 14 million people worldwide" because they can produce incorrect results, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

18 Jul 2011

Partners can help advance global HIV/AIDS fight

In a post on the State Department's "DipNote" blog, Ambassador Eric Goosby, the U.S. global AIDS coordinator, highlights recent findings that help reduce the risk of HIV transmission. He writes, "In order for us to fulfill the promise of these findings, we will continue to foster shared responsibility among all parties.

18 Jul 2011

Researchers closer to developing meningitis B vaccine

"New research may bring scientists one step closer to developing a vaccine that protects against hundreds of strains of meningococcus B, the most common cause of bacterial meningitis," according to research published last week in Science Translational Medicine, HealthDay News reports.

18 Jul 2011

Disrupting protein components kills mosquitoes

Mosquitoes die soon after a blood meal if certain protein components are experimentally disrupted, a team of biochemists at the University of Arizona has discovered.

18 Jul 2011

Facts and myths about bed bugs

Bed bugs are back. Since 2000, bed bug infestations have risen 81 percent, according to The National Pest Management Association. This resurgence has consumers nationwide on high alert, seeking information on the pests and how they can protect themselves.

18 Jul 2011

ISENTRESS demonstrates comparable efficacy to efavirenz in treatment-naïve adult HIV-1 patients

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced final results from a Phase II clinical study, extending out to 240 weeks, of its integrase inhibitor ISENTRESS® (raltegravir) Tablets in combination therapy in previously untreated (treatment-naïve) adult HIV-1-infected patients.

18 Jul 2011

FDA files MedImmune's sBLA for quadrivalent intranasal nasal influenza vaccine, FluMist

MedImmune has received confirmation from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) that the Agency has filed the Company's supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for a quadrivalent (four-strain) version of FluMist® (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal). The company submitted the sBLA early in the second quarter of this year.

18 Jul 2011

FDA warns consumers not to drink raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy

The FDA is working with officials in North Carolina and South Carolina to investigate an outbreak of campylobacteriosis in three people who consumed raw milk from Tucker Adkins Dairy in York, S.C. The three confirmed cases and another five probable cases are from three different households and each case reports that prior to becoming ill they consumed raw milk that was obtained from Tucker Adkins Dairy on June 14, 2011.

18 Jul 2011

Viral toxin causes release of serotonin leading to vomiting

It is well known that viruses like rotavirus and norovirus are behind the majority of stomach infections. But it was unclear how vomiting developed, and the treatments available were oral fluid replacement and intravenous drips to prevent dehydration of the body.

18 Jul 2011

SEEK HIV-v vaccine demonstrates 90% reduction in HIV viral load

SEEK, a privately owned biopharmaceutical company specializing in immunology, announces today that it has completed a Phase Ib/II clinical trial of its HIV-v vaccine which demonstrates a one log (approx 90 percent) difference in viral count in HIV-infected people compared with the placebo group, after just a single vaccine injection.

18 Jul 2011

European Commission Framework 7 programme awards €3 million grant to Enigma Diagnostics

In October 2007, Enigma Diagnostics announced the award of a euro 3 Million grant by the European Commission Framework 7 programme. This EU Commission award was won in a competitive process and the grant was to support development of a rapid, fully automated molecular diagnostic system for Seasonal Influenza (circulating strains of Influenza types A & B) to be based on Enigma's concept ML instrument system.

18 Jul 2011

Experimental online tool launched to guide HIV treatment decisions without the need for resistance testing

A new free online service with the potential to help HIV treatment in countries with limited healthcare resources was launched today. The system accurately predicts how patients will respond to different combinations of drugs without the need for expensive tests to read the viral genetic code. Data presented today at the 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2011) demonstrated the accuracy of the system for patients in Romania and South Africa whose treatment was failing (abstract MOPE146).

18 Jul 2011

Study recommends short and simple HIV consent forms

An in-depth review of consent forms provided to volunteers for HIV/AIDS research in the United States and abroad about study procedures, risks and benefits has found that the forms were extremely long and used wording that may have been complex enough to hinder full understanding, according to bioethicists at The Johns Hopkins University.

16 Jul 2011

U.S. will strengthen health work in Haiti

In a post on the AIDS.gov blog, Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. global AIDS coordinator, writes about a recent visit to Haiti and gives an update on U.S. work with Haiti.

16 Jul 2011

Shah congratulates researchers on PrEP findings

In statement released Thursday, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said, "I congratulate the Partners PrEP and CDC TDF2 teams on their study findings demonstrating that PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) - and HIV medication when taken orally, once a day - is highly effective in preventing HIV in heterosexual men and women.

16 Jul 2011

DRC facing cholera, measles outbreaks, U.N. says

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 3,000 cases and 192 deaths from cholera since March, according to a U.N. report on the outbreak, VOA News reports.

16 Jul 2011

Global MDR-TB response has been slow, report says

A report released recently and compiled by the Treatment Action Group, Medecins Sans Frontieres and Partners In Health says that international efforts aimed at scaling up treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) have been slow due to weak government action, low funding and a "sluggish response by international support mechanisms," BMJ News reports.

16 Jul 2011

Lancet issue dedicated to HIV/AIDS ahead of IAS conference

The current issue of the Lancet is dedicated to HIV/AIDS, a theme meant to coincide with the sixth International AIDS Society (IAS) conference on HIV pathogenesis, treatment and prevention taking place in Rome, Italy, July 17-20, according to a Lancet article.

16 Jul 2011