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WHO member states adopt resolutions on financing, reform and flu pandemic at World Health Assembly

A committee of WHO member governments this week at the World Health Assembly in Geneva "adopted a resolution on the future financing of the organisation and a broad set of reforms, as well as a resolution on the WHO's management of [the H1N1] influenza pandemic showing no evidence of wrongdoing," Intellectual Property Watch reports.

21 May 2011

OPINION: Global health community must recognize merits of HIV treatment as prevention

"Many interesting research questions now lie ahead. But most urgent will be the assessment of the practical impact of these findings and their public health importance in generalised epidemics," according to a Lancet editorial about last week's release of study results showing early HIV treatment dramatically reduces transmission risk.

21 May 2011

Gen-Probe seeks FDA regulatory clearance for PANTHER fully automated and integrated molecular testing system

Gen-Probe Incorporated announced today that the Company has filed a 510(k) application with the US Food and Drug Administration for its PANTHER system, a fully automated and integrated molecular testing system designed with the flexibility to handle a wide range of testing needs.

20 May 2011

Merck's VICTRELIS receives European CHMP positive opinion for treatment of chronic HCV genotype 1 infection

Merck, today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion under accelerated assessment recommending approval of the investigational medicine VICTRELIS (boceprevir) for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection, in combination with peginterferon alfa and ribavirin, in adult patients with compensated liver disease who are previously untreated or who have failed previous therapy.

20 May 2011

Indian wild plants offer hope against resistant infections

Cancer treatments often have the side effect of impairing the patient's immune system. This can result in life-threatening secondary infections from bacteria and fungi, especially since bacteria, like Staphylococcus aureus, are becoming multi-drug resistant.

20 May 2011

Monitoring adherence to mandatory hand-washing protocols can help stop outbreaks of C. diff bacteria

Just like intelligence agents watching for the real terrorists threatening to attack, monitoring healthcare worker adherence to mandatory hand-washing protocols via hand-washing squads in hospitals can go a long way to stop outbreaks of the opportunistic C. diff bacteria, says Irena Kenneley, an infection prevention and control expert and assistant professor of nursing from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University.

20 May 2011

Dominican Republic health officials raise alerts about possible cholera outbreaks

Health authorities have raised alerts in 17 "mainly poor" neighborhoods in the Dominican Republic capital of Santo Domingo after 16 people were hospitalized with suspected cholera, BBC News reports.

20 May 2011

'No magic pill' for HIV prevention

AIDS Healthcare Foundation today released the results of a groundbreaking online survey designed to gain better understanding of community perceptions regarding the possible use of an HIV prevention pill.

20 May 2011

Medivir reports positive results from ASPIRE TMC435 phase 2b study for genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, today announced results from the ASPIRE phase 2b study that evaluates the addition of once daily TMC435 to pegylated interferon and ribavirin in patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C whose prior treatment with pegylated-interferon (PegIFN) and ribavirin (RBV) was unsuccessful either because they relapsed, had a partial response or had a null response.

20 May 2011

New York Times examines DDT use in Uganda

"In the Apac region of Uganda, the United States focused on two conflicting agendas: developing organic farming and eradicating malaria, ultimately affecting the livelihoods of tens of thousands of farmers.

20 May 2011

AIDS mortality in China drops by nearly two thirds since 2002 when country began free treatment program

China's HIV/AIDS-related mortality has dropped from 39.3 per 100 person-years in 2002 to 14.2 in 2009, or 64 percent, since the nation began providing free antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 2002, according to a study conducted by researchers from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and published online Wednesday in Lancet Infectious Diseases, the New York Times reports (McNeil, 5/18).

20 May 2011

ViroPharma commences VP 20621 Phase 2 study for prevention of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced initiation of a Phase 2 dose-ranging clinical study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of VP 20621 for prevention of recurrence of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in adults previously treated for CDI.

20 May 2011

VIDAS TOXO IgG Avidity assay to test for recent Toxoplasma gondii infection receives FDA clearance

On May 18, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the first test to help determine whether a pregnant woman or a person with swollen lymph nodes testing positive for toxoplasmosis, sometimes known as cat scratch disease, developed the infection within the past four months.

20 May 2011

CSL welcomes historic pandemic agreement

CSL Biotherapies welcomed news overnight of a decision by the World Health Assembly to adopt the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework for the Sharing of Influenza Viruses and Access to Vaccines and Other Benefits. The Framework is the culmination of several years work by a dedicated working group of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and paves the way for greater global collaboration between public and private stakeholders in preparing the world for possible future influenza pandemics.

19 May 2011

AVAC calls on donors, policy makers to strengthen support for AIDS vaccine research

This year HIV Vaccine Awareness Day comes at the dawn of a true prevention revolution that could finally turn the tide of the AIDS epidemic. AIDS vaccine research is a critical part of that revolution and on this day AVAC calls on donors, policy makers and others to strengthen support for AIDS vaccine research.

19 May 2011

People living with HIV/AIDS in China face discrimination when accessing health care, report says

HIV-positive people living in China "are routinely being denied medical treatment in mainstream hospitals due to fear and ignorance about the disease," according to a study based on interviews with 103 people living with HIV/AIDS and 23 health care workers that was conducted by the International Labor Organization and China's National Center for STD and AIDS Prevention and Control, Reuters reports.

19 May 2011

IRIN examines high risk of TB infection among health workers in Kenya

IRIN examines tuberculosis among health care workers in Kenya, where "safety equipment - including protective masks and proper waste disposal facilities - are rarely available in rural centres, something health workers say must be addressed urgently."

19 May 2011

Humanized BLT mice help prevent HIV/AIDS transmission

The more than 2.7 million new HIV infections recorded per year leave little doubt that the HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to spread globally. That's why there's the need for safe, inexpensive and effective drugs to successfully block HIV transmission.

19 May 2011

Global health partnership announces first-, second-line AIDS drugs price reductions in developing world

The Clinton Health Access Initiative, UNITAID, and the U.K.'s Department for International Development "said on Tuesday they had secured price reductions on key AIDS drugs for HIV-positive patients in poorer countries," Reuters reports.

19 May 2011

Abbott RealTime PCR assay for measuring HCV viral load receives FDA marketing approval

Abbott announced today that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its RealTime PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test for measuring the viral load of hepatitis C (HCV), the leading cause of liver cancer in the United States.

19 May 2011

Disease/Infection News

WHO member states adopt resolutions on financing, reform and flu pandemic at World Health Assembly

OPINION: Global health community must recognize merits of HIV treatment as prevention

Gen-Probe seeks FDA regulatory clearance for PANTHER fully automated and integrated molecular testing system

Merck's VICTRELIS receives European CHMP positive opinion for treatment of chronic HCV genotype 1 infection

Indian wild plants offer hope against resistant infections

Monitoring adherence to mandatory hand-washing protocols can help stop outbreaks of C. diff bacteria

Dominican Republic health officials raise alerts about possible cholera outbreaks

'No magic pill' for HIV prevention

Medivir reports positive results from ASPIRE TMC435 phase 2b study for genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C

New York Times examines DDT use in Uganda

AIDS mortality in China drops by nearly two thirds since 2002 when country began free treatment program

ViroPharma commences VP 20621 Phase 2 study for prevention of recurrent Clostridium difficile infection

VIDAS TOXO IgG Avidity assay to test for recent Toxoplasma gondii infection receives FDA clearance

CSL welcomes historic pandemic agreement

AVAC calls on donors, policy makers to strengthen support for AIDS vaccine research

People living with HIV/AIDS in China face discrimination when accessing health care, report says

IRIN examines high risk of TB infection among health workers in Kenya

Humanized BLT mice help prevent HIV/AIDS transmission

Global health partnership announces first-, second-line AIDS drugs price reductions in developing world

Abbott RealTime PCR assay for measuring HCV viral load receives FDA marketing approval

Leveraging the power of automation to boost research

Automating research - solutions and best practices

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

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