Disease/Infection News

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BMJ News reports on S. Africa's HIV prevention, treatment efforts

BMJ News reports on South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi's visit to the U.S. last week, where he spoke at a forum in Washington, D.C., on the efforts the government is making to promote HIV prevention and treatment and improve the country's health system. The publication notes that the health ministry has set a goal of testing the HIV status of 15 million people in the country by the end of the year - "nearly a third of its population of 50 million."

6 Apr 2011

PQM program launches new public medicine database

In the growing global battle against substandard and counterfeit medicines, the Promoting the Quality of Medicines program has launched a new, public database of medicines collected and analyzed in collaboration with stakeholders from countries in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.

6 Apr 2011

NIAID awards Aragen Bioscience with three subcontracts to advance preclinical studies

Aragen Bioscience, Inc., today announced it is a subcontractor on a National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases contract for the preclinical development of monoclonal antibodies for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases.

6 Apr 2011

LA County introduces new HIV/AIDS advertising campaign

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS Programs and Policy announces today the launch of its multi-media advertising campaign aimed at fighting the spread of HIV and AIDS in Los Angeles County. Beginning this week, the bi-lingual Erase Doubt campaign will be seen throughout LA County on bustails, at community events, in bars and nightclubs, and online.

6 Apr 2011

Post-infection treatment with NanoViricides FluCide reduces lung lesions caused by lethal influenza infection

NanoViricides, Inc. reports that post-infection treatment with its optimized FluCide™ drug candidates resulted in dramatic reduction in the number of lung lesions that are caused by a lethal influenza virus infection. These findings were seen in the most recent H1N1 influenza animal study.

5 Apr 2011

R&D Directions names Novavax VLP influenza vaccine as one of top '100 great investigational drugs in development'

Novavax, Inc. announced that its virus-like particle (VLP) influenza vaccine has been named by the editors of R&D Directions magazine as one of the top "100 great investigational drugs in development" today. In its tenth annual list of promising clinical compounds, R&D Directions cited Novavax's virus-like-particle technology as a promising new approach to producing vaccines to prevent seasonal, H1N1 and avian influenza. The list reflects the current interests of industry observers and analysts and is described in the magazine's March 2011 issue.

5 Apr 2011

South Sudan health workers face worst Kala-azar outbreak

South Sudan is facing the worst outbreak of Kala-azar in the past 10 years as health workers from Servant's Heart Relief race against the clock to stop the spread of the deadly disease.

5 Apr 2011

International scientists to discuss climate, health data sharing at conference in Ethiopia

Scientists will gather in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, beginning Monday for a workshop that aims to address climate and health issues, VOA News reports.

5 Apr 2011

CORHIO, five Boulder County organizations sign deal to share patient data through HIE

Five Boulder County health care organizations have signed agreements to share patient data through the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization's Health Information Exchange, CORHIO officials announced today.

5 Apr 2011

New York Times examines nonprofits that close for mission-related reasons

"A few nonprofit groups have recently announced plans to wind down, not over financial problems but because their missions are nearly finished," the New York Times reports, noting that though the number of organizations closing shop "for mission-related reasons is too small to call a trend. ... the novelty of organizations going out of business once their work is done has attracted attention."

5 Apr 2011

Statins can help prevent risk of death from pneumonia

Taking statins could help prevent people dying from pneumonia, according to a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

5 Apr 2011

GERONTOSHIELD project receives 2.6 Million Euro fund for ageing research

Our society gets older, people live longer. The price we pay: infectious diseases can easier overcome the immune system. Like all organs, the immune system does not function flawlessly in old age. A new collaboration of university and non-university research institutes and two companies is investigating why our immune defence is getting weaker when we become old.

5 Apr 2011

ETI develops extended release SC depot formulation of NSAID drug meloxicam

Encore Therapeutics Inc. has developed a proprietary extended release subcutaneous (SC) depot formulation (ETI-511) of the NSAID drug meloxicam.

5 Apr 2011

Gilead's increase of HIV drugs price unreasonable, says AHF

Today AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, blasted the news that Gilead Sciences Inc. increased the prices of several of its top selling products at the beginning of the month. The California-based drug maker increased the price of its biggest seller, HIV treatment Atripla, by 5.1%. Gilead also raised the price of HIV drugs Truvada and Emtriva by 7.9%.

5 Apr 2011

AIDS people may face high risk of stomach and esophageal malignancies

Among people with AIDS, the risk of stomach and esophageal malignancies is higher than among the general population, according to study results presented at the AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011, held here April 2-6.

5 Apr 2011

Antimicrobial copper can effectively prevent MRSA in hospitals

A live broadcast from the University of Southampton today highlighted the effectiveness of antimicrobial copper in preventing the spread of antibiotic-resistant organisms, such as MRSA, in hospitals.

5 Apr 2011

Scientists discover new compounds that may help fight against parasitic diseases

Trypanosomatid parasites cause diseases like African sleeping sickness, Chagas' disease and leishmaniasis. Leishmaniasis affects about 12 million people worldwide, mostly in developing countries. Current drug treatments are inadequate due to drug toxicity and resistance.

5 Apr 2011

Study suggests causal link between HSV1 and Alzheimer's disease

Laboratories at the University of New Mexico (UNM), Brown University, and House Ear Institute (HEI) have developed a new technique to observe herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) infections growing inside cells. HSV1, the cause of the common cold sore, persists in a latent form inside nerve cells.

5 Apr 2011

Opinions: Africa's agricultural sector; foreign aid funding

"There is no doubt that Africa is on the move … But if African countries are to achieve the new future within their grasp, then there needs to be a new focus on the daunting obstacles still to be overcome. … High among these challenges is the need to transform the continent's agriculture," former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan writes in a BusinessDay opinion piece reflecting on the challenges facing Africa's agricultural system and the opportunities to respond to the growing food demands.

5 Apr 2011

Boehringer Ingelheim receives FDA approval for Viramune XR to treat HIV-1 infection

Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Viramune XR extended-release tablets, a one-pill, once-daily formulation of nevirapine for use in combination with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults.

5 Apr 2011