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Cholera outbreak in PNG makes officials wary

Cholera has been confirmed as the cause of death of 16 persons on a remote island in Papua New Guinea which is close to Australia's maritime border. The first case was detected on Daru Island in Western Province three weeks ago. Since then 12 adults and 4 children have died, and 320 others have been treated for the infection.

10 Nov 2010

Fibroblast growth factor-2 stimulates periodontal regeneration: Study

It is well known that oral infection progressively destroys periodontal tissues and is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. A major goal of periodontal treatment is regeneration of the tissues lost to periodontitis. Unfortunately, most current therapies cannot predictably promote repair of tooth-supporting defects. A variety of regenerative approaches have been used clinically using bone grafts and guiding tissue membranes with limited success.

10 Nov 2010

Preclinical data from Idera's autoimmune and inflammatory disease program presented at 74th ACR

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced two presentations of preclinical data from its autoimmune and inflammatory disease program at the 74th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) in Atlanta, Georgia. One presentation is entitled "IMO-3100, a Toll-like Receptor (TLR) Antagonist, Suppresses TLR7- and TLR9-mediated Immune Responses in Non-human Primates" (#856).

10 Nov 2010

Regional workshop to discuss diarrheal disease solutions for Asia

Each year, diarrheal disease claims the lives of 1.3 million children under five worldwide and hospitalizes millions more. The vast majority of these deaths occur in developing countries of Asia and Africa, but fortunately, interventions exist that can greatly reduce deaths and save lives. To bring attention to the solutions available today for defeating diarrhea, the Vietnam Ministry of Health, the National Pediatric Hospital of Vietnam, and PATH are hosting a two-day regional workshop where they will present the evidence and lessons learned from initiatives currently underway.

10 Nov 2010

NHLBI launches new campaign to highlight common COPD symptoms

The number of Americans who report being aware of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, increased by 4 percentage points between 2008 and 2010, but many people at risk are still unaware of the disease, according to mailed survey results released today by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health.

10 Nov 2010

Pres. Obama emphasizes U.S.-Indian partnerships to track, fight diseases

On his final day in India as part of his 10-day Asia-Pacific tour, President Barack Obama on Monday addressed the joint session of the Indian Parliament in New Dehli, where he emphasized the importance of U.S.-Indian partnerships to tackle disease and improve education, Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times reports (11/8).

10 Nov 2010

Contraceptive, antiviral gel using bee venom wins 2010 Gates Foundation grant

A vaginal gel that affords both contraception and HIV protection using nanoparticles that carry bee venom is one of the bold, unconventional ideas that won a 2010 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

10 Nov 2010

Popular antimicrobial chemicals may not be safe for human health and environment

Killing microorganisms has become a national obsession. A pair of antimicrobial compounds known as triclosan and triclocarban are lately the weapons of choice in our war of attrition against the microbial world. Both chemicals are found in an array of personal care products like antimicrobial soaps, and triclosan also is formulated into everyday items ranging from plastics and toys to articles of clothing.

10 Nov 2010

Malaria drug artesunate found more effective than quinine at preventing severe falciparum malaria deaths in children, study says

Researchers found that the death rate among children diagnosed with severe falciparum malaria was almost one-fourth lower when they received the drug artesunate rather than the standard treatment of quinine, according to research which was presented at the American Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) over the weekend and published Monday in the Lancet, HealthDay News/U.S. News and World Report writes.

10 Nov 2010

Miriam Hospital receives NIH grants to improve HIV treatment for jail inmates

The Miriam Hospital received three of the 12 newly awarded grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) aimed at improving HIV prevention and treatment of prison and jail inmates.

10 Nov 2010

Cholera confirmed in Haiti's capital as health ministry says outbreak has killed 544 so far

Haiti's cholera outbreak appears to have spread to its capital, "imperiling nearly 3 million people living in Port-au-Prince, nearly half of them in unsanitary tent camps for the homeless from the Jan. 12 earthquake," the Associated Press/KIRO reports.

10 Nov 2010

Flu vaccination programs can protect employee health, save businesses money

Each year, influenza poses a tremendous burden on working adults and the many businesses that employ them, contributing to absenteeism and lost productivity. Yet, annual influenza immunization rates remain very low. New data out today show that employer-sponsored influenza vaccination programs held early in the flu season not only protect employee health, but save businesses money.

10 Nov 2010

Grand Challenges Explorations projects receive new grants for tuberculosis research

Weill Cornell Medical College announced today that it was awarded two $100,000 grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of the next phase of Grand Challenges Explorations, an initiative to encourage bold and unconventional ideas for global health.

10 Nov 2010

L. reuteri Prodentis effective for treating chronic periodontitis

The study shows that L. reuteri Prodentis acts synergistically with standard treatment (scaling and root plaining, SRP) to significantly reduce probing pocket depth (PPD) and clinical attachment level (CAL) which are the two most important parameters to assess the severity of periodontitis. Furthermore L. reuteri Prodentis reveals - as the first probiotic ever - significant reductions of three different pathogens in patients with chronic periodontitis.

10 Nov 2010

Only one-third of young women complete HPV regimen

Despite strong evidence of its effectiveness, few of the young women who are eligible for the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine take it, according to research presented at the Ninth Annual AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research Conference, held Nov. 7-10.

10 Nov 2010

Cholera cases continue to rise in Haitian capital

Officials have recorded more than 70 cholera cases in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince and fear for a substantial rise in numbers if the epidemic continues. Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Deputy Director Jon Kim Andrus said, “As of Monday, the Ministry of Health was reporting more than 9,100 hospitalized cases and some 583 deaths in some 240 communities… These include 73 cases reported in Port-au-Prince. We expect these numbers to continue to rise as more cases are detected.”

9 Nov 2010

March of Dimes honors professor who linked fetal malnutrition to chronic adult disease

The world-renowned physician and professor who pioneered the theory linking fetal malnutrition to chronic adult disease will receive the March of Dimes Agnes Higgins Award for outstanding achievement in the field of maternal-fetal nutrition.

9 Nov 2010

Priaxon and Technical University Munich partner to develop anti-infective agents against infectious diseases

Priaxon AG, Munich, and the University Hospital Rechts der Isar (Technical University Munich) announce their cooperation for the development of new, highly selective anti-infective agents against a novel protein target class of widely spread infectious diseases. Their joint project is supported in the framework of the top cluster support project of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, coordinated by BioM GmbH.

9 Nov 2010

Patented cover for stethoscopes will curb hospital-acquired infections

Saints Medical Center is pleased to announce that Richard H. Ma, M.D, chair of its hospitalist department, has received a patent for a lightweight plastic cover for stethoscopes that will dramatically reduce hospital-acquired infections.

9 Nov 2010

Researchers examine burden of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases in China

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examines the burden of HIV and sexually transmitted disease among male clients of the commercial sex industry in China's Sichuan province

9 Nov 2010