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UNAIDS Executive Director calls for 'serious attention to TB' on World TB Day

In a statement marking World Tuberculosis Day, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe "warned Wednesday that double infections of HIV and TB could become the next new epidemic," the Associated Press reports. Sidibe said, "I'm calling for serious attention to TB, and serious attention to TB-HIV co-infection" (Corder, 3/24).

25 Mar 2010

Glaxosmithkline, Pfizer will supply 60M doses of reduced-price pneumococcal vaccines to developing countries over 10 years, GAVI says

The GAVI Alliance on Tuesday formally announced that drugmakers GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer had signed off on a "10-year deal … to supply 60 million doses a year of cut-price pneumococcal vaccines to developing nations," Reuters reports.

25 Mar 2010

Circumcision can protect from HIV transmission: Reports from Zimbabwe

Nearly 1.1 million people in Zimbabwe are HIV positive with 40% unaware of their status. 160,000 children are infected with counts rising by 17,000 yearly. Total HIV prevalence rate for Zimbabwe is 13.7%. There are 2,000 HIV related deaths in Zimbabwe every week. 25% of children in Zimbabwe are orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS related deaths according to UN agency reports.

25 Mar 2010

American Lung Association in California supports efforts for quality TB care

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a serious public health threat in the U.S. with nearly 13,000 TB cases reported during 2008.

25 Mar 2010

Religious leaders vow to fight HIV/AIDS stigma, discrimination

A two-day gathering in The Hague, Netherlands, of religious leaders to discuss the role people of faith can play in the fight against HIV/AIDS concluded Tuesday with a pledge to prevent discrimination against those living with the disease, the Associated Press reports

25 Mar 2010

Queensland rains and floods – boon or bane?

Warnings of floods and rains across Queensland have sparked fears related to Ross River fever among health authorities. Ross River fever is caused by a virus carried by a number of mosquito species. It is usually associated with joint pain and swelling that can last for weeks.

25 Mar 2010

Experimental vaccine can help delay IBD and colon cancer

An experimental vaccine against an abnormal protein found in some tumors has the potential to delay the onset of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and in turn prevent progression to colon cancer, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

25 Mar 2010

Swine flu closely related to 1918 Spanish flu pandemic

In research on the swine flu virus it has been seen that the virus may seem new, but it has old relatives. An influenza virus which was pandemic in 1918 is seen to be very closely related, structurally speaking, to the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. This virus has the dubious distinction of having claimed between 40 million to 100 million lives in the flu wave of 1918.

25 Mar 2010

New study investigates effects of influenza among pregnant women

This spring, pregnant women in Bergen and Oslo will be invited to take part in the Norwegian Influenza Study (NorFlu). The aim is to find out how influenza in pregnancy affects maternal health and childhood development. NorFlu will also study any implications of vaccination during pregnancy.

25 Mar 2010

Special medicated contact lenses can help treat common eye disorders

The popular dietary supplement vitamin E, loaded into special medicated contact lenses, can keep glaucoma medicine near the eye - where it can treat that common disease- almost 100 times longer than possible with current commercial lenses, scientists reported here today.

25 Mar 2010

Study: MetAP inhibitors prevent TB growth in test tubes

Suspecting that a particular protein in tuberculosis was likely to be vital to the bacteria's survival, Johns Hopkins scientists screened 175,000 small chemical compounds and identified a potent class of compounds that selectively slows down this protein's activity and, in a test tube, blocks TB growth, demonstrating that the protein is indeed a vulnerable target.

25 Mar 2010

Xifaxan drug receives FDA approval

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the use of Xifaxan for reduction in the risk of the recurrence of overt hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in patients with advanced liver disease.

25 Mar 2010

Financial Times' opinions on World TB Day

"Governments and their international partners must recognise that health is an investment. The only successful exit strategy in the struggle against the TB, HIV and TB/HIV pandemics is to include them as part of broader development and poverty reduction strategies, and to strengthen health systems to respond more effectively to the needs of the most vulnerable populations.

25 Mar 2010

UK Government grants 8 MN GBP to the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation

Global efforts to combat tuberculosis gained momentum today when the government of the United Kingdom announced generous funding to the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation. The first-ever grant of - 8,000,000 (approximately US$ 13 million) is a significant show of support for Aeras in its mission to develop new TB vaccines.

24 Mar 2010

Community awareness can help fight tuberculosis

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Everette James today stressed the importance of increasing awareness of tuberculosis, or TB, and continuing efforts to control the infectious airborne disease that killed nearly 2 million people in 2008.

24 Mar 2010

UNDT's 5-agent bioterrorism detection kits used by first responders

Universal Detection Technology, a developer of early-warning monitoring technologies and counter-terrorism training programs to protect people from bioterrorism and other infectious health threats, issued a response today to a growing interest in the security and emergency response communities to immunize first responders most susceptible to anthrax exposure.

24 Mar 2010

FHI, Duke University Medical Center pertner to improve TB treatment

Family Health International, a nonprofit global health and development organization working to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people, recently joined the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium, an international body that researches new TB drugs and treatment strategies. The consortium is funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As part of the consortium, FHI is partnering with Duke University Medical Center to conduct clinical trials that aim to reduce the duration of TB treatment and lessen the side effects of TB drugs.

24 Mar 2010

Pharmaceutical firms, GAVI Alliance agree to provide long-term supply of Pneumococcal vaccine

Millions of infants and young children in the world's poorest countries will receive potentially life-saving vaccines that help protect against pneumococcal disease, including pneumonia -- the world's biggest childhood killer, thanks to new agreements made with two major pharmaceutical firms, the GAVI Alliance announced today.

24 Mar 2010

Vaccine deal signed - 47 developing countries to receive low priced vaccines by 2015

Pharmaceutical giants have signed a historical 10-year deal on Tuesday pledging the supply of 60 million doses a year of pneumococcal vaccines at cut-prices to developing nations.

24 Mar 2010

AHF to protest against Merck's pricing of Isentress

AIDS Healthcare Foundation will host a protest Wednesday morning, March 24th at 10:30am targeting Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing and policies for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress, one of the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the US, during the Barclays Capital Global Healthcare Conference.

24 Mar 2010