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Use of digital checklist for patients during pandemic reduces fatigue factor, shows report

The use of a digital checklist for patients being administered emergency drugs during a pandemic or following a biological terrorist attack reduces the fatigue factor, according to a report in the International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, and could save lives.

22 Dec 2009

Opinions: Community-based health care models; U.S. leadership in reproductive health care

"We don't need to start fresh to create patient-centered medical homes. We just need to look to community-based models of care that are effective but often go unrecognized," according to a Boston Globe opinion piece by Heidi Behforouz, the director of the Prevention and Access to Care and Treatment project, which is based on "a model that Partners in Health pioneered to fight HIV in rural Haiti and drug-resistant tuberculosis in Peru."

22 Dec 2009

Ottawa Citizen examines water, sanitation in East Africa

An Ottawa Citizen article examines Canada-based charity WaterCan's projects in East Africa. "This year, WaterCan has worked with local African partners to retro-fit more than 50 schools [in] Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania - and has just launched a major Christmas funding drive to expand their work in schools next year. In the past two years, the charity has spent more than $2 million on school and community water and sanitation projects," according to the article.

22 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: HIV prevention in China; Global Fund in Philippines; drug-resistant TB; U.S. stance on anti-gay legislation

"A gay bar partially funded by the government of a Chinese city heavily affected by AIDS has finally opened after a delay caused by intense media interest which the owners felt may scared off potential patrons," Reuters Life! reports. The bar in the southwestern city of Dali is a collaborative effort by the city's health department and two NGOs, according to the news service (12/21). "The venue aims to provide a place where homosexuals can meet in a relaxed atmosphere and get information about HIV/AIDS prevention," Agence France-Presse reports (12/20).

22 Dec 2009

MSF report names malnutrition, inadequate funds for HIV/AIDS, neglected diseases among top humanitarian crises of 2009

Inadequate international funding for HIV/AIDS and neglected diseases as well as global malnutrition were among the top 10 humanitarian crises outlined in an annual report issued Monday by Medecins Sans Frontieres, the Associated Press reports (Astor, 12/21).

22 Dec 2009

Matrix Laboratories receives FDA tentative approval for Efavirenz NDA under PEPFAR

Mylan Inc. today announced that its subsidiary Matrix Laboratories Limited has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) for its New Drug Application (NDA) for Efavirenz Tablets, 50 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg. These innovative pediatric dosages in tablet form were developed by Matrix for use in treating pediatric HIV/AIDS.

22 Dec 2009

Researchers to discover how to combat the negative aspects of fungi

Mold and mildew may be doomed. Researchers are closer to understanding how these and other fungi grow. "Fungi have a big impact on our dinner plate," said Dr. Brian Shaw, Texas AgriLife Research plant pathologist.

22 Dec 2009

New quantities of H1N1 vaccine available for walk-in patients; no appointments necessary

U.S. HealthWorks Medical Group, a leading operator of occupational health and urgent care centers in the nation, today announced that most of its 128 medical centers have new quantities of H1N1 vaccine available for walk-in patients – no appointments necessary.

22 Dec 2009

Study results of CSL’s pandemic H1N1 2009 vaccine published in JAMA

CSL Limited, Australia’s leading biopharmaceutical company, announced the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) has published data from a clinical trial conducted in Australia to study CSL’s pandemic H1N1 2009 ‘swine’ flu vaccine.

22 Dec 2009

TB bacterium does not contain genes needed for spore formation

But a new study by researchers at Loyola University Health System and other centers casts doubt on the TB spore theory. Researchers were unable to detect spores in TB cultures and demonstrated that the TB bacterium doesn't even contain genes related to those needed to produce spores. Researchers also failed to find any spores in frogs infected with TB bacteria, which would have been expected if TB bacteria produced spores in the course of infection.

22 Dec 2009

Rifampicin resistant tuberculosis

Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a patient in China and is described in a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Chongqing Pulmonary Hospital, Lanzhou University and Fudan University.

22 Dec 2009

NMA urges parents to protect their children from meningococcal disease

This winter, while many parents are focused on influenza prevention, the National Meningitis Association (NMA) is urging parents to also protect their families from meningococcal disease, a deadly but potentially vaccine preventable bacterial infection.

22 Dec 2009

New study suggests nasal allergy may be involved in chronic sinus disease

Exposing patients with chronic sinus disease to allergens and then obtaining repeated images by X-ray or ultrasound reveals that nasal allergies may be involved in some cases of chronic sinus disease, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

22 Dec 2009

Scientists offer potential new way to combat malaria

Stopping male mosquitoes from sealing their sperm inside females with a 'mating plug' could prevent mosquitoes from reproducing, and offer a potential new way to combat malaria, say scientists publishing new results in PLoS Biology on 22 December.

22 Dec 2009

Researchers identify new method to tackle bacterial infections

Researchers from the University of Groningen have clarified the structure of an enzyme that disturbs the communication processes between bacteria. By doing so they have laid the foundations for a new method of tackling bacterial infections such as cystic fibrosis.

22 Dec 2009

Select CVS/pharmacy locations and all MinuteClinic medical clinics offer H1N1 vaccinations

Select CVS/pharmacy locations and all MinuteClinic medical clinics throughout Arizona are now offering H1N1 vaccinations. H1N1 vaccine is now also available at select MinuteClinic locations in Illinois in the Chicago area and in Nevada in the Las Vegas area on demand seven days a week with no appointment necessary.

22 Dec 2009

New findings reveal POPG lipid can prevent RSV infection in lungs

Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered that a naturally occurring lipid in the lung can prevent RSV infection and inhibit spread of the virus after an infection is established. RSV is the major cause of hospitalization for children in the first two years of life, and is increasingly recognized as a dangerous pathogen in adults with chronic lung diseases, the elderly, and immunocompromised individuals. Currently, there is no effective vaccine for the virus.

22 Dec 2009

Scientists identify new therapeutic approach for overcoming emphysema

Individuals with single-gene mutations that mean they have abnormally low levels of the protein alpha-1 antitrypsin are highly susceptible to emphysema, a progressive lung disease that causes severe shortness of breath.

22 Dec 2009

Findings may help develop new antiviral drugs for influenza

Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research (Burnham), Mount Sinai School of Medicine (Mount Sinai), the Salk Institute for Biological Studies (Salk) and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation (GNF) have identified 295 human cell factors that influenza A strains must harness to infect a cell, including the currently circulating swine-origin H1N1.

22 Dec 2009

One dose of vaccine may be effective to protect infants and children from H1N1 virus, shows study

One dose of vaccine may be effective to protect infants and children and reduce transmission of the H1N1 virus, according to a study in JAMA, published online today because of its public health implications. The study will appear in the January 6 print edition of the journal.

21 Dec 2009

Disease/Infection News

Use of digital checklist for patients during pandemic reduces fatigue factor, shows report

Opinions: Community-based health care models; U.S. leadership in reproductive health care

Ottawa Citizen examines water, sanitation in East Africa

Also in Global Health news: HIV prevention in China; Global Fund in Philippines; drug-resistant TB; U.S. stance on anti-gay legislation

MSF report names malnutrition, inadequate funds for HIV/AIDS, neglected diseases among top humanitarian crises of 2009

Matrix Laboratories receives FDA tentative approval for Efavirenz NDA under PEPFAR

Researchers to discover how to combat the negative aspects of fungi

New quantities of H1N1 vaccine available for walk-in patients; no appointments necessary

Study results of CSL’s pandemic H1N1 2009 vaccine published in JAMA

TB bacterium does not contain genes needed for spore formation

Rifampicin resistant tuberculosis

NMA urges parents to protect their children from meningococcal disease

New study suggests nasal allergy may be involved in chronic sinus disease

Scientists offer potential new way to combat malaria

Researchers identify new method to tackle bacterial infections

Select CVS/pharmacy locations and all MinuteClinic medical clinics offer H1N1 vaccinations

New findings reveal POPG lipid can prevent RSV infection in lungs

Scientists identify new therapeutic approach for overcoming emphysema

Findings may help develop new antiviral drugs for influenza

One dose of vaccine may be effective to protect infants and children from H1N1 virus, shows study

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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