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Prestige Ameritech to open a Global Pandemic Preparedness and Response Center

Prestige Ameritech is turning a vacant, former Kimberly-Clark surgical mask factory into a Global Pandemic Preparedness and Response Center. The 220,000 square foot facility, on 17 acres in North Richland Hills, Texas, will open by January 31, 2010.

7 Nov 2009

San Francisco map of HIV viral loads shows where care lags

Researchers in San Francisco have identified how much virus people infected with HIV are carrying and mapped their results, which show that that AIDS treatment lags in certain neighborhoods. The work also showed that the sickest patients were often African-American, homeless and transgender.

7 Nov 2009

Reuters examines China's involvement in fighting Malaria in Africa

Chinese scientists have been working on enhancing "the rare sweet wormwood shrub, from which artemisinin - the best drug to fight malaria - is derived" in an effort to fight malaria "not on its own soil, where the deadly disease has been sharply pruned back, but in Africa, where it still kills one child every 30 seconds," Reuters reports.

7 Nov 2009

Poll examines the American public's response to H1N1 vaccine shortage

A new national poll from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers found that a majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so. The poll, which examines the American public's response to the H1N1 vaccine shortage, is the fifth in a series of surveys of public views concerning the H1N1 flu outbreak undertaken by the Harvard Opinion Research Program at HSPH.

7 Nov 2009

NIH awards UAB School of Public Health $11.5M to research new methods of identifying youth with HIV

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health has been awarded a total of $11.5 million from the National Institutes of Health to explore new ways to identify adolescents and young adults infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and link them to medical care.

7 Nov 2009

WHO, MSF highlight poor health situation in Southern Sudan

Three quarters of people in South Sudan, which has a population of 8 million, do not have access to health care, and 10 percent of children there and in Darfur die before the age of 1, Mohammad Abdur Rab, the WHO's representative to Sudan, said Thursday, Reuters/ABC News reports.

7 Nov 2009

Calbiotech awarded a SBIR contract to develop analyte specific reagents for the diagnosis of Dengue virus

Calbiotech, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Phase I contract by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material command. Under terms of the agreement, Calbiotech will develop analyte specific reagents (ASRs) for the diagnosis of Dengue virus.

6 Nov 2009

Publications examine U.S. funding for global HIV/AIDS

In light of a Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) report calling for sustained HIV/AIDS funding, VOA News writes: "Many AIDS-related groups and activists have been calling on U.S. President Barack Obama to fulfill his funding pledges made during the presidential campaign. But are they asking too much, considering the economic downturn?" Sharonann Lynch, an HIV policy advisor for MSF, said, "PEPFAR has the opportunity to save six million lives and it shouldn't settle for three."

6 Nov 2009

President Obama discusses Africa's HIV/AIDS epidemic with president of Botswana

President Barack Obama met with Botswana's president, Ian Khama, on Thursday to discuss issues facing the country, including the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, Bloomberg reports (Johnston, 11/5).

6 Nov 2009

National Institutes of Health grants $6-million for brain disease research

Brown University, in collaboration with two other institutions, has been awarded a five-year, $6-million National Institutes of Health program project grant to help determine how a virus that can cause a rare brain disease attaches to host cells.

6 Nov 2009

H1N1 is now most dominant flu strain worldwide, WHO says

The H1N1 (swine flu) virus is now the dominant flu strain worldwide, the WHO reported Thursday, with the virus accounting for up to 70 percent of the flu viruses sampled in some countries, the Associated Press reports.

6 Nov 2009

ART as part of HIV prevention strategy supported by WHO

"AIDS drugs should be given to all who need them to reduce new infections, the World Health Organization said," following a three-day meeting on the topic of using antiretroviral therapy (ART) to help prevent the spread of HIV, Bloomberg reports. "Providing more antiretroviral drugs 'will achieve a significant transmission benefit,' Teguest Guerma, interim director of the WHO's AIDS department, said … 'In the past, there has been a false dichotomy between prevention and treatment. …'That is really what has been corrected. Prevention and treatment are two faces of the same coin'" (Bennett, 11/5).

6 Nov 2009

Preparis unveils new website to help businesses and employees prepare for swine flu pandemic

Preparis, Inc. today associated the rapid spread of H1N1 pandemic to the high percentage of companies that are not doing enough to prevent its spread in the workplace. In response, the company has unveiled a special website dedicated to helping businesses and their employees prepare for the “swine flu” pandemic. This free service, called H1N1 Central, takes a decidedly business-centric and hands-on approach. It can be found at www.preparis.com.

6 Nov 2009

CREW urge HHS to investigate CDC's approval to distribute H1NI vaccine to Wall Street firms

Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked Health and Human Service (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to investigate why the Center for Disease Control (CDC) approved the distribution of the H1NI vaccine to Wall Street firms at a time when the vaccine is unavailable to most Americans.

6 Nov 2009

Eggs sensitivity and flu shot: Doctors' dilemma

"My three year old had a skin breakout we think was due to eggs - is it safe to do a flu shot?" It's a question being asked to every doctor who takes care of kids during flu season. "On the one hand we are concerned about the devastating effects of the new strain of flu, and on the other we aren't sure if a history of eggs sensitivity is enough to hold the shot or spray," said Bobby Q. Lanier, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of North Texas HSC in Fort Worth, Texas, and executive medical director of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

6 Nov 2009

Novexel commences comparative study of NXL103 to oral linezolid

Novexel, a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of novel antibiotics designed to overcome the significant global problem of microbial resistance, announces today that its most advanced oral antibacterial NXL103 (flopristin/linopristin), has started a Phase II clinical trial in adults with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI). The trial is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of NXL103 in comparison to oral linezolid.

6 Nov 2009

Journal of Infectious Diseases' special edition on rotavirus

The Journal of Infectious Diseases has released a special edition, Global Rotavirus Surveillance: Preparing for the Introduction of Rotavirus Vaccines. This special edition provides a significant contribution to the understanding of rotavirus disease burden and the impact of rotavirus vaccines, which have the potential to save an estimated 228,000 lives annually.

6 Nov 2009

H1N1 Contingency Plan for business associations

IMW Consultants helps businesses limit financial losses from swine flu with a contingency plan that can be implemented in just a few hours.

6 Nov 2009

Physicians concern about the spread of H1N1 virus and the availability of H1N1 vaccine

According to a Panel Intelligence survey of 50 primary care physicians, there are significant concerns about the H1N1 virus not just in terms of disease prevalence and vaccine shortages, but also in that 38% of the physicians surveyed (PCPs, pediatricians, and gerontologists) are "very concerned" about the virus evolving into a more serious strain and another 52% have moderate concerns about such a development.

6 Nov 2009

Alliance Québécoise du Psoriasis provides information concerning H1N1 vaccination campaign

The Alliance Québécoise du Psoriasis (Quebec psoriasis alliance) would like to give its members and other psoriasis sufferers information concerning the massive H1N1 vaccination campaign.

6 Nov 2009