Disease/Infection News

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IRIN examines efforts to improve sleeping sickness dectection

IRIN examines the efforts of the Geneva-based Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to develop less costly surveillance equipment to improve the ability to detect the parasitic disease trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in endemic countries.

16 Jul 2009

Genome sequencing of schistosomiasis parasites could promote drug development

Researchers have sequenced the genomes of two parasites that cause bilharzia or schistosomiasis - a disease transmitted by water-borne snails that affects more than 200 million people worldwide - "revealing potential weaknesses that could be exploited by drug developers," Nature reports (Smith, 7/15).

16 Jul 2009

WHO gives up counting swine flu cases

In its latest briefing on the H1N1 influenza A pandemic (swine flu), the World Health Organisation (WHO) says the unprecedented speed of the spread of the virus means reporting requirements and the data needed for risk assessment, both within affected countries and at the global level, are changing.

16 Jul 2009

Discovery of new transmission patterns may help prevent diarrhea-causing disease rotavirus

New vaccines have the potential to prevent or temper epidemics of the childhood diarrhea-causing disease rotavirus, protect the unvaccinated and raise the age at which the infection first appears in children, federal researchers reported in a study today.

16 Jul 2009

Swine flu warning issued to pregnant women

Health officials are warning pregnant women to be extra careful in the midst of the current swine flu pandemic after three pregnant patients in New South Wales are in intensive care after contracting the novel H1N1 influenza virus.

16 Jul 2009

NPR examines Obama's 'broad' global health strategy; maternal health in Afghanistan discussed at congressional briefing

NPR reports on President Obama's "broad global health strategy," which would increase the amount of funding for family planning, maternal and child health programs to about a "half billion dollars" next year. According to NPR, "the U.S. has committed $230 million [over the next five years] directly to health in Afghanistan, whose government has already built 2,000 health facilities since the collapse of the Taliban regime" (Wilson, 7/15).

15 Jul 2009

GlaxoSmithKline pledges $97 million investment in AIDS drugs for Africa, allows South African drugmaker to produce generic second-line treatment

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on Tuesday announced plans to invest $97 million over 10 years "to improve research, development and access to AIDS drugs in Africa," Reuters reports.

15 Jul 2009

Review of Brazil's HIV/AIDS treatment programs shows importance of generic drugs, researchers say

"Brazil has been successful in its nearly 20-year effort to treat people living with" HIV/AIDS, and generic medicines have been "a large part of the solution," according to a recent Health Affairs review, UPI reports (UPI, 7/14).

15 Jul 2009

Prevalence of artemisinin monotherapies raising risk of resistence

Almost half of all artemisinin manufacturers and malaria-endemic countries are "failing to comply" with WHO requirements to sell the treatment in combination with other drugs, which is increasing the risk that malaria parasites will develop resistance to artemsinin, Nature reports.

15 Jul 2009

Flu mortality formula is potentially misleading, say scientists

A standard calculation used in forecasting potential numbers of deaths during the swine flu pandemic risks misleading healthcare planners by being open to both over- and under-estimation of the true figures, say the authors of new research published today in the British Medical Journal.

15 Jul 2009

'Unstoppable Swine flu' and how to deal with it

Health authorities worldwide are preparing for what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed the 'unstoppable' spread of the new A/H1N1 virus (swine flu) for which Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, says a vaccine will not be available for several months to come.

15 Jul 2009

Toronto Star columnist examines polio eradication in India

According a Toronto Star column, it is an "enormous challenge" for India's government to try to get all of its citizens immunized against polio. "It has used everything from elephants and camels to rickety boats and bikes to ferry the vaccine to remote regions where temperatures have topped 40C the past three months.

15 Jul 2009

Novartis to partner with OneWorld Health to develop diarrhea drug

"Swiss drug company Novartis AG and the Institute for OneWorld Health, a nonprofit group, will announce this week a partnership to discover drugs for a type of diarrhea that kills about 1.6 million children each year in the developing world," the Wall Street Journal reports.

15 Jul 2009

WHO recommends vaccine makers move forward in mass production of H1N1 vaccine

"Saying the new H1N1 [swine flu] virus is 'unstoppable', the WHO gave drug makers a full go-ahead to manufacture vaccines against the pandemic influenza strain on Monday and said healthcare workers should be the first to get one," Reuters reports (Fox, 7/14).

15 Jul 2009

Developing countries can successfully combat HIV/AIDS epidemic with generics

Brazil's nearly two-decade effort to treat people living with HIV and AIDS shows that developing countries can successfully combat the epidemic. Inexpensive generic medicines are a large part of the solution, say researchers from Brown University and the Harvard School of Public Health.

14 Jul 2009

Obama addresses Ghana's parliament, reiterates U.S. global health initiative

During his visit to Ghana over the weekend, President Obama praised the country for its achievements while calling on African leaders to take responsibility for the future of the continent, CNN reports. "Despite the progress that has been made - and there has been considerable progress in parts of Africa - we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled," Obama said during a speech before the Ghanaian parliament (7/11).

13 Jul 2009

U.S. to commit additional $1 billion to H1N1 vaccine development

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday the U.S. has agreed to put an addition $1 billion towards ingredients for the production of a vaccine that offers protection against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters reports.

13 Jul 2009

More than half of malaria drugs in west Africa 'sub-standard quality,' says UNODC

VOA News reports that fake pharmaceuticals pose a greater risk to stability and human security in West Africa than illegal drug trafficking, according to U.N. Office Against Drugs and Crime report. More than half of the malaria medication available in West Africa is of "sub-standard quality," according to U.N. estimates, VOA News writes, adding, "West Africa has the highest estimated rate of malaria on the continent, with nearly 98 million cases of malaria per year."

13 Jul 2009

The latest news on swine flu

The latest update from the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that as of the 6th of July the worldwide total of H1N1 influenza A cases (swine flu) had reached 94,512 including 429 deaths.

13 Jul 2009

Senate Committee approves bill to fund State Department global health programs, global fund

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 29-1 to pass a $48.69 billion draft bill to "fund the State Department and foreign affairs activities in fiscal 2010," CQ reports. "Global health programs would receive $7.8 billion, which is $434 million more than fiscal 2009 funding and $178 million more than the administration request.

12 Jul 2009