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Community spread of trachoma could be stopped by treating all household members

All members of the household need to be treated for trachoma in order to prevent rapid re-infection, according to a new study published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

30 Mar 2009

AHF lauds ‘Lancet’ editorial criticizing Pope on condoms and HIV

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today lauded the respected British medical journal, 'The Lancet,' for its strongly-worded editorial criticizing Pope Benedict XVI for his public remarks early last week suggesting that condoms are fueling the spread of AIDS in Africa.

30 Mar 2009

River blindness under control in Escuintla, Guatemala

An international team of researchers led by Rodrigo Gonzalez of the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala reports that the transmission of onchocerciasis or river blindness has been broken in Escuintla, Guatemala, one of the largest endemic areas in the Western Hemisphere to date to stop the transmission of the parasitic disease.

30 Mar 2009

NPR program examines efforts to improve BCG tuberculosis vaccine

NPR's "Morning Edition" last week examined the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation's efforts to improve the existing BCG vaccine to provide increased protection against tuberculosis.

30 Mar 2009

AP/Google.com examines efforts to address drug-resistant tuberculosis in China, other countries

The AP/Google.com on Monday examined efforts to prevent and control the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis in China and other countries.

30 Mar 2009

Tampa Bay religious leaders join effort to address HIV/AIDS among the black community

The New York-based National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS -- which raises HIV/AIDS awareness in cities with high rates of the virus -- on Thursday established an affiliate in Tampa Bay, a "'badly needed'" effort, according to organizers, a St. Petersburg Times editorial states.

30 Mar 2009

Newly created institute 'rare bit of good news' in HIV/AIDS vaccine efforts, editorial says

Although former President George W. Bush "made an ambitious new commitment to the global fight against AIDS," and Congress in 2008 "authorized billions in new spending," lawmakers and philanthropists "will retreat" as the current economic recession continues, a Providence Journal editorial says.

30 Mar 2009

Research may support Pope's comments against condom use in Africa, opinion piece says

Pope Benedict XVI "set off a firestorm of protest" earlier this month when he commented that condom distribution "isn't helping, and may be worsening" the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, but "in truth, current empirical evidence supports him," Edward Green, a senior research scientist at the Harvard School of Public Health, writes in a Washington Post opinion piece.

30 Mar 2009

Cambodian Government plans to use drivers license tests to raise HIV/AIDS awareness

In an effort to increase HIV/AIDS awareness among drivers -- particularly professional truck drivers, many of whom visit commercial sex workers while on the road -- the Cambodian government plans to add questions about the disease to the driver's license exam administered by the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, the Phnom Penh Post reports.

30 Mar 2009

Plan to close independent HIV/AIDS xlinics in Mozambique raises concerns, protests

Advocates in Mozambique recently protested outside a hospital in the capital of Maputo against the announcement that specialized care units for HIV/AIDS treatment in the country will be closed, the SAPA/Times reports.

30 Mar 2009

Rhode Island House Committee holds hearing on bill that would eliminate written consent requirement for HIV testing

The Rhode Island House Committee on Health, Education and Welfare last week held a hearing on a proposed amendment to a state requirement that physicians obtain written consent before administering an HIV test, the Providence Journal reports.

30 Mar 2009

The spread of drug resistant HIV-1

Drug-resistant forms of HIV can be spread between individuals who have not received anti-retroviral treatment, according to Professor Deenan Pillay from University College, London and the Health Protection Agency, speaking at the Society for General Microbiology meeting at Harrogate.

30 Mar 2009

Tea tree oil and silver effective in treating skin infections

In the fight against infected skin wounds, mixing tea tree oil and silver or putting them in liposomes, (small spheres made from natural lipids), greatly increases their antimicrobial activity and may minimise any side effects.

30 Mar 2009

War wounded at risk for superbugs

Soldiers who survive severe injuries on battlefields such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan can be at risk from developing infections of their wounds with multidrug resistant bacteria.

30 Mar 2009

Slow-growing tuberculosis bacteria point the way to new drug development

The discovery of a large number of slow-growing Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria, which cause tuberculosis (TB), in the lungs of TB patients could be an important step forward in the design of new anti-TB drugs.

30 Mar 2009

Cepheid announces new TB test for use in developing countries

The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company Cepheid on Tuesday announced it has developed a rapid diagnostic test for tuberculosis that it will sell at a reduced cost in developing countries, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The test was developed in partnership with the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

30 Mar 2009

Tanzania hopes to eradicate Malaria by 2015, health official says following release of global malaria map

The Tanzanian government has expressed hope that the country will be able to eradicate malaria by 2015, Aisha Kigoda, deputy minister for health and social welfare, said Tuesday following the release of a global malaria map that identifies areas at high risk of malaria, the Guardian/IPP Media reports.

30 Mar 2009

$44 billion needed by 2015 to control TB, health officials say at close of stop TB partnership forum

About 1,300 health officials on Wednesday at the close of the 3rd Stop TB Partnership Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, said that $44 billion is "needed from now until 2015 to reach" World Health Organization targets aimed at controlling the disease in the 22 countries with the highest TB burden worldwide, AFP/Google.com reports.

30 Mar 2009

Scientists, health officials increasing efforts to fight apread of drug-resistant malaria along Thai-Cambodian border

Scientists and health officials are increasing efforts to curb a drug-resistant malaria strain along the Thai-Cambodian border that is becoming increasingly resistant to artemisinin, an ingredient in artemisinin-based combination therapies, IRIN News reports.

30 Mar 2009

Education sector faces severe impact from HIV/AIDS, Ugandan official says

A senior official at Uganda's Ministry of Education said recently that the impact of HIV/AIDS on the country's education sector would be severe if measures are not taken to address the situation, Uganda's Daily Monitor reports.

30 Mar 2009

Disease/Infection News

Community spread of trachoma could be stopped by treating all household members

AHF lauds ‘Lancet’ editorial criticizing Pope on condoms and HIV

River blindness under control in Escuintla, Guatemala

NPR program examines efforts to improve BCG tuberculosis vaccine

AP/Google.com examines efforts to address drug-resistant tuberculosis in China, other countries

Tampa Bay religious leaders join effort to address HIV/AIDS among the black community

Newly created institute 'rare bit of good news' in HIV/AIDS vaccine efforts, editorial says

Research may support Pope's comments against condom use in Africa, opinion piece says

Cambodian Government plans to use drivers license tests to raise HIV/AIDS awareness

Plan to close independent HIV/AIDS xlinics in Mozambique raises concerns, protests

Rhode Island House Committee holds hearing on bill that would eliminate written consent requirement for HIV testing

The spread of drug resistant HIV-1

Tea tree oil and silver effective in treating skin infections

War wounded at risk for superbugs

Slow-growing tuberculosis bacteria point the way to new drug development

Cepheid announces new TB test for use in developing countries

Tanzania hopes to eradicate Malaria by 2015, health official says following release of global malaria map

$44 billion needed by 2015 to control TB, health officials say at close of stop TB partnership forum

Scientists, health officials increasing efforts to fight apread of drug-resistant malaria along Thai-Cambodian border

Education sector faces severe impact from HIV/AIDS, Ugandan official says

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production

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