Disease/Infection News

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Yaws disease re-emerging

Yaws, a disease which eats away at the skin, cartilage and bones of its victims (mostly children), is re- emerging in poor, rural and marginalized populations of Africa, Asia and South America.

28 Jan 2007

From 1 January to 21 January 2007, the Ministry of Health has reported 241 suspected cases including 16 deaths (case-fatality rate, 6.6%) in Arua/ Maracha-Terego, Koboko, and Yumbe districts, an area bordering South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

25 Jan 2007

Antiviral resistance and the control of pandemic influenza

Stockpiling large amounts of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and related antiviral drugs with the intent to treat a large fraction of the population is a key part of pandemic preparedness of many countries.

23 Jan 2007

XDR-TB in South Africa

A team of medical ethics and public health experts say tough isolation measures, involuntary if need be, are justified to contain a deadly, contagious, drug-resistant strain of TB in South Africa and to prevent "a potentially explosive international health crisis."

23 Jan 2007

Measles Initiative exceeds goals

Measles deaths have fallen by 60% worldwide since 1999 - a major public health success. This exceeds the United Nations goal to halve measles deaths between 1999 and 2005 and is largely due to an unprecedented decline in measles deaths in the African region.

22 Jan 2007

H5N1 genetic mutation observed in Egypt

Viruses with a genetic mutation, linked in laboratory testing to moderately reduced susceptibility to oseltamivir, have been discovered in two persons previously reported with H5N1 infections in Egypt.

22 Jan 2007

More aid required for chronic conditions in developed world

In an article published in the January 18, 2007, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Gerard Anderson, PhD, professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, highlights the need for more international assistance to address chronic non-communicable conditions affecting people living in low and middle income countries.

18 Jan 2007

Race to accelerate tuberculosis drug development

Each year, tuberculosis kills nearly two million people while an estimated nine million develop the disease -- with the hardest-hit areas in AIDS-afflicted developing nations.

14 Jan 2007

Syphilis epidemic in China

A range of unique biological and social forces are driving a substantial syphilis epidemic in China, according to the results of a national surveillance programme published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

14 Jan 2007

76th H5N1 case confirmed in Indonesia

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed an additional two cases of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

9 Jan 2007

Oprah Winfrey takes HIV test in South Africa

U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey on Saturday took an HIV test at an open day for families at the recently opened Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports.

9 Jan 2007

Kenya's progress at reducing HIV/AIDS prevalence could be undermined by funding delays

Although Kenya has recorded a decrease in HIV/AIDS prevalence from 6.1% to 5.9% during the past year, the country's HIV/AIDS control efforts could be undermined by delays in funding disbursement and other challenges, the Lancet reports.

9 Jan 2007

Test to detect drug-resistant HIV strains could help provide earlier treatment

A test to detect drug-resistant HIV strains in people with low levels of drug-resistant viral loads could help physicians provide more effective treatment earlier to HIV-positive people, according to a study published on Sunday in the online edition of the journal Nature Methods, BBC News reports.

9 Jan 2007

Free seasonal flu vaccinations for poultry workers in UK

Free seasonal flu vaccinations will be offered to those who work in close contact with poultry as a precautionary public health measure, the UK Department of Health announced.

8 Jan 2007

Iran's "sex for clothing" hampering efforts to fight HIV/AIDS

The "increasingly common" practice in Tehran, Iran, between commercial sex workers and shopkeepers of trading sex for no-cost or discounted fashion clothing is undermining efforts to fight the spread of HIV in the country, according to health education workers, London's Guardian reports.

7 Jan 2007

Vaccine purchase plan for diseases auch as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria needs political will, funding pledges

The advance market commitment plan aimed at funding the development of vaccines for diseases -- including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria -- that largely affect developing countries is "a new way for partners in the private and public sectors to solve an old problem".

7 Jan 2007

India's National AIDS Control Organization to encourage development of public-private partnerships

India's National AIDS Control Organization plans to encourage the development of public-private partnerships in the fight against HIV/AIDS under the third phase of the country's National AIDS Control Program, which is scheduled to be launched in April, The Hindu reports.

7 Jan 2007

100% condom use program in China

Health officials in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur region plan to launch a program this year that aims to promote condom use at every entertainment venue to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS among high-risk populations, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.

7 Jan 2007

Lesotho approves policy to care for AIDS orphans

The government of Lesotho has approved a policy to care for orphans and vulnerable children, including those who have lost at least one parent to AIDS-related illnesses, IRIN News reports.

7 Jan 2007

Common-sense measures to stop ICU infections

Hospitals will quickly slash the rate of common, costly and potentially lethal catheter-related bloodstream infections in their intensive care units (ICUs) by using cheap, low-tech, common-sense measures like hand washing, timely removal of unneeded catheters, and use of sites other than the groin to place lines when possible, according to a report from safety experts at Johns Hopkins in the New England Journal of Medicine.

2 Jan 2007