Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology awarded $18.8M NIH grant for infectious diseases study

Researchers from the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology will take aim at several of the world's most dangerous infectious diseases - tuberculosis, malaria and dengue virus -- in a five-year, $18.8 million federally-funded set of projects seeking to make new inroads toward vaccines against the disorders.

17 Dec 2009

Scientists analyze more than 21 million calls to determine the spread of malaria

University of Florida researchers at work on a malaria elimination study in Africa have become the first to predict the spread of the disease using cell phone records.

17 Dec 2009

Survey examines disease R&D investment in 2008

According to an annual survey released Tuesday by the George Institute for International Health that looks at research and development (R&D) funding of diseases that affect the developing world, the U.S. government in 2008 "remained the single biggest contributor as it again provided almost half of the total funding but the report notes developing countries like Brazil [and] India ... were becoming a growing force," AAP/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 12/15).

17 Dec 2009

Opinions: HIV prevention; PEPFAR; H1N1 vaccine donation; developing country R&D; climate change

"For nearly 30 years scientists have been trying to break the back of the AIDS epidemic," but the recent microbicide gel study and an AIDS vaccine trial in Thailand "show just how difficult and how distant that goal is," according to a Washington Post editorial. "While scientists continue searching for a vaccine or a cure, prevention remains paramount," the Washington Post concludes (12/16).

16 Dec 2009

Interactive education program to fight against malaria

ONE and Malaria No More announced today they are accepting applications for the first-ever "Malaria Griots" program, a dynamic education course that will train and educate participants to become leaders in the fight against malaria.

16 Dec 2009

Increased funds lead to 'significant progress' in global malaria fight, WHO report says

WHO's World Malaria Report 2009, which was released on Tuesday, found "increased funding is starting to pay off in the battle against malaria but prevention and treatment must be increased to try to halt the killer disease," Reuters reports (Kelland, 12/15). According to the Associated Press, there were more than 240 million cases of malaria and an estimated 863,000 people, mostly in Africa, died of the disease in 2008 (Cheng, 12/15).

15 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: Drug trafficking in Kenya; violence in S. Sudan; Uganda bill; sleeping sickness

Drug trafficking and use are fueling the spread of HIV/AIDS in Kenya, according to a recent report by the U.N. Security Council, the Nation reports. "A statement from the council's Presidency currently … states that Afghan heroin was being imported, causing a dramatic increase in heroin addiction and spreading HIV/AIDS in the slums of Nairobi and Mombasa, Kenya's two main cities," the newspaper writes.

15 Dec 2009

NBC News examines 'fastest growing' vector-borne disease: Dengue

Dengue is the "fastest growing" vector-borne disease worldwide, NBC News' "World Blog" writes in a story examining the disease. "It used to be contained largely to south-east Asia, but has been spreading, and is now found in South America, Africa, south Asia and parts of Australia.

15 Dec 2009

FDA grants EUA for DxNA’s 2009 H1N1 influenza virus diagnostic test

DxNA announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its 2009 H1N1 influenza virus diagnostic test for use in DxNA's GeneSTAT(TM) detection platform.

14 Dec 2009

New technological system to help improve availability of anti-malarial drugs in Tanzania

A new solution developed by IBM ( IBM), Novartis and Vodafone with the Roll Back Malaria Partnership, is helping to save lives using everyday technology to improve the availability of anti-malarial drugs in remote areas of Tanzania.

14 Dec 2009

"Gift a bed net" initiative to prevent malaria

Along with the joy of the holiday season comes the usual pressure for families. There are cards to send, cookies to bake, and gifts to wrap. However, one thing most American families don't have to worry this Christmas is finding enough money to protect their children from a life-threatening illness. That's not the case for families like Rachell Chuya and her five children in Zambia.

11 Dec 2009

GAA calls on Obama to fund for PEPFAR

International Human Rights Day -- At his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway, this morning, President Barack Obama emphasized the importance of health and access to medicines for all people as a prerequisite to security. The President said:

11 Dec 2009

NIH awards $14.6M for Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource expansion

Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Georgia have been awarded a five-year, $14.6 million contract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the US National Institutes of Health, to expand and extend work on the Eukaryotic Pathogen Genome Database Resource, http://EuPathDB.org.

11 Dec 2009

FY2010 State and Foreign Ops bill expected to move on the Hill this month

The fiscal year 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which includes funding for global health-related measures, "is moving on the Hill as part of a mammoth catch-all spending bill that's expected to move through both chambers this month," Foreign Policy's blog, "The Cable," reports. "

10 Dec 2009

AFP examines insecticide resistance's effect on malaria fight in Nigeria

Agence France-Presse examines the increase in insecticide-resistant mosquitoes in Nigeria - "the latest threat to combating malaria" in the country. "Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, contributes more than a quarter of the one million malaria deaths in Africa, according to official statistics," AFP writes.

10 Dec 2009

Second-quarter fiscal 2010 results announced by Peregrine Pharmaceuticals

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2010 ended October 31, 2009. Total revenue for the second quarter of FY 2010 increased 255% to $6,896,000, compared to $1,941,000 for the comparable prior year quarter.

10 Dec 2009

Sanofi Pasteur expands dengue vaccine clinical program in Latin America

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of the sanofi-aventis Group (EURONEXT: SAN and SNY), announced today the expansion of its dengue vaccine clinical program in Latin America with a new multicenter study in children and adolescent in Mexico, Colombia, Honduras and Puerto Rico. This new multicenter study complements an earlier study in Mexico and an ongoing study in Peru.

10 Dec 2009

U.N. weather agency predicts heightened disease spread with rising temps; Globe and Mail examines potential health effects of climate change in Africa

The decade 2000-2009 "is very likely to be the warmest since record-keeping began in 1850, and 2009 could rank among the top-five warmest years," the World Meteorological Organization said on Tuesday at the U.N. climate conference in Copenhagen, the Associated Press reports.

10 Dec 2009

Washington Post, New York Times examine PEPFAR

The Washington Post examines the Obama administration's goal "to get the 'emergency' out of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" and integrate HIV/AIDS programs more into the health infrastructure of recipient countries. A five-year strategy for PEPFAR was released last week.

9 Dec 2009

Opinions: ARV access; global health promotion; climate change; under-nutrition; Ethiopia

In an Intellectual Property Watch column, Daniele Dionisio, of the Italian Network for International Fight against AIDS, examines how trade rules and policy directions by governments and institutions may help to improve countries' access to antiretrovirals.

8 Dec 2009