Malaria News and Research

Latest Malaria News and Research

Ambassador Nancy G. Brinker calls for a global fight against cancer

The leader of the global breast cancer movement today warned of a coming wave of cancer deaths and told global health ministers to be “fearless and united” in addressing the growing cancer crisis, particularly in developing countries.

23 Sep 2009

Clinton Global Initiative meeting begins, will address investment in women, girls

The Clinton Global Initiative's (CGI) 2009 meeting, which begins Tuesday in New York, has added a new theme to its agenda - "investing in women and girls to narrow the gender gap," Bloomberg reports in an article examining the conference.

23 Sep 2009

Biomagnetics, Bright Dairy enter into distribution agreement for China

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., (PINK SHEETS:BMGP) a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and malaria detection, today announced it has entered into an agreement with Bright Dairy, which is the third largest dairy products producer and marketer in China.

23 Sep 2009

African leaders to form alliance to eliminate malaria deaths

African leaders, who are scheduled to meet in New York on Wednesday, are expected to launch an effort - the African Leaders Malaria Alliance (ALMA) - to eliminate all malaria deaths on the continent by 2015, the Daily Independent/allAfrica.com reports (Shokunbi, 9/22).

23 Sep 2009

Also in Global Health news: HIV/aids in Zambia; Ugandan medical workers; Obama administration officials' Q&A, speech; South African health care reform efforts; texting to combat drug shortages in Africa

The Post of Zambia examines the findings of a recent report revealing "the devastating effects" the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Zambia is having on the country's ability to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goals. The article also looks at the relationship between HIV/AIDS and nutrition, maternal health and education (Chackwe, 9/21).

21 Sep 2009

TIME examines voluntary airline tax that aims to fund global health projects

TIME examines a voluntary airline tax, to be introduced in the U.S. and several European countries in January, that aims to "make up a shortfall in official government aid to poor countries — a shortfall exacerbated by the world financial crisis." The tax will be used to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, and it will also go towards improving maternal health and reducing child mortality.

21 Sep 2009

Recent releases: Climate change, health; ITNS; Mexico H1N1; Policy Tracker; TB treatment; blogs

In addition to the Lancet's recent publication of an opinion piece and letter by 18 doctor association leaders about the potential health risks associated with climate change, the journal includes an editorial about sexual and reproductive health and climate change and a comment on the upcoming Copenhagen conference in December (9/19).

21 Sep 2009

PBS shows examine door-to-door medical counseling in Rwanda, malaria in Tanzania

NOW on PBS recently aired a segment examining a project in Rwanda, which is a collaboration of the government and Partners in Health, that uses local doctors, nurses and villagers "to deliver medicine and medical counseling door-to-door." According to the show, "In rural Rwanda, the simple and time-tested idea of medical house calls is not only improving the health of the community, but stimulating its economy as well."

21 Sep 2009

H1N1 infected people continue to shed live virus days after the symptoms

ABC News and other outlets are reporting that two studies released on Tuesday suggest that people infected with the H1N1 virus continue to shed virus after the point where current recommendations say they can resume their normal activities.

19 Sep 2009

Also in global health news: HIV/AIDS in Bangladesh; river blindness in Tanzania; potential immune system booster; compounds might fight TB

BDNews24.com reports on a new $13 million U.S.-government initiative aimed at "providing HIV-prevention services to two million at-risk people in Bangladesh including injecting drug users, male, female and transgender sex workers and their clients, and HIV-positive people through a network of 50 health centres." USAID will partner with Family Health International (FHI) to implement the program (9/17).

18 Sep 2009

Intermittent preventive treatment could prevent a third of infant malaria cases, study finds

Research into intermittent preventive treatment of malaria in infants (IPTi) found that one-third of malaria cases in African babies can be prevented by giving them regular doses of malaria drugs even if they have not contracted the disease, according to a Lancet study, published on Thursday, Reuters reports. The study found that IPTi "helped children build better immunity to the disease and reduced the risk of the parasite becoming drug-resistant," but "these benefits decrease if treatment is given continuously as a prophylaxis," Reuters writes.

18 Sep 2009

NASDAQ Stock Market issues notification letter to GenVec

On September 15, 2009, GenVec, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNVC) received a notice from The NASDAQ Stock Market stating that the minimum bid price of the Company's common stock was below $1.00 per share for 30 consecutive business days and that the Company was therefore not in compliance with Marketplace Rule 5450(a)(5).

17 Sep 2009

Biomagnetics and U.S. Government laboratory continue contract negotiations

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp., (PINK SHEETS:BMGP) a developer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for HIV, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and malaria detection, today announced the Company is in continuing contract negotiations to acquire the rights to Integrated Optical Biosensor System (IBOS) technology developed by one of the U.S. Government’s top national security research institutions.

17 Sep 2009

IPTi tool with SP medicine helps prevent malaria in African infants

A third (30%) of malaria cases can be avoided in African infants using a safe, affordable and simple tool called Intermittent Preventive Treatment of malaria in Infants (IPTi) with the medicine sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP), which can be delivered alongside existing childhood vaccination programmes.

17 Sep 2009

US NetMark project helps build African and international businesses

The NetMark project, a $67 million, USAID-funded public-private partnership to prevent malaria, ends September 30, but the bed net market continues to thrive in seven countries where it operated-Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Zambia. Not only did the U.S. investment help spur major spending by private companies-for every $1 in public funds, African and international businesses spent $1.30-the new commercial sector now exists.

17 Sep 2009

News outlets examine West Africa floods

The torrential rains that began in June in West Africa and subsequent floods have forced an estimated 150,000 people from their homes and claimed the lives of 160, VOA News reports. The worst affected countries include Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Sierra Leone (Schlein, 9/13).

17 Sep 2009

Also in Global Health news: Tanzania's health care; polio, diarrhea in India; ITNs in Nigeria; health in Sudan

Rotary International recently started working with the Indian government to fight diarrhea, which can make polio immunizations ineffective, IANS/Thaindian News reports. Deepak Kapur, chairman of the India National PolioPlus Society of Rotary International, said the plan is to educate people about the use of use of zinc tablets and oral rehydration therapy to prevent diarrhea, which kills almost 500,000 children per year in the country (Khan, 9/16).

17 Sep 2009

Six research project grants aimed at improving human health awarded

Six research project grant awards totaling $5.1 million will be made to Washington life sciences organizations and their partners, the state’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund announced today.

16 Sep 2009

Pros and cons of HIV treatments in developing countries

Palumbo is co-leading a clinical study of anti-HIV medicines in Africa and India for the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group (IMPAACT). The randomized trial found that a cohort of 82 HIV-infected children ages 6 to 35 months responded better to treatment with the protease-inhibiting drug lopinavir (LPV/r) than did a cohort of 82 children in the same age group who received the anti-retroviral drug nevirapine (NVP).

16 Sep 2009

Urgent vaccine requirements for treating epidemic diseases voiced at ECI 2009

As a result of dominant media coverage of new epidemic threats such as swine influenza, other infection risks receive less public attention than they deserve. "We would like to bring to everybody's attention that the infectious diseases with the most severe consequences continue to be old acquaintances such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria and hepatitis C. About six million people worldwide die of these diseases every year," says Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Stefan H. E. Kaufmann, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, at the 2nd European Congress of Immunology ECI 2009.

16 Sep 2009