Tuberculosis News and Research

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

Doctors in Zimbabwe end two-month strike

Doctors in Zimbabwe have ended a two-month strike after reaching a deal with the government over their wages, Health Minister David Parirenyatwa said on Saturday, Reuters South Africa reports.

8 Mar 2007

International donors must connect fight against HIV/AIDS to ending violence against women

Governments and international donors, including the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, need to address violence against women in the context of HIV/AIDS programs, according to a report conducted by Women Won't Wait and released on Tuesday, Reuters South Africa reports.

8 Mar 2007

Bold proposal to restructure drug development patents

Weill Cornell Medical College scientist Dr. Carl Nathan has issued a bold call for reforming the pharmaceutical development and patent systems in order to increase the number of vaccines and drugs available to combat neglected diseases that are ravaging the world's poor.

8 Mar 2007

China recruits foreign companies, community-based groups, trade unions to join fight against HIV/AIDS

Chinese officials have begun enlisting international companies, community-based organizations and trade unions to join the fight against HIV/AIDS in the country, the Los Angeles Times reports.

5 Mar 2007

HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Kenya could destabilize the country

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Kenya could destabilize the country's social and economic sectors, according to the recently released Kenya National Human Development Report 2006, Kenya's Nation reports.

4 Mar 2007

New Crohn's disease treatment Humira promises to reduce symptoms

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has given it's approval for the use of the drug Humira (adalimumab) to treat adults suffering from Crohn's disease.

28 Feb 2007

FDA approves Humira (adalimumab) for Crohn's disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved Humira (adalimumab) to treat adult patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the intestines, which affects an estimated one million Americans.

27 Feb 2007

Majority of South Africans with HIV have drug resistant TB

Researchers at a conference in Los Angeles have said that as many as 85% of HIV-positive South Africans are also infected with an extensively drug-resistant form of tuberculosis (TB), Extensive Drug Resistant TB (XDR-TB).

27 Feb 2007

Smoking increases risk of tuberculosis infection

People who smoke have a greater risk of becoming infected with tuberculosis (TB) and of having that infection turn into active TB disease, according to an analysis by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

27 Feb 2007

South Africa to revise AIDS control program to address extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis

South Africa is taking steps to revise its HIV/AIDS control program in an effort to combat the spread of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis, TB that is resistant to first- and second-line drugs, Nomonde Xundu, the Department of Health's chief director for HIV and TB, said on Thursday, Reuters reports.

22 Feb 2007

Transmission of drug-resistant tuberculosis among treated patients in Shanghai

A newly released study suggests that the majority of cases of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) among patients undergoing treatment for the disease may be due to new infections, not acquired resistance.

20 Feb 2007

Global partnership to launch $10 million initiative that aims to bolster HIV/AIDS care in 10 African countries using cell phones

A new public-private partnership on Tuesday at the 2007 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, announced the launch of a new $10 million campaign that will use cell phones to bolster HIV/AIDS care and treatment in 10 African countries, Reuters reports.

19 Feb 2007

U.K. should increase efforts to support health systems in developing countries

The United Kingdom should do more to help train and support health workers in developing countries in an effort to strengthen their health care infrastructures, Lord Nigel Crisp, former chief of the U.K. National Health Service, said in a report released on Tuesday, BBC News reports.

19 Feb 2007

Bush spending bill allocates $1.3 billion increase to fund international HIV/AIDS, TB programs

President Bush on Thursday signed a $463.5 billion spending resolution (HJ Res 20) for fiscal year 2007 that includes a $1.3 billion increase for international HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis programs.

19 Feb 2007

Novel spray method for delivering tuberculosis vaccine

Bioengineers and public health researchers at Harvard University have developed a novel spraying method for delivering the most common tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, providing a new low-cost and scaleable technique that offers needle-free delivery and greater stability at room temperature than existing methods.

18 Feb 2007

Breath test to detect lung cancer

A new breath test has been reported to detect lung cancer in its early stage. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and doctors believe that early detection could offer sufferers their best chance for early survival.

18 Feb 2007

New drugs trials could slash treatment times

The current incidence and prevalence of tuberculosis are severely straining the capacity of some National Tuberculosis Control Programmes to successfully administer the WHO recommended standard six-month regimen.

18 Feb 2007

World Bank to provide Thailand with $750,000 for HIV/AIDS programs

The World Bank plans to provide Thailand with a $750,000, three-year grant aimed at providing HIV-positive people with increased access to antiretroviral drugs, Viroj Tangcharoensathien, program director for international health policy at the country's Ministry of Public Health, said recently.

13 Feb 2007

WFP resumes programs providing food to people with TB, HIV in Cambodia

The World Food Program has resumed its programs providing people living with HIV and tuberculosis in Cambodia with access to food after receiving aid from Spain and the U.S., the agency said on Thursday, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.

13 Feb 2007

Michel Kazatchkine to focus on improving partnerships, health care infrastructures

Michel Kazatchkine -- France's global ambassador for HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases who on Thursday was selected to be the new executive director of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria -- has announced that he will aim to improve the organization's partnerships with United Nations organizations and donors, the Boston Globe reports.

13 Feb 2007