Medical News

RSS

Indian Government gets it wrong about HIV Transmission

The Indian government's assumption that HIV in the country is transmitted mainly through sex, especially with commercial sex workers, is "inconsistent with evidence and very likely wrong," according to a study published in the November issue of the Royal Society of Medicine's International Journal of STD and AIDS, AFP/Yahoo! News reports.

30 Oct 2006

Washington Post examines debate surrounding Swaziland's controversial HIV prevention campaign

The Washington Post on Sunday examined the debate surrounding an HIV prevention campaign that aimed to reduce the number of multiple sex partners among people residing in Swaziland.

30 Oct 2006

Tanzania's antiretroviral distribution program expands after slow start

Tanzania's antiretroviral drug distribution program began slowly but is accelerating, with the number of people receiving treatment doubling over the past 10 months, IRIN News/AllAfrica.com reports.

30 Oct 2006

Indian Armed Forces introduces compulsory HIV screening for new recruits

The Indian armed forces has introduced compulsory HIV screening for all people entering the military, Vijay Singh, director general of the Armed Forces Medical Services, said on Thursday, the Press Trust of India/Hindu reports.

30 Oct 2006

South Africa shifts response to HIV/AIDS epidemic

The South African government has shifted its response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic to focus more on expanding access to antiretroviral treatment, HIV testing and prevention, the Washington Post reports.

30 Oct 2006

Health care IT bill could increase costs by $416 million

America's Health Insurance Plans released a new study that found a provision in a health care information technology bill (HR 4157) passed earlier this year by the House could increase U.S. health care costs by as much as $416 million, CQ HealthBeat reports (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 10/27).

30 Oct 2006

Texas Comptroller calls for immediate end to social services contract citing mismanagement

Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn in a letter to lawmakers on Wednesday said a five-year contract with an Accenture LLP group that administers enrollment for Medicaid, the state's SCHIP program and other social services "must be ended" because of mismanagement, the Houston Chronicle reports.

30 Oct 2006

TennCare expanding efforts to acquire deceased beneficiaries' estates

TennCare, Tennessee's Medicaid program, is "stepping up its efforts" to sell deceased beneficiaries' homes to "recoup some of the roughly $1 billion" annually that the state pays for long-term care, the Tennessean reports.

30 Oct 2006

Most U.S. residents do not examine source, date of health care data posted online

Three-fourths of U.S. adults who search for health care information online regularly do not examine the source and date to determine the quality of the data, according to a survey released on Sunday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

30 Oct 2006

Effective test for screening Huntington's disease drugs

A test using cultured cells provides an effective way to screen drugs against Huntington's disease and shows that two compounds - memantine and riluzole - are most effective at keeping cells alive under conditions that mimic the disorder, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers report.

30 Oct 2006

FDA warns about risks of using decorative contact lenses

This Halloween season, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is again warning consumers about the serious risks of using decorative contact lenses without the appropriate involvement of an eye care professional.

30 Oct 2006

New initiative to combat corruption in medicines procurement

Huge amounts of money - up to $50 billion - are spent every year on pharmaceutical products, a market so large that it is extremely vulnerable to corruption. Recent estimates have shown that as much as 25% of medicines which are procured can be lost to fraud, bribery and other corrupt practices.

30 Oct 2006

Sperm-busting male contraceptive pill in the pipeline

Scientists are in the process of developing a male contraceptive drug which stops the development process of sperm.

30 Oct 2006

What will Americans do if bird flu strikes?

According to a recent poll most Americans would comply with government orders to avoid work, school or other public places in the event of a flu pandemic.

30 Oct 2006

Teen's radiation overdose down to paperwork

A report into the death of a teenage cancer patient who was given, in error, massive overdoses of radiation to treat a brain tumour, was apparently down to paperwork.

30 Oct 2006

GSK about to sign another big bird flu deal

Europe's largest drug maker GlaxoSmithKline is said to be about to sign another deal to provide tens of millions of doses of it's experimental H5N1 vaccine for humans.

30 Oct 2006

Six medics fight for their life in Libyan re-trial as another child dies of AIDS

The death of a nine-year old girl from AIDS in Libya brings the death toll to 52 of children in a Benghazi hospital who were allegedly deliberately infected with the virus by six foreign medics.

30 Oct 2006

Expert says flu vaccination programs a pointless waste of money

According to a vaccine expert the millions spent on flu vaccination programs each year are a waste of time and money.

30 Oct 2006

Wild pigs suspects in E. coli drama

Investigators now believe wild pigs were possibly the source of a recent spinach E.coli outbreak in the USA and Canada that resulted in the death of three people and made over 200 people ill.

30 Oct 2006

Living near highways bad for kids asthma

According to the results of a five-year study by researchers at New York University's School of Medicine, the unusually high numbers of elementary school children suffering from asthma and other respiratory ailments in the South Bronx area of New York, can be attributed to motor vehicle exhaust fumes.

30 Oct 2006