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Canada budgets $258 million for human papillomavirus vaccination programs

The Canadian government on Monday announced that it is including about $258 million in the 2007-2008 budget to help pay for provincial human papillomavirus vaccination programs, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports.

22 Mar 2007

Long periods of bed rest harmful to health of pregnant women

Studies by NASA scientists, who used bed rest to simulate weightlessness in space, found that complete immobility during a long period of time can cause degeneration of person's musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems.

22 Mar 2007

Proposed Polish law banning discussions on homosexuality could hinder access to HIV/AIDS information

Human Rights Watch on Monday in a letter to Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said that a law proposed in the country that would ban discussions on homosexuality in schools violates freedom of speech and could deny children access to HIV/AIDS information, London's Guardian reports.

22 Mar 2007

Stanford brain tumor vaccine to be tested nationally

When Susan Wright learned that she had a type of fatal, rapidly growing brain cancer at age 46, her doctors at the University of Florida told her she wouldn't live more than 18 months.

22 Mar 2007

South Africa's new five-year HIV/AIDS plan represents 'unprecedented cooperation' between government, civil society

South Africa's new five-year HIV/AIDS plan is an "unprecedented cooperation" between the government and civil society organizations in the country, Glenda Gray, executive director of the Perinatal Health Research Unit at the University of the Witwatersrand, and David Harrison, CEO of loveLife, write in a Sunday Independent opinion piece.

22 Mar 2007

Controlling HIV/AIDS in India - an immense challenge

Controlling HIV/AIDS in India is an "immense" challenge for the country's National AIDS Control Organization -- which is preparing to launch on April 1 the third phase of its National AIDS Control Program, a new five-year, $2.6 billion program that aims to reduce the number of new HIV cases and improve access to treatment in the country -- NEJM national correspondent Robert Steinbrook writes in a perspective piece.

22 Mar 2007

Vietnam to widen HIV/AIDS education program

Vietnam's Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced that its HIV/AIDS prevention department plans to widen its education program to include the country's general population, specifically young people, in an attempt to change the public's attitude and behavior regarding the disease by 2010, Vietnam News Agency reports.

22 Mar 2007

Georgia approves bill requiring doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

The Georgia House on Monday voted 140-14 to approve a bill (HB 429) that would require doctors in the state to offer pregnant women HIV tests, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

22 Mar 2007

Some people with HIV/AIDS in Zambia are abandoning their antiretroviral drug regimens for ineffective cures

Some people living with HIV/AIDS in Zambia are abandoning their antiretroviral drug regimens for ineffective drugs that in recent weeks have been promoted in the media as cures for the disease, the Network of Zambian People Living with HIV and AIDS said on Monday, AFP/Independent Online reports.

22 Mar 2007

Global tuberculosis epidemic has levelled off

The global tuberculosis (TB) epidemic has levelled off for the first time since WHO declared TB a public health emergency in 1993. The Global Tuberculosis Control Report released today by WHO finds that the percentage of the world's population struck by TB peaked in 2004 and then held steady in 2005.

22 Mar 2007

Thailand, pharmaceutical companies to continue talks on compulsory drug licenses

Thai public health officials plan to continue discussions with international pharmaceutical companies following recent debates over compulsory licenses issued by the country for some medications, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Daniel Christman said on Tuesday, Reuters UK reports

22 Mar 2007

Hong Kong and China's Guangdong province will increase joint HIV surveillance and prevention efforts

According to Yu Dewen, spokesperson for the Guangdong health authority, because many new HIV cases are transmitted sexually, the two health departments will "launch a series of education campaigns to increase public awareness" about HIV/AIDS.

22 Mar 2007

Massachusetts health insurance connector board votes to require prescription drug coverage as part of draft minimum coverage requirements

The Massachusetts Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority on Tuesday approved minimum coverage requirements for health insurance plans to comply with the state's universal coverage law, including requiring prescription drug coverage, the New York Times reports.

22 Mar 2007

New retail health clinic industry group meets to discuss quality, safety standards

The Convenient Care Association, an organization representing 18 companies that operate retail health clinics, held its first general meeting on Monday at the University of Pennsylvania to discuss quality and safety standards at retail clinics, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

22 Mar 2007

New York Governor outlines possible agreement with Healthcare Association of New York State on health care budget cuts

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) on Tuesday outlined a potential compromise with the Healthcare Association of New York State on cuts to health care spending in his fiscal year 2008 budget proposal, the Albany Times Union reports.

22 Mar 2007

90% of veterans' hospital facility problems are routine 'wear and tear'

Routine maintenance issues account for 90% of the 1,100 problems found in the nation's 1,400 Veterans Affairs' health clinics and hospitals, according to a report released Wednesday based on a review ordered by VA Secretary Jim Nicholson, the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

22 Mar 2007

Prescription drug safety legislation introduced in House

Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman (Calif.) and Edward Markey (Mass.) have introduced legislation (HR 1561) that they say would make greater strides toward ensuring the safety of prescription drugs than Senate legislation (S 484) introduced by Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), CQ HealthBeat reports.

22 Mar 2007

FDA proposes rules to prevent conflicts of interest among agency advisory committee members

FDA on Wednesday announced proposed rules under which medical experts with more than a $50,000 financial interest in pharmaceutical companies could not serve on agency advisory committees that review their products or the products of their competitors, the Washington Post reports.

22 Mar 2007

House Ways and Means committee passes bill to prohibit genetic discrimination

The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday by voice vote unanimously approved a bill (HR 493) that would ban discrimination against U.S. residents based on the results of genetic tests, CongressDaily reports.

22 Mar 2007

AACR's Sixth Annual Landon Awards recognize Richard Kolodner, Douglas Lowy and John Schiller

Scientists whose discoveries have led to fundamental advances in the science and treatment of cancer are the recipients of two prestigious international prizes offered by the Kirk A. and Dorothy P. Landon Foundation and the American Association for Cancer Research.

22 Mar 2007

Medical News

Canada budgets $258 million for human papillomavirus vaccination programs

Long periods of bed rest harmful to health of pregnant women

Proposed Polish law banning discussions on homosexuality could hinder access to HIV/AIDS information

Stanford brain tumor vaccine to be tested nationally

South Africa's new five-year HIV/AIDS plan represents 'unprecedented cooperation' between government, civil society

Controlling HIV/AIDS in India - an immense challenge

Vietnam to widen HIV/AIDS education program

Georgia approves bill requiring doctors to offer pregnant women HIV tests

Some people with HIV/AIDS in Zambia are abandoning their antiretroviral drug regimens for ineffective cures

Global tuberculosis epidemic has levelled off

Thailand, pharmaceutical companies to continue talks on compulsory drug licenses

Hong Kong and China's Guangdong province will increase joint HIV surveillance and prevention efforts

Massachusetts health insurance connector board votes to require prescription drug coverage as part of draft minimum coverage requirements

New retail health clinic industry group meets to discuss quality, safety standards

New York Governor outlines possible agreement with Healthcare Association of New York State on health care budget cuts

90% of veterans' hospital facility problems are routine 'wear and tear'

Prescription drug safety legislation introduced in House

FDA proposes rules to prevent conflicts of interest among agency advisory committee members

House Ways and Means committee passes bill to prohibit genetic discrimination

AACR's Sixth Annual Landon Awards recognize Richard Kolodner, Douglas Lowy and John Schiller

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