Also in Global Health news: News outlets explore AIDS vaccine research; chloroquine resistance unraveled; authorities contest maternal mortality report

Sep 29 2009

News Outlets Focus On Participants In AIDS Vaccine Study, Potential Impact Of AIDS Vaccine

The Associated Press examines the role of the Thai participants in the recent clinical trial of an experimental HIV vaccine which showed modest potential for preventing infection. "Nearly 16,000 Thais ignored the false rumors that they were being infected by the AIDS virus, and overcame their fears of becoming social outcasts to participate in trials of the first vaccine found to prevent infection with the deadly virus," the news service writes (Ahuja/Casey, 9/27). The New York Times examines what an effective AIDS vaccine could mean for the world (McNeil, 9/26).

Researches Identify Cause Of Chloroquine Resistance

Australian researchers report in the journal Science that they "have pinpointed how the malaria parasite resists the otherwise effective and cheap drug chloroquine," according to ABC News. The researches have found that a previously identified protein enables "chloroquine to leak from the parasite's stomach, preventing it from reaching the concentrations it needed to work." This finding might help lead to new drug development (Salleh, 9/25).

Authorities In Sierra Leone Contest Findings Of Amnesty's Maternal Mortality Report

Authorities in Sierra Leone on Thursday contested the accuracy of a recent report issued by Amnesty International which found one in eight women die during childbirth or complications of pregnancy, arguing the findings were based on "erroneous" and outdated statistics, Agence France-Presse reports. Without offering alternative statistics on the country's maternal mortality rates, Kizito Dawo, the country's top medical officer, told journalists the findings were based on "statistics [that had] been taken out of context, [making] the report unacceptable" (9/24).