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Heavy rainfall worsening cholera outbreaks in Sierra Leone, Guinea

"Heavy rainfall is accelerating the spread of cholera in Sierra Leone and Guinea, where existing health risks such as poor hygiene practices, unsafe water sources and improper waste management are believed to have triggered the disease which has killed 327 people and infected more than 17,400 in both countries since February," IRIN reports.

6 Sep 2012

Antibiotics: facts and fictions: an interview with Dr Philippa Binns, clinical adviser at NPS MedicineWise

Antibiotics are medicines used to treat infections or diseases caused by bacteria, such as some respiratory tract infections (including pneumonia and whooping cough), urinary tract infections, skin infections and infected wounds.

6 Sep 2012

Community-based approach to improving sanitation, hygiene practices in Vietnam, Cambodia

In this post in the ONE Blog, John Anner, president of the East Meets West Foundation, discusses how the foundation is helping to improve sanitation and hygiene practices among poor populations.

6 Sep 2012

Predictors of early death after traumatic bleeding uncovered

The strongest predictors of early death after traumatic postinjury bleeding are Glasgow coma score, age, and systolic blood pressure, report researchers.

4 Sep 2012

Coconut oil attacks tooth decay

Digested coconut oil could become part of the armory used to combat tooth decay, report researchers presenting their findings at the Society for General Microbiology’s Autumn Conference in Warwick, UK.

4 Sep 2012

Digested coconut oil able to attack the bacteria that cause tooth decay

Digested coconut oil is able to attack the bacteria that cause tooth decay. It is a natural antibiotic that could be incorporated into commercial dental care products, say scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of Warwick.

3 Sep 2012

U.S. lags three other industrialized nations in potentially preventable death rates

The United States lags three other industrialized nations-France, Germany, and the United Kingdom-in its potentially preventable death rate, and in the pace of improvement in preventing deaths that could have been avoided with timely and effective health care, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study published as a web first online today in Health Affairs.

31 Aug 2012

Guinea worm disease on verge of eradication, WHO reports

"The World Health Organization reports Guinea worm disease, which has plagued people for thousands of years, is on the verge of eradication," VOA News reports. "The U.N. agency says fewer than 400 cases of the infectious parasitic disease exist in four African countries, and that it will soon become only the second, after smallpox, to be wiped off the face of the earth," the news service writes.

30 Aug 2012

Evidence lacking for use of misoprostol in PPH prevention

There is insufficient evidence for the effectiveness of misoprostol in preventing postpartum hemorrhage, suggest findings from a review of available research published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

29 Aug 2012

Sleep disorder treatment: an interview with Dr Seth Lederman, President and CEO of Tonix Pharmaceuticals

Sleep disorders are a large area. We are focused on one particular type of sleep disturbance called “non-restorative” sleep. People with this problem do sleep, but they don’t wake up feeling refreshed or feeling that their sleep has had the restorative effects of healthy sleep.

29 Aug 2012

Ethiopian government working to improve access to clean toilets, safe water for people living with HIV

PlusNews examines how a lack of access to clean toilets, safe drinking water, and "information on the prevention of common opportunistic infections means many Ethiopians living with HIV continue to contract easily preventable diseases."

29 Aug 2012

Eplerenone shown to reduce cumulative heart failure hospitalisations

Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE) announced results from a new post-hoc analysis of the EMPHASIS-HF trial showing statistically significant reductions in rates of cumulative heart failure (HF) hospitalisations in patients with HF treated with eplerenone compared with placebo on a background of standard optimal therapy.1 The results were presented at The European Society of Cardiology Congress (ESC) in Munich.

28 Aug 2012

Study links maternal obesity to newborn death in sub-Saharan Africa

"For the first time researchers have discovered a link between overweight and obese mothers in sub-Saharan Africa and infant mortality," Jennifer James, founder of Mom Bloggers for Social Good, writes in this post in the Bill & Melinda Gate's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

28 Aug 2012

Haiti at risk of fresh cholera outbreak after tropical storm Isaac hits island nation

"Rain-battered Haiti is at risk of a fresh cholera outbreak" after "tropical storm Isaac ripped through the impoverished Caribbean island Saturday," children's charity Plan International warns, according to AlertNet.

28 Aug 2012

Lunch boxes and school eating areas are hotspots for bacteria

Canadian moms earn top marks when it comes to good hygiene practices, but a new study by Lysol and the Global Hygiene Council reveals they could do more to safeguard against bacteria hotspots in schools, especially at lunch time.

27 Aug 2012

Heating as well as cleaning contact lens cases kills bacteria best

Heating contact lens cases to a temperature of 60°C while disinfecting with a multipurpose disinfecting solution could improve case hygiene by killing biofilms created by bacteria, report Australian researchers.

24 Aug 2012

Guidelines for parents to beat back-to-school bugs

School bells are beginning to sound again across the country, so it will only be a matter of time until every parent comes face-to-face with a child who wakes up with a cold, fever or upset stomach.

24 Aug 2012

OUP, prestigious Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene journals announce partnership

The Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's two prestigious journals will join the Oxford University Press (OUP) collection in a new partnership announced between the organizations.

24 Aug 2012

University of Tübingen microbiologist wins 2012 Sofja Kovalevskaja Award

Samuel Wagner examines how bacteria start infections - aiming to stop the mechanism and maybe use it in treatment. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation has announced that one of this year's Sofja Kovalevskaja Awards goes this year to microbiologist Prof. Dr. Samuel Wagner, a junior professor at the University of Tübingen.

23 Aug 2012

Emotional health and education level of mothers influence teen’s oral health

A mother's emotional health and education level during her child's earliest years influence oral health at age 14, according to a new study from Case Western Reserve University's School of Dental Medicine.

23 Aug 2012