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Pre-harvest vaccines for management of E. coli in Canadian beef receive favourable conclusion

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., a research-based, technology-driven Canadian biopharmaceutical company, today announced that a Public Health Agency of Canada study assessing the effects of various interventions on the management of E. coli O157:H7 in Canadian beef came to a favourable conclusion with regard to pre-harvest vaccines such as the Company's Econiche cattle vaccine.

29 May 2012

Neighborhood immunity has a role in determining risk of dengue infection

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have found evidence of a role for neighborhood immunity in determining risk of dengue infection.

29 May 2012

Single test developed that detects all known strains of H5N1

The close collaboration between scientists from the Experimental Therapeutics Centre (ETC) under the Agency for Science and Technology Research (A*STAR) and clinicians from Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) has enabled the successful development of the most comprehensive and rapid H5N1 bird flu test kit available to date.

29 May 2012

Controlling TB in geographic hotspots could reduce citywide transmission

Reducing tuberculosis transmission in geographic "hotspots" where infections are highest could significantly reduce TB transmission on a broader scale, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. An analysis of data from Rio de Janeiro showed that a reduction in TB infections within three high-transmission hotspots could reduce citywide transmission by 9.8 percent over 5 years, and as much as 29 percent over 50 years. The study was published May 28 by the journal PNAS.

29 May 2012

Cardiomyocytes can now be made cheaply and abundantly in the laboratory

Cardiomyocytes, the workhorse cells that make up the beating heart, can now be made cheaply and abundantly in the laboratory.

29 May 2012

National screening campaign for chlamydia in young people may not prove cost effective

New research carried out by researchers from NUI Galway, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) and the Health Service Executive (HSE) has found that a national screening campaign for chlamydia in young people would not prove cost effective. The research also explored the attitudes, fears and preferences of young Irish men and women aged 18-29 years old towards accepting tests to detect chlamydia.

28 May 2012

AHF's 'Condom-Nation' tour

“This tour is a national call to action to achieve these goals and we are delighted to be working with our three partner agencies in Chicago this weekend.”

28 May 2012

Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly covers some of the biggest challenges facing public health

The Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly concluded Saturday after adopting 21 resolutions and three decisions on a broad range of health issues. The six days of discussions involved nearly 3000 delegates, including health ministers and senior health officials from amongst the 194 WHO Member States, as well as representatives from civil society and other stakeholders.

28 May 2012

World Health Assembly endorses Global Vaccine Action Plan

Ministers of Health from 194 countries at the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly today endorsed a landmark Global Vaccine Action Plan (GVAP), a roadmap to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through more equitable access to existing vaccines for people in all communities.

28 May 2012

Despite challenges, U.S. GHI moves toward integrated approach to global public health

In this Lancet opinion piece, Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of global health and HIV policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation, and Josh Michaud, principal policy analyst at the Foundation, examine the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI), which "represents the bulk of the U.S. global health budget and bilateral activities in more than 80 countries."

25 May 2012

BMA ballot results on industrial action to be published next week

The BMA’s ballot of doctors on industrial action on major changes to the NHS pension scheme closes at 5pm on Tuesday 29 May 2012.

25 May 2012

School districts, hospitals cut nurses

Nurses, long a presence in many schools and the backbone of hospital care, are being cut back or stretched thin, according to several news organizations; Meanwhile, NPR reports on a poll that found three out of five patients feel their doctors rush through exams.

25 May 2012

Dueling student loan bills stall in Senate

Neither measure reached the 60-vote threshold needed to delay an interest rate increase for 7.4 million students with college loans. Republicans want to pay for it by abolishing a preventive health program in the health care law; Democrats proposed raising Medicare and Social Security payroll taxes on high-income owners of some privately held companies.

25 May 2012

$CDC report finds states spend only a fraction of tobacco funds to fight smoking$

CDC report finds states spend only a fraction of tobacco funds to fight smoking

The study says states collected $244 billion from tobacco settlement payments between 1998 and 2010, and used about $8 billion of that for anti-smoking campaigns.

25 May 2012

Merck welcomes launch of ROTATEQ in Rwanda of Africa’s rotavirus vaccination program

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, welcomes today's launch in Rwanda of Africa's first national rotavirus vaccination program with ROTATEQ (rotavirus vaccine, live, oral, pentavalent), Merck's vaccine for the prevention of rotavirus disease.

25 May 2012

Prevalence of contraceptive use among women during first sexual encounter is 70.4%

Contraceptive use in Spain during the first sexual encounter is similar to other European countries. However, there are some geographical differences between Spanish regions: women in Murcia use contraceptives less (55.8%) whereas women in the Basque Country use them more (76.7%).

25 May 2012

Fever during pregnancy associated with autism or developmental delay

A team of UC Davis researchers has found that mothers who had fevers during their pregnancies were more than twice as likely to have a child with autism or developmental delay than were mothers of typically developing children, and that taking medication to treat fever countered its effect.

25 May 2012

Global Polio Eradication initiative launches 'emergency action plan'

"A global initiative to rid the world of polio launched an emergency action plan on Thursday because gaps in funding and vaccination coverage threaten to derail a final push towards stamping out the paralyzing disease," AlertNet reports.

25 May 2012

IUDs and implants effectively reduce risk of unintended pregnancy

A study to evaluate birth control methods has found dramatic differences in their effectiveness. Women who used birth control pills, the patch or vaginal ring were 20 times more likely to have an unintended pregnancy than those who used longer-acting forms such as an intrauterine device (IUD) or implant.

24 May 2012

USP announces two new standards related to elemental impurities

As part of its ongoing efforts to help ensure the quality of medicines, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has announced two new standards related to elemental impurities: General Chapters <232> Elemental Impurities-Limits and <233> Elemental Impurities-Procedures. The new standards provide procedures for the detection of selected impurities in drug products based on modern analytical methods, as well as acceptable limits for their presence based on toxicity data and exposure levels.

24 May 2012