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Local production of pharmaceuticals could improve access in developing countries, U.N. report says

A U.N. Conference on Trade and Development report issued last week suggested "[l]ocal production of pharmaceuticals in some poor African and Asian countries, such as Ethiopia, Uganda, and Bangladesh, has the potential to improve access to essential drugs for many of the one billion people who live in the world's least developed countries," BMJ News writes.

21 May 2011

OPINION: Global health community must recognize merits of HIV treatment as prevention

"Many interesting research questions now lie ahead. But most urgent will be the assessment of the practical impact of these findings and their public health importance in generalised epidemics," according to a Lancet editorial about last week's release of study results showing early HIV treatment dramatically reduces transmission risk.

21 May 2011

World Health Assembly could pass resolutions asking governments to improve water, sanitation, IPS reports

Inter Press Service reports on the possibility that the World Health Assembly "could adopt landmark resolutions asking governments to improve water and sanitation to eradicate cholera and guinea worm," the latter of which exists in only four countries - Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia and Sudan.

21 May 2011

House GOP plans vote on canceling health bill provision on medical education

House Republicans plan another vote on a bill to roll back a spending provision of the health law. Plus some question whether Senate candidate Tommy Thompson is out of step with other Republicans on health care reform, and what OMB's role was in the latest ACO regs.

21 May 2011

'No magic pill' for HIV prevention

AIDS Healthcare Foundation today released the results of a groundbreaking online survey designed to gain better understanding of community perceptions regarding the possible use of an HIV prevention pill.

20 May 2011

CSL welcomes historic pandemic agreement

CSL Biotherapies welcomed news overnight of a decision by the World Health Assembly to adopt the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework for the Sharing of Influenza Viruses and Access to Vaccines and Other Benefits. The Framework is the culmination of several years work by a dedicated working group of the World Health Organisation (WHO) and paves the way for greater global collaboration between public and private stakeholders in preparing the world for possible future influenza pandemics.

19 May 2011

MAXIMUS wins Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance contract in Wisconsin

MAXIMUS, a leading provider of government services worldwide, announced today that its Human Services North America Division has won a renewal of its Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance contract with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families.

19 May 2011

Simple home-based colon cancer screening test can prevent many unnecessary deaths in Canada

Use of a simple, at-home screening test by Canadians can prevent many unnecessary colorectal cancer deaths, according to a special report about colorectal cancer in Canadian Cancer Statistics 2011 released today by the Canadian Cancer Society, in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada.

19 May 2011

Low calorie sweeteners offer effective solution to manage weight

The desire to eat sweet things does not need to be suppressed, just managed, according to health and nutrition experts meeting at the International Sweeteners Association's conference in Brussels today.

19 May 2011

Consumption of dairy products does not increase heart attack risk

Dairy products can be high in harmful saturated fat but not necessarily in risk to the heart. A newly published analysis of thousands of adults in Costa Rica found that their levels of dairy consumption had nothing to do statistically with their risk of a heart attack.

19 May 2011

Musculoskeletal pain, obesity and smoking linked to increased risk of back-related disability

Musculoskeletal pain, obesity, and smoking are among the factors associated with an increased risk of work disability due to low back disorders, reports a study in the May Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

19 May 2011

Vitamin D plays a key role in protection against childhood asthma

Vitamin D, which is primarily absorbed from the sun, plays a role in protection against childhood asthma. Now, a new study led by Valencian researchers has shown that children who live in colder, wetter cities are at greater risk of suffering from this respiratory problem, since there are fewer hours of sunlight in such places.

19 May 2011

Probability of contamination during handshaking could be lower than is commonly perceived

Graduations are a celebration of achievement and growth, but could all the pomp and circumstance increase your risk of exposure to harmful bacteria? A team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health examined the risk of acquiring pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) through shaking hands at graduation ceremonies across Maryland.

18 May 2011

Intermittent hypoxia enhances cancer growth in mouse model of obstructive sleep apnea

A new study links the intermittent interruption of breathing that occurs in patients with obstructive sleep apnea to enhanced proliferation of melanoma cancer cells and increased tumor growth in mice, according to researchers in Spain.

18 May 2011

TFAH warns about impact of CDC budget cuts on America's future health

The Trust for America's Health warns that cuts to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other federal public health programs puts America's future health at risk.

18 May 2011

Mothers living in better social, economic status opt for caesarean section

During the last thirty years there has been an increase in the number of babies born by Caesarean section. New research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Public Health shows that there has also been a change in the social and economic status of the mothers involved and that advantaged mothers are more likely to have their babies by Caesarean section than mothers living in more difficult circumstances.

18 May 2011

Opinion: Study will unite HIV advocates, add funding pressure to Obama administration

In a post on Foreign Policy's "Passport" blog, assistant managing editor Elizabeth Dickinson looks at the potential ramifications of a recent study, which found that early antiretroviral treatment in HIV-positive people can prevent transmission by 96 percent.

18 May 2011

Bill Gates urges wiser vaccine coverage worldwide to save millions

Tuesday this week, Bill Gates called for strengthened immunization programs against infectious diseases to save 4 million lives by 2015 and 10 million lives by 2020, calling it the best possible investment in global health. He was addressing the annual assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, attended by health ministers from the U.N. agency's 193 member states.

17 May 2011

Coffee reduces prostate cancer risk

In the 20-year study of almost 50,000 men, researchers noted that those who drank at least six cups a day were 20 per cent less likely to get prostate cancer than those who never took coffee. Strikingly, they were 60 per cent less likely than the non-coffee drinkers to die of the disease. The researchers also say that decaffeinated coffee is just as effective.

17 May 2011

Nordic Naturals' dietary supplements earn NSF certification

Nordic Naturals has earned certification from NSF International, verifying that its new LEED-designed corporate headquarters complies with Good Manufacturing Practices as set forth in NSF/ANSI Standard 173-2008, Dietary Supplements, Section 8.

17 May 2011

Public Health News and Research

Local production of pharmaceuticals could improve access in developing countries, U.N. report says

OPINION: Global health community must recognize merits of HIV treatment as prevention

World Health Assembly could pass resolutions asking governments to improve water, sanitation, IPS reports

House GOP plans vote on canceling health bill provision on medical education

'No magic pill' for HIV prevention

CSL welcomes historic pandemic agreement

MAXIMUS wins Title IV-E Foster Care and Adoption Assistance contract in Wisconsin

Simple home-based colon cancer screening test can prevent many unnecessary deaths in Canada

Low calorie sweeteners offer effective solution to manage weight

Consumption of dairy products does not increase heart attack risk

Musculoskeletal pain, obesity and smoking linked to increased risk of back-related disability

Vitamin D plays a key role in protection against childhood asthma

Probability of contamination during handshaking could be lower than is commonly perceived

Intermittent hypoxia enhances cancer growth in mouse model of obstructive sleep apnea

TFAH warns about impact of CDC budget cuts on America's future health

Mothers living in better social, economic status opt for caesarean section

Opinion: Study will unite HIV advocates, add funding pressure to Obama administration

Bill Gates urges wiser vaccine coverage worldwide to save millions

Coffee reduces prostate cancer risk

Nordic Naturals' dietary supplements earn NSF certification

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