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Jamaican Health Ministry secures 40% of funding for $200 million plan to fight HIV/AIDS

The Jamaican Ministry of Health and Environment has secured 40% of the funding needed to implement a $200 million, five-year strategy to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in the country, Kevin Harvey -- treatment, care and support coordinator at the health ministry -- said recently, the Jamaica Observer reports.

8 Jun 2008

Scientists demonstrate feasibility of preventing malaria parasite from becoming sexually mature

Researchers have demonstrated the possibility of preventing the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, which is responsible for more than a million malaria deaths a year, from becoming sexually mature.

5 Jun 2008

Role of breastfeeding in preventing infant death, HIV infection in developing countries

In many poor countries, mothers with HIV face a stark choice: to nurse their infants, and risk passing on HIV through their breast milk - or to formula feed, and deprive their infants of much of the natural immunity needed to protect against fatal diseases of early infancy. Now, two studies supported by the National Institutes of Health offer insights into preventing early death and HIV infection among breastfeeding infants of mothers with HIV in these countries.

5 Jun 2008

Sun and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children

In this new study, the researchers found that populations living at or near the equator, where there is abundant sunshine (and ultraviolet B irradiance) have low incidence rates of type 1 diabetes. Conversely, populations at higher latitudes, where available sunlight is scarcer, have higher incidence rates.

5 Jun 2008

Legal action proposed against parents who let children drink alcohol at home

The British Government is considering proposals which could include legal action against parents who allow their children to drink alcohol at home.

3 Jun 2008

Job stress causing depression in workers in Victoria

A study by researchers at Melbourne University has found that almost one in six cases of depression among workers in Victoria are caused by job stress.

3 Jun 2008

One million people gained access to antiretrovirals in 2007

About one million people in developing countries gained access to antiretroviral drugs in 2007, according to a report released on Monday by UNAIDS, UNICEF and the World Health Organization, the New York Times reports (Dugger, New York Times, 6/3).

3 Jun 2008

Utah HIV/AIDS group rejects Federal funding because of issues with prevention ads

The Utah AIDS Foundation recently decided to forgo federal funding because of issues surrounding prevention advertisements, the Salt Lake Tribune reports.

3 Jun 2008

Clostridium difficile killed on exposure to surfaces made of copper and its alloys, brass and bronze

Scientists in the Environmental Healthcare Unit at the University of Southampton in the U.K. have found that infectious bacterium Clostridium difficile is killed when exposed to surfaces made of copper and its alloys, brass and bronze. The results of the study have been published in the February 2008 issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection.

3 Jun 2008

Vigorous exercise helps seniors avoid disability

Healthy seniors who are physically active and exercise for more than 60 minutes each week can lessen their chances of disability as they age, finds a new long-term study.

3 Jun 2008

Socializing can help elderly women stay sharp

Socializing with friends and family can do more than lift the spirits of elderly women - it can improve cognition and might help prevent dementia, according to a new study.

3 Jun 2008

Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead to freeze AIDS drug price

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today applauded decisions by Boehringer Ingelheim (BI) and Gilead Sciences, Inc. to freeze prices on antiretroviral medications purchased by government agencies.

3 Jun 2008

By 2024 one in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer

Experts in Britain are predicting that by 2024 one in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer if there is not an improvement in public health trends.

2 Jun 2008

Members of European Parliament discuss food labelling and heart health

Members of the European Parliament Heart Group meet today, 3 June, in Brussels, to discuss the link between nutrition and cardiovascular diseases and how labelling of food can help people choose products that are better for their hearts and vessels.

2 Jun 2008

Many Gulf Coast residents affected by Hurricane Katrina continue to have mental health problems, study finds

More than half of Louisiana and Mississippi residents affected by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 continue to experience significant mental health problems, according to a study released on Friday by the American Medical Association, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

2 Jun 2008

Sugar-sweetened beverages may be contributing to increasing obesity rates

A recent study published in Pediatrics and led by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are an increasingly large part of children and teens' diets.

2 Jun 2008

3 million now receiving anti-retroviral therapy HIV drugs

The close of 2007 marks an important step in the history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Nearly 3 million people are now receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in low- and middle-income countries, according to a new report jointly launched today by WHO, UNAIDS and UNICEF.

2 Jun 2008

Prevalence of pre-cancerous masses in the colon same in patients in their 40s and 50s

The prevalence of pre-cancerous masses in the colon is the same for average-risk patients who are 40 to 49 years of age and those who are 50 to 59 years of age, reports a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute.

2 Jun 2008

Short-term exposure to air pollution may increase risk of stroke or mini-stroke

Short-term exposure to low levels of particulate air pollution may increase the risk of stroke or mini-stroke, according to findings that suggest current exposure standards could be insufficient to protect the public.

2 Jun 2008

US soldiers in high-tuberculosis areas face new epidemic: false positives

U.S. Army service members are increasingly deployed in regions of the world where tuberculosis (TB) is rampant, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and the military now faces a growing medical problem. But it is not TB itself that is on the rise-instead, the problem lies with the growing number of "pseudoepidemics," or clusters of false-positives for TB that are the result of universal testing with a notoriously inaccurate tuberculin skin test (TST) and inconsistent procedures for interpreting those tests in low-risk populations.

1 Jun 2008

Public Health News and Research

Jamaican Health Ministry secures 40% of funding for $200 million plan to fight HIV/AIDS

Scientists demonstrate feasibility of preventing malaria parasite from becoming sexually mature

Role of breastfeeding in preventing infant death, HIV infection in developing countries

Sun and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children

Legal action proposed against parents who let children drink alcohol at home

Job stress causing depression in workers in Victoria

One million people gained access to antiretrovirals in 2007

Utah HIV/AIDS group rejects Federal funding because of issues with prevention ads

Clostridium difficile killed on exposure to surfaces made of copper and its alloys, brass and bronze

Vigorous exercise helps seniors avoid disability

Socializing can help elderly women stay sharp

Boehringer Ingelheim, Gilead to freeze AIDS drug price

By 2024 one in seven women will be diagnosed with breast cancer

Members of European Parliament discuss food labelling and heart health

Many Gulf Coast residents affected by Hurricane Katrina continue to have mental health problems, study finds

Sugar-sweetened beverages may be contributing to increasing obesity rates

3 million now receiving anti-retroviral therapy HIV drugs

Prevalence of pre-cancerous masses in the colon same in patients in their 40s and 50s

Short-term exposure to air pollution may increase risk of stroke or mini-stroke

US soldiers in high-tuberculosis areas face new epidemic: false positives

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