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Association between pharmaceutical involvement and outcomes in breast cancer clinical trials

Breast cancer treatment trials supported by the pharmaceutical industry are more likely to report positive results than non-sponsored studies, according to a study to be published in the April 1, 2007 issue of CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society.

26 Feb 2007

8 year old 88.9 kilogram boy in UK may be taken into care

A primary school child in Britain is facing the possibility of being taken into care because of his obesity.

26 Feb 2007

Statements on peanut butter Salmonella

Statement from FDA - Product testing by several states has now confirmed that Peter Pan peanut butter and certain Great Value brand peanut butter are the sources of the foodborne illness outbreak of Salmonella Tennessee that began in August 2006. To date 329 individuals have become ill from consuming the contaminated peanut butter, and 51 of those persons were hospitalized.

25 Feb 2007

State actions on human papillomavirus vaccine proposals

The following highlights recent news of state actions on human papillomavirus vaccine proposals. Merck's HPV vaccine Gardasil and GlaxoSmithKline's HPV vaccine Cervarix in clinical trials have been shown to be 100% effective in preventing infection with HPV strains 16 and 18, which together cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases.

25 Feb 2007

Texas Gov. Perry says Merck campaign contribution had no effect on decision to mandate Gardasil

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) on Thursday said that contributions made by a Merck political action committee to his campaign had no influence on his decision to issue an executive order requiring that all girls entering the sixth grade receive a human papillomavirus vaccine, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports

25 Feb 2007

CDC says Gardasil's side effects minor

CDC officials on Thursday plan to present data at a meeting in Atlanta showing that 542 adverse health complaints have been reported about Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil, but agency officials said the side effects of the vaccine are minor and that the vaccine does not require additional warning labels, the AP/Long Island Newsday reports .

25 Feb 2007

Injection drug use fueling spread of HIV in Mauritius

Injection drug users have become one of the groups most at risk of HIV transmission in Mauritius, prompting the governments to establish a needle-exchange program in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, Inter Press Service reports.

25 Feb 2007

Gambian President claims to cure HIV/AIDS

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh since January has claimed that he can cure HIV/AIDS with an herbal remedy, prompting concern among some public health workers in Africa who already are "struggling against faith healers dispensing herbal remedies," the AP/Monterey County Herald reports.

25 Feb 2007

Male circumcision reduces men's HIV infection risk by 65%

Routine male circumcision could reduce a man's risk of HIV infection through heterosexual sex by 65%, according to final data from two NIH-funded studies conducted in Kenya and Uganda published in the Feb. 23 issue of the journal Lancet, the New York Times reports.

25 Feb 2007

Call for herpes simplex virus control measures for prevention of HIV transmission

Experts call for HSV control measures, including vaccine, to rank high on international HIV prevention and research agenda as exciting trial findings are published.

22 Feb 2007

Strong associations between built environment and BMI

New York City dwellers who reside in densely populated, pedestrian-friendly areas have significantly lower body mass index levels compared to other New Yorkers, according to a new study by the Mailman School of Public Health.

22 Feb 2007

Blueprint for influenza pandemic

The American Public Health Association (APHA) today released its blueprint for strengthening the nation's pandemic preparedness, amid persistent concerns about a potential influenza pandemic.

22 Feb 2007

Some health experts concerned proponents of mandatory HPV vaccination are acting too soon

Some public health experts recently have expressed concern that proponents of human papillomavirus vaccination legislation -- including Merck, producer of the HPV vaccine Gardasil -- have acted "far too fast" and are "potentially undermining eventual prospects for the broadest possible immunization," the New York Times reports .

22 Feb 2007

Merck pledges to stop lobbying States on Gardasil

Merck has decided to suspend its campaign to lobby for state proposals that would mandate girls receive its human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil in light of opposition from some parents, patient advocacy groups and public health officials, the Wall Street Journal reports.

22 Feb 2007

Gates Foundation, Canadian Government announce initiative to develop HIV/AIDS vaccine

Bill Gates, co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Tuesday announced a joint $139 million initiative to establish a research institute for the development of an HIV/AIDS vaccine, Toronto's Globe and Mail reports.

21 Feb 2007

U.S. should establish initiative to mobilize health workers to countries affected by HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS is "essentially the black death of the 21st century, killing on a massive scale and threatening to cripple economies and topple governments," Fitzhugh Mullan of George Washington University's Department of Health Policy writes in a commentary in the Feb. 21 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

21 Feb 2007

Health Corps response to hurricanes inadequate

The more than 2,100 officers in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps who were deployed to the Gulf Coast to respond to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in August and September 2005 lacked adequate training, and the federal response to the hurricanes did not include an adequate number of nurses, dentists and mental health professionals, according to a report recently compiled by the HHS Office of Inspector General, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports.

21 Feb 2007

Entire genetic blueprints of more than 2,000 human and avian influenza viruses completed and made public

The Influenza Genome Sequencing Project, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), announced today that it has achieved a major milestone.

21 Feb 2007

Health care professionals should focus on women's lifetime heart disease risk

The 2007 Guidelines for Preventing Cardiovascular Disease in Women -- published today in a special women's health issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association -- also include new directions for using aspirin, hormone therapy and vitamin and mineral supplements in heart disease and stroke prevention in women.

20 Feb 2007

A third of England's hospital trusts in the red

The latest NHS quarterly financial performance report, published today (Tuesday 20 February, 2007) shows that almost a third of England's hospital trusts, and almost half its Primary Care Trusts, are forecast to be in deficit at the end of this financial year.

20 Feb 2007

Public Health News and Research

Association between pharmaceutical involvement and outcomes in breast cancer clinical trials

8 year old 88.9 kilogram boy in UK may be taken into care

Statements on peanut butter Salmonella

State actions on human papillomavirus vaccine proposals

Texas Gov. Perry says Merck campaign contribution had no effect on decision to mandate Gardasil

CDC says Gardasil's side effects minor

Injection drug use fueling spread of HIV in Mauritius

Gambian President claims to cure HIV/AIDS

Male circumcision reduces men's HIV infection risk by 65%

Call for herpes simplex virus control measures for prevention of HIV transmission

Strong associations between built environment and BMI

Blueprint for influenza pandemic

Some health experts concerned proponents of mandatory HPV vaccination are acting too soon

Merck pledges to stop lobbying States on Gardasil

Gates Foundation, Canadian Government announce initiative to develop HIV/AIDS vaccine

U.S. should establish initiative to mobilize health workers to countries affected by HIV/AIDS

Health Corps response to hurricanes inadequate

Entire genetic blueprints of more than 2,000 human and avian influenza viruses completed and made public

Health care professionals should focus on women's lifetime heart disease risk

A third of England's hospital trusts in the red

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