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Only 40% of parents will get their child vaccinated against H1N1?

The latest C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health finds only 40 percent of parents indicate they will get their children vaccinated against H1N1 flu -- while 54 percent of parents indicate they will get their children vaccinated against seasonal flu. Among parents who do not plan to get their children vaccinated against H1N1 flu, 46 percent indicate they are not worried about their children getting H1N1 flu, while 20 percent believe H1N1 flu is not serious.

25 Sep 2009

BCLC recognizes HCSC for its outstanding work with community service

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) is recognizing Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) for its outstanding work with community service. The BCLC has named HCSC as a finalist for its Corporate Citizenship Award in the category of U.S. Community Service. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation and HCSC is the country's largest customer-owned health insurer operating Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

24 Sep 2009

HSA: Cutting autism support by $3 million is not good for kids

"Government spin won't help autistic children and their families," HSA President Reid Johnson said today in response to a massive government cut in support for autistic children across British Columbia.

24 Sep 2009

ASADI to focus on maternal and child healthcare this year

The fifth annual international conference of the African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI) will be held Nov. 9-11 in Accra, Ghana, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. The theme of this year's conference will be improving maternal, newborn, and child health in Africa, which will be discussed by top experts from around the world.

23 Sep 2009

U.S. hospital emergency departments not equipped to care for children

According to a recent IOM report, only 6 percent of U.S. hospital emergency departments are fully equipped to properly care for children. With high rates of novel H1N1 (swine) flu expected this winter, the time to address these deficiencies is immediate.

22 Sep 2009

FDA announces grants to address unmet pediatric device needs

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced the awarding of three grants to stimulate the development and availability of medical devices for children.

22 Sep 2009

Recent releases: Climate change, health; ITNS; Mexico H1N1; Policy Tracker; TB treatment; blogs

In addition to the Lancet's recent publication of an opinion piece and letter by 18 doctor association leaders about the potential health risks associated with climate change, the journal includes an editorial about sexual and reproductive health and climate change and a comment on the upcoming Copenhagen conference in December (9/19).

21 Sep 2009

President Obama's commitment to global AIDS and health is in doubt: GAA

Later today, Ambassador Eric Goosby will be sworn in as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator. "While we welcome Ambassador Goosby to his new post, and look forward to working with him on a broad range of issues that affect the health and well-being of the world's vulnerable populations, there are a number of as-yet unanswered questions about the true commitment of the Obama Administration to global AIDS and health, including PEPFAR [President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief]," said Dr. Paul Zeitz, GAA executive director.

18 Sep 2009

NIH to fund grants for epigenetic research

The National Institutes of Health announced today that it will fund 22 grants on genome-wide studies of how epigenetic changes -- chemical modifications to genes that result from diet, aging, stress, or environmental exposures -- define and contribute to specific human diseases and biological processes.

17 Sep 2009

VOICE clinical study for testing the efficacy of two HIV prevention strategies

A new, large-scale clinical trial is examining whether antiretroviral medications normally used to treat HIV infection can also prevent HIV infection in women when applied as a vaginal gel or taken as oral tablets once daily.

16 Sep 2009

Pros and cons of HIV treatments in developing countries

Palumbo is co-leading a clinical study of anti-HIV medicines in Africa and India for the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials Group (IMPAACT). The randomized trial found that a cohort of 82 HIV-infected children ages 6 to 35 months responded better to treatment with the protease-inhibiting drug lopinavir (LPV/r) than did a cohort of 82 children in the same age group who received the anti-retroviral drug nevirapine (NVP).

16 Sep 2009

Newborn screening website to support quality health care for children

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) today launched the Newborn Screening Coding and Terminology Guide (http://newbornscreeningcodes.nlm.nih.gov), an important step toward efficient electronic exchange of standard newborn screening data.

16 Sep 2009

Cell Therapeutics submits Pediatric Investigation Plan to EMEA for pixantrone

Cell Therapeutics, Inc. (CTI) (Nasdaq and MTA: CTIC) announced today that it has submitted a Pediatric Investigation Plan (PIP) to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) as part of the required filing process for approval of pixantrone for treating relapsed or refractory, aggressive non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (NHL) in Europe. The PIP outlines how the company proposes to study the drug in children in order to benefit child health.

15 Sep 2009

HRSA receives funds to train health care professionals

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced awards totaling $33 million to expand the training of health care professionals. The funds are part of the $500 million allotted to HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to address workforce shortages under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

14 Sep 2009

NGOs call for increased international support for women's health

Hundreds of non-governmental organizations from around the world gathered for a three-day conference in Berlin last week, where they emphasized the need for broader international support for improving women's health worldwide - "15 years after the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, where a similar group set goals to improve the sexual health and rights for women, particularly in the developing world," the Associated Press reports.

9 Sep 2009

Opinion: Local drug production in developing countries; Obama's PEPFAR changes

The international community focuses on lowering drug prices as a means of improving access and "today its idea is local pharmaceutical production .

5 Sep 2009

BF STEM tomography allows to visualize fine details of cell structure

Scientists in the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) Laboratory of Bioengineering and Physical Science have developed a new technique that allows researchers to visualize fine details of cell structure three-dimensionally in thick sections, thus providing greater insight into how cells are organized and how they function. The work is described in a report published online this week in Nature Methods.

4 Sep 2009

Riverside Medical Center adds two more doctors

Internal Medicine Physician Rahul Deepankar, M.D. and Pediatrician Jane Kapral, M.D. are the two newest team members to join the Riverside Medical Center - West Campus in Coal City.

3 Sep 2009

Also in Global Health news: Flu, cholera in PNG; improving life awards; HIV/AIDS in Rwanda; men and maternal/child health; MDR-TB in India

"Twin outbreaks of a flu-like illness and dysentery in a remote region of Papua New Guinea have killed 47 people and infected another 2,000 villagers, a senior medical official said Monday," Agence France-Presse reports. According to provincial health adviser Doctor Theo Likei, the WHO has collected and is testing samples of the virus from the "stricken villages" (8/31). Additionally, the country is experiencing a cholera outbreak - "the first time the disease has officially been confirmed in the country," the BBC reports (Mercer, 8/31).

1 Sep 2009

Pressure on G20 leader to tax financial transactions for aid money intensifies

G20 finance ministers meeting in London next Friday, ahead of a G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, "will face concerted pressure to introduce a tax on financial transactions as a coalition of anti-poverty campaigners aim to force the issue onto the agenda," the Guardian reports.

29 Aug 2009