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HIV/AIDS research initiative launched in South Africa

South Africa's Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor on Tuesday announced a government-sponsored research initiative that "aims to combat HIV and AIDS through scientific and technological research, the development of new drugs, diagnostic tests and vaccines," SAPA/IOL reports (7/28).

30 Jul 2009

Maternal mortality; health system strengthening, Opinions

Columnist Nicholas Kristof examines maternal health in developing countries in his latest New York Times opinion piece. Kristof describes a Pakistani woman's birth experience to illustrate the sort of "dramas" that "play out constantly in poor countries" where one "woman dies a minute from complications of pregnancy or childbirth somewhere in the world, and 20 times as many suffer childbirth injuries," he writes.

30 Jul 2009

Expanded testing reveals 2000 percent increase in number of HIV-positive Indian children

"Expanded testing across India in the past three years shows a 2,000 percent jump in the number of HIV cases among children, [Ghulam Nabi Azad] the country's health minister announced Wednesday," CNN reports.

30 Jul 2009

Recession-battered states cut funding for health services

Under economic pressure, states are slashing funding for health services from Connecticut to California. The cuts frustrate providers and lawmakers are looking for ways to limit harm.

30 Jul 2009

Higher drug doses needed to defeat tuberculosis in overweight and obese

The typical dose of a medication considered pivotal in treating tuberculosis effectively is much too low to account for modern-day physiques, UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers said.

30 Jul 2009

Donors to reevaluate support for Myanmar's fight against HIV/AIDS

The AP/KTVZ.com examines how after years of strained relationships between the "military-run nation" of Myanmar and international donors that led to a large reduction in HIV/AIDS funding, donors are considering reinvesting in the country's HIV/AIDS programs.

28 Jul 2009

Asian pneumonia prevention organization calls for required pneumonia vaccine in India

The Asian Strategic Alliance for Pneumococcal Disease Prevention (ASAP) is calling for the pneumonia vaccine to become an official part of India's required list of immunizations, the Times of India reports.

28 Jul 2009

Gates Foundation donates additional $80 million to Indian HIV-prevention program, receives Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will give an additional $80 million to Avahan, a foundation initiative launched in 2003 for HIV prevention programs in India, Bill Gates said on Thursday, the Seattle Times blog, "Business of Giving" reports.

28 Jul 2009

Research shows why HIV virus is so successful and so deadly

Retroviruses such as HIV that are already within cells are much more easily transmitted when they are next to uninfected cells than if they are floating free in the bloodstream.

28 Jul 2009

Autophagy helps HIV to proliferate

Not satisfied with simply thwarting its host's defensive maneuvers, HIV actually twists one to its advantage, based on new findings from Kyei et al. in the July 27, 2009 issue of the Journal of Cell Biology. Vojo Deretic and colleagues suggest that autophagy - a stress response process - helps HIV to proliferate and that conversely, blocking autophagy lessens HIV production.

27 Jul 2009

Adolescents at high HIV risk say peers should teach prevention

African-American adolescents have some of the highest rates of HIV infection in the United States, and efforts to educate them about preventing the disease must include the help of their adolescent peers, new research suggests.

27 Jul 2009

Antiretroviral syrup for babies, mothers safely reduces HIV transmission

Giving daily antiretroviral syrup to breastfeeding infants or treating their HIV-infected mothers with highly active antiretroviral drugs is safe and effective in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission through breast milk, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill investigators has found.

27 Jul 2009

Zuma, Branson collaborate to establish disease control center in South Africa

South African President Jacob Zuma and Virgin Group founder and chair Richard Branson "intend [on] establishing a disease control centre in South Africa as soon as next year," SAPA/The Times reports.

24 Jul 2009

UNDP to help fund HIV/AIDS program in Philippines

The U.N. Development Program (UNDP) will help fund a three-year program in response to the increase in HIV/AIDS cases in the Philippines, the Manila Bulletin reports.

24 Jul 2009

Prevention, vaccines addressed at IAS conference

During the 5th International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, scientists "renewed the call for more immediate and urgent effort to be directed towards HIV prevention amid the dominance of treatment interventions and the world-wide search for a quick fix vaccine, which many agree, is years away," Health-e/allAfrica.com reports (Thom, 7/22).

22 Jul 2009

Expert says the benefits of breastfeeding are oversold

Michael Kramer, a professor of pediatrics says that much of the evidence used to persuade mothers to breastfeed was either wrong or out of date.

22 Jul 2009

UT Southwestern Medical Center grant aids study of lung cancer in people who never smoked

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center are among an elite group of cancer scientists to share a $2 million grant to find biomarkers for lung cancer that develops in people who have never smoked.

21 Jul 2009

Clinton says U.S. will work with India to address health challenges, hunger

The U.S. will work to address the health challenges facing India among other countries and will aim to improve maternal and child health care services through comprehensive dialogue, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday after visiting a Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) trade outlet in Mumbai, India, PTI/Yahoo! News reports.

20 Jul 2009

South Africa launches HIV/AIDS vaccine trial

"The first clinical trial of an HIV/AIDS vaccine designed and developed in South Africa was launched in Cape Town" Monday, the SAPA/The Times reports.

20 Jul 2009

IAS Conference begins, report says economic crisis forcing Africans living with HIV/AIDS off life-saving medications

At a news conference opening the 5th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention on Sunday in Cape Town, South Africa, Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, expressed disappointment that the "G8 ignored the HIV-AIDS issue at its annual summit this month," which was "just four years after pledging at the 2005 Gleneagles [G8] summit to fight for universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010," the Globe and Mail reports.

20 Jul 2009