Communicable Disease News and Research

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Communicable Disease is a disease capable of being transmitted from an infected person or species to a susceptible host.

TBTC to receive more than $90 million to develop effective tuberculosis treatments

The Tuberculosis Trials Consortium (TBTC) strives to conduct research about the diagnosis, medical treatment, and prevention of tuberculosis (TB) infection and disease. The network is composed of a partnership of clinical investigators from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), public health departments from different countries, as well as medical and pharmaceutical institutions.

10 Feb 2010

U.N. leaders, HIV advocates laud official end to HIV travel ban

A travel ban in place since 1987 that prevented non-U.S. citizens with HIV/AIDS from entering the country officially ended Monday, The Hill's "Blog Briefing Room" reports (Romm, 1/4).

6 Jan 2010

CDC awards Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine $19.7M for TB research

John L. Johnson, M.D., Professor of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and pulmonologist at University Hospitals Case Medical Center has been awarded a 10 year, $19.7M contract from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an international clinical trials site for the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium (TBTC).

9 Dec 2009

CDC awards $19.7 million contract to study new drugs for tuberculosis treatment

8 Dec 2009

$9M ARRA funds to reduce healthcare-associated infections in ambulatory surgical centers

To reduce healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in stand-alone or same-day surgical centers, the HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced the availability of up to $9 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to state survey agencies in 43 states. HAIs are infections some patients acquire when they are in a health care setting such as a hospital or outpatient clinic.

11 Nov 2009

Philippines at risk for rapid spread of disease after typhoons

"Survivors of two powerful storms that caused widespread destruction in the Philippines in recent weeks are threatened by outbreaks of potentially life-threatening diseases, as the country braces for another super-typhoon," named Lupit, that is expected to make landfall on Thursday, the Guardian reports.

19 Oct 2009

MENA's diabetes action plan to improve the prevention, treatment and care of diabetes

International Diabetes Federation Middle East and North Africa Region (MENA) today launched a diabetes action plan, marking a major step forward towards optimal disease management in type 2 diabetes. The MENA action plan aims to improve the prevention, treatment and care of diabetes, which has reached epidemic proportions in the region and has overtaken wider communicable diseases as a health risk.

8 Oct 2009

Presentations on seasonal influenza and H1N1 viruses

Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar hosted a detailed talk about a virus that's causing concern around the world. The recent cause of an interruption in local school openings, H1N1 information was presented in timely fashion by Dr. Abdullatif Al-Khal, head of the communicable disease unit at Hamad Medical Corporation, and Dr. Ravinder Mamtani, Professor of Public Health at WCMC-Q.

30 Sep 2009

Hygafem's hand sanitizing program launched at Morehouse College

Hygafem, Inc., the Georgia-based premier provider of touch-free workplace wellness technologies and services, has successfully launched its hand sanitizing program at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. Hygafem’s touch-free hand sanitizing program decreases the risk of spreading disease, ensures safe and healthy facilities, and boosts satisfaction for students and employees at Morehouse College.

29 Sep 2009

TOWN HALL Los Angeles hosts panel discussion on H1N1 outbreak preparedness

"Hand Washing, Not Hand-Wringing: Preparing for H1N1" is the subject of a panel discussion hosted by TOWN HALL Los Angeles on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in downtown Los Angeles.

17 Sep 2009

News outlets examine West Africa floods

The torrential rains that began in June in West Africa and subsequent floods have forced an estimated 150,000 people from their homes and claimed the lives of 160, VOA News reports. The worst affected countries include Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Niger and Sierra Leone (Schlein, 9/13).

17 Sep 2009

Communicable and Chronic Disease and AIDS course on biological agents causing diseases

Indiana State University's exposure this week to the H1N1 virus has one of the school's environmental health sciences professors using the campus as her classroom.

14 Sep 2009

Touch of MIDAS to prepare the world for contagious outbreaks

To help the nation-and the world-understand and prepare for contagious outbreaks, the National Institutes of Health's Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) adds new research expertise to increase its capacity to simulate disease spread, evaluate different intervention strategies and help inform public health officials and policymakers.

4 Sep 2009

New center to study mathematical modeling of drug resistance and internention to be established at HSPH

A new center that will focus on mathematical modeling of drug resistance, seasonal infectious diseases, and intervention allocation will be established at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

4 Sep 2009

LAF report estimates the total economic burden of new cancer cases at $305 billion in 2009

A landmark report released today by the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) estimates the total economic burden of new cancer cases at $305 billion in 2009. The findings are included in the report, "Breakaway: The Global Burden of Cancer - Challenges and Opportunities," released today in Dublin at the premiere LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit.

25 Aug 2009

AstraZeneca Canada files a New Drug Submission (NDS) for FluMist in Canada

AstraZeneca Canada Inc. announced today that it has filed a New Drug Submission (NDS) for FluMist(R) (Influenza Vaccine, Live Attenuated Intranasal) with Health Canada.

19 Aug 2009

GSK starts testing H1N1 vaccine; Opinion piece addresses U.S. role in helping developing countries procure vaccine

"GlaxoSmithKline has started testing its pandemic H1N1 swine flu vaccine in humans, and expects to start giving the results to government agencies next month, the drugmaker said on Friday," Reuters reports. The company "plans to conduct 16 different trials of the vaccine and to test 9,000 people in total across Europe, Canada and the United States," according to the news service (Deighton, 8/14).

17 Aug 2009

Health officials gather in South Africa to discuss H1N1 in Africa

On Tuesday, South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi cautioned that Africa might be hit harder by H1N1 (swine) flu than other parts of the world, the Associated Press reports (8/11).

12 Aug 2009

Communicable disease epidemics in developing world not being adequately addressed, IFRC says

The "crippling" and "growing burden" of communicable diseases such as dengue fever, polio, or meningitis is not being sufficiently addressed in developing countries, according to "The Epidemic Divide," a report released Monday by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), AFP/Google.com reports. According to the report, resources to deal with existing epidemics are "scarce."

7 Jul 2009

Pakistani refugees continue to be at high risk for disease, U.N. says

The 2 million Pakistani refugees forced from their homes due to a military offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat Valley continue to be at high risk for diseases "as they cope with damaged water and sewage systems in towns and villages," according to the U.N., Bloomberg reports.