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H1N1 flu vaccination associated with small excess risk of acquiring Guillain-Barré syndrome, but benefits outweigh risks

A meta-analysis of safety data gathered during the 2009 H1N1 vaccination programme in the US has established that the vaccination was associated with a small excess risk – about 1.6 extra cases per one million people vaccinated – of acquiring Guillain-Barré syndrome, a disorder of the nervous system which can result in temporary or more long-lasting paralysis and infrequently death. The authors conclude that the benefits of the 2009 H1N1 vaccination campaign greatly outweighed the risks.

14 Mar 2013

ST131 infection is more prevalent in LTCF residents and elderly population

Antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli (E. coli) continues to proliferate, driven largely by expansion of a strain of E. coli know as sequence type ST131. A new study points to hospitals and long-term care facilities (LTCF) as settings in which this antibiotic-resistant strain is increasingly found.

14 Mar 2013

VOA examines implications of sequestration on U.S. military malaria vaccine research

VOA News examines the implications of sequestration on the U.S. military's infectious disease research, noting "officials say the mandatory budget cuts ... will affect further testing of a potentially cutting-edge malaria vaccine, soon to be published."

14 Mar 2013

WHO reports 9th death from new SARS-like virus

"A Saudi man infected with a deadly new virus from the same family as SARS has died, becoming the ninth patient in the world to be killed by the disease which has so far infected 15, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday," Reuters reports.

14 Mar 2013

New Pope will need to consider burden of NTDs

"Almost certainly, in its deliberations [to select a new Pope,] the conclave of cardinals will consider a number of difficult and well-publicized problems now facing the Catholic Church," Peter Hotez, co-editor in chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, writes in the journal's "Speaking of Medicine" blog.

14 Mar 2013

Placing issue of HIV among drug users on global agenda

"In wide-ranging opening remarks to the current session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in Vienna, the Executive Director of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Yury Fedotov placed HIV and drug use at the heart of the global agenda," UNAIDS reports in an article on its webpage.

14 Mar 2013

Peter Piot to be recognized with Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Research

Professor Peter Piot, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, will be awarded the Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Research, the Government of Japan have announced.

14 Mar 2013

Research reveals new approaches for protecting children from pesticide exposure

New research on household pesticide contamination emphasizes the need for less reliance on pesticides and more emphasis on neatness, blocking cracks where insects can enter and other so-called "integrated pest management" measures, scientists have concluded.

14 Mar 2013

More frequent HIV testing would be cost-effective for high- and low-risk groups, researchers report

Early HIV treatment can save lives as well as have profound prevention benefits. But those infected with the virus first must be identified before they can be helped.

14 Mar 2013

Mozambique to begin widespread use of GeneXpert TB testing machine

The Guardian reports on the rollout of the GeneXpert tuberculosis testing machine in Mozambique, where it "should speed up TB diagnosis from two to three months to two hours."

14 Mar 2013

New paper examines long-term damage that political strife can do to public health

As Kenyan citizens negotiated the tensions following the March 4 nationwide elections, memories of the violence that followed the December 2007 vote weighed heavily for many reasons.

14 Mar 2013

Study: Contaminated water used to dilute pesticides could be source of human norovirus

Human norovirus, also known as the winter vomiting bug, is one of the most common stomach bugs in the world. The virus is highly contagious, causing vomiting and diarrhea, and the number of affected cases is growing.

14 Mar 2013

Research findings have potential implications for treating human infections

Half of the world's human population is infected with the stomach bacteria called Helicobacter pylori, yet it causes disease in only about 10 percent of those infected. Other bacteria living in the stomach may be a key factor in whether or not H. pylori causes disease, according to a new study led by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

14 Mar 2013

Examining the Global Fund's new funding model

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog features an interview with Deborah Derrick, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, in which she discusses the Global Fund's new funding model.

13 Mar 2013

Haiti fighting cholera by recycling human waste into fertilizer

The Guardian describes a program being run by Soil (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods) in Haiti, in which human waste is being collected and recycled "into fertile soil, simultaneously helping to fight cholera and deforestation, and revive food production."

13 Mar 2013

Implications of IOM PEPFAR evaluation for Global Fund

"The U.S. Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences recently completed a congressionally mandated impact evaluation of the PEPFAR HIV/AIDS program, which is the single largest ever health initiative of the U.S. government," Todd Summers, senior adviser at the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) Global Health Policy Center, writes in the center's "Smart Global Health" blog.

13 Mar 2013

Thanking Japan for its commitment to the Global Fund

In a post in the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's blog, Global Fund Executive Director Mark Dybul notes "[t]he contribution Japan made in 2012 was the highest annual amount that the country had made in 10 years of remarkable support to the fight against HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria through the Global Fund."

13 Mar 2013

Researchers determine way to predict and protect against new strains of flu virus

Researchers have determined a way to predict and protect against new strains of the flu virus, in the hope of improving immunity against the disease.

13 Mar 2013

New, inexpensive nano-biosensor can detect Listeria monocytogenes in food

The foodborne bacteria Listeria monocytogenes sickens about 2,500 people in the U.S. each year and many more worldwide, killing about 25-30% of those infected. Listeriosis is caused by eating food contaminated with L. monocytogenes, and current methods for detecting the bacteria are costly and time consuming.

13 Mar 2013

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement: an interview with Judit Rius, Médecins Sans Frontières

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a trade deal currently being negotiated between eleven countries of the Asia-Pacific region: Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, United States, Singapore and Vietnam.

12 Mar 2013

Disease/Infection News

H1N1 flu vaccination associated with small excess risk of acquiring Guillain-Barré syndrome, but benefits outweigh risks

ST131 infection is more prevalent in LTCF residents and elderly population

VOA examines implications of sequestration on U.S. military malaria vaccine research

WHO reports 9th death from new SARS-like virus

New Pope will need to consider burden of NTDs

Placing issue of HIV among drug users on global agenda

Peter Piot to be recognized with Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize for Medical Research

Research reveals new approaches for protecting children from pesticide exposure

More frequent HIV testing would be cost-effective for high- and low-risk groups, researchers report

Mozambique to begin widespread use of GeneXpert TB testing machine

New paper examines long-term damage that political strife can do to public health

Study: Contaminated water used to dilute pesticides could be source of human norovirus

Research findings have potential implications for treating human infections

Examining the Global Fund's new funding model

Haiti fighting cholera by recycling human waste into fertilizer

Implications of IOM PEPFAR evaluation for Global Fund

Thanking Japan for its commitment to the Global Fund

Researchers determine way to predict and protect against new strains of flu virus

New, inexpensive nano-biosensor can detect Listeria monocytogenes in food

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement: an interview with Judit Rius, Médecins Sans Frontières

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep

Evolving spectrophotometry for modern biopharma workflows

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