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Many people still affected with asthma after exposure to chemicals at work

Despite known risks and recommendations for protective equipment, many people are still affected with asthma after exposure to chemicals at work. This is the finding of an international study of 13,000 people carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

17 Jan 2013

Continued investment needed to maintain gains against malaria

In this post in Management Sciences for Health's (MSH) "Global Health Impact" blog, Frederick Hartman, the global technical lead for communicable diseases and epidemic preparedness, and regional portfolio director, East Africa at the Center for Health Services at MSH, examines advances made in malaria control over the past decade, writing, "Malaria is still one of the five leading causes of child under-five mortality worldwide, and deserves continuing attention."

17 Jan 2013

Scientists identify new mechanism for schistosomiasis-bladder cancer connection

About 200 million people across 75 of the poorest countries in the world are now infected by the blood parasite Schistosoma haematobium (S. haematobium). The infection causes severe urogenital disease, but also causes bladder cancer in a number of patients and why this occurs is not clear.

17 Jan 2013

Abattis receives Intl Class 5 Trademark for DefenZall in the U.S. and Taiwan

Abattis Bioceuticals Corp., announces it has been granted Intl Class 5 Trademark for DefenZall in Taiwan and the USA.

17 Jan 2013

Cuban authorities work to contain cholera outbreak in capital city

"Cuban authorities are scrambling to contain a cholera outbreak that has sickened dozens of people in Havana, the capital city of 2.2 million residents and a popular tourism destination," Reuters reports.

17 Jan 2013

H1N1 flu vaccination during pregnancy does not increase risk of fetal loss

Norwegian pregnant women who received a vaccine against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus showed no increased risk of pregnancy loss, while pregnant women who experienced influenza during pregnancy had an increased risk of miscarriages and still births, a study has found. The study suggests that influenza infection may increase the risk of fetal loss.

17 Jan 2013

Venture social investment 'could be a new thinking' in development aid

In an opinion piece in The Hill's "Congress Blog," Taufiqur Rahman, an international health consultant and founder of the Center for Implementation Efficiency, explores the concept of "venture social investment or VSI," in which the idea of venture capitalism is used "to reward good ideas or sustainable initiatives by investing limited foreign aid money to gain a much bigger and sustainable impact in developing countries" and creating "a partnership between developed world and low-income countries."

17 Jan 2013

FDA categorizes Cepheid's Xpert CT/NG test as 'Moderate Complexity' under CLIA

Cepheid today announced the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has categorized Cepheid's Xpert CT/NG test as 'Moderate Complexity' under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA).

17 Jan 2013

WHO warns of dengue's spread, says progress made against NTDs in new report

"Dengue is the world's fastest-spreading tropical disease and represents a 'pandemic threat,' infecting an estimated 50 million people across all continents, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday," Reuters reports.

17 Jan 2013

Hepatitis B virus X protein represses miRNA-148a to enhance tumorigenesis

Viruses prompt oncogenic transformation by genetically altering infected cells. Several recent studies have demonstrated that viruses alter the expression of microRNAs, non-coding RNA molecules that can block the expression of target genes.

17 Jan 2013

Lancet commentary cautiously optimistic about public health system in Haiti

In this Lancet commentary, John Vertefeuille, Scott Dowell, Jean Domercant and Jordan Tappero of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) examine the state of the public health system in Haiti three years after a 7.0 earthquake struck the country, writing, "Haiti is starting to show that its health services have expanded far beyond those in place before the earthquake occurred."

17 Jan 2013

WHO reports unprecedented progress against 17 neglected tropical diseases

WHO reports unprecedented progress against 17 neglected tropical diseases, thanks to a new global strategy, a regular supply of quality assured, cost-effective medicines and support from global partners.

17 Jan 2013

Protein Sciences receives FDA approval for Flublok vaccine

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved Flublok, the first trivalent influenza vaccine made using an insect virus (baculovirus) expression system and recombinant DNA technology. Flublok is approved for the prevention of seasonal influenza in people 18 through 49 years of age.

16 Jan 2013

Patients with COPD more likely to develop serious bacterial infections

It is well known that COPD patients run a higher risk of contracting respiratory infections. However, a new thesis from Lund University in Sweden shows that they are also at higher risk of other bacterial infections, such as tuberculosis (TB) and pneumococcal and staphylococcal infections that can cause serious illness.

16 Jan 2013

CDC releases update on polio eradication efforts

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released an update on its polio eradication efforts.

16 Jan 2013

India marks two years since last diagnosed polio case

On January 13, India "completed two years since the last case of the crippling disease was reported ... a huge achievement for a country that as recently as 2009 reported 741 cases of polio -- more than any other country in the world, and almost half of cases reported globally that year," the Wall Street Journal's "India Real Time" blog reports.

16 Jan 2013

WHO recommends switching to injectable polio vaccine

"[T]his month the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, proposed a shift in [polio] vaccination strategy from oral vaccines to injected ones that may have to be administered in clinics," Nature reports, adding, "The change is needed to mop up the last remaining pockets of polio, but experts say that it poses challenges in [rural areas], which have poor access to health care."

16 Jan 2013

Link between infections and venous thromboembolism in surgical patients

Despite receiving blood thinners and other clot prevention treatment, some patients still develop potentially lethal blood clots in the first month after their operations anyway, especially if they developed a surgical-site infection while in the hospital, according to results of a study at Johns Hopkins.

16 Jan 2013

Addressing cholera with an 'integrated approach' in 2013

"There has been so much news related to cholera and cholera research since the start of 2013 I can only hope it means this year will be a banner year for prevention efforts," Helen Matzger, a program officer in new vaccine delivery at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog.

16 Jan 2013

Gates Foundation official discusses efforts to fight malaria

AllAfrica features an interview with David Brandling-Bennett, deputy director of the malaria program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, in which he discusses "current tools being used to fight the disease, the prospect for a vaccine, and the hope of new drugs to accelerate progress," according to the news service.

16 Jan 2013