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Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researcher wins 2012 Victoria Prize for Science and Innovation

Professor Terry Speed, a senior researcher at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, was today awarded a 2012 Victoria Prize for Science and Innovation.

22 Nov 2012

Genetic study: Novel coronavirus most closely related to viruses in bats

The virus that is causing alarm among global public health authorities after it killed a man in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia earlier this year and is now linked to two other cases of disease is a novel type of coronavirus most closely related to viruses found in bats, according to a genetic analysis to be published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on November 20.

22 Nov 2012

French oil company funding rotavirus research in Congo

"Medical researchers in the Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) have been empowered to set their own research priorities through a funding mechanism backed by a French oil company, according to scientists speaking at the second European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), in South Africa this month," SciDev.Net reports.

21 Nov 2012

Global health programs need to address community needs

A "key problem" in reaching the goal of polio elimination "may well be that organizers of the global anti-polio initiative, and of other global health programs, are not listening to the people they want to help -- or to each other," Thomas Abraham, an associate professor in the Journalism and Media Studies Center at the University of Hong Kong, writes in a New York Times opinion piece.

21 Nov 2012

Questions continue over state, FDA oversight of specialty pharmacies

Several news outlets analyze the hearings last week into the meningitis outbreak resulting from a New England compounding pharmacy.

21 Nov 2012

Panel backs routine HIV screenings for teens, adults

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force advises that nearly everyone ages 15 to 64 should be screened for the HIV virus, a recommendation which, if adopted, would require Medicare and most private health insurers to pay for the tests.

21 Nov 2012

Sudan launches yellow fever vaccination campaign to immunize 2.4M

"Sudan has launched a massive vaccination campaign to immunize 2.4 million people against an outbreak of yellow fever in the restive region of Darfur, the U.N. said Monday," according to the Associated Press.

21 Nov 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Monday published Issue 202 of its "Global Fund Observer."

21 Nov 2012

UNAIDS report shows progress due to 'unprecedented acceleration' in global AIDS response

UNAIDS' new World AIDS Day report: Results, released on Tuesday, "shows that unprecedented acceleration in the AIDS response is producing results for people," according to a UNAIDS press release.

21 Nov 2012

In order to end AIDS, reduce stigma of marginalized groups and accelerate HIV cure research

"'Getting to Zero' has been the slogan for World AIDS Day (Dec. 1) since 2011 and will remain so through until 2015, coinciding with the Millennium Development Goal target of halting and beginning to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS," Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections Unit at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, and Adeeba Kamarulzaman, director of the Center of Excellence for Research in AIDS and dean of the Faculty of Medicine at University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, write in a New York Times opinion piece.

21 Nov 2012

Case Western Reserve dental and nursing students to treat patients in new 3-year test project

Patients in dental chairs at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine will see something new: a nurse.

21 Nov 2012

Novartis receives FDA approval for Flucelvax to prevent seasonal influenza

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today the approval of Flucelvax, the first seasonal influenza vaccine licensed in the United States produced using cultured animal cells, instead of fertilized chicken eggs. Flucelvax is approved to prevent seasonal influenza in people ages 18 years and older.

21 Nov 2012

Computer-based simulation modeling to determine ED HIV screening costs

Introducing HIV screenings into the nation's emergency departments (EDs) leaves some doctors worrying about longer wait times, disrupted operations, and possible interference with necessary emergency services. Are their concerns unfounded? New research at the University of Cincinnati will use computer-based simulation modeling to determine how screening for HIV in the emergency department will affect how those departments operate.

21 Nov 2012

Emory University, Georgia Tech to establish Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a five-year contract of up to $19.4 million, depending on contract options exercised, to establish the Malaria Host-Pathogen Interaction Center (MaHPIC).

20 Nov 2012

Roundup: Larger-than-expected Medicaid enrollment in Conn.; Texas bill renews rural abortion debate; Calif. details exchange self-sufficiency

Ron Harney is still looking for work after being laid off from his marketing firm job three years ago. He's used up nearly all of his savings and says he's grateful for the state's Medicaid program, which covers the medical care he needs to manage his HIV.

20 Nov 2012

UBC microbiologist receives Prix Galien 2012 Research Award

UBC microbiologist Robert E.W. Hancock has received the Prix Galien 2012 Research Award, widely considered the most prestigious honour in Canadian pharmaceutical research and innovation. Hancock is being recognized for pioneering work unravelling the complex interactions between antibiotics and bacteria.

20 Nov 2012

Texas Biomed applies patent for new genetically-engineered vaccine strategy to prevent HIV

The Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio has applied for a patent for a genetically-engineered vaccine strategy to prevent HIV infection that targets the outer layers of body structures that are the first sites of contact with the virus.

20 Nov 2012

Pediatric TB under-diagnosed, treated, MSF report says

According to a new report released by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) at the Union World Conference on Lung Health in Kuala Lumpur, many tuberculosis (TB) programs "under-diagnose, under-treat or completely leave children with TB out, despite the increase in pediatric TB, and rising numbers of children who are infected with drug-resistant forms of TB strains," PlusNews reports.

20 Nov 2012

A closer look into the meningitis outbreak's unwitting enablers

Randall Kinnard's legal clients had steroids injected into their backs last summer for a wide range of reasons. ... Now the 25 -- or their survivors -- have engaged Mr. Kinnaird, one of Nashville's leading lawyers, to sue the New England Compounding Center.

20 Nov 2012

Washington Post examines polio eradication efforts in Pakistan

The Washington Post reports on polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, writing, "[O]verall trends in Pakistan, where nearly 30 million children have been vaccinated in recent years, are encouraging."

20 Nov 2012