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New issue of GHD-NET's Health & Foreign Policy Bulletin available online

The November 2012 issue of the Global Health Diplomacy Network's (GHD-NET) Health & Foreign Policy Bulletin is now available online.

15 Dec 2012

PlusNews reviews AVAC priorities for 2013 HIV prevention agenda

"If the world scales-up HIV treatment and prevention in the next two years, a critical tipping point -- in which those on treatment outnumber those newly infected with the virus -- could be reached, according to the global HIV prevention advocacy organization AVAC," PlusNews reports.

15 Dec 2012

Though progress made, global burden of HIV/AIDS requires greater, 'better' response

"Optimism and momentum has been building around the real possibility that an AIDS-free generation is imminent. Yet, the most recent estimates of HIV prevalence and incidence and of AIDS-related mortality released by UNAIDS, together with data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010 in the Lancet, make it clear that AIDS is not over," UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe; Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine; and Mark Dybul, incoming executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, write in a Lancet opinion piece.

15 Dec 2012

Examining developing country contributions to AIDS response

"World AIDS Day 2012 offered numerous personal stories in the global fight against HIV and AIDS, but perhaps the most intriguing story, however, was a policy one: How developing countries are making significant contributions to the fight against AIDS in their own countries,"

15 Dec 2012

WHO releases new guidelines for interventions aimed at protecting sex workers from HIV

The WHO on Wednesday "released new guidelines providing technical recommendations on effective interventions for the prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among sex workers and their clients," New Europe Online reports.

15 Dec 2012

Cempra commences CEM-102 Phase 2 trial in prosthetic joint infections

Cempra, Inc., a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company focused on developing antibiotics to meet critical medical needs in the treatment of bacterial infectious diseases, today announced the initiation of its Phase 2 clinical trial of CEM-102 in patients with prosthetic joint infections (PJIs).

15 Dec 2012

Global Burden of Disease Study finds people worldwide living longer, but with more illness, disability

"A sharp decline in deaths from malnutrition and infectious diseases like measles and tuberculosis has caused a shift in global mortality patterns over the past 20 years, according to a study released on Thursday, with far more of the world's population now living into old age and dying from diseases mostly associated with rich countries, like cancer and heart disease," the New York Times reports.

15 Dec 2012

Study suggests that existing HIV drug could be a potential therapy for Staph infections

A new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers suggests that an existing HIV drug called maraviroc could be a potential therapy for Staphylococcus aureus, a notorious and deadly pathogen linked to hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations each year.

15 Dec 2012

FDA approves GSK’s raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

GlaxoSmithKline plc announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved raxibacumab for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with inhalational anthrax due to Bacillus anthracis in combination with appropriate antibacterial drugs and for prophylaxis of inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or are not appropriate.

14 Dec 2012

GSK receives FDA approval for raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved raxibacumab injection to treat inhalational anthrax, a form of the infectious disease caused by breathing in the spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Raxibacumab also is approved to prevent inhalational anthrax when alternative therapies are not available or not appropriate.

14 Dec 2012

Scientists discover how Yersinia pestis avoids setting off immune system's early infection-alarm

The plague-causing bacteria Yersinia pestis evades detection and establishes a stronghold without setting off the body's early alarms.

14 Dec 2012

High-dose vitamin D can reduce risk of respiratory tract infections

Treating infection-prone patients over a 12-month period with high doses of vitamin D reduces their risk of developing respiratory tract infection - and consequently their antibiotic requirement. This according to a new study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital published in the online scientific journal BMJ Open.

14 Dec 2012

Malaria vaccine trial: an interview with Professor Sir Brian Greenwood

Malaria is an infection caused by a parasite called plasmodium, which is transmitted from person to person by females of some species of mosquito. It is primarily a disease of tropical countries.

14 Dec 2012

IRIN examines HIV/AIDS response in Guinea-Bissau

IRIN reports on the HIV/AIDS response in Guinea-Bissau, writing, "One year after the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria reduced funding to the Guinea-Bissau government body in charge of coordinating HIV prevention and treatment activities, health centers outside the capital are facing medicine shortages, patients are not receiving the treatment they need, and the transport of patients to treatment centers has been cut."

14 Dec 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Friday published Issue 206 of its "Global Fund Observer."

14 Dec 2012

Scientists discover new evidence about evolution of viruses

Scientists have discovered new evidence about the evolution of viruses, in work that will change our understanding about the control of infectious diseases such as winter flu.

14 Dec 2012

Continue support of GAVI Alliance and childhood disease prevention

"Last week a global health event took place in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, to foster greater political will and explore ways to accelerate results, innovation, sustainability, and equity in the field of immunization," Baroness Hollins, emeritus professor of psychiatry of disability at St George's University of London, writes in the BMJ Group Blog about the GAVI Partners Forum.

14 Dec 2012

New global disease burden data should inform global health spending

"On Dec. 14, the Lancet together with the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation [IHME] will release their study on global burden of disease, injuries and risk factors in 2010," Karl Hofmann, president and CEO of Population Services International, writes in a Devex opinion piece, adding, "These 'gold standard' data will quantify the world's health problems by examining statistics for 291 diseases and injuries and 67 different risk factors for 21 regions across three time periods -- 1990, 2005 and 2010."

14 Dec 2012

Gender inequality must be addressed to 'get to zero' in AIDS epidemic

"What does it take to get to zero? While reflecting on the theme of this past World AIDS Day (Getting to zero, Zero new infections, Zero discrimination, Zero deaths), I asked myself this question," Lisa MacDonald, project manager at HealthBridge Foundation of Canada, writes in a Huffington Post Canada opinion piece.

14 Dec 2012

Meridian completes beta trials for two new illumigene molecular amplification tests

Meridian Bioscience, Inc. today announced that it has successfully completed beta trials for two new illumigene molecular amplification tests.

14 Dec 2012

Disease/Infection News

New issue of GHD-NET's Health & Foreign Policy Bulletin available online

PlusNews reviews AVAC priorities for 2013 HIV prevention agenda

Though progress made, global burden of HIV/AIDS requires greater, 'better' response

Examining developing country contributions to AIDS response

WHO releases new guidelines for interventions aimed at protecting sex workers from HIV

Cempra commences CEM-102 Phase 2 trial in prosthetic joint infections

Global Burden of Disease Study finds people worldwide living longer, but with more illness, disability

Study suggests that existing HIV drug could be a potential therapy for Staph infections

FDA approves GSK’s raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

GSK receives FDA approval for raxibacumab to treat inhalational anthrax

Scientists discover how Yersinia pestis avoids setting off immune system's early infection-alarm

High-dose vitamin D can reduce risk of respiratory tract infections

Malaria vaccine trial: an interview with Professor Sir Brian Greenwood

IRIN examines HIV/AIDS response in Guinea-Bissau

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Scientists discover new evidence about evolution of viruses

Continue support of GAVI Alliance and childhood disease prevention

New global disease burden data should inform global health spending

Gender inequality must be addressed to 'get to zero' in AIDS epidemic

Meridian completes beta trials for two new illumigene molecular amplification tests

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

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