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November issue of WHO Bulletin available online

The November issue of the WHO Bulletin features an editorial examining the need for a new model for pharmaceutical research, a public health news roundup, a research article examining parental perceptions surrounding polio immunization activities in Karachi, Pakistan, and a paper on the use of evidence to support healthy public policy, among others.

3 Nov 2012

Legislation planned to tighten oversight of compounding pharmacies

Rep. Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., will introduce legislation requiring compounding pharmacies to meet the sterility, record-keeping and manufacturing standards faced by large drug makers.

3 Nov 2012

USAID to triple financial support for PAHO/WHO Regional TB Program

According to a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and WHO joint press release, USAID "has tripled its financial support for the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Regional Tuberculosis Program, which seeks to prevent 15,000 deaths from tuberculosis in Latin America and the Caribbean over the next five years and reduce the incidence of this disease."

3 Nov 2012

WHO reports on global diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis vaccination efforts

"Four in five children (83 percent) worldwide received the recommended three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP) vaccine during infancy in 2011, according to new data released in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and in the WHO Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER)," a WHO media note reports.

3 Nov 2012

Blog reports on meeting of world's largest HIV vaccine research network

KPLU 88.5's "Humanosphere" blog reports on a meeting of the HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN), "the world's largest HIV vaccine research network," held in Seattle this week. "We actually don't know what the agenda is," HVTN Executive Director Jim Kublin said during a lecture, titled "Scientific Agenda, the Next Seven Years," according to the blog.

3 Nov 2012

'Details of implementation' critical to reaching goal of AIDS-free generation

Noting the progress made since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and the upcoming recognition of World AIDS Day on December 1, Ronald Valdiserri, deputy assistant secretary for health, infectious diseases at the Department of Health and Human Services, writes in a Public Health Reports opinion piece, "We would do well to keep in mind the following caution. No matter the elegance of the controlled trial, the statistical significance of the results, or the superiority of the science, we must confront this inevitable reality: We will never be able to take full advantage of our progress in HIV clinical and prevention science until we develop and sustain the human, organizational, and structural capacities necessary to implement these new scientific breakthroughs."

3 Nov 2012

'Keep the Promise on HIV/AIDS' March and Rally to be held on Nov. 3 in Centennial Park

Hundreds of advocates and community leaders are expected to participate in the "Keep the Promise on HIV/AIDS" March and Rally this Saturday, November 3, 2012 beginning at 1:00 pm in Centennial Park.

3 Nov 2012

Weill Cornell researchers awarded Grand Challenges Explorations grants

Weill Cornell Medical College announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

3 Nov 2012

ACE Environmental Advisory explores potential risks of mold and legionella at healthcare facilities

The ACE Group today announced the release of an environmental advisory entitled, "Legionella and Mold: Construction and Renovation Risks at Healthcare Facilities," which explores the potential risks of pollutants, such as mold and legionella, that hospitals and healthcare facilities can experience during renovation or construction projects.

3 Nov 2012

GlobalPost interviews director of WHO Stop TB Department about future of global response

In an interview with GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog, Mario Raviglione, director of the WHO's Stop TB Department, explains "why the fight against [tuberculosis (TB)] is at a crossroads."

3 Nov 2012

Xenex offers room disinfection devices to hospitals hit by Hurricane Sandy

Xenex Healthcare Services, the world leader in UV room disinfection systems, today announced it is making its room disinfection devices available to hospitals affected by Hurricane Sandy.

3 Nov 2012

WSU researcher receives NSF fund to study on antibiotic resistance

In March, the director-general of the World Health Organization warned of "an end to modern medicine as we know it."

3 Nov 2012

Asia-Pacific accounts for second highest burden of malaria outside of Africa, RBM Partnership report says

At a meeting of leading malaria scientists, political leaders, and health experts in Sydney on Friday, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership released a new report (.pdf) showing that more than two billion people in the Asia-Pacific region are at risk of the disease, Agence France-Presse reports.

3 Nov 2012

NCAR launches study into impact of open-fire cooking on regional air quality and disease

Expanding its focus on the link between the atmosphere and human health, the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) is launching a three-year, international study into the impact of open-fire cooking on regional air quality and disease.

3 Nov 2012

Intensified antibiotic treatment can improve prognosis of patients with TB meningitis

Researchers from the Radboud UMC have conducted the first study globally to show that intensified antibiotic treatment can improve the prognosis of patients with tuberculous (TB) meningitis, the most severe form of TB which carries a mortality of up to 50%.

3 Nov 2012

Mass spectrometry can help visualize how drugs work inside living cells to kill infectious microbes

Weill Cornell Medical College researchers report that mass spectrometry, a tool currently used to detect and measure proteins and lipids, can also now allow biologists to "see" for the first time exactly how drugs work inside living cells to kill infectious microbes.

3 Nov 2012

Resolve to fight TB must be strengthened in U.S. global AIDS blueprint

As part of its "Blueprint" series discussing the creation of a U.S. global AIDS blueprint called for by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July, the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog features an opinion piece by Salmaan Keshavjee of Harvard Medical School and Partners In Health. With an estimated 1,000 people with HIV dying of tuberculosis (TB) every day, "it is clear that our current approaches to addressing the global tuberculosis pandemic are inadequate," he writes.

3 Nov 2012

Phase II study to evaluate Medivir/Janssen's simeprevir and Vertex against HCV

Medivir AB, announced today plans for a phase II proof-of-concept study of an all-oral regimen for the treatment of hepatitis C containing of Medivir/Janssen's protease inhibitor simeprevir and Vertex's nucleotide analogue hepatitis C virus (HCV) polymerase inhibitor VX-135.

3 Nov 2012

Health experts gather in Sydney for 3-day malaria conference

"More than 200 health experts have gathered in Sydney for a three-day conference to bolster political commitment to tackle the spread of malaria," IRIN reports.

3 Nov 2012

Compounding pharmacies rarely get tough punishments; Another firm recalls drugs

USA Today examines how officials have dealt with charges of misconduct at the pharmacies in the past. Meanwhile, a compounding pharmacy, which is owned by the same company that owned the plant linked to the meningitis outbreak, is recalling its products after an FDA review.

2 Nov 2012