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Chemists produce first high resolution structure of HCV viral RNA-inhibitor complex

Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have produced the first high resolution structure of a molecule that when attached to the genetic material of the hepatitis C virus prevents it from reproducing.

20 Mar 2012

World Bank report calls for increased HIV prevention efforts in Africa

In a report published last week, the World Bank "called on African governments and international donors to increase efforts to prevent new HIV infections in order to control treatment costs," VOA News reports.

20 Mar 2012

FDA, Agilent partner to develop new tools for detection of salmonella subtypes

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop new tools to detect and analyze pathogens in food.

20 Mar 2012

New antibiotic shows promise against bovine mastitis

Food-borne diseases might soon have another warrior to contend with, thanks to a new molecule discovered by chemists at the University of Illinois. The new antibiotic, an analog of the widely used food preservative nisin, also has potential to be a boon to the dairy industry as a treatment for bovine mastitis.

20 Mar 2012

CSIS report examines HIV prevention, care among people who inject drugs in Ukraine

A new report, titled "Injection Drug Use in Ukraine" and published by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), examines the challenges of providing HIV prevention and care services in the country, particularly to people who inject drugs (PWID), who accounted for "nearly 50 percent of new HIV infections registered in 2010," according to the CSIS website.

20 Mar 2012

WHO hopes for release of bird flu studies, prepares for second meeting on controversy

Keiji Fukuda, WHO assistant director-general for health security and environment, "is hoping bird flu studies currently in publishing limbo will be released by the time the agency hosts a second meeting on the controversy this summer," the Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press reports.

20 Mar 2012

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement honors two experts on air pollution

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement honors two experts on air pollution with the 2012 Tyler Prize for their work to advance the scientific understanding of air pollution, and develop solutions to reduce the danger to human health and the impact on climate change.

20 Mar 2012

U-M teams up with India's top academic medical programs for trauma care research

The University of Michigan Health System is teaming up with one of India's top academic medical programs to collaborate on trauma care research and to foster exchanges of medical personnel and ideas.

20 Mar 2012

Study identifies new hypervariable regions in human gut viruses

A growing body of evidence underscores the importance of human gut bacteria in modulating human health, metabolism, and disease. Yet bacteria are only part of the story. Viruses that infect those bacteria also shape who we are. Frederic D. Bushman, PhD, professor of Microbiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, led a study published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that sequenced the DNA of viruses -- the virome -- present in the gut of healthy people.

20 Mar 2012

Infection preventionists, healthcare epidemiologists play key roles in promoting antimicrobial stewardship

Infection preventionists and healthcare epidemiologists play key roles in promoting effective antimicrobial stewardship in collaboration with other health professionals, according to a joint position paper published today by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) in their respective peer-review journals, the American Journal of Infection Control and Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.

20 Mar 2012

AIDS survey preliminary data show stagnation in Uganda's HIV prevalence, need for improved prevention strategies, experts say

A preliminary report on the Uganda AIDS Indicator Survey, conducted by the Ministry of Health, shows the country's "HIV prevalence rate has stagnated over the last 10 years, and the number of people infected with HIV has risen from 1.8 million people to 2.3 million today," the Observer writes.

20 Mar 2012

TB Alliance launches new combination drug trial

In an ambitious effort to stem the dangerous tide of tuberculosis (TB) and deadly drug-resistant TB around the world, TB Alliance today announced that it has launched a first-of-its-kind clinical trial to test a novel drug combination – in both patients who have TB and those who have multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB).

19 Mar 2012

Common infections could become deadly with increase in antibiotic resistance, WHO's Chan says

As more bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, "common infections could become deadly, according to" WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, who spoke on Wednesday at a conference titled "Combating Antimicrobial Resistance: Time for Action" in Copenhagen, ABC News reports.

19 Mar 2012

First international podoconiosis initiative launched

The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases' "End the Neglect" blog highlights "the first-ever international podoconiosis initiative, Footwork," launched on March 15.

19 Mar 2012

PaxVax announces FDA acceptance of IND for PXVX-0200 cholera vaccine

PaxVax Corporation, developer of innovative and socially responsible oral vaccines against infectious diseases, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted its investigational new drug (IND) application for its single-dose oral cholera vaccine, clearing the way to begin clinical trials. The company intends to begin Phase 3 trials later this year.

19 Mar 2012

Tiny Tim may have suffered from rickets and TB

Le Bonheur Professor Russell Chesney, M.D. believes he knows what was ailing Tiny Tim, the iconic character from Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Based on detailed descriptions of both the symptoms and living conditions of 18th century London, Dr. Chesney hypothesizes that Tiny Tim suffered from a combination of rickets and tuberculosis (TB).

17 Mar 2012

New EU project to assess risk of contaminated food brought in from other countries

The EHEC crisis in Germany in 2011 proved that food brought in from other countries can potentially carry agents that cause life-threatening diseases. Nevertheless, there have been extremely few investigations of the actual danger posed by germs that enter the EU along with food. The gap is now to be addressed by a new project, with the EU providing almost three million Euro to cover the costs.

17 Mar 2012

Greater Than AIDS, SiriusXM OutQ to launch SpeakOUT

SiriusXM OutQ, the nation's first and only 24/7 LGBT radio channel, and Greater Than AIDS, a national movement to respond to AIDS in America, announced today the launch of SpeakOUT: Real Talk about AIDS in Gay America, a limited-run series of live, call-in shows that will connect listeners across the country with medical experts, people living with HIV and notable members of the LGBT community to have an honest and challenging dialogue about the current state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the gay community as well as the country at large.

17 Mar 2012

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator discusses AIDS 2012 conference

"For the first time in over 20 years, the biennial International AIDS Conference will be hosted on American soil," U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby writes in this post in the AIDS.gov blog.

17 Mar 2012

Partnerships critical to stopping HIV/AIDS, GBV among women

"For the past two weeks, the buzz in Washington, D.C., and at the White House is all about women and girls," Roxana Rogers, director of the USAID Office of HIV/AIDS, writes in this "IMPACTblog" post. She highlights a recently announced initiative, funded through PEPFAR, "to help local communities and grassroots organizations fight HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence.

17 Mar 2012

Disease/Infection News

Chemists produce first high resolution structure of HCV viral RNA-inhibitor complex

World Bank report calls for increased HIV prevention efforts in Africa

FDA, Agilent partner to develop new tools for detection of salmonella subtypes

New antibiotic shows promise against bovine mastitis

CSIS report examines HIV prevention, care among people who inject drugs in Ukraine

WHO hopes for release of bird flu studies, prepares for second meeting on controversy

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement honors two experts on air pollution

U-M teams up with India's top academic medical programs for trauma care research

Study identifies new hypervariable regions in human gut viruses

Infection preventionists, healthcare epidemiologists play key roles in promoting antimicrobial stewardship

AIDS survey preliminary data show stagnation in Uganda's HIV prevalence, need for improved prevention strategies, experts say

TB Alliance launches new combination drug trial

Common infections could become deadly with increase in antibiotic resistance, WHO's Chan says

First international podoconiosis initiative launched

PaxVax announces FDA acceptance of IND for PXVX-0200 cholera vaccine

Tiny Tim may have suffered from rickets and TB

New EU project to assess risk of contaminated food brought in from other countries

Greater Than AIDS, SiriusXM OutQ to launch SpeakOUT

U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator discusses AIDS 2012 conference

Partnerships critical to stopping HIV/AIDS, GBV among women

Sensing a Healthier Future

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

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