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Foreign Affairs examines how push for financial austerity is threatening global health advances

"Global health programs now teeter on the edge of disaster," Foreign Affairs writes in this feature article, adding, "The world economic crisis and the politics of debt reduction are threatening everything from malaria control and AIDS treatment to well-baby programs and health care worker training efforts." The article provides a historical overview of global health programming and funding.

8 Mar 2012

UNICEF asks West African governments to prepare for cholera season to prevent widespread outbreak

UNICEF's West and Central Africa Regional Office "on Tuesday appealed to western African governments to prevent a new cholera outbreak, after the disease claimed nearly 3,000 lives there last year," Agence France-Presse reports.

8 Mar 2012

Metformin drug appears to prevent growth of atherosclerosis in patients with HIV

Treatment with the common diabetes drug metformin appears to prevent progression of coronary atherosclerosis in patients infected with HIV.

8 Mar 2012

Queen's receives NICH&S grant to create vaccine against Pseudomonas

Queen's University Belfast scientists working on a vaccine to combat Pseudomonas have received a financial boost from Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke.

8 Mar 2012

New inexpensive medical sensor may simplify diagnosis of diseases

An inexpensive new medical sensor has the potential to simplify the diagnosis of diseases ranging from life-threatening immune deficiencies to the common cold, according to its inventors at the Stanford University School of Medicine.

8 Mar 2012

Sosei initiates SO-1105 Phase I trial in oropharyngeal candidiasis

Sosei Group Corporation, the biopharmaceutical company, today announces that its wholly owned Japanese subsidiary, Sosei Co., Ltd., has initiated a Japanese Phase I trial for SO-1105 for the treatment of oropharyngeal candidiasis.

8 Mar 2012

Fera introduces Sulfacetamide Ointment for conjunctivitis

Fera Pharmaceuticals is pleased to announce the launch of Sulfacetamide Sodium Ophthalmic Ointment USP, 10%.

7 Mar 2012

South Africa announces initiative to test thousands of miners for TB

"South Africa wants to test hundreds of thousands of miners for tuberculosis [TB] and ensure sufferers get treatment over the next year," David Mametja, head of South African National Department of Health's TB program, said Tuesday at a workshop organized by the Stop TB Partnership, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

7 Mar 2012

Yemen to launch measles vaccination campaign after increase in number of cases, deaths

"Measles has killed 126 children in Yemen since mid-2011, a consequence of the breakdown of basic health services during the year-long political crisis," and "in response ... , the Yemeni government has appealed for international assistance and an outbreak-response vaccination campaign will begin in the hardest-hit regions on 10 March," IRIN reports.

7 Mar 2012

Many Ethiopians coming to camp in search of traditional cure for HIV turn to ARVs, WSJ reports

The Wall Street Journal examines how many HIV-positive Ethiopians coming to a "squatter's camp" at Ethiopia's Entoto Mountain in the hopes that a spring believed to contain holy water would cure HIV instead begin treatment with antiretrovirals.

7 Mar 2012

Only about 75% of U.S. HIV/AIDS patients remain in care consistently

Only about 75 percent of HIV/AIDS patients in the United States remain in care consistently, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published online this week in AIDS. The study of patients across the United States is the first to provide a comprehensive national estimate of HIV care retention and information about patients who are most likely to continue their treatment over time.

7 Mar 2012

MTPC, Medicago partner to develop and commercialize three new vaccines

Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), today announced the establishment of a strategic alliance with Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Corporation (MTPC) through the execution of a Master Research Collaboration Agreement.

6 Mar 2012

Leading AIDS experts issue new HIV guidelines

Leading AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and other institutions around the world have issued new guidelines to promote entry into and retention in HIV care, as well as adherence to HIV treatment, drawn from the results of 325 studies conducted with tens of thousands of people infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

6 Mar 2012

Male circumcision initiative in Kenya fails to meet target for first time, PlusNews reports

"Kenya's most recent male circumcision rapid results initiative failed to meet its target, and officials are stepping up efforts to identify and fix the problems that could foil the government's campaign to circumcise more than one million men by 2013," PlusNews reports.

6 Mar 2012

Rep. Sensenbrenner sends 'fact-finding letter' to White House science adviser about bird flu studies

"Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), a former head of the House committees on science and the judiciary, and currently vice chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, last week sent a 'fact-finding letter' to White House science adviser John Holdren, asking pointed questions about how the U.S. government has handled the controversy" surrounding two studies that showed how H5N1 bird flu virus could be manipulated to become transmissible among ferrets, a model for humans, "and questioning whether it should have funded the two flu studies," ScienceInsider reports.

6 Mar 2012

Russia should abandon 'zero-tolerance' approach to drug use and implement proven prevention strategies

Why have effective, "simple tools such as Medication Assisted Therapy and clean needle-exchange services" -- methods that are "very effective in decreasing drug abuse and reducing risk of infection with HIV, hepatitis C and other diseases" – "had so little impact on the policies and programs of the Russian Federation?" Bertrand Audoin, executive director of the International AIDS Society, and Chris Beyrer, a professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, write in this New York Times opinion piece.

6 Mar 2012

Zimbabwe parliamentarians lauded for undergoing voluntary HIV counseling, testing and male circumcision

"More than 170 of Zimbabwe's parliamentarians from across the political divide have resolved to undergo voluntary counseling and HIV testing in a bid to encourage the grassroots to follow suit," and "the 150 male members in the 175-member group have also resolved to be circumcised," a Herald editorial states.

6 Mar 2012

Microneedle vaccine patches may effectively protect against flu

Recent research found that microneedle vaccine patches are more effective at delivering protection against influenza virus in mice than subcutaneous or intramuscular inoculation. A new, detailed analysis of the early immune responses by the Emory and Georgia Tech research team helps explain why the skin is such fertile ground for vaccination with these tiny, virtually painless microneedles.

6 Mar 2012

Mount Sinai researchers argue different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses

In the controversy surrounding the newly developed strains of avian H5N1 flu viruses, scientists and policy makers are struggling with one question in particular: what level of biosafety is best for studying these potentially lethal strains of influenza? In a pair of commentaries, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and the University of Michigan argue their different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses.

6 Mar 2012

WHO reports more than 900,000 lives saved because of HIV/TB care and prevention guidelines, releases updated version

"An estimated 910,000 lives were saved globally in six years due to guidelines intended to ensure that people living with HIV/AIDS are protected from tuberculosis [TB], the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today, releasing an updated policy on joint prevention, diagnosis and treatment of both diseases," the U.N. News Centre reports.

6 Mar 2012

Disease/Infection News

Foreign Affairs examines how push for financial austerity is threatening global health advances

UNICEF asks West African governments to prepare for cholera season to prevent widespread outbreak

Metformin drug appears to prevent growth of atherosclerosis in patients with HIV

Queen's receives NICH&S grant to create vaccine against Pseudomonas

New inexpensive medical sensor may simplify diagnosis of diseases

Sosei initiates SO-1105 Phase I trial in oropharyngeal candidiasis

Fera introduces Sulfacetamide Ointment for conjunctivitis

South Africa announces initiative to test thousands of miners for TB

Yemen to launch measles vaccination campaign after increase in number of cases, deaths

Many Ethiopians coming to camp in search of traditional cure for HIV turn to ARVs, WSJ reports

Only about 75% of U.S. HIV/AIDS patients remain in care consistently

MTPC, Medicago partner to develop and commercialize three new vaccines

Leading AIDS experts issue new HIV guidelines

Male circumcision initiative in Kenya fails to meet target for first time, PlusNews reports

Rep. Sensenbrenner sends 'fact-finding letter' to White House science adviser about bird flu studies

Russia should abandon 'zero-tolerance' approach to drug use and implement proven prevention strategies

Zimbabwe parliamentarians lauded for undergoing voluntary HIV counseling, testing and male circumcision

Microneedle vaccine patches may effectively protect against flu

Mount Sinai researchers argue different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses

WHO reports more than 900,000 lives saved because of HIV/TB care and prevention guidelines, releases updated version

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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