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Blog examines use of controversial HIV drug in Malawi

This post in the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog examines the use of stavudine, "also known as d4T, an antiretroviral treatment that was dropped in wealthy countries years ago and that the World Health Organization has recommended stop being included in treatment programs," to treat HIV in Malawi.

17 Aug 2012

Kenyan President announces additional funding for national AIDS response

"Kenya's government, under the leadership of President Mwai Kibaki, has allocated additional funding to its national AIDS response," UNAIDS reports in a feature story on its webpage, noting, "The announcement came last Friday during a high level advocacy meeting in Nairobi."

17 Aug 2012

Retail medical clinic visits increase four-fold from 2007-2009

Fast-growing retail medical clinics are attracting more older patients and delivering more preventive care, particularly flu shots and other vaccinations, according to a new study from the RAND Corporation.

17 Aug 2012

Blog examines administration of zinc, rehydration salts to treat diarrhea in rural India

In this post in the PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog, guest blogger Oliver Sabot, executive vice president of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, "reflects on the challenge and opportunity of scaling-up access to effective treatment for diarrhea, the second largest cause of child mortality globally."

17 Aug 2012

Study helps explain how large DNA viruses undergo rapid evolution

Scientists have discovered that poxviruses, which are responsible for smallpox and other diseases, can adapt to defeat different host antiviral defenses by quickly and temporarily producing multiple copies of a gene that helps the viruses to counter host immunity.

17 Aug 2012

Curcumin shows promise in fighting devastating viruses

The popular spice turmeric packs more than just flavor - it shows promise in fighting devastating viruses, Mason researchers recently discovered.

17 Aug 2012

Vancomycin may not always be the best choice for treatment of bloodstream infections

The antibiotic most commonly prescribed to treat bloodstream infections in dialysis patients may not always be the best choice, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN).

17 Aug 2012

Researchers identify molecular and protein signatures that predict HCV virus-induced liver injury

Researchers have discovered molecular and protein signatures that predict rapid onset of liver damage in hepatitis C patients following a liver transplant. The markers appeared soon after transplant and well before clinical evidence of liver damage.

17 Aug 2012

CDC recommends hepatitis C screening for all patients born from 1945-1965

Without other risk factors, all Americans born between 1945 and 1965 should have a one-time screening for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) according to new recommendations being published early online today in Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that all persons identified with HCV should receive a brief alcohol screening and intervention and be referred to appropriate care and treatment services for HCV and related conditions.

17 Aug 2012

Achieving AIDS-free generation worth more than Olympic gold

In this post in Huffington Post's "Healthy Living" blog, John-Manuel Andriote, a journalist and author living with HIV, asks, "For all of us living with HIV infection -- Oct. 27 will mark seven years since my own diagnosis -- the question we face daily, hopefully more consciously and deliberately than most, is how shall we live, knowing as we do that we will most assuredly die one day?"

16 Aug 2012

U.S. military medical team supports Botswana HIV prevention efforts

In an article on the U.S. Department of Defense webpage, the American Forces Press Service reports on how a U.S. military medical team is helping the Botswana Defense Force "to promote Botswana's national program of education, HIV screening and male circumcision surgeries to stem what's become a national epidemic," according to Army Col. Michael Kelly, an Army Reserve surgeon deployed in Botswana from the Army Reserve Medical Command in Washington.

16 Aug 2012

Gates looks to develop 'next-generation toilets' for developing world

Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on Tuesday "announced the winners of the Reinvent the Toilet Challenge -- an effort to develop 'next-generation' toilets that will deliver safe and sustainable sanitation to the 2.5 billion people worldwide who don't have it," according to a foundation press release.

16 Aug 2012

Human milk oligosaccharides may reduce risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission

An international team of researchers has found that certain bioactive components found in human milk are associated with a reduced risk of HIV transmission from an HIV infected mother to her breast-fed infant. Their study will be published in the August 15 online edition of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

16 Aug 2012

Scientists researching Ebola virus say vaccine 'unlikely' due to funding restraints

"Scientists researching the lethal Ebola virus have told [BBC News] that a commercial vaccine to prevent the onset of infection may never be developed," the news service reports.

16 Aug 2012

India launches new laboratory for HIV vaccine research in collaboration with IAVI

India on Monday "opened a $12 million, government-backed laboratory whose mission is to create a new vaccine against HIV," Science Insider reports.

16 Aug 2012

Medicago, IDRI receive FDA approval to commence Phase 1 H5N1 vaccine trial

The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a Seattle-based non-profit research organization that is a leading developer of adjuvants used in vaccines combating infectious disease, and Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), announce that they have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial for an H5N1 Avian Influenza VLP vaccine candidate.

16 Aug 2012

Special device provides evidence of how bloodstream infections begin

New research may help explain why hundreds of thousands of Americans a year get sick - and tens of thousands die - after bacteria get into their blood. It also suggests why some of those bloodstream infections resist treatment with even the most powerful antibiotics.

16 Aug 2012

Article describes novel technique to study interactions between HIV-1 and P. falciparum

The World Health Organization estimates that in 2011 there were 216 million cases of malaria and 34.2 million people living with HIV. These diseases particularly afflict sub-Saharan Africa, where large incidence of co-infection result in high mortality rates. Yet, in spite of this global pandemic, interactions between the parasite that causes malaria, Plasmodium falciparum, and HIV-1 are poorly understood.

16 Aug 2012

Researchers discover why people with sickle cell disease get milder cases of malaria

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center may finally have discovered why people with sickle cell disease get milder cases of malaria than individuals who have normal red blood cells.

16 Aug 2012

Genocea commences GEN-003 Phase 1/2a study in moderate-to-severe HSV-2 infection

Genocea Biosciences announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1/2a clinical study with its lead candidate, GEN-003. GEN-003 is an investigational vaccine designed to stimulate T cell and B cell immune responses to potentially reduce the frequency and severity of clinical outbreaks associated with moderate-to-severe Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection.

16 Aug 2012

Disease/Infection News

Blog examines use of controversial HIV drug in Malawi

Kenyan President announces additional funding for national AIDS response

Retail medical clinic visits increase four-fold from 2007-2009

Blog examines administration of zinc, rehydration salts to treat diarrhea in rural India

Study helps explain how large DNA viruses undergo rapid evolution

Curcumin shows promise in fighting devastating viruses

Vancomycin may not always be the best choice for treatment of bloodstream infections

Researchers identify molecular and protein signatures that predict HCV virus-induced liver injury

CDC recommends hepatitis C screening for all patients born from 1945-1965

Achieving AIDS-free generation worth more than Olympic gold

U.S. military medical team supports Botswana HIV prevention efforts

Gates looks to develop 'next-generation toilets' for developing world

Human milk oligosaccharides may reduce risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission

Scientists researching Ebola virus say vaccine 'unlikely' due to funding restraints

India launches new laboratory for HIV vaccine research in collaboration with IAVI

Medicago, IDRI receive FDA approval to commence Phase 1 H5N1 vaccine trial

Special device provides evidence of how bloodstream infections begin

Article describes novel technique to study interactions between HIV-1 and P. falciparum

Researchers discover why people with sickle cell disease get milder cases of malaria

Genocea commences GEN-003 Phase 1/2a study in moderate-to-severe HSV-2 infection

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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