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Cutting military medical research funding would jeopardize health of U.S. troops, world's poorest

"In recent months, many politicians and presidential hopefuls have called for budget reductions, and many have specifically targeted military spending for cutbacks," Peter Hotez and James Kazura, past president and president, respectively, of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, write in this Atlantic opinion piece.

21 Jan 2012

Retail pork products in the U.S. have higher prevalence of MRSA bacteria

Retail pork products in the U.S. have a higher prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria (MRSA) than previously identified, according to new research by the University of Iowa College of Public Health and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

20 Jan 2012

More than half of high-risk Americans do not receive HBV vaccination

Although there is an effective vaccine for hepatitis B and public health officials have a strong sense of who is at highest risk for the infectious liver disease, tens of thousands of people in the United States contract the virus every year. According to a new study by researchers at Brown University, missed opportunities to administer the vaccine continue to be a reason why infections persist.

20 Jan 2012

MSU focuses on cultural competency to help turn tide of new infections

While global attention to HIV/AIDS remains strong, a lack of focus on prevention strategies is stonewalling health experts in many developing nations, specifically in the Caribbean.

20 Jan 2012

Blog interviews UCLA professor about highly drug-resistant TB

The Los Angeles Times' "Booster Shots" blog features an interview with Otto Yang, a professor at the Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, who speaks about drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) and the implications of a highly drug-resistant strain found in India.

20 Jan 2012

Cote d'Ivoire continues to need humanitarian assistance, U.N. official says

"Cote d'Ivoire remains in great need of humanitarian assistance nine months after the end of the bloody post-election violence that displaced tens of thousands of people, a senior United Nations relief official said today, urging donors to continue their generosity to the West African country throughout this year," the U.N. News Centre reports.

20 Jan 2012

Shortages of anti-infective drugs can put patients at risk and alter clinical care

Shortages of key drugs used to fight infections represent a public health emergency and can put patients at risk, according to a review published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online.

20 Jan 2012

New research could lead to cheaper, easier production of malaria drug artemisinin

"Artemisinin, a crucial drug in the global fight against malaria, could soon become cheaper and easier to make, thanks to researchers who have found a better way to synthesize the compound," Science NOW reports, providing an overview of the research published in Angewandte Chemie on Monday.

20 Jan 2012

About half of eligible and due services are missed during PHEs

More than 20 percent of U.S. adults receive periodic health examinations (PHE) each year, yet new research shows that patients who have an annual routine visit to their doctor may not receive recommended preventive screening tests and counseling services that could benefit their health.

20 Jan 2012

Antimicrobial impregnated scrubs effective in reducing MRSA

The use of antimicrobial impregnated scrubs combined with good hand hygiene is effective in reducing the burden of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) on healthcare workers' apparel and may potentially play a role in decreasing the risk of MRSA transmission to patients, according to a new study from Virginia Commonwealth University researchers.

20 Jan 2012

Harare maternity clinics reportedly conducting compulsory HIV/AIDS tests on pregnant women

"In a move that is likely to raise the ire of HIV/AIDS activists, maternity clinics in Harare are conducting compulsory HIV/AIDS tests on pregnant women before they can register for delivery," the Zimbabwean reports, adding, "Scores of pregnant women in the high-density suburb of Glen-Norah told this newspaper that they were being asked to bring their spouses to be tested if they wanted to register to deliver their babies."

19 Jan 2012

Georgetown professors explore balance of national security and scientific freedom

The U.S. government's request that the journals Science and Nature withhold scientific information related to the genetically modified H5N1 virus because of biosecurity concerns does not violate the First Amendment, say two Georgetown University professors. They caution, however, that a fair, transparent process undertaken by research organizations is preferable to governmental constraints on disseminating scientific information.

19 Jan 2012

New vaccine for deadly meningococcus B

A new study shows that a new 4-component meningococcal (4CMenB) vaccine for teenagers is effective when administered on a schedule of 2 doses from 1 to 6 months apart. María Elena Santolaya, from the Department of Pediatrics, University of Chile, Santiago, and colleagues performed the study, which was published online January 18 in the Lancet.

19 Jan 2012

New AACN Practice Alert on catheter-associated urinary tract infections

Urinary tract infections account for nearly 40 percent of hospital-acquired infections in acute care hospitals, triggering increased hospital costs and higher patient morbidity and mortality rates. Compounding the toll of these infections, Medicaid, Medicare and many other payers no longer reimburse costs related to treatment because of their presumed preventability.

19 Jan 2012

Study demonstrates possibility of curing hepatitis C without use of interferon

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company today announced the full results, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, from a Phase II clinical trial in patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) genotype 1 who had not responded to prior therapy with PEG-interferon alfa and ribavirin ('null responders').

19 Jan 2012

Aspirin may benefit HIV-infected women at risk of cervical cancer

Research conducted by NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center global health investigators and cancer specialists in New York, Qatar and Haiti suggests that aspirin should be evaluated for its ability to prevent development of cervical cancer in HIV-infected women.

19 Jan 2012

The AJMS publishes updates on type 2 diabetes, STIs

Research is leading to new insights on two major public health challenges: preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and improving disease control for patients with type 2 diabetes. Expert updates on these critical topics appear in a special symposium section of the January issue of The American Journal of the Medical Sciences (The AJMS), official journal of the Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.

19 Jan 2012

Community health workers vital to improving health care in Africa

Community health workers (CHWs) "are seen to be a key part of a functioning primary health system," especially in African nations, Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, writes in a post on Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

19 Jan 2012

New York Times examines history of malaria drug artemisinin

The New York Times examines the history of the Chinese drug artemisinin, "hailed as one of the greatest advances in fighting malaria ... since the discovery of quinine centuries ago," noting the drug "is being talked about as a candidate for a Nobel Prize in Medicine."

19 Jan 2012

Assessing the cost of polio eradication efforts

"After more than a century as a global scourge and hundreds of thousands lives lost, polio may now be on the verge of being the second human disease wiped off the face of the Earth," Charles Kenny, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development, writes in his column for ForeignPolicy.com, "The Optimist."

19 Jan 2012