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Redesign of 'outdated and unsafe' medical bags can cut MRSA risk

A new medical bag designed in the UK is set to transform treatment around the world after a study found a third of its outdated predecessors carry the MRSA bug.

21 Jul 2012

60 organizations, Archbishop Tutu call on Obama administration to create 5-year HIV strategy

Sixty organizations and Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Thursday released a "Call for a U.S. Government AIDS-Free Generation Strategic Plan" that "asks the Obama administration to put Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in charge of a task force to complete a [five-year] strategy in time to be announced by the next World AIDS Day -- Dec. 1, 2012," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

21 Jul 2012

South Africa making progress against HIV/AIDS, but still more effort needed, health minister says

Though South Africa has made progress against HIV/AIDS over the past few years, the country's "health minister says much more needs to be done," VOA News reports.

21 Jul 2012

Experts examine host recognition of Staphylococcus and E.coli bacteria

We are surrounded by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. The fact that we nevertheless do not fall prey to infections is thanks to certain cellular sensor molecules such as toll-like receptors (TLR), which recognize the molecular structure of pathogens and intercede by ensuring an often completely unnoticeable elimination of the invaders. Their immune-activating abilities were only detected in 1998, a discovery which was awarded with the Nobel Prize

21 Jul 2012

New WHO guidance recommends use of ARVs for HIV prevention

WHO has issued its first guidance to countries that are considering offering HIV medications, known as antiretrovirals (ARVs), to protect people who do not have the virus but who are at high risk of HIV infection.

21 Jul 2012

Cipla, DNDi to develop ARV combination therapy for children with HIV/AIDS

On the eve of the XIX International AIDS Conference in Washington, DC, the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi), a not-for-profit research and development (R&D) organization, announces a new collaboration with Indian drug manufacturer Cipla to develop and produce an improved first-line antiretroviral (ARV) combination therapy specifically adapted to meet the treatment needs of infants and toddlers living with HIV/AIDS.

21 Jul 2012

Study explores role of L. reuteri against foodborne infection

While many bacteria exist as aggressive pathogens, causing diseases ranging from tuberculosis and cholera, to plague, diphtheria and toxic shock syndrome, others play a less malevolent role and some are critical for human health.

21 Jul 2012

Viewpoints: Creating an HIV-free generation; Postal Service's struggle over retiree health benefits

HIV forces us to deal with so much: sex, drugs, poverty, racism, homelessness, homophobia, sexism, illness and death. While our nation's response has been imperfect, we have gotten a lot right. And we are now at a pivotal moment where science has led us to imagine the possibility of an HIV-free generation.

21 Jul 2012

HPV positively impacts overall survival in African Americans with oropharyngeal cancer

Even though the human papillomavirus (HPV) is a risk factor for certain head and neck cancers, its presence could make all the difference in terms of survival, especially for African Americans with throat cancer, say Henry Ford Hospital researchers.

21 Jul 2012

Study opens way for new approaches to slow development of AIDS in HIV-1-infected patients

A new study from Lund University in Sweden has opened the way for new approaches to slowing the development of AIDS in HIV-1-infected patients. It is hoped that this could lead to better treatment methods and preventive measures to combat HIV and AIDS.

20 Jul 2012

Study describes 2010 whooping cough epidemic and details strategies to reduce infection incidence

Because whooping cough (pertussis) is almost as contagious as measles (affecting ~12-17 individuals with each case), clinicians are required to report cases of this bacterial respiratory tract infection to the state's department of public health. In 2010, California had the highest number of cases of whooping cough in 60 years. A new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics describes the 2010 whooping cough epidemic and details strategies to decrease the incidence of this infection.

20 Jul 2012

Examining challenges facing Global Fund during its reform

Optimism surrounding the science of HIV treatment and prevention "is tempered by less auspicious trends, particularly shrinking budgets for global health in the U.S. and around the world," Victoria Fan, Amanda Glassman, and Rachel Silverman of the Center for Global Development (CGD) write in the center's "Global Health Policy" blog.

20 Jul 2012

Peace Corps Volunteers provide HIV/AIDS prevention, awareness

Carrie Hessler-Radelet, deputy director of the Peace Corps, discusses the agency's work in HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and support in an AIDS.gov blog post. "Last year alone, 52 percent of all Peace Corps Volunteers engaged in such work in communities overseas," she writes, noting, "In 2013, through the Global Health Service Partnership, we look forward to placing doctors and nurses as adjunct faculty in training institutions in Africa."

20 Jul 2012

Funding must support optimism surrounding HIV prevention, treatment

The goal of an "AIDS-free generation" "requires an ambitious implementation-science agenda that improves efficiency and effectiveness and incorporates strategies for overcoming the stigma and discrimination that continue to limit the uptake and utilization of treatment, prevention and care services," AIDS 2012 Co-Chair Diane Havlir of the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine and Chris Beyrer of the Johns Hopkins Center for AIDS Research write in a New England Journal of Medicine opinion piece.

20 Jul 2012

New class of chemically produced antimicrobial agents could become future infection treatment alternative

The World Health Organization (WHO) has named antimicrobial resistance one of the most important threats to human health. We therefore need to find new compounds that can be used as future alternatives to conventional antibiotics.

20 Jul 2012

American leadership on HIV/AIDS making a difference in U.S. and abroad

"As two people who worked as physicians in the early years of the HIV/AIDS epidemic before the miracle of antiretroviral drug (ARV) therapy, and who now have the honor of leading the domestic and global HIV/AIDS programs for the Obama administration, we look back in awe of the American leadership that has transformed the epidemic in the 22 years since the International AIDS Conference was last held on U.S. soil," Grant Colfax, director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, and U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby write in a Washington Blade opinion piece.

20 Jul 2012

Natural compound can virtually eradicate HIV in infected culture cells

A new study by scientists on the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute shows, in cell culture, a natural compound can virtually eliminate human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in infected cells. The compound defines a novel class of HIV anti-viral drugs endowed with the capacity to repress viral replication in acutely and chronically infected cells.

20 Jul 2012

Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology receives Gates Foundation grant

Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology is pleased to announce that it has received a fourth grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to promote discoveries that will solve urgent global health problems via support of infectious disease conferences in the "Keystone Symposia Global Health Series."

20 Jul 2012

Silymarin does not offer significant improvements for patients with HCV

Silymarin, an extract of milk thistle commonly used to treat chronic liver disease by millions of people around the World, does not offer significant improvements for patients, according to a new study conducted by a nationwide group of researchers including faculty at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

20 Jul 2012

UNAIDS releases report highlighting gains, gaps in global HIV/AIDS response

Ahead of the XIX International AIDS Conference next week, UNAIDS on Wednesday launched a new report, titled "Together we will end AIDS", "that shows that a record eight million people are now receiving antiretroviral therapy [ARVs], and that domestic funding for HIV has exceeded global investments," the U.N. News Centre reports.

20 Jul 2012

Disease/Infection News

Redesign of 'outdated and unsafe' medical bags can cut MRSA risk

60 organizations, Archbishop Tutu call on Obama administration to create 5-year HIV strategy

South Africa making progress against HIV/AIDS, but still more effort needed, health minister says

Experts examine host recognition of Staphylococcus and E.coli bacteria

New WHO guidance recommends use of ARVs for HIV prevention

Cipla, DNDi to develop ARV combination therapy for children with HIV/AIDS

Study explores role of L. reuteri against foodborne infection

Viewpoints: Creating an HIV-free generation; Postal Service's struggle over retiree health benefits

HPV positively impacts overall survival in African Americans with oropharyngeal cancer

Study opens way for new approaches to slow development of AIDS in HIV-1-infected patients

Study describes 2010 whooping cough epidemic and details strategies to reduce infection incidence

Examining challenges facing Global Fund during its reform

Peace Corps Volunteers provide HIV/AIDS prevention, awareness

Funding must support optimism surrounding HIV prevention, treatment

New class of chemically produced antimicrobial agents could become future infection treatment alternative

American leadership on HIV/AIDS making a difference in U.S. and abroad

Natural compound can virtually eradicate HIV in infected culture cells

Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology receives Gates Foundation grant

Silymarin does not offer significant improvements for patients with HCV

UNAIDS releases report highlighting gains, gaps in global HIV/AIDS response

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