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Philippines experiencing increasing number of new HIV cases; Leaders say country should reconsider policies

"At a time when many countries are seeing their HIV infection rates level off or decline," health officials in the Philippines "have seen an unexpected surge in cases in the past several years, with a more than five-fold increase between 2007 and 2011, with 2,349 new cases last year," the Wall Street Journal's "Southeast Asia Real Time" blog reports, noting, "The total number of cases as of April 2012 is 9,396, compared to just 3,061 in 2007."

6 Jul 2012

Fewer Danes contract Salmonella infections from eggs

In 2011, 1,166 Danes were registered with a Salmonella infection, which corresponds to 21 cases per 100,000 citizens. This is the lowest number since the 1980s. Almost half of all these Salmonella infections were contracted abroad, in particular on travels to Egypt, Thailand and Turkey.

5 Jul 2012

Study: 13 zoonoses responsible for 2.4B cases of human illness per year

A new global study mapping human-animal diseases like tuberculosis (TB) and Rift Valley fever finds that an "unlucky" 13 zoonoses are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths per year. The vast majority occur in low- and middle-income countries.

5 Jul 2012

AIDS battle: stretching use of anti-HIV drugs

A Johns Hopkins expert in the drug treatment of HIV disease and AIDS is spearheading an international effort to radically shift the manufacturing and prescribing of combination therapies widely credited in the last decade for keeping the disease in check for 8 million of the 34 million infected people worldwide.

5 Jul 2012

UN food standards body agrees on new regulations to protect health of consumers across the world

The UN food standards body has agreed on new regulations - including the maximum level of melamine in liquid milk formula for babies - to protect the health of consumers across the world. Other measures adopted include new food safety standards on seafood, melons, dried figs and food labelling.

5 Jul 2012

Lower pH reduces ability of ASL to kill bacteria in CF airways

The human airway is a pretty inhospitable place for microbes. There are numerous immune defense mechanisms poised to kill or remove inhaled bacteria before they can cause problems. But cystic fibrosis (CF) disrupts these defenses, leaving patients particularly susceptible to airway infection, which is the major cause of disease and death in CF.

5 Jul 2012

New issue of 'Global Fund News Flash' available

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Tuesday released Issue 5 of its newsletter, the "Global Fund News Flash."

4 Jul 2012

Live zoster vaccine associated with reduced risk of HZ in patients with immune-mediated diseases

Although some have suggested that patients receiving medication for immune-mediated diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or psoriasis may be at increased risk of herpes zoster (HZ; shingles) shortly after receipt of the vaccine, an analysis that included nearly 20,000 vaccinated Medicare beneficiaries finds that the live zoster vaccine is not associated with an increased risk of HZ shortly after vaccination in patients currently treated with biologics, and that it is associated with a significantly reduced longer-term risk of HZ in patients with an immune-mediated disease, according to a study in the July 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Jul 2012

New exhibit highlights global health work of Seattle-area institutions

An exhibit highlighting the global health work of Seattle-area institutions is opening Tuesday in the Next 50 Plaza at Seattle Center, the Seattle Times reports.

4 Jul 2012

Johnson & Johnson seeking U.S. approval for first new TB drug in more than 4 decades

"Johnson & Johnson [J&J] said Monday that it is seeking U.S. approval for the first new type of medicine to fight deadly tuberculosis [TB] in more than four decades," the Associated Press reports, adding, "The experimental drug, called bedaquiline, also would be the first medicine specifically for treating multi-drug resistant tuberculosis."

4 Jul 2012

CAP/ASCCP LAST Project recommendations for better diagnosis of HPV-associated lesions

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) and the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) jointly issued The Lower Anogenital Squamous Terminology (LAST) Standardization Project for HPV-Associated Lesions: Background and Consensus Recommendations.

4 Jul 2012

Study finds decline in rates of community-onset MRSA infections

In analysis that included more than 9 million Department of Defense nonactive and active duty personnel, the rates of both community-onset and hospital-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia decreased from 2005 to 2010, while the proportion of community-onset skin and soft tissue infections due to MRSA has more recently declined, according to a study in the July 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Jul 2012

Polio elimination hindered by unvaccinated children in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Too few children have received sufficient doses of vaccine to wipe out polio in Pakistan and Afghanistan, two of only three countries in the world where endemic polio has yet to be eliminated, according to new research published Online First in The Lancet. The findings suggest that the newly introduced bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) has the potential to eliminate polio in these countries if sufficient numbers of children could be reached by vaccination programmes.

4 Jul 2012

Shingles vaccine may not increase risk of varicella in people with auto-immune diseases

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham casts doubt on the long-standing belief that the vaccine for shingles should not be given to patients taking biologics for auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

4 Jul 2012

Researcher discovers how West Nile virus breaks through the tough blood-brain barrier to CNS

Mosquitoes are buzzing once again, and with that comes the threat of West Nile virus. Tom Hobman, a researcher with the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, is making every effort to put an end to this potentially serious infection.

4 Jul 2012

Raising vitamin D concentrations reduces risk of HAIs among hospital patients

A paper recently published in Dermato-Endocrinology indicates that raising vitamin D concentrations among hospital patients has the potential to greatly reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections.

4 Jul 2012

Former President Bush in Zambia, Botswana to promote Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative to fight cervical cancer

Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush are traveling in Zambia and Botswana this week to promote "the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative spearheaded by his foundation that seeks to expand cervical and breast cancer screening and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa," CNN reports.

4 Jul 2012

New World Bank president says institution open to assisting high-income countries but gives no indication of refocusing

On his first day on the job, the World Bank's new president, Jim Yong Kim, said Monday "that the institution would be open to offering technical assistance to crisis-plagued high-income countries like Greece," the New York Times reports.

4 Jul 2012

OraSure Technologies receives FDA approval for new in-home HIV test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test, the first over-the-counter, self-administered HIV test kit to detect the presence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2 (HIV-2).

4 Jul 2012

Being a parent influences health in a positive way

There is no question that being a parent is, at times, challenging both physically and mentally. However knowledge of the actual affect parenthood has on health has been inconsistent at best, until now. New research led by Carnegie Mellon University's Sheldon Cohen and Rodlescia S. Sneed shows that being a parent influences health in a positive way. Published in Psychosomatic Medicine, the research provides the first evidence that, when exposed to a common cold virus, parents are 52 percent less likely to develop a cold than non-parents.

4 Jul 2012

Disease/Infection News

Philippines experiencing increasing number of new HIV cases; Leaders say country should reconsider policies

Fewer Danes contract Salmonella infections from eggs

Study: 13 zoonoses responsible for 2.4B cases of human illness per year

AIDS battle: stretching use of anti-HIV drugs

UN food standards body agrees on new regulations to protect health of consumers across the world

Lower pH reduces ability of ASL to kill bacteria in CF airways

New issue of 'Global Fund News Flash' available

Live zoster vaccine associated with reduced risk of HZ in patients with immune-mediated diseases

New exhibit highlights global health work of Seattle-area institutions

Johnson & Johnson seeking U.S. approval for first new TB drug in more than 4 decades

CAP/ASCCP LAST Project recommendations for better diagnosis of HPV-associated lesions

Study finds decline in rates of community-onset MRSA infections

Polio elimination hindered by unvaccinated children in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Shingles vaccine may not increase risk of varicella in people with auto-immune diseases

Researcher discovers how West Nile virus breaks through the tough blood-brain barrier to CNS

Raising vitamin D concentrations reduces risk of HAIs among hospital patients

Former President Bush in Zambia, Botswana to promote Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative to fight cervical cancer

New World Bank president says institution open to assisting high-income countries but gives no indication of refocusing

OraSure Technologies receives FDA approval for new in-home HIV test

Being a parent influences health in a positive way

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