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CSIS blog examines definition of 'AIDS-free generation'

"Charged by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with developing a blueprint for the next phase of the U.S. government's involvement in the fight against HIV and AIDS, [U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby] ... will lead an interagency effort to give clearer meaning to the term, 'AIDS-free generation,' and provide a basis for programming," Sharon Stash, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic & International Studies' (CSIS) Global Health Policy Center, writes in the CSIS "Smart Global Health" blog.

31 Jul 2012

Bloomberg Businessweek examines debate surrounding circumcision

Bloomberg Businessweek reports that "circumcision is in the spotlight again after a German court ruling has pitted those who support it for religious and health reasons against those who say boys should have the right to decide for themselves" and discusses how the procedure's role in "helping prevent the spread of AIDS in Africa" is "lost in the debate."

31 Jul 2012

Slippery technology prevents harmful bacterial slime from forming on surfaces

Biofilms may no longer have any solid ground upon which to stand. A team of Harvard scientists has developed a slick way to prevent the troublesome bacterial communities from ever forming on a surface. Biofilms stick to just about everything, from copper pipes to steel ship hulls to glass catheters. The slimy coatings are more than just a nuisance, resulting in decreased energy efficiency, contamination of water and food supplies, and-especially in medical settings-persistent infections. Even cavities in teeth are the unwelcome result of bacterial colonies.

31 Jul 2012

GlobalPost interviews USAID Administrator Shah about global AIDS response

GlobalPost correspondents John Donnelly and Charles Sennott interview USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah "about his perspectives on the AIDS fight," in this entry in GlobalPost's "Global Pulse" blog.

31 Jul 2012

DECISION+2 can reduce antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections

A training tool that helps physicians involve patients in decision-making can reduce the use of antibiotics for acute respiratory infections, according to a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

31 Jul 2012

Advocacy, commitment, investment needed to continue HIV/AIDS response

Some members of Congress "are advocating deep cuts to funding for domestic programs such as the Ryan White CARE Act and international programs such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and PEPFAR," but "what these critics fail to realize is that though we have won a multitude of battles, we are still losing the war in many communities," Rep. Michael Honda (D-Calif.) writes in a U.S. News & World Report opinion piece.

31 Jul 2012

Inclusion of 'marginalized and criminalized' populations essential to HIV/AIDS response

In this post in the Human Rights and HIV/AIDS "Now More Than Ever" blog, Michel Kazatchkine, the former executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and newly appointed special envoy to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for HIV/AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, examines why human rights are "so central to the AIDS response."

31 Jul 2012

Blog posts examine issues discussed at AIDS 2012

Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, published three new blog posts last week examining issues discussed at the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012).

31 Jul 2012

Limited funding, lack of flexibility forces decisions on how to spend money on disease treatment

Noting "the total clinic-level cost of providing a year's worth of antiretroviral drugs ... ha[s] dropped" in some countries, Charles Kenny, a fellow at the Center for Global Development and the New America Foundation, discusses "disagreement over the effectiveness of the global AIDS response" in this Bloomberg Businessweek opinion piece.

31 Jul 2012

'AIDS-free generation' possible with available tools for prevention, but not without political will

Noting that "the XIX International AIDS Conference [AIDS 2012] has just come to a close amid much talk of the beginning of the end of AIDS, turning the tide on HIV and even a potential cure," Julio Montaner, former president of the International AIDS Society (IAS) and director of the B.C. Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, writes in a Globe and Mail opinion piece, "It is now more certain than ever that we have the tools, medicines and expertise to stop this epidemic."

31 Jul 2012

Two new targets could enhance the body's defenses against West Nile and hepatitis C

Two new targets have been discovered for antiviral therapies and vaccines strategies that could enhance the body's defenses against such infectious diseases as West Nile and hepatitis C. The targets are within the infection warning system inside living cells.

31 Jul 2012

Views on AIDS: More funding will be needed for new attack on HIV; The epidemic hits hard in the South

The international AIDS conference in Washington has already made two points clear. There is no prospect that scientists will any time soon find the ultimate solutions to the AIDS epidemic, namely a vaccine that would prevent infection with the AIDS virus or a "cure" for people already infected with the virus.

31 Jul 2012

XIX International AIDS Conference concludes in Washington, D.C.

"The XIX International AIDS Conference [AIDS 2012] drew to a close Friday without the physical presence of President Obama but with a full cast of other high-profile U.S. politicians who expressed their commitment to ending the disease," CQ HealthBeat reports (Norman, 7/27).

30 Jul 2012

Ebola outbreak identified in Uganda

"The world's first major outbreak of Ebola hemorrhagic fever since 2009 has killed at least 14 of 20 people infected in a remote area of midwestern Uganda," the Wall Street Journal reports (Bariyo/McKay, 7/29).

30 Jul 2012

Progress with GSK in advancing VaxiRNA technology earns Alnylam $3.2M milestone payment

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leading RNAi therapeutics company, announced today that it has earned a development milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline, totaling $3.2 million. The milestone payment is related to progress in the companies' collaboration on the use of VaxiRNA technology for the production of GSK influenza vaccine.

30 Jul 2012

Nurse burnout leads to higher healthcare-associated infection rates

Nurse burnout leads to higher healthcare-associated infection rates (HAIs) and costs hospitals millions of additional dollars annually, according to a study published in the August issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

30 Jul 2012

Combined approach reduces SSIs by 33% in patients after colorectal procedures

A surgical patient safety program that combines three components-accurate outcome measurement, support of hospital leadership, and engaged frontline providers-reduces surgical site infections (SSIs) by 33 percent in patients who undergo colorectal procedures, according to a new study published in the August issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

30 Jul 2012

EASL calls on the UN to take action to fight against viral hepatitis infection

Marking World Hepatitis Day, the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) calls on the different organizations which make up the United Nations systems to take action to fight against Viral Hepatitis (Hepatitis B and C), a potentially fatal infection of the liver which affects 500 million people.

30 Jul 2012

UTMB researchers receives NIH grant to develop engineered lung tissue for biomedical studies

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston researchers have been awarded a two-year, $1.25 million National Institutes of Health grant to develop a method of custom-growing human lung tissue to make a three-dimensional model for biomedical studies.

30 Jul 2012

Researchers describe new human tissue dendritic cell with cross-presenting function

Researchers in Newcastle and Singapore have identified a new type of white blood cell which activates a killing immune response to an external source - providing a new potential target for vaccines for conditions such as cancer or Hepatitis B.

30 Jul 2012

Disease/Infection News

CSIS blog examines definition of 'AIDS-free generation'

Bloomberg Businessweek examines debate surrounding circumcision

Slippery technology prevents harmful bacterial slime from forming on surfaces

GlobalPost interviews USAID Administrator Shah about global AIDS response

DECISION+2 can reduce antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections

Advocacy, commitment, investment needed to continue HIV/AIDS response

Inclusion of 'marginalized and criminalized' populations essential to HIV/AIDS response

Blog posts examine issues discussed at AIDS 2012

Limited funding, lack of flexibility forces decisions on how to spend money on disease treatment

'AIDS-free generation' possible with available tools for prevention, but not without political will

Two new targets could enhance the body's defenses against West Nile and hepatitis C

Views on AIDS: More funding will be needed for new attack on HIV; The epidemic hits hard in the South

XIX International AIDS Conference concludes in Washington, D.C.

Ebola outbreak identified in Uganda

Progress with GSK in advancing VaxiRNA technology earns Alnylam $3.2M milestone payment

Nurse burnout leads to higher healthcare-associated infection rates

Combined approach reduces SSIs by 33% in patients after colorectal procedures

EASL calls on the UN to take action to fight against viral hepatitis infection

UTMB researchers receives NIH grant to develop engineered lung tissue for biomedical studies

Researchers describe new human tissue dendritic cell with cross-presenting function

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