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International AIDS Conference to be held in the U.S. from July 22-27

The XIX International AIDS Conference is coming to Washington, D.C., July 22-27. It is the first time in 22 years the conference will be held in the U.S.

10 Jul 2012

HIV drug coverage in sub-Saharan Africa continues to improve but not sustainable, UNAIDS' Sidibe says

At the end of 2011, 6.2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were taking antiretroviral drugs, about 56 percent of the people in need in the region, UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe noted in an interview last week, saying, "Ten years ago, nobody would have imagined that such a result would be possible," Agence France-Presse reports. "Sidibe -- visiting Paris ahead of the July 22-27 International AIDS Conference in Washington -- said he was worried that African countries remained so dependent on foreign help," the news service states.

10 Jul 2012

ASM’s mBio achieves significant increase in impact factor

Less than two years after publishing its first issue, the online open-access journal mBio- is now ranked among the top 20 highest-impact microbiology journals according to Thomson Reuters, which has just released its Journal Citation Reports for 2011.

10 Jul 2012

Enterovirus blamed for some deaths of Cambodian children; Officials continue to investigate mysterious respiratory illness

"Lab tests have confirmed that a virulent strain of hand, foot and mouth disease known as [enterovirus-71 (EV-71)] is to blame for some of the 59 cases of mysterious illness among children in Cambodia reviewed since April, including 52 deaths, according to a joint statement from the World Health Organization and Cambodian Health Ministry," the Associated Press reports, noting that "the numbers were lowered from the initial report of 62 cases."

10 Jul 2012

Einstein researchers to study molecular mechanism behind Ebola virus infection

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University a five-year, $4.8 million grant to study the molecular mechanism that allows the Ebola virus to cause infection and spread in animals.

10 Jul 2012

Diabetes far more widespread than previously thought

A third of the world's human population is infected with a dormant tuberculosis bacteria, primarily people living in developing countries. The bacteria presents a lifelong TB risk. Recent research out of the University of Copenhagen demonstrates that the risk of tuberculosis breaking out is four times as likely if a person also suffers from diabetes. Meanwhile, as a diabetic, a person is five times as likely to die during tuberculosis treatment.

10 Jul 2012

NPR series examines global progress against AIDS

In a special series called "AIDS: A Turning Point," NPR reports on global progress against HIV/AIDS ahead of the AIDS 2012 conference taking place in Washington, D.C., this month. As part of the series, NPR's "Morning Edition" examines Botswana's response to the epidemic, writing, "A decade ago, Botswana was facing a national crisis as AIDS appeared on the verge of decimating the country's adult population.

9 Jul 2012

HPV vaccine shows evidence of herd protection

The HPV vaccine not only has resulted in a decrease in human papillomavirus infection in immunized teens but also in teens who were not immunized.

9 Jul 2012

Merck, PDS Biotechnology enter licensing agreement for Versamune

PDS Biotechnology Corporation announced today that they have entered into an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, for use of PDS Biotechnology's novel Versamune nanotechnology platform in two of Merck's investigational antigen-specific cancer immunotherapies currently in pre-clinical development.

9 Jul 2012

DNA from CF patients with and without chronic infections points to unsuspected mutation

Comparing the DNA from patients at the best and worst extremes of a health condition can reveal genes for resistance and susceptibly. This approach discovered rare variations in the DCTN4 gene among cystic fibrosis patients most prone to early, chronic airway infections.

9 Jul 2012

UNN, UM establish firm foundation for mutual collaborations

A delegation from the University of Nigeria (UNN) has just completed a week in key laboratories and boardrooms at the University of Maryland's Baltimore campus exploring educational exchanges between the two universities.

8 Jul 2012

Health ministers from Southeast Asia asked to support U.N. in stemming spread of drug-resistant malaria in region

"Health ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are being asked to support United Nations efforts to stem the spread of drug-resistant strains of malaria, especially along the borders of Cambodia and Burma," VOA News reports.

7 Jul 2012

International AIDS Conference a call for global solidarity

Noting the 2010 reversal of the HIV travel and immigration ban allowing the International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012) to be held in the U.S. for the first time in more than 20 years, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) writes in a Huffington Post Blog opinion piece, "It is so exciting to host this conference at such a pivotal time in the history of the AIDS response," and adds, "At no other time in history has our global leadership been more important than it is right now."

7 Jul 2012

New vaccine candidate against leading cause of hospital-acquired infections

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have discovered a new vaccine candidate for the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa taking advantage of a new mechanism of immunity.

7 Jul 2012

Powerful new drug to treat malaria

A powerful new drug to treat malaria - the invention of a University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy researcher -- will help take the bite out of malaria. In the United States, a mosquito bite seems harmless, but in developing countries it means more than 655,000 deaths a year - mostly in children.

7 Jul 2012

AHF calls for reasonable pricing of Gilead’s Quad AIDS drug

Today AIDS Healthcare Foundation, in response to recent press reports regarding drug manufacturer Gilead Sciences, Inc.'s new four-drug HIV/AIDS pill, known as the "Quad," renewed its call for company to price the drug reasonably, particularly in light of the fact that it represents only a marginal improvement over existing medications.

7 Jul 2012

New HIV test results are 'preliminary' and need doctors' confirmation

In reports on two major public health issues, experts seek to remind people that the new HIV test offer only a preliminary result, so a confirmation from a physician is necessary, and a Kentucky health veteran works to stem the diabetes epidemic there.

7 Jul 2012

Low rainfall and high temperatures associated with high numbers of mosquito larvae

Rainfall and temperature affect the abundance of two mosquito species linked to West Nile Virus in storm catch basins in suburban Chicago, two University of Illinois researchers report.

7 Jul 2012

VOA profiles Vietnam Clinical HIV/AIDS Society

VOA News profiles the recently established Vietnam Clinical HIV/AIDS Society (VCHAS), among the first professional medical organizations of any type in Vietnam. VCHAS "was set up with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control through the Harvard Medical School AIDS Initiative, as part of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief," VOA notes.

6 Jul 2012

New study maps global zoonotic disease 'hotspots'

"A global study mapping human diseases that come from animals like tuberculosis, AIDS, bird flu or Rift Valley fever has found that just 13 such diseases are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths a year," Reuters reports.

6 Jul 2012