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Deadly flu virus research may be published for the advancement of science but more risk assessment needed says WHO

According to the World Health Organization, the two controversial studies that explain how scientists mutated the H5N1 bird flu virus into a form that could cause a deadly human pandemic will be published only after experts fully assess the risks.

20 Feb 2012

Natural compound of Chilean avocado plant can combat resistant yellow staphylococci

Aggressive infections in hospitals are an increasing health problem worldwide. The development of bacterial resistance is alarming. Now a young Danish scientist has found a natural substance in a Chilean rainforest plant that effectively supports the effect of traditional treatment with antibiotics.

20 Feb 2012

Study reveals potential strength of different anti-HIV combination drugs

Using a mathematical formula that carefully measures the degree to which HIV infection of immune system cells is stalled by antiretroviral therapy, AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins have calculated precisely how well dozens of such anti-HIV drugs work, alone or in any of 857 likely combinations, in suppressing the virus. Results of the team's latest research reveal how some combinations work better than others at impeding viral replication, and keeping the disease in check.

19 Feb 2012

Bristol-Myers Squibb awards 3 new grants to enhance HBV and HCV prevention, diagnosis and care

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has awarded three new grants to improve prevention, diagnosis and care of hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis C (HCV) in China and India as part of its Delivering Hope: Awareness, Prevention and Care umbrella program which is committed to reducing hepatitis-related health disparities in Asia.

19 Feb 2012

Norovirus outbreak at the George Washington University campus

Officials at the university and the District of Columbia's Health Department confirmed 85 cases of the gastrointestinal illness were diagnosed since Monday. The virus was found in locations including the central Foggy Bottom campus and the Mount Vernon campus in Northwest Washington. Members of the university also reported cases off campus.

18 Feb 2012

Shah says 'difficult choices' made in FY13 International Affairs budget request

In this post on USAID's "IMPACTblog," USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah says the FY 2013 International Affairs budget request "showcases President Obama's commitment to making smart, efficient investments to help those in the greatest need while helping to create economic opportunity and safeguarding American security." Despite

18 Feb 2012

WHO confirms recommendations regarding HIV, female hormonal contraceptives after review of studies

"A stakeholder consultation convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva has reviewed recent epidemiological studies related to HIV transmission and acquisition by women using hormonal contraceptives," a UNAIDS press statement reports.

18 Feb 2012

Vaccines are for people of all ages, not just children and seniors

Keeping up with vaccines is not always easy, particularly if you live in a household with family members of different ages. Vaccination needs can also change quickly if there's an outburst of a disease.

18 Feb 2012

New, under-recognized, much more potent variant of common bacterium

University at Buffalo researchers are expressing concern about a new, under-recognized, much more potent variant of a common bacterium that has surfaced in the U.S.

18 Feb 2012

Two-day WHO meeting on bird flu to release statement as soon as possible, WHO official says

Researchers of H5N1 bird flu virus "are set to wrap up a two-day meeting on the issue Friday with international experts at the World Health Organization in Geneva" with the aim of settling controversy over the work of two research teams that created genetically altered viral strains that are easily transmissible among ferrets, a laboratory model for humans, the Associated Press reports (Mason, 2/17).

18 Feb 2012

AHF criticizes Obama administration for global AIDS budget

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) today criticized the Obama administration, which—in a shocking repudiation of nearly thirty years of progress against the global AIDS pandemic—last Monday unveiled a global AIDS budget that takes the unprecedented step of reducing AIDS funding by approximately $214 million in fiscal year 2013. Never before has a President sought to actually reduce America's commitment to fighting the AIDS epidemic globally.

18 Feb 2012

UB researchers express concern about a new variant of Klebsiella pneumoniae

University at Buffalo researchers are expressing concern about a new, under-recognized, much more potent variant of a common bacterium that has surfaced in the U.S.

18 Feb 2012

Study reveals immune mechanism for surveillance over EBV infection

Some 90 percent of people are exposed to the Epstein Barr virus (EBV) at some point in their life. Even though it is quickly cleared from the body, the virus can linger silently for years in small numbers of infected B cells.

18 Feb 2012

Good surveillance system for FMD can minimize economic losses to Mexican cattle industry

In a worst-case scenario simulation of a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak in Mexico, researchers found that establishing a good surveillance system and raising a more resilient breed of cattle could lessen the blow to the Mexican cattle industry should an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or other infectious disease occur.

17 Feb 2012

Reuters examines security measures taken at labs working with deadly pathogens

Reuters reports on security measures taken at laboratories working with deadly bacteria and viruses, examining current regulations around lab safety and detailing precautions taken at various labs around the world.

17 Feb 2012

University of Georgia researcher to develop first Chagas vaccine for pets

Chagas disease is the single most common cause of congestive heart failure and sudden death in the world. The devastating parasitic infection affects millions of people throughout Central and South America. But as global travel increases, it's becoming a greater threat in the United States and Europe as well.

17 Feb 2012

President Obama's FY13 budget request increases multilateral global health funding

In this post in the Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog, Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a research fellow at CGD, and Denizhan Duran, a research assistant at CGD, note that while the decreases in funding for the Global Health Initiative (GHI) and PEPFAR in President Obama's FY 2013 budget request are "alarming," the "bright spot" is that multilateral programs, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the GAVI Alliance, would get increases in their funding.

17 Feb 2012

Burkina Faso government urged to increase health budget as country faces ARV stock outs

"Burkina Faso's Network for Access to Essential Medicines (RAME) has called on the Burkinabè government to increase the budget allocation to the health sector to avoid interruptions to AIDS treatment," Inter Press Service reports.

17 Feb 2012

Russian NGOs fear fate of HIV harm-reduction programs as planned exit of Global Fund occurs

The Moscow Times examines a potential shift in Russia's public health priorities as programs funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria begin to phase out.

17 Feb 2012

WHO should regulate alcohol consumption with legally binding convention, global health expert says

The "WHO should regulate alcohol at the global level, enforcing such regulations as a minimum drinking age, zero-tolerance drunken driving, and bans on unlimited drink specials," Devi Sridhar, a lecturer in global health politics at the University of Oxford, argues in a commentary published on Wednesday in the journal Nature, Scientific American reports.

17 Feb 2012

Disease/Infection News

Deadly flu virus research may be published for the advancement of science but more risk assessment needed says WHO

Natural compound of Chilean avocado plant can combat resistant yellow staphylococci

Study reveals potential strength of different anti-HIV combination drugs

Bristol-Myers Squibb awards 3 new grants to enhance HBV and HCV prevention, diagnosis and care

Norovirus outbreak at the George Washington University campus

Shah says 'difficult choices' made in FY13 International Affairs budget request

WHO confirms recommendations regarding HIV, female hormonal contraceptives after review of studies

Vaccines are for people of all ages, not just children and seniors

New, under-recognized, much more potent variant of common bacterium

Two-day WHO meeting on bird flu to release statement as soon as possible, WHO official says

AHF criticizes Obama administration for global AIDS budget

UB researchers express concern about a new variant of Klebsiella pneumoniae

Study reveals immune mechanism for surveillance over EBV infection

Good surveillance system for FMD can minimize economic losses to Mexican cattle industry

Reuters examines security measures taken at labs working with deadly pathogens

University of Georgia researcher to develop first Chagas vaccine for pets

President Obama's FY13 budget request increases multilateral global health funding

Burkina Faso government urged to increase health budget as country faces ARV stock outs

Russian NGOs fear fate of HIV harm-reduction programs as planned exit of Global Fund occurs

WHO should regulate alcohol consumption with legally binding convention, global health expert says

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