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Business Group urges flu shot requirements for hospital workers

The National Business Group On Health is advocating this position as a way to reduce flu risk for health care workers and patients.

6 Feb 2012

CD74 molecule plays a guiding role in immune responses against diseases

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host.

6 Feb 2012

Analysis looks at cost effectiveness of simultaneously confronting several diseases

The great paradox of global health efforts is that regions of the world most plagued by poverty, poor infrastructure and rampant disease are often the most difficult to support. Now, scientists have demonstrated that confronting several diseases at once can make the most of thinly-stretched donor dollars and national health care budgets, to help to save lives.

4 Feb 2012

Global malaria deaths twice as high as previously estimated, IHME study suggests

"Malaria is killing more people worldwide than previously thought, but the number of deaths has fallen rapidly as efforts to combat the disease have ramped up, according to new research from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington" published in the Lancet on Thursday, an IHME press release reports.

4 Feb 2012

WHO finds very high levels of drug-resistant TB in Russia, Moldova

"[T]he highest levels ever of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) have been found in Russia and Moldova," the WHO reports in research published in the February edition of the WHO Bulletin, but "the agency didn't have data from most of Africa and India, where tuberculosis rates are much higher," the Associated Press/USA Today's "Your Life" reports.

4 Feb 2012

African scientists' search for female-controlled microbicide gel to prevent HIV continues

AllAfrica.com examines efforts by African researchers to develop a female-controlled HIV prevention method, writing, "Scientists searching for a gel or vaccine that can prevent HIV infection ride a rollercoaster of hope and disappointment." The article profiles efforts by researchers from the Centre for the AIDS Program of Research in South Africa (Caprisa) to find a microbicide gel to protect women from HIV infection.

4 Feb 2012

DRC facing decline in donor funding, HIV treatment shortage

"The lives of thousands of HIV-positive people in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are at risk as the country faces declining donor funding and a severe shortage of HIV treatment, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)," PlusNews reports.

4 Feb 2012

Republican win in 2012 election could spell end of international family planning programs

"If a Republican becomes president, ... say goodbye to international programs providing birth control to women in desperately poor countries such as Liberia," senior contributing writer Michelle Goldberg writes in this Daily Beast opinion piece.

4 Feb 2012

Al Jazeera speaks with experts about new NTD initiative

Following the announcement on Monday that 13 pharmaceutical companies, several large non-profit organizations, governments, and U.N. agencies are joining forces to fight neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), Al Jazeera's "Inside Story" interviewed several experts in the field, asking, "Why have these diseases been neglected for so long? And how effective will the new plans be to counter these diseases and, in turn, alleviate poverty? Is the target date of 2020 set by the initiative realistic to wipe out some of the world's deadliest conditions? And what is in it for them?" according to the show's summary.

4 Feb 2012

Kenyan AIDS official says country has sufficient funding to support programs through 2016

Kenya has sufficient funds to support HIV/AIDS treatment programs through 2016, the head of the National AIDS Control Council (NACC) said in a statement on Wednesday after activists protested on Monday in support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Star reports.

4 Feb 2012

Link between health and schooling among fleeing children

Refugee children have scant access to medical care and are particularly vulnerable to disease. Fresh research results from the University of Copenhagen show that just a few hours of schooling a week may have a pronounced positive impact on their health not only in childhood but later in life when they achieve adulthood.

4 Feb 2012

New editorial offers clarity on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology

A new editorial released this week offers clarity and structure on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology for prescribers, users and regulators. "Through a glass darkly: can we improve clarity about mechanism and aims of medications in drug and alcohol treatments?" is published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, the official journal of the British Association for Psychopharmacology, published by SAGE.

4 Feb 2012

'Humanosphere' blog examines roles of former President Carter, researcher Foege in fighting NTDs

This post in KPLU 88.5's "Humanosphere" blog examines how former President Jimmy Carter gave the fight against neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) "a good first shove nearly 30 years ago," writing, "Neglected diseases like river blindness, Guinea worm, parasitic (lymphatic) elephantiasis and schistosomiasis have been in Carter's cross hairs since the mid-1980s."

4 Feb 2012

Newly divorced middle aged women more vulnerable to contract HIV and other STDs

Newly divorced middle aged women are more vulnerable to contract HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases, according to Christopher Coleman, PhD, MPH, RN, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, because they tend to let their guard down with new sexual partners and avoid using protection since they are unafraid of getting pregnant.

3 Feb 2012

Worldwide malaria death figures - a gross underestimate, finds latest research

According to latest research malaria kills twice as many people every year as formerly believed, taking 1.2 million lives and causing the deaths not only of babies but also older children and adults.

3 Feb 2012

New MRSA ‘superbug’ worries experts

A deadly mutant bug could be spreading among the public warn experts. The deadly strain of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) called USA300 passes easily through skin-to-skin contact. It can also survive on surfaces and so has the potential to be picked up on crowded buses and tubes. The first cases were seen in the US but cases are now being reported in the community and not just hospitals in Britain.

3 Feb 2012

Doctors, NPs often issue orders to HIV patients to maintain adherence- Problem solving rare

Take your medicine, Doctor's orders. It's a simple idea that may seem especially obvious when the pills are the antiretroviral (ARV) drugs that add decades to the lives of HIV-positive patients.

3 Feb 2012

Ensure future for Global Fund or 'forfeit' chance at 'AIDS-free generation'

"Beyond AIDS, the Global Fund is currently the largest donor in the world for tuberculosis and malaria programs. ... The question is not whether the Global Fund works, but how to ensure it keeps working for years to come."

3 Feb 2012

One part of HIV/AIDS series examines Germany's government policies surrounding epidemic

As part of a week-long series, titled "Generation Positive," looking at the HIV epidemic in the U.S. and Washington, D.C., WTOP's Thomas Warren examines the history of HIV/AIDS in the U.S. compared with Germany, where he traveled as a fellow with the RIAS Berlin Kommission.

3 Feb 2012

Mexico sees spike in swine flu after two years of low transmission

"There have been 1,623 cases of all strains of flu in Mexico recorded so far for January, 90 percent of them H1N1 [swine flu]," compared to "about 1,000 flu cases in Mexico during all of last year," of which roughly 250 cases were swine flu, Health Secretary Salomon Chertorivski Woldenberg told reporters on Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

3 Feb 2012

Disease/Infection News

Business Group urges flu shot requirements for hospital workers

CD74 molecule plays a guiding role in immune responses against diseases

Analysis looks at cost effectiveness of simultaneously confronting several diseases

Global malaria deaths twice as high as previously estimated, IHME study suggests

WHO finds very high levels of drug-resistant TB in Russia, Moldova

African scientists' search for female-controlled microbicide gel to prevent HIV continues

DRC facing decline in donor funding, HIV treatment shortage

Republican win in 2012 election could spell end of international family planning programs

Al Jazeera speaks with experts about new NTD initiative

Kenyan AIDS official says country has sufficient funding to support programs through 2016

Link between health and schooling among fleeing children

New editorial offers clarity on confusing drug and alcohol addiction terminology

'Humanosphere' blog examines roles of former President Carter, researcher Foege in fighting NTDs

Newly divorced middle aged women more vulnerable to contract HIV and other STDs

Worldwide malaria death figures - a gross underestimate, finds latest research

New MRSA ‘superbug’ worries experts

Doctors, NPs often issue orders to HIV patients to maintain adherence- Problem solving rare

Ensure future for Global Fund or 'forfeit' chance at 'AIDS-free generation'

One part of HIV/AIDS series examines Germany's government policies surrounding epidemic

Mexico sees spike in swine flu after two years of low transmission

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep

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