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USAID World TB Day website

USAID's website features a page dedicated to World TB Day, which will be commemorated on March 24. The page lists information on upcoming events, as well as links to several reports, such as the FY2010 Report to Congress on the Global TB Context, stories, and features.

21 Mar 2012

China's Ministry of Health reports about 900,000 cases of active TB in 2011

"About 900,000 cases of active tuberculosis (TB) were discovered and treated in China in 2011, including 423,000 infectious cases, the Ministry of Health (MOH) announced Monday at a press conference," Xinhua reports.

21 Mar 2012

Center for Global Health Policy interviews TB expert in advance of World TB Day

The Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog interviews tuberculosis (TB) expert Lee Reichman, founding executive director of the New Jersey Medical School Global Tuberculosis Institute, in advance of World TB Day, to be observed on March 24.

21 Mar 2012

Top scientific experts publish new TB vaccine Blueprint

21 Mar 2012

TB Alliance launches Phase II clinical trial to test new drug regimen among people with TB, MDR-TB

The TB Alliance on Monday announced it has launched a Phase II clinical trial "of a new treatment regimen for tuberculosis, including for patients with resistance to existing multi-drug programs," Agence France-Presse reports.

21 Mar 2012

Transforming biomedical research to develop TB vaccines

In the past decade, scientists have made significant progress building the critical knowledge and infrastructure needed to identify and develop novel tuberculosis (TB) vaccine candidates and move the most promising ones into human clinical trials. The results of those trials, coupled with advances from other TB studies, have paved the way for the next 10 years of research on TB vaccines, a critical component of TB control efforts, note scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

21 Mar 2012

BPA alters uterus structure leading to potentially fatal infection

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have found evidence that, in addition to affecting the heart, brain and nervous system, bisphenol A (BPA), could affect a mammal's ability to reproduce by altering the structure of the uterus in ways that can progress to a potentially fatal infection.

21 Mar 2012

Reuters examines global rise in drug-resistant tuberculosis cases

"[O]ften seen in the wealthy West as a disease of bygone eras," Reuters examines rising rates of tuberculosis (TB) -- drug-resistant TB in particular -- among the world's rich and poor. "[R]apidly rising rates of drug-resistant TB in some of the wealthiest cities in the world, as well as across Africa and Asia, are again making history," Reuters writes.

21 Mar 2012

Closer to effective screening for TB

An Australian scientist will bring effective screening for tuberculosis a step closer with his latest study in Vietnam- where he now lives and works.

21 Mar 2012

IDSA releases new rhinosinusitis guidelines

The vast majority of sinus infections are caused by viruses and should not be treated with antibiotics, suggest new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

21 Mar 2012

New vaccine strategy to advance solutions for tuberculosis

Against a backdrop of growing concern about the impact of tuberculosis on children, top scientific experts today published a global plan of action for developing the vaccines that are seen as critical to eliminating the disease. Published today in a special issue of the journal, Tuberculosis , the strategic blueprint for the TB vaccine field, represents consensus reached by the TB vaccine community.

20 Mar 2012

Sharp rise recorded in cases of new strain of whooping cough: New genotype may be evading vaccine’s protective effects

Australia’s prolonged whooping cough epidemic has entered a disturbing new phase, with a study showing a new strain or genotype may be responsible for the sharp rise in the number of cases.

20 Mar 2012

Chemists produce first high resolution structure of HCV viral RNA-inhibitor complex

Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have produced the first high resolution structure of a molecule that when attached to the genetic material of the hepatitis C virus prevents it from reproducing.

20 Mar 2012

World Bank report calls for increased HIV prevention efforts in Africa

In a report published last week, the World Bank "called on African governments and international donors to increase efforts to prevent new HIV infections in order to control treatment costs," VOA News reports.

20 Mar 2012

FDA, Agilent partner to develop new tools for detection of salmonella subtypes

Agilent Technologies Inc. today announced that it has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop new tools to detect and analyze pathogens in food.

20 Mar 2012

New antibiotic shows promise against bovine mastitis

Food-borne diseases might soon have another warrior to contend with, thanks to a new molecule discovered by chemists at the University of Illinois. The new antibiotic, an analog of the widely used food preservative nisin, also has potential to be a boon to the dairy industry as a treatment for bovine mastitis.

20 Mar 2012

CSIS report examines HIV prevention, care among people who inject drugs in Ukraine

A new report, titled "Injection Drug Use in Ukraine" and published by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), examines the challenges of providing HIV prevention and care services in the country, particularly to people who inject drugs (PWID), who accounted for "nearly 50 percent of new HIV infections registered in 2010," according to the CSIS website.

20 Mar 2012

WHO hopes for release of bird flu studies, prepares for second meeting on controversy

Keiji Fukuda, WHO assistant director-general for health security and environment, "is hoping bird flu studies currently in publishing limbo will be released by the time the agency hosts a second meeting on the controversy this summer," the Canadian Press/Winnipeg Free Press reports.

20 Mar 2012

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement honors two experts on air pollution

Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement honors two experts on air pollution with the 2012 Tyler Prize for their work to advance the scientific understanding of air pollution, and develop solutions to reduce the danger to human health and the impact on climate change.

20 Mar 2012

U-M teams up with India's top academic medical programs for trauma care research

The University of Michigan Health System is teaming up with one of India's top academic medical programs to collaborate on trauma care research and to foster exchanges of medical personnel and ideas.

20 Mar 2012