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Five ways pharmaceutical companies can address NTDs

In this Forbes opinion piece, journalist Sarika Bansal examines five ways in which pharmaceutical companies can address neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), including creating cross-sectorial research partnerships for neglected diseases; joining patent pools for neglected diseases; donating drugs for neglected diseases; creating facilities dedicated to neglected disease research; and allowing scientists to work on neglected disease, both formally and informally.

24 Nov 2011

Four-year project aims to boost kala-azar elimination efforts in India, Bangladesh

In this post in the Global Health Technologies Coalition's "Breakthroughs" blog, Elena Pantjushenko, a communications associate for GHTC member OneWorld Health (OWH), profiles a "comprehensive four-year project to boost kala-azar (leishmaniasis) elimination strategies in India and Bangladesh, where the concentration of disease burden is among the world's highest."

24 Nov 2011

Deadly outbreak of acute watery diarrhea spreads through Horn of Africa; Djibouti hit especially hard

"Recurring drought, insufficient hygiene and ongoing regional conflict are driving a deadly outbreak of acute watery diarrhea (AWD) across the Horn of Africa, the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported" on Tuesday, the U.N. News Centre writes.

24 Nov 2011

Bloomberg examines Trans-Pacific Partnership trade initiative and potential impact to U.S. global efforts to tackle HIV

Bloomberg examines how a trade agreement being negotiated by leaders of the nine Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries -- Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the United States -- could potentially make it more difficult for people in TPP nations to get new generic drugs and may impact U.S.-led global efforts to tackle HIV/AIDS as outlined by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a recent speech at the NIH.

24 Nov 2011

Balanced approach needed to fight cholera outbreaks in Haiti

Jason Nickerson, a respiratory therapist and doctoral candidate in Population Health at the University of Ottawa, in this Global Health Hub post, recounts recent controversy surrounding "the health and humanitarian response to the earthquake and cholera outbreaks" in Haiti, noting tension "between the provision of [a cholera] vaccine as opposed to spending the money on improvements to water and sanitation" in the country.

23 Nov 2011

University of Rochester receives U.S. patent for HPV vaccine research

The University of Rochester has been awarded a U.S. patent for research essential to both human papillomavirus vaccines on the market.

23 Nov 2011

Accelr8 expands development plan for BACcel rapid diagnostic test

Accelr8 Technology Corporation announced that it successfully completed two technical feasibility studies for test methods that expand its BACcel rapid diagnostic test library and automation capabilities.

23 Nov 2011

U.N. says AIDS deaths decline for third successive year

The number of people dying of AIDS around the world declined last year for the third year in a row, at the same time that the fraction of people getting treatment for the infection reached almost 50 percent. Both facts are evidence that progress against the 30-year-old epidemic is gaining momentum, according to the United Nations' annual report on the global AIDS epidemic, released Monday.

23 Nov 2011

Panel discussion highlights USAID achievements on 50Th anniversary

This post in the Malaria Policy Center blog summarizes a panel discussion, titled "Partnerships for Global Health Success: Spotlight on USAID," that took place Monday in Washington, D.C., and was sponsored by Research!America.

23 Nov 2011

Partnerships, additional funding allow for expansion of PEPFAR to combat cervical cancer

In this post in the Public Health Institute's "Dialogue4Health" blog, Jeffrey Meer, director of PHI's Washington-based advocacy on global health, writes that "a significant expansion of PEPFAR's existing work to combat cervical cancer" through a partnership with the George W. Bush Institute known as Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon (PRRR); a 50 percent increase in the U.S. government's "commitment to screen and treat for this type of cancer from $20 million over five years to $30 million"; and additional funding from Susan G. Komen for the Cure "to expand breast cancer awareness and prevention among the same target population of women receiving care at PEPFAR-funded HIV service sites" has allowed "the wonderfully robust PEPFAR prevention and treatment platform, considered one of the great global health achievements in recent times, to be made available to a whole new type of prevention -- in this case for a non-communicable disease (NCD)."

23 Nov 2011

University of Liverpool introduces HEP i-chart for HCV patients

The University of Liverpool has launched an iphone app, HEP i-chart, that provides Hepatitis C (HCV) patients with quick and easy access to the latest information about drug interactions.

23 Nov 2011

IPS examines HIV in the Caribbean, highlights challenges in addressing at-risk populations

Inter Press Service examines HIV in the Caribbean, where "the HIV burden varies considerably among and within countries" in the region. "'I think the prevention programs in many countries are not reaching the right people,' Michel de Groulards, regional program adviser of the UNAIDS Caribbean Regional Support Team, told IPS," the news service writes, adding, "One factor, de Groulards believed, may be that after 25 years of providing treatment, some countries have reached a plateau.

23 Nov 2011

Oral antibiotics might treat Buruli ulcer

It might be possible to treat Buruli ulcer, a crippling and deforming disease, with only oral medicines, which would make treatment easier. And even the current treatment can in many cases be given in an outpatient regimen.

23 Nov 2011

FSU professors available to provide perspective on fight against HIV/AIDS

As the world prepares to mark World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, two Florida State University professors are available to provide perspective on the fight against HIV/AIDS.

22 Nov 2011

Fight against HIV/AIDS continues with successes and failures: UNAIDS report

An annual report released Monday by UNAIDS, the United Nations agency fighting AIDS has revealed that the world’s AIDS epidemic has hit a plateau, with 2.7 million people becoming newly infected each year for the last five years.

22 Nov 2011

Scientists identify new immune system defect in aged mice

As people age, their immune system becomes less robust. This makes them more susceptible to serious and frequently life-threatening infections with viruses that affect the respiratory tract such as influenza A virus.

22 Nov 2011

Potential cuts to global health spending threaten vision of 'AIDS-free generation'

The vision of an "AIDS-free generation" presented in a speech earlier this month by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton "is under threat in Congress," as "the House and the Senate are discussing significant cuts to the 2012 Obama administration request for global health funding," Jeanie Yoon, a physician with Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), writes in a Baltimore Sun opinion piece.

22 Nov 2011

Significant drops seen in AIDS-related deaths, new HIV infections, UNAIDS report shows

UNAIDS on Monday released its World AIDS Day Report 2011, "which shows more people than ever living with HIV, but deaths and new infections steadily dropping," the Guardian reports.

22 Nov 2011

Review highlights promising interventions to improve reproductive health of women living with HIV in developing countries

An article published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society on Friday "reviews the evidence of what works to meet the sexual and reproductive health needs of women living with HIV in developing countries and includes 35 studies and evaluations of eight general interventions using various methods of implementation science from 15 countries."

21 Nov 2011

FDA approves Abbott's new Chagas in vitro diagnostic test

Abbott received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a new Chagas in vitro diagnostic test.

21 Nov 2011

Disease/Infection News

Five ways pharmaceutical companies can address NTDs

Four-year project aims to boost kala-azar elimination efforts in India, Bangladesh

Deadly outbreak of acute watery diarrhea spreads through Horn of Africa; Djibouti hit especially hard

Bloomberg examines Trans-Pacific Partnership trade initiative and potential impact to U.S. global efforts to tackle HIV

Balanced approach needed to fight cholera outbreaks in Haiti

University of Rochester receives U.S. patent for HPV vaccine research

Accelr8 expands development plan for BACcel rapid diagnostic test

U.N. says AIDS deaths decline for third successive year

Panel discussion highlights USAID achievements on 50Th anniversary

Partnerships, additional funding allow for expansion of PEPFAR to combat cervical cancer

University of Liverpool introduces HEP i-chart for HCV patients

IPS examines HIV in the Caribbean, highlights challenges in addressing at-risk populations

Oral antibiotics might treat Buruli ulcer

FSU professors available to provide perspective on fight against HIV/AIDS

Fight against HIV/AIDS continues with successes and failures: UNAIDS report

Scientists identify new immune system defect in aged mice

Potential cuts to global health spending threaten vision of 'AIDS-free generation'

Significant drops seen in AIDS-related deaths, new HIV infections, UNAIDS report shows

Review highlights promising interventions to improve reproductive health of women living with HIV in developing countries

FDA approves Abbott's new Chagas in vitro diagnostic test

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