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Advocacy groups run full-page ad on end of AIDS

Several advocacy groups, including amfAR, AVAC: Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention, the Center for Global Health Policy, and the Treatment Action Group (TAG), took out a full-page advertisement in Politico on Thursday, stating, "We can begin to end the AIDS pandemic. Will we?"

11 Nov 2011

Vaccination dramatically reduces incidence of Hib disease in young children

Vaccination against Haemophilus influenzae type b, or Hib, once the most common cause of bacterial meningitis in children, has dramatically reduced the incidence of Hib disease in young children over the past 20 years, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online.

11 Nov 2011

Global Press Institute examines HIV/AIDS among women in Zambia

"With the HIV prevalence rate higher among women than men in Zambia, experts say the epidemic now has a women's face here and, therefore, requires more specialized intervention programs," and "women living with HIV say that women must be taught how to live positively with it," the Global Press Institute reports in a story examining the epidemic among women in Zambia.

11 Nov 2011

Report examines donor funding for health in low- and middle-income countries

A new report by the Kaiser Family Foundation tracks the most recently available data on funding from donor governments, including the United States, and from multilateral institutions for health in low- and middle-income countries. The report examines funding data through 2009 for a variety of health efforts, including malaria, AIDS and HIV, family planning, basic health and other areas.

11 Nov 2011

Xylitol can prevent inner ear infections in healthy children

There is "fair evidence" to support the use of xylitol, a natural sweetener used in gums and mints, to prevent inner ear infections in healthy children, a new evidence review finds.

11 Nov 2011

Pharmaceutical industry should invest more in NTDs

In this Forbes opinion piece, contributor Sarika Bansal examines "what needs to happen for the pharmaceutical industry, academic researchers, and other key players to begin investing more seriously in" neglected tropical diseases.

11 Nov 2011

An end to AIDS is possible in our generation

In this post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, Sheila Nix, executive director of ONE in the U.S., summarizes progress in the global fight against HIV/AIDS in the 30 years since the first cases were documented and writes that "as budgets constrict and leaders turn their attention inward, it's easy to see why a renewed push on global AIDS doesn't seem possible. Yet 2011 marks a critical inflection point in our fight against AIDS."

11 Nov 2011

Translating science into service delivery to achieve Clinton's vision of an AIDS-free generation

In this post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Ambassador Eric Goosby responds to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's speech on HIV/AIDS given at the NIH on Wednesday, in which she called for an "AIDS-free generation," writing that "her vision was an affirmation of the progress made over the past decade, and a mandate to redouble our efforts with global partners to bring the latest scientific advances to bear in order to save lives."

11 Nov 2011

Wood stoves with chimneys linked to reduced childhood pneumonia

Cooking stoves with chimneys can lower exposure to indoor wood smoke and reduce the rate of severe pneumonia by 30 percent in children less than 18 months of age, according to a new air pollution study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

11 Nov 2011

Global Health Service Corps essential to improve African health systems, achieve 'AIDS-free generation'

"A notable feature of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's 'AIDS-free generation' initiative is to strengthen health care systems in sub-Saharan Africa, ... a view echoed by many eminent voices in the global health community," Anand Reddi of the University of Colorado Medical School writes in a post on Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

11 Nov 2011

N-acetylcysteine plus cortisone shows promise against acute alcoholic hepatitis

Acute alcoholic hepatitis is one of the most serious forms of alcoholic liver disease, affecting individuals with chronic excessive alcohol consumption, which generally equates to more than 50 grams of alcohol per day, over a period of more than three to six months. The disease is characterized by liver failure and acute jaundice (icterus), which may induce a coma through liver failure and an ensuing death rate of between 40-45% within the first six months.

11 Nov 2011

British researchers discover receptor necessary for malaria parasite to invade red blood cells, offering new vaccine hope

Researchers from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in the U.K. have "made a critical discovery about the way the most deadly species of malaria parasite invades human red blood cells," Reuters reports.

11 Nov 2011

Universally effective malaria vaccine on the horizon

Scientists are excited with a new breakthrough in development of an effective vaccine against malaria. The latest study finds how malaria acts and how the vaccine would be able to protect individuals from malaria.

10 Nov 2011

Hand washing in hospitals may keep super bugs away: Report

A recent survey of hospitals has shown that the successful implementation of good hand washing practices in hospitals by nurses and doctors is effective in reducing the drug resistant superbugs. This comes after the introduction of a national program to boost hand hygiene compliance rates in hospitals by encouraging staff to use alcohol-based hand rubs before and after treating patients. To make it easier for hospital workers to clean their hands, alcohol-based hand rubs are being installed at the foot or near the head of every bed.

10 Nov 2011

Brushing, flossing and antiseptic rinsing recommended for a healthy mouth

The makers of LISTERINE Antiseptic and award-winning singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth introduced today the newest video in the YOUR MOUTH HAS SOMETHING TO SAY series, designed to inspire Americans to redefine clean when it comes to their oral care routine.

10 Nov 2011

PlusNews examines difficulties in diagnosing, treating MDR-TB in children

PlusNews examines the difficulties in diagnosing and treating multidrug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) in children, writing, "With weaker immune systems, children who contract TB -- most often from parents -- progress to active disease in about a year. But just how many children are affected is not known as there is almost no research into children and MDR-TB -- and very little useful guidance on how to treat them."

10 Nov 2011

U.N., aid groups appeal for additional funding, supplies for Pakistan flood victims

The U.N. and several other international aid groups, including Oxfam, Save the Children, Care and ACTED, on Wednesday "warn[ed] they are running short of money and supplies to help millions of people affected by floods in Pakistan," the Associated Press reports.

10 Nov 2011

Rights group files claim with U.N. seeking reparations for Haitians affected by cholera

The Boston-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti on Tuesday "filed claims with the United Nations seeking damages on behalf of more than 5,000 Haitian cholera victims and their families," the Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

10 Nov 2011

OWH to participate in major kala-azar elimination project

OneWorld Health (OWH) announced that it will participate in a major consortium project aimed to boost strategies for control and eventual elimination of visceral leishmaniasis (VL or kala-azar) in India and Bangladesh, where the disease burden is among the world's highest.

10 Nov 2011

POPG inhibits influenza infections in cell cultures and mouse models

A natural lipid in the fluid lining the lungs inhibits influenza infections in both cell cultures and mouse models, according to researchers at National Jewish Health. These findings, combined with previous studies demonstrating effectiveness against respiratory syncytial virus, suggest that the molecule, known as POPG, may have broad antiviral activity.

10 Nov 2011