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Nigeria expected to sign agreement with UNESCO for international biotech center targeting food security, disease

The Nigerian government is expected to sign an agreement with UNESCO at the 36th session of the General Conference of UNESCO, which begins next month, for an international biotechnology center that will focus on strengthening food safety, tropical disease research and the conservation of bio-resources across Africa, SciDev.Net reports, adding that "UNESCO's executive board approved the establishment of the center earlier this year."

23 Sep 2011

Preclinical data from two Pulmatrix's PUR118 study to be presented at ERS 2011

Pulmatrix, a clinical stage biotechnology company discovering and developing a new class of therapies for the prevention, treatment and control of respiratory diseases, today announced that data from two preclinical studies of its inhaled clinical drug candidate, PUR118, will be presented at The European Respiratory Society Annual Congress (ERS 2011), being held September 24-28, 2011, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

23 Sep 2011

Verax Biomedical receives FDA clearance for Platelet PGD test

A $30 test that takes fewer than 30 minutes to perform can prevent potentially deadly transfusions of bacterial contamination in platelets, according to a new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Transfusion. An early view of the study can be found at the journal's web site.

23 Sep 2011

Study: Opioid drugs can increase risk of pneumonia in older adults

Opioids -- a class of medicines commonly given for pain -- were associated with a higher risk of pneumonia in a study of 3,061 adults, aged 65 to 94, e-published in advance of publication in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

23 Sep 2011

Researchers discover how a novel type of antibody works against pneumococcal bacteria

Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered how a novel type of antibody works against pneumococcal bacteria.

23 Sep 2011

Polio spreads from Pakistan to China; WHO warns of further spread

"Polio has broken out in China for the first time since 1999 after being imported from Pakistan, and there is a high risk of the crippling virus spreading further during the annual Haj pilgrimage, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday," Reuters reports (9/20).

22 Sep 2011

Children's Medical Center employees, volunteers and vendors to get free flu shots

For the first time, Children's Medical Center will require all employees, contractors, volunteers and vendors to get influenza vaccinations this fall to protect the health and safety of the hospital's patients.

22 Sep 2011

Vaccinating infants against rotavirus decreases health care use and treatment costs

Vaccinating infants against rotavirus has resulted in dramatic decreases in health care use and treatment costs for diarrhea-related illness in U.S. infants and young children, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study is published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

22 Sep 2011

Health officials in Africa address NCDs in addition to HIV/AIDS epidemic

PlusNews examines how health officials are addressing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in sub-Saharan Africa, where "countries grappling with HIV prevalence are now faced with rising epidemics of chronic diseases."

22 Sep 2011

USAID launches 'FWD' campaign to raise awareness of famine, drought in Horn of Africa

The PBS NewsHour blog "The Rundown" features an interview with USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, in which he discusses a new website initiative called "FWD," "aimed at giving viewers a better sense of the scope of the famine in the Horn of Africa -- its worst in more than 60 years." The site includes infographics and data maps "intended to contextualize the problem by showing the recent increase in food prices, where internally displaced peoples camps are located, and where various aid groups are operating," according to the blog.

22 Sep 2011

Quidel, Life Technologies to distribute and commercialize molecular diagnostics in Europe

Life Technologies Corporation today announced that the company has signed an agreement with Quidel Corporation to distribute and commercialize molecular diagnostic assays for the European market.

22 Sep 2011

Addressing the exclusion of mental health from the MDGs

PRI's "The World" highlights the state of mental health care in Uganda in an examination of how the exclusion of mental health from the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has, according to some advocates, held back mental health as a global health issue. Julius Kayiira, director of Mental Health Uganda, an organization that provides social support, job training and care to people with mental illness, "says organizations like his face an enormous funding gap, and he blames that gap, in part, on the United Nations," according to "The World."

22 Sep 2011

Indian government responds to new avian flu outbreak

"Authorities in eastern India will start culling chickens and destroying eggs to contain a new outbreak of H5 bird flu, the government said in a statement on Tuesday, as a mutant strain of the virus is spreading elsewhere in Asia," Reuters reports.

22 Sep 2011

'ResistanceMap' tracks antibiotic resistance online

"Extending the Cure," a research project of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy that looks at antibiotic resistance, on Wednesday launched a map "designed to be a tool for public health, researchers, doctors, the media and the public to track resistant pathogens, which is a growing problem around the world," the Washington Post's "The Checkup" blog reports.

22 Sep 2011

HSPH receives CDC grant to evaluate HIV combination prevention initiative in Botswana

A new four-year, $20 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will enable Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers to evaluate the impact and cost-effectiveness of a unique combination of HIV prevention strategies in Botswana.

22 Sep 2011

Archbishop Tutu calls on Obama to lead the world in expansion of HIV treatment

Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights advocate Archbishop Desmond Tutu writes in a Washington Post opinion piece that President Barack Obama "is in a position to make a game-changing impact on the war against AIDS" and he "should lead the world in a massive effort to expand access to treatment and rid humanity of AIDS -- the most devastating disease of our time."

22 Sep 2011

Early ART cost effectiveness in resource-poor settings

A study published in PLoS Medicine shows "that the new WHO guidelines for early [antiretroviral treatment (ART)] initiation can be cost-effective in resource-poor settings, information that should help policymakers in developing countries allocate their often limited resources," according to a PLoS press release.

22 Sep 2011

Cornell researchers identify how T. gondii controls host's immune system

Toxoplasma gondii parasites can invade your bloodstream, break into your brain and prompt behavioral changes from recklessness to neuroticism. These highly contagious protozoa infect more than half the world's population, and most people's immune systems never purge the intruders.

22 Sep 2011

Celebrating partnerships that lead to sustainable, locally managed HIV/AIDS response efforts

Mary Fanning, South Africa's country coordinator for PEPFAR, writes in a New Age guest column, "In the fight against HIV/AIDS, this is a time of hope. It's also a time to celebrate the partnerships that are advancing this work and to recommit to a plan to ensure prevention, treatment and care for those infected and affected is sustainable and locally managed."

22 Sep 2011

Theraclone initiates TCN-032 Phase 1 trial in influenza A

Theraclone Sciences, Inc., a therapeutic antibody discovery and development company, announced today first dosing of subjects in a Phase 1 clinical trial of TCN-032, a broadly protective, fully human monoclonal antibody for the treatment of influenza A virus.

22 Sep 2011

Disease/Infection News

Nigeria expected to sign agreement with UNESCO for international biotech center targeting food security, disease

Preclinical data from two Pulmatrix's PUR118 study to be presented at ERS 2011

Verax Biomedical receives FDA clearance for Platelet PGD test

Study: Opioid drugs can increase risk of pneumonia in older adults

Researchers discover how a novel type of antibody works against pneumococcal bacteria

Polio spreads from Pakistan to China; WHO warns of further spread

Children's Medical Center employees, volunteers and vendors to get free flu shots

Vaccinating infants against rotavirus decreases health care use and treatment costs

Health officials in Africa address NCDs in addition to HIV/AIDS epidemic

USAID launches 'FWD' campaign to raise awareness of famine, drought in Horn of Africa

Quidel, Life Technologies to distribute and commercialize molecular diagnostics in Europe

Addressing the exclusion of mental health from the MDGs

Indian government responds to new avian flu outbreak

'ResistanceMap' tracks antibiotic resistance online

HSPH receives CDC grant to evaluate HIV combination prevention initiative in Botswana

Archbishop Tutu calls on Obama to lead the world in expansion of HIV treatment

Early ART cost effectiveness in resource-poor settings

Cornell researchers identify how T. gondii controls host's immune system

Celebrating partnerships that lead to sustainable, locally managed HIV/AIDS response efforts

Theraclone initiates TCN-032 Phase 1 trial in influenza A

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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