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SEEK HIV-v vaccine demonstrates 90% reduction in HIV viral load

SEEK, a privately owned biopharmaceutical company specializing in immunology, announces today that it has completed a Phase Ib/II clinical trial of its HIV-v vaccine which demonstrates a one log (approx 90 percent) difference in viral count in HIV-infected people compared with the placebo group, after just a single vaccine injection.

18 Jul 2011

European Commission Framework 7 programme awards €3 million grant to Enigma Diagnostics

In October 2007, Enigma Diagnostics announced the award of a euro 3 Million grant by the European Commission Framework 7 programme. This EU Commission award was won in a competitive process and the grant was to support development of a rapid, fully automated molecular diagnostic system for Seasonal Influenza (circulating strains of Influenza types A & B) to be based on Enigma's concept ML instrument system.

18 Jul 2011

Experimental online tool launched to guide HIV treatment decisions without the need for resistance testing

A new free online service with the potential to help HIV treatment in countries with limited healthcare resources was launched today. The system accurately predicts how patients will respond to different combinations of drugs without the need for expensive tests to read the viral genetic code. Data presented today at the 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention (IAS 2011) demonstrated the accuracy of the system for patients in Romania and South Africa whose treatment was failing (abstract MOPE146).

18 Jul 2011

Study recommends short and simple HIV consent forms

An in-depth review of consent forms provided to volunteers for HIV/AIDS research in the United States and abroad about study procedures, risks and benefits has found that the forms were extremely long and used wording that may have been complex enough to hinder full understanding, according to bioethicists at The Johns Hopkins University.

16 Jul 2011

U.S. will strengthen health work in Haiti

In a post on the AIDS.gov blog, Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. global AIDS coordinator, writes about a recent visit to Haiti and gives an update on U.S. work with Haiti.

16 Jul 2011

Shah congratulates researchers on PrEP findings

In statement released Thursday, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said, "I congratulate the Partners PrEP and CDC TDF2 teams on their study findings demonstrating that PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) - and HIV medication when taken orally, once a day - is highly effective in preventing HIV in heterosexual men and women.

16 Jul 2011

DRC facing cholera, measles outbreaks, U.N. says

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has recorded more than 3,000 cases and 192 deaths from cholera since March, according to a U.N. report on the outbreak, VOA News reports.

16 Jul 2011

Global MDR-TB response has been slow, report says

A report released recently and compiled by the Treatment Action Group, Medecins Sans Frontieres and Partners In Health says that international efforts aimed at scaling up treatment of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) have been slow due to weak government action, low funding and a "sluggish response by international support mechanisms," BMJ News reports.

16 Jul 2011

Lancet issue dedicated to HIV/AIDS ahead of IAS conference

The current issue of the Lancet is dedicated to HIV/AIDS, a theme meant to coincide with the sixth International AIDS Society (IAS) conference on HIV pathogenesis, treatment and prevention taking place in Rome, Italy, July 17-20, according to a Lancet article.

16 Jul 2011

WHO says it is better prepared for influenza pandemic

"More than 100 public health experts have wrapped up a three-day meeting in Geneva to review a Global Action Plan for Influenza Vaccines that was developed in 2006, and to develop a strategic plan of action for the next five years," VOA News reports, noting that the WHO "says the world is better prepared for the next influenza pandemic than it was in the past".

16 Jul 2011

Heavy rains, disease affecting drought refugees in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia

People who have fled the drought in Somalia to camps near the capital Mogadishu are being hit by cold, heavy rains, and at least five people have died of exposure, according to aid workers, BBC News reports.

16 Jul 2011

Genome Research publishes studies utilizing emerging Collaborative Cross mouse strains

The Collaborative Cross represents a large collection of new inbred mouse strains created by the mouse genetics community aimed at revolutionizing the study of complex genetic traits and diseases. Derived from classical inbred strains and wild-derived strains, the CC captures nearly 90% of known genetic variation in laboratory mice, far surpassing more commonly used inbred strains.

15 Jul 2011

Opinions about the CIA's ruse vaccination campaign in Pakistan

Health experts and writers continue to react to the CIA's use of a vaccine campaign to hunt Osama bin Laden.

15 Jul 2011

Simple steps can improve malaria prevention

Megan Fotheringham, a public health adviser with the President's Malaria Initiative, describes in a post on USAID's "IMPACTblog" how a program in Kenya worked to improve the successful administration of malaria prevention therapy among pregnant women in the country's Gem District simply by sending to antenatal clinics a memo describing when to administer the treatment.

15 Jul 2011

Vaccine and aid workers express anger over CIA plot to collect DNA through fake vaccine program

"Vaccine program workers, who sometimes struggle to gain public trust and governmental cooperation in the first place, are furious about the deception" of the CIA in establishing a fake vaccination program in Pakistan in an attempt to gather DNA from Osama bin Laden's family, ScienceInsider reports.

15 Jul 2011

Berks County's Department of Health advises public about possible measles exposure

The state Department of Health is advising the public of a possible case of measles exposure in Morgantown, Berks County.

15 Jul 2011

Non-invasive 'swine flu' breath test could help ease future vaccine shortages

A test, novel breath measuring the immune response to the H1N1 flu virus, could help to ease future vaccine shortages by identifying the people who have already been infected with the flu virus.

15 Jul 2011

Tea or coffee can protect from MRSA superbug

According to the latest study in the Annals of Family Medicine, people who drink tea or coffee regularly may be less likely to carry the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in their nostrils.

14 Jul 2011

Device that crowd-sources water quality introduced at TEDGlobal conference

Researchers at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, this week described a device that crowd-sources water quality to "chec[k] supplies in real-time, alerting users to possible infections," and "upload[s] the data, allowing scientists to monitor the location and movement of outbreaks," BBC News reports

14 Jul 2011

Study finds structural determinants of adolescent girls' vulnerability to HIV

A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that community members correlate an increase in HIV vulnerability among adolescent girls with weak structural support systems.

14 Jul 2011