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New tuberculosis vaccine provides better protection

Nele Festjens and Nico Callewaert of VIB and Ghent University have improved the efficacy of the vaccine for tuberculosis. The new vaccine affords - as already proven in mice - better protection against the disease. The development of a new tuberculosis vaccine is a priority in the fight against the disease which claims the lives of 1.7 million people each year. The current vaccine provides only partial protection.

19 Feb 2011

U.S. scientists assess progress of dengue vaccine at 3-day summit in Puerto Rico

During a meeting in Puerto Rico on Thursday to discuss recent progress towards fighting dengue, researchers voiced optimism over advances in the development of vaccines to prevent the spread of the virus, "which kills 25,000 people every year," Agence France-Presse reports. The three-day summit was hosted by the NIH, CDC and PAHO, according to the news service.

19 Feb 2011

Tibotec begins enrollment in TMC435 phase 3 trial for treatment of HCV

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, notes that its development partner, Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, announced today that the global phase 3 studies with TMC435 in treatment-naive patients and patients who have relapsed after prior SOC treatment have started.

18 Feb 2011

Rotary club plans variety of awareness and fundraising activities to eradicate polio

What do Italy's Trevi Fountain, India's Charminar monument, and the New York Stock Exchange building have in common? Each of these iconic landmarks will provide a dramatic backdrop for an equally dramatic message: End Polio Now. Those three words – representing Rotary's pledge to rid the world of this crippling childhood disease -- will be projected onto each structure during the week surrounding Feb. 23, the humanitarian service organization's 106th anniversary.

18 Feb 2011

AHF criticizes President Obama's budget proposal for HIV/AIDS programs

Following the release of his proposed Fiscal Year 2012 budget, AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the largest global AIDS organization, today criticized President Barack Obama and his administration for requests for budget funding levels for HIV/AIDS programs that are grossly inadequate to the need.

18 Feb 2011

U.N.-backed meeting in Bangkok will examine how legal barriers in Asia hamper fight against HIV/AIDS

"Legal barriers are obstructing the fight against HIV/AIDS in the Asia, where 19 nations outlaw same-sex relations and 29 countries criminalize prostitution, United Nations experts said Wednesday," on the eve of the Global Commission of HIV and the Law meeting in Bangkok, Deutsche Presse-Agentur/M&C reports.

18 Feb 2011

Rinsing technique with betadine may reduce infection rate following total knee, hip arthroplasty

A rinsing technique with betadine that costs just a little over one dollar per patient may significantly reduce the infection rate following total knee and hip joint replacement surgery according to a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center.

18 Feb 2011

RyMed's InVision-Plus IV Connector decreases catheter-related bloodstream infections by 92.6%

Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta, GA exhibited a poster at the recent 11th National Conference on Cancer Nursing Research in Los Angeles, in which their clinical study showed RyMed Technologies' zero displacement InVision-Plus® IV Connector significantly decreased the incidence of catheter-related bloodstream infections (CR-BSIs) by 92.6% on average when compared to a simple split septum with negative displacement IV connector (Becton-Dickinson Q-Syte®) and a reversed split-septum device with negative displacement IV connector (ICU Medical Clave®).

18 Feb 2011

New approaches for controlling sleeping sickness caused by trypanosomes

The research could eventually lead to new approaches for controlling sleeping sickness in humans and wasting diseases in livestock which are caused by trypanosomes carried by the bloodsucking tsetse fly.

18 Feb 2011

Report finds neglected diseases research funding up in 2009, funding for related non-profits down

"A rise in global funding for research into neglected diseases needs to be matched by a continued focus on delivering practical new ways to curb sickness in the developing world," according to the third annual report by the Global Funding of Innovation for Neglected Diseases released on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

18 Feb 2011

Smoking, exercise influence Vitamin E's effect on pneumonia risk

Depending on the level of smoking and leisure time exercise, vitamin E supplementation may decrease or increase, or may have no effect, on the risk of pneumonia, according to a study published in Clinical Epidemiology.

18 Feb 2011

Avenir team discovers how Neisseria meningitidis disseminates into bloodstream

Although, in the majority of cases, the localized presence of Neisseria meningitidis in the throat has no consequence, it can sometimes lead to meningitis or septicaemia. The seriousness of these two infections is driving researchers from around the world to improve their understanding of the mode of operation of this bacterium, which, once it leaves its favourite location becomes extremely dangerous.

18 Feb 2011

Conatus commences multi-center CTS-1027 Phase 2b trial for HCV treatment

Conatus Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced today the treatment of the first patient in a multi-center Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating CTS-1027 in combination with Peginterferon Alfa-2a and ribavirin in a treatment experienced, hepatitis C null responder patient population. Safety, tolerability, and antiviral activity of the triple combination will be assessed after up to 48 weeks of therapy.

18 Feb 2011

Study: Ventilator-associated pneumonia infections drop by 70% in Michigan hospitals

Cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia — the most lethal and among the most common of all hospital-associated infections — dropped by more than 70 percent in Michigan hospitals where medical staff used a simple checklist designed by Johns Hopkins researchers. Such pneumonias kill an estimated 36,000 Americans each year.

17 Feb 2011

Researchers develop new pneumococcal vaccine through novel discovery approach

Pneumococcus accounts for as much as 11 percent of mortality in young children worldwide. While successful vaccines like Prevnar exist, they are expensive and only work against specific pneumococcal strains, with the risk of becoming less effective as new strains emerge.

17 Feb 2011

Experts say signs and treatment of bacterial infection often misunderstood

According to the Canadian Foundation for Infectious Diseases, antibiotics are the second most frequently prescribed class of drugs - second only to pain relievers. Yet most people don't know the difference between a true bacterial infection, like chronic bronchitis that can be treated with antibiotics — and viruses like the common cold, which cannot.

17 Feb 2011

Clinical trial finds atorvastatin may inhibit HIV progression, help in infection's management

A recent multicenter clinical trial of atorvastatin, a type of cholesterol-lowering drug, found that although the drug did not inhibit plasma HIV RNA levels, it did inhibit expression of cellular markers of immune activation and inflammation in patients with HIV infection.

17 Feb 2011

Poll: 73% of New Jersey people think investment on global health research is important to state's economy

Despite the unpredictable economy, nearly three-quarters of New Jersey residents think spending money on research to improve health globally is important to jobs and incomes in the state, according to a new statewide poll commissioned by Research!America.

17 Feb 2011

WH statement says Obama would veto FY11 budget that 'undermines critical priorities or national security'

The Office of Management and Budget released a statement on Tuesday warning that President Barack Obama would "veto the continuing resolution funding bill now being debated in the House if it contains drastic cuts to national security, but it remains unclear if large cuts in diplomacy and foreign aid programs would be enough to force White House action," Foreign Policy's blog "The Cable" reports.

17 Feb 2011

HHS unveils new National Vaccine Plan to enhance coordination of immunization activities

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today unveiled a new National Vaccine Plan to enhance coordination of all aspects of federal vaccine and immunization activities. Its goal is to ensure that all Americans can access the preventive benefits of vaccines.

17 Feb 2011

Disease/Infection News

New tuberculosis vaccine provides better protection

U.S. scientists assess progress of dengue vaccine at 3-day summit in Puerto Rico

Tibotec begins enrollment in TMC435 phase 3 trial for treatment of HCV

Rotary club plans variety of awareness and fundraising activities to eradicate polio

AHF criticizes President Obama's budget proposal for HIV/AIDS programs

U.N.-backed meeting in Bangkok will examine how legal barriers in Asia hamper fight against HIV/AIDS

Rinsing technique with betadine may reduce infection rate following total knee, hip arthroplasty

RyMed's InVision-Plus IV Connector decreases catheter-related bloodstream infections by 92.6%

New approaches for controlling sleeping sickness caused by trypanosomes

Report finds neglected diseases research funding up in 2009, funding for related non-profits down

Smoking, exercise influence Vitamin E's effect on pneumonia risk

Avenir team discovers how Neisseria meningitidis disseminates into bloodstream

Conatus commences multi-center CTS-1027 Phase 2b trial for HCV treatment

Study: Ventilator-associated pneumonia infections drop by 70% in Michigan hospitals

Researchers develop new pneumococcal vaccine through novel discovery approach

Experts say signs and treatment of bacterial infection often misunderstood

Clinical trial finds atorvastatin may inhibit HIV progression, help in infection's management

Poll: 73% of New Jersey people think investment on global health research is important to state's economy

WH statement says Obama would veto FY11 budget that 'undermines critical priorities or national security'

HHS unveils new National Vaccine Plan to enhance coordination of immunization activities

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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