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ABBOTT PRISM Chagas test receives FDA approval

Abbott received Biologic License Application (BLA) approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the ABBOTT PRISM Chagas test. The test is a fully automated blood screening assay that can detect antibodies to Trypansoma cruzi (T. cruzi), a parasite found only in the Americas and most commonly acquired through contact with the blood-sucking triatomine or "kissing bug."

19 May 2010

Vaccinations recommended for adults

Yearly vaccinations aren't just for kids any more. You probably heard a lot about a seasonal or H1N1 flu shot last fall, but you should know that a battery of other adult vaccinations might also become part of your health care routine. Pneumonia and shingles vaccines are preventive-care essentials for older adults, and meningitis and tetanus shots are now college rites of passage. Even the vaccines of childhood—measles, mumps and rubella, and whooping cough—are recommended for adults who missed out in their younger years.

19 May 2010

Experts accelerate discovery and development of new TB drugs: Lancet article

According to a paper published today in the Lancet, there is unprecedented progress in the development of the global tuberculosis drug pipeline with 10 drug candidates currently in clinical development. The paper was written by a team of renowned international experts led by Zhenkun Ma, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer for the TB Alliance, a not-for-profit organization accelerating the discovery and development of new TB drugs.

19 May 2010

Pearl Therapeutics presents data supporting development of PT003 combination bronchodilator product

Pearl Therapeutics Inc., a company developing clinically differentiated double and triple combination therapies for the treatment of highly prevalent chronic respiratory diseases, presented results from four studies that provide support for further development of PT003, the company's fixed dose combination of glycopyrrolate and formoterol delivered via a pressurized hydrofluoroalkane metered dose inhaler (HFA-MDI).

19 May 2010

AP examines HIV microbicides, prep research

"Try after try to make vaginal creams that could repel the AIDS virus have failed. Now researchers are testing if a drug used to treat HIV infection finally might give women a tool to prevent it - by infusing the medicine into vaginal gels and contraceptive-style rings," the Associated Press reports in a piece that examines researchers' latest efforts to create effective HIV microbicides, ahead of the biennial International Microbicides Conference next weekend.

19 May 2010

WHO Director-General pushes for sustained commitment to MDGs at World Health Assembly

During her opening address to the World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, WHO Director-General Margaret Chan called for increased global efforts to reach the Millennium Development Goals, PANA/Afrique en ligne reports. Chan also set-up several global health challenges to be addressed during the five-day meeting, according to the news service.

19 May 2010

Low blood phosphorus levels associated with high death rates in African AIDS patients: Research

Low blood phosphorus levels are associated with high death rates in the initial weeks of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in AIDS patients in sub-Saharan Africa, according to new research conducted by University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers at the UAB-affiliated Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia.

19 May 2010

Opinions: Gender-based violence and HIV; AIDS vaccine; Global NTDs; Responses to NYT HIV/AIDS articles

"Gender-based violence is a world-wide pandemic and directly affects the spread of HIV/AIDS. Fear of violence limits the ability of women and girls to choose their partners; to find out about a partner's HIV status or disclose their own; and to get medical or counseling services," according to a U.S. government editorial in VOA News.

19 May 2010

BMJ News examines how drug resistance, access undermine malaria fight in Uganda, Cambodia

BMJ News looks at how lack of access to drugs and resistance are undermining the fight against malaria.

19 May 2010

New test to detect HBV receives regulatory approval for use in the European Union

An inexpensive new test for the detection of Hepatitis B virus has been given regulatory approval for use in the European Union. The test, developed with support from the Wellcome Trust, delivers accurate results while-you-wait, enabling doctors to take immediate action on health decisions.

19 May 2010

GHESKIO awarded prestigious 2010 Gates Award for Global Health

GHESKIO, an institution in Haiti founded nearly three decades ago to fight a mysterious killer disease later identified as AIDS, has been awarded the prestigious 2010 Gates Award for Global Health for its years of groundbreaking clinical service, research and training to effectively treat and prevent the spread of the HIV/AIDS and other related illnesses.

19 May 2010

Where are Australia’s missing hepatitis C cases?

Around 90% of those infected have not received treatment, despite the potential for cure, a report to coincide with National Hepatitis Week shows

18 May 2010

WPI, Cerus announce positive results from study of INTERCEPT Blood System to inactivate XMRV

The Whittemore Peterson Institute for Neuro-Immune Disease (WPI) and Cerus Corporation announced positive results from a study demonstrating the efficacy of the INTERCEPT Blood System to inactivate XMRV, a human retrovirus, in donated platelet components.

18 May 2010

Immunetics receives $2.8M contract as part of NHLBI's REDS-II project

Immunetics, Inc. has been selected to receive a $2.8 million contract as part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study-II project, a long term epidemiologic study of blood safety involving HIV and other infectious and non-infectious complications of blood transfusion.

18 May 2010

Statue commemorating 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox unveiled

A statue commemorating the 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox is being unveiled today in front of the World Health Organization headquarters by the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Dr Margaret Chan.

18 May 2010

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals' KB001 promising in prevention of serious lung infection

The data from the initial clinical studies with KB001, a novel antibody fragment against PcrV on Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa) bioengineered by KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and partnered with sanofi pasteur, demonstrated promising therapeutic activity in the prevention of serious lung infection in mechanically ventilated patients colonized with the bacterium and in limiting potentially damaging inflammation in patients with cystic fibrosis, where Pa plays an important role in the disease.

18 May 2010

VBI researchers establish new tree of life for gamma-proteobacteria

A new "tree of life" has been constructed by researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech for the gamma-proteobacteria, a large group of medically and scientifically important bacteria that includes Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and other disease-causing organisms.

18 May 2010

Thai AIDS vaccine trial: Risk of HIV infection can be reduced with a vaccine

For more than a decade, researchers and advocates have marked HIV Vaccine Awareness Day with varying degrees of hope, cynicism and despair. This year, in large part because of the results of the Thai Prime-Boost vaccine study, there is greater cause for hope than ever before and a renewed sense of urgency to transform this hope into a reality.

18 May 2010

New study shows DFA testing for H1N1 influenza unreliable in ICU patients

Direct Immunofluorescence Assay testing for H1N1 influenza is unreliable in ICU patients, according to a new study from Stanford University. Multiple methods exist for diagnosing influenza, but data on the utility and accuracy of these tests for H1N1 are still emerging, given the relatively recent onset of the epidemic.

18 May 2010

GHESKIO honored with 2010 Gates Award for Global Health

GHESKIO, an institution in Haiti founded nearly three decades ago to fight a mysterious killer disease later identified as AIDS, has been awarded the prestigious 2010 Gates Award for Global Health for its years of ground-breaking clinical service, research, and training to treat effectively and prevent the spread of the HIV/AIDS and other related illnesses, the Global Health Council announced today.

18 May 2010

Disease/Infection News

ABBOTT PRISM Chagas test receives FDA approval

Vaccinations recommended for adults

Experts accelerate discovery and development of new TB drugs: Lancet article

Pearl Therapeutics presents data supporting development of PT003 combination bronchodilator product

AP examines HIV microbicides, prep research

WHO Director-General pushes for sustained commitment to MDGs at World Health Assembly

Low blood phosphorus levels associated with high death rates in African AIDS patients: Research

Opinions: Gender-based violence and HIV; AIDS vaccine; Global NTDs; Responses to NYT HIV/AIDS articles

BMJ News examines how drug resistance, access undermine malaria fight in Uganda, Cambodia

New test to detect HBV receives regulatory approval for use in the European Union

GHESKIO awarded prestigious 2010 Gates Award for Global Health

Where are Australia’s missing hepatitis C cases?

WPI, Cerus announce positive results from study of INTERCEPT Blood System to inactivate XMRV

Immunetics receives $2.8M contract as part of NHLBI's REDS-II project

Statue commemorating 30th anniversary of the eradication of smallpox unveiled

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals' KB001 promising in prevention of serious lung infection

VBI researchers establish new tree of life for gamma-proteobacteria

Thai AIDS vaccine trial: Risk of HIV infection can be reduced with a vaccine

New study shows DFA testing for H1N1 influenza unreliable in ICU patients

GHESKIO honored with 2010 Gates Award for Global Health

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Modular, Scalable, Intelligent: How n6 Is Rethinking NGS Library Prep

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