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UK Government grants 8 MN GBP to the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation

Global efforts to combat tuberculosis gained momentum today when the government of the United Kingdom announced generous funding to the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation. The first-ever grant of - 8,000,000 (approximately US$ 13 million) is a significant show of support for Aeras in its mission to develop new TB vaccines.

24 Mar 2010

Community awareness can help fight tuberculosis

Pennsylvania Health Secretary Everette James today stressed the importance of increasing awareness of tuberculosis, or TB, and continuing efforts to control the infectious airborne disease that killed nearly 2 million people in 2008.

24 Mar 2010

UNDT's 5-agent bioterrorism detection kits used by first responders

Universal Detection Technology, a developer of early-warning monitoring technologies and counter-terrorism training programs to protect people from bioterrorism and other infectious health threats, issued a response today to a growing interest in the security and emergency response communities to immunize first responders most susceptible to anthrax exposure.

24 Mar 2010

FHI, Duke University Medical Center pertner to improve TB treatment

Family Health International, a nonprofit global health and development organization working to improve the lives of the world's most vulnerable people, recently joined the Tuberculosis Trials Consortium, an international body that researches new TB drugs and treatment strategies. The consortium is funded by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As part of the consortium, FHI is partnering with Duke University Medical Center to conduct clinical trials that aim to reduce the duration of TB treatment and lessen the side effects of TB drugs.

24 Mar 2010

Pharmaceutical firms, GAVI Alliance agree to provide long-term supply of Pneumococcal vaccine

Millions of infants and young children in the world's poorest countries will receive potentially life-saving vaccines that help protect against pneumococcal disease, including pneumonia -- the world's biggest childhood killer, thanks to new agreements made with two major pharmaceutical firms, the GAVI Alliance announced today.

24 Mar 2010

Vaccine deal signed - 47 developing countries to receive low priced vaccines by 2015

Pharmaceutical giants have signed a historical 10-year deal on Tuesday pledging the supply of 60 million doses a year of pneumococcal vaccines at cut-prices to developing nations.

24 Mar 2010

AHF to protest against Merck's pricing of Isentress

AIDS Healthcare Foundation will host a protest Wednesday morning, March 24th at 10:30am targeting Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals over the pricing and policies for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress, one of the most expensive first-line AIDS treatment in the US, during the Barclays Capital Global Healthcare Conference.

24 Mar 2010

TB prevalence more common among HIV patients and aged individuals

A study by the Barcelona Public Health Agency has revealed those sections of the population that are most vulnerable to tuberculosis. The research, published in the journal Respiratory Research, shows that the highest death rates from this disease are among those aged over 50 or infected with HIV.

24 Mar 2010

Washington State mercury-limit suspension for swine flu vaccine ends

When it comes to some diseases prevention still is better than cure and swine flu is one such disease. The sheer global panic that gripped nations last year is hard to forget. The PanvaxH1N1 vaccine is specifically manufactured to target the influenza (A) H1N1 strain known more popularly as swine flu. Getting the flu shots may be crucial in prevention of spread of the highly contagious disease. Health officials say that the H1N1 strain of flu is still circulating but at low levels.

24 Mar 2010

GSK joins GAVI Alliance in the Pneumococcal disease vaccine drive

GSK has become one of the first manufacturers to sign a unique agreement with the GAVI Alliance that has the potential to save millions of children from dying in the world's poorest countries. GSK will supply up to 300 million doses of its vaccine Synflorix, for invasive pneumococcal disease, to GAVI over a ten year period. Pneumococcal disease is a leading cause of death in children under the age of five in developing countries.

24 Mar 2010

Senate briefing on World TB Day

A Senate briefing, Bringing Established Methods to Scale: New Perspectives in the Changing World of TB, to discuss TB and drug-resistant TB, including multidrug-resistant TB and extensively-drug resistant, the impact on global health and the current state of surveillance, diagnosis and treatment around the world.

24 Mar 2010

Opinion: Repurposing wastewater; expanding global fund; financing global health needs

In an Economic Times opinion piece, Jeffrey Sachs of the Earth Institute at Columbia University outlines what he sees as "two huge challenges facing" the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria:

24 Mar 2010

HIV-infected patients face increase risk of CA-MRSA infections, says study

HIV-infected patients are at a markedly increased risk for community acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections according to a new study by researchers at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County and Rush University Medical Center.

24 Mar 2010

AOAC Research Institute validates MicroSEQ Salmonella spp. Detection Kit

Life Technologies Corporation today announced that its Applied Biosystems MicroSEQ® Salmonella spp. Detection Kit has been validated by the AOAC Research Institute for detection of the bacteria Salmonella.

23 Mar 2010

Merix Pharmaceutical introduces new Fast-Results! Genital Herpes Treatment

Merix Pharmaceutical Corp. unveiled its new Fast-Results!™ Genital Herpes Treatment March 1st while attending a retail industry trade show in Dallas. The first ever OTC treatment for genital herpes, Fast-Results! answers the unmet need of people who suffer painful symptoms caused by the herpes virus.

23 Mar 2010

Intensive program helps French hospital reduce MRSA rates over 15-year period

An intensive program of surveillance, precautions, training and feedback in a large multihospital institution appears to be associated with reductions in rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) over a 15-year period, according to a report in the March 22 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

23 Mar 2010

First reported Australian swine flu case of 2010 – gearing up with protective measures

Swine flu a form of influenza, became a major health scare assuming pandemic proportions starting in Mexico early last year. There were 37,000 confirmed cases in Australia with 5,000 hospitalizations, 700 admissions in intensive care units and 191 deaths.

23 Mar 2010

Infections from Clostridium difficile on the rise in community hospitals

While prevention methods appear to be helping to lower hospital infection rates from MRSA, a deadly antibiotic-resistant bacterium, a new superbug is on the rise, according to research from the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network.

23 Mar 2010

Novo Nordisk Foundation donates $160M to University of Copenhagen for metabolic research

The Center will conduct research into Type 2 diabetes, among other diseases, and will acquire the capacities and resources to establish itself as one of the leading international research centers in the world. With 885 million Danish kroner (approx. 160 million US Dollars) from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, a team of 5 leading research scientists will be headhunted by the University to oversee "The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research".

From Novo Nordisk 23 Mar 2010

Administration official discusses Obama's commitment to Africa's food security in Reuters interview

Food security is central to President Barack Obama's Africa policy, "the administration's top official for Africa," Assistant Secretary of State Johnnie Carson, said in an interview with Reuters. "We want to see the food security initiative take on greater momentum as more African countries are drawn into this program," Carson said.

23 Mar 2010