Tuberculosis News and Research

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

Rats help tackle humanitarian issues

John Campbell, a senior fellow for Africa Policy Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes about "HeroRATs" in this CFR blog post.

22 Jun 2011

DIA recognizes CAPRISA team for outstanding achievement in HIV prevention

Today the CAPRISA 004 study leadership team is being awarded the inaugural Drug Information Association (DIA) President's Award for Outstanding Achievement in World Health.

21 Jun 2011

IPS examines access to treatment for drug-resistant TB

"Access to treatment for drug-resistant tuberculosis remains compromised, especially in developing countries, because too few pharmaceutical companies manufacture quality-assured drugs," Inter Press Service reports in an article examining how a lack of competition and a working mechanism to keep prices low "has led to skyrocketing prices."

21 Jun 2011

Pakistan facing challenging TB epidemic

Pakistan has one of the highest rates of tuberculosis (TB) in the world, with nearly 70,000 TB-related deaths each year, Al-Jazeera English reports.

21 Jun 2011

Researchers use DNA library to create potential cancer vaccine

University of Leeds researchers, funded by Cancer Research UK, have used a library of DNA to create a vaccine that could be used to treat cancer, according to a study published in Nature Medicine.

20 Jun 2011

FDA approves NULOJIX

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved NULOJIX, the first selective T-cell costimulation blocker indicated for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in adult patients receiving a kidney transplant, in combination with basiliximab induction, mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and corticosteroids.

18 Jun 2011

Local misconceptions of children's immune systems hindering HIV treatment in Malawi, study says

Some caregivers in rural Malawi have expressed a reluctance to begin antiretroviral therapy for children living with HIV because of a belief that their "bodies were too weak for pills and their blood was 'still raw,' but that as it 'ripened' with time, HIV-related opportunistic infections would leave them," according to a study presented this week at the 1st International HIV Social Science and Humanities Conference in Durban, South Africa, PlusNews reports.

15 Jun 2011

New opportunities to save another 6.4 million lives

Vaccinating children around the world against infectious diseases has saved the lives of millions over the past several decades. Now new opportunities exist to overcome remaining challenges-and save another 6.4 million lives over the current decade, according articles in the June 2011 edition of Health Affairs. The issue was produced under the journal's grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

10 Jun 2011

Free access to enteric pathogen's genetic regulation data

Just a few genes make enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) extremely dangerous to humans. If it were not for these genes, EHEC would hardly differ from harmless enteric bacteria. Bioinformatics scientists from the Saarbr-cken Cluster of Excellence want to exploit this similarity to find starting points for effective drugs against the EHEC pathogen.

10 Jun 2011

Researchers and advocates form new vaccine foundation

Researchers and "advocates for all vaccine research today launched yet another effort to increase funding and coordination," ScienceInsider reports. The Foundation for Vaccine Research "has recruited a board stacked with several prominent HIV/AIDS researchers," the article notes.

10 Jun 2011

The ‘decade of vaccines’ has the potential to save lives, many challenges ahead

Vaccinating children around the world against infectious diseases has saved the lives of millions over the past several decades. Now new opportunities exist to overcome remaining challenges—and save another 6.4 million lives over the current decade, according articles in the June 2011 edition of Health Affairs. The issue was produced under the journal’s grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

9 Jun 2011

Scientists, advocacy experts form new international Foundation for Vaccine Research

Fourteen leading scientists and advocacy experts in vaccines and infectious diseases have announced the formation of a new international Foundation to advance and accelerate vaccine research and development against infectious diseases.

9 Jun 2011

Therapeutic equivalent to replace penicillin

Antibiotics are among the greatest achievements of medical science. But lately the former multi-purpose weapon fails in the battle against infectious diseases. Bacteria are increasingly developing resistance to antibiotics. Researchers have now found a therapeutic equivalent which could replace penicillin and related phamaceuticals.

8 Jun 2011

Stop TB partnership releases 5 TB prevention steps

Ahead of the U.N. High Level Meeting on AIDS, the Stop TB Partnership released five guidelines aimed at preventing tuberculosis, which results in one in four AIDS-related deaths, the U.N. News Centre writes.

8 Jun 2011

Global Fund's transparency is essential and saves lives

In the Huffington Post, Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, discusses the Global Fund's latest report on its investigation of its grants in Mali.

8 Jun 2011

International coalition launches common platform to end AIDS epidemic

An international coalition of scientists and activists today launched a common platform for ending the AIDS epidemic. Thirty years into the epidemic, as world leaders come together at the United Nations to recommit to a global AIDS response, the broad-based international coalition issued a statement calling for world leaders to support a rational, evidence-based approach to responding to AIDS.

8 Jun 2011

Former Malian health minister indicted in case about misuse of global fund donations

Oumar Ibrahim Toure, a former Malian health minister, "has been indicted for his role over the misuse of donor funds to fight malaria and tuberculosis in the poor West African nation, Mali's supreme court said in a statement" on Thursday, Reuters reports.

7 Jun 2011

International drug policy panel calls for legalization of some drugs, de-criminalizing drug use

The Global Commission on Drug Policy - a panel that includes former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine, and several other current and former world leaders - has released a report calling for "the legalization of some types of drugs and an end to the criminalization of drug users," The Voice of Russia reports.

4 Jun 2011

Political engagement with China influences involvement in health

After discussing the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's decision to freeze grant payments to China, Yanzhong Huang, a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, writes on the council's "Asia Unbound" blog, "In order to encourage the participation of China's civil society groups in global health, it is important to allay the fears of Chinese leaders.

4 Jun 2011

Mimicry allows bacteria to evade host's defense responses

Deadly bacteria may be evolving antibiotic resistance by mimicking human proteins, according to a new study by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).

3 Jun 2011