Tuberculosis News and Research

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

LAF report estimates the total economic burden of new cancer cases at $305 billion in 2009

A landmark report released today by the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) estimates the total economic burden of new cancer cases at $305 billion in 2009. The findings are included in the report, "Breakaway: The Global Burden of Cancer - Challenges and Opportunities," released today in Dublin at the premiere LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Summit.

25 Aug 2009

NIAID to establish a human immune profiling research consortium in 2010; invites grant applications

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National Institutes of Health, is accepting grant applications for a new initiative to establish a consortium of human immune profiling research centers.

25 Aug 2009

PLoS journal throws light on neglected tropical diseases toll in sub-Saharan Africa

An analysis published August 25 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases sheds new light on the toll that neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) take on sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), with an estimated 500 million people suffering from these debilitating and sometimes deadly diseases.

25 Aug 2009

Washington post examines spread of drug-resistant TB in Russia

The Washington Post examines the spread of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Russia where "[p]reliminary surveys have recorded an uptick in infections," which could be the "start of a surge fueled by declining living standards and deteriorating medical care resulting from the country's worst economic slowdown in a decade," experts say.

24 Aug 2009

Recent releases: limiting corruption; mental health; U.S. global health policies; non-physician administered ARV; African health ministers

A Lancet Infectious Diseases Reflection and Reaction piece says while PEPFAR's "investment of over US$228 million into Mozambique in 2008 alone" resulted in "an exponential increase in the number of people on" ARVs and boosted prevention programs, "[t]here is more money available for HIV/AIDS than can reasonably be spent, especially given Mozambique's poor infrastructure and large geographical area. Unfortunately, one side-effect has been an associated increase in corruption." To maximize aid money and limit corruption, "careful and creative resource management will be needed," the author concludes (Johnson, 9/09).

24 Aug 2009

New study identifies smoking as a risk factor for active TB

Smoking is a risk factor for active tuberculosis (TB) disease, according to a new study on TB incidence in Taiwan.

24 Aug 2009

WHO recommends against using homeopathic treatments for HIV, TB, malaria, influenza, infant diarrhea

The WHO has warned that people with conditions such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria should not rely on homeopathic treatments, the BBC reports. The agency was responding to a June letter (full text available here), in which researchers from the Voice of Young Science Network called on the agency "to condemn the promotion of homeopathy for treating TB, infant diarrhoea, influenza, malaria and HIV."

23 Aug 2009

NYT Magazine interviews Clinton on global women's issues

The New York Times Magazine, as part of a special issue that focuses on women worldwide, published an interview with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who "staked her claim as an advocate for global women's issues in 1995, when, as first lady, she gave an impassioned speech at a United Nations conference in Beijing." The interview was conducted ahead of her 11-day, seven country tour of Africa.

20 Aug 2009

Cambodia's maternal mortality; drugs in Uganda; cholera risk in Zimbabwe; HIV laws in Niger

A lack of outreach by public health officials and rural villagers' preference for traditional midwives have hindered efforts to reduce maternal morality in Cambodia, government officials said recently at regional conference, the Phnom Penh Post reports.

20 Aug 2009

Some HIV-positive Ugandans' not receiving antiretrovirals

Some HIV-positive people in Uganda "cannot be put on the national antiretroviral [ARV] programme because it is already saturated and funds for new patients are not available," the Independent reports. According to the newspaper, roughly 360,000 HIV-positive Ugandans are eligible for antiretroviral treatment because their CD4 counts are below the WHO's threshold of 350; however, about half of them currently do not have access to ARVs.

20 Aug 2009

Newly joined Vice President to provide leadership for IAVI's fundraising strategy

Dianne Stewart, former head of Board and Donor relations at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, has joined the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) as Vice President of Resource Development. In her role at IAVI, Ms. Stewart will provide leadership for the organization’s fundraising strategy focused on both the public and private sectors.

20 Aug 2009

Global Fund awards Tanzania $111 million grant for ITNs

Tanzania will receive an $111 million grant from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to be used in the country's fight against malaria, Ray Chambers, U.N. special envoy for malaria, said at a meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on Monday, Reuters reports.

19 Aug 2009

Opinion: Chronic disease in Africa; education can help combat disease; climate change and health; TB vaccine

"An epidemic of chronic, non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, mental illness, cancer, diabetes, and obesity is growing in Africa, a continent still struggling with infectious and nutritional diseases," according to a Boston Globe opinion piece by Michelle Holmes and Shona Dalal.

18 Aug 2009

GSK starts testing H1N1 vaccine; Opinion piece addresses U.S. role in helping developing countries procure vaccine

"GlaxoSmithKline has started testing its pandemic H1N1 swine flu vaccine in humans, and expects to start giving the results to government agencies next month, the drugmaker said on Friday," Reuters reports. The company "plans to conduct 16 different trials of the vaccine and to test 9,000 people in total across Europe, Canada and the United States," according to the news service (Deighton, 8/14).

17 Aug 2009

New microneedle-based injection device from Nanopass

Following the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of a swine flu pandemic, NanoPass Technologies Ltd. (NanoPass) announced today that it has successfully developed a microneedle-based injection device that could dramatically enhance both the effectiveness and supply of pandemic flu vaccines.

14 Aug 2009

HIV/AIDS funding, treatment standards, empowering women addressed at ICAAP

Funding to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific has fallen short of the demand, and the majority of available money has missed reaching those at highest risk -- Swarup Sarkar, director of Asia unit for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria -- said during a session at the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) in Bali, Indonesia, the Jakarta Post reports.

13 Aug 2009

Health officials gather in South Africa to discuss H1N1 in Africa

On Tuesday, South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi cautioned that Africa might be hit harder by H1N1 (swine) flu than other parts of the world, the Associated Press reports (8/11).

12 Aug 2009

Global Fund Director says G20 can become donor nations

Reuters examines Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Executive Director Michel Kazatchkine's recent comments on the sidelines of the 9th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP), that some emerging nations should consider becoming donor nations.

12 Aug 2009

Drug-resistant tuberculosis can apread as easily as drug-sensitive tuberculosis, study says

New research has found that drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis are just as likely to be transmitted between people as drug-sensitive TB, which could make drug-resistant forms of the disease "highly prevalent in the next few decades," the Australian Associated Press/Sydney Morning Herald reports (Rose, 8/11).

11 Aug 2009

High-fat diet affects physical and memory abilities of rats after 9 days

Rats fed a high-fat diet show a stark reduction in their physical endurance and a decline in their cognitive ability after just nine days, a study by Oxford University researchers has shown.

11 Aug 2009

Tuberculosis News and Research

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

LAF report estimates the total economic burden of new cancer cases at $305 billion in 2009

NIAID to establish a human immune profiling research consortium in 2010; invites grant applications

PLoS journal throws light on neglected tropical diseases toll in sub-Saharan Africa

Washington post examines spread of drug-resistant TB in Russia

Recent releases: limiting corruption; mental health; U.S. global health policies; non-physician administered ARV; African health ministers

New study identifies smoking as a risk factor for active TB

WHO recommends against using homeopathic treatments for HIV, TB, malaria, influenza, infant diarrhea

NYT Magazine interviews Clinton on global women's issues

Cambodia's maternal mortality; drugs in Uganda; cholera risk in Zimbabwe; HIV laws in Niger

Some HIV-positive Ugandans' not receiving antiretrovirals

Newly joined Vice President to provide leadership for IAVI's fundraising strategy

Global Fund awards Tanzania $111 million grant for ITNs

Opinion: Chronic disease in Africa; education can help combat disease; climate change and health; TB vaccine

GSK starts testing H1N1 vaccine; Opinion piece addresses U.S. role in helping developing countries procure vaccine

New microneedle-based injection device from Nanopass

HIV/AIDS funding, treatment standards, empowering women addressed at ICAAP

Health officials gather in South Africa to discuss H1N1 in Africa

Global Fund Director says G20 can become donor nations

Drug-resistant tuberculosis can apread as easily as drug-sensitive tuberculosis, study says

High-fat diet affects physical and memory abilities of rats after 9 days

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

Tuberculosis News and Research

Latest Tuberculosis News and Research

How microRNA is transforming science: From discovery to diagnostics

Advancing benzodiazepine detection

The Surgeon-Scientist Pioneering Regenerative Engineering

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