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Huckabee discusses need to focus on preventable health problems

Former Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee on Tuesday during the "State of Our Health" conference in Columbia, S.C., said that the U.S. must seek to decrease rates of obesity and other preventable health problems to help reduce health care costs, the AP/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

22 Sep 2008

Supreme Court prepares to hear pre-emption case that could give pharmaceutical companies protection against liability

The case of a Vermont women who won a $6 million award from Wyeth for failure to adequately warn her of the risk of one of its products is the "latest in a brisk parade of similar ones" in which the U.S. Supreme Court will examine the principle of pre-emption, which states that FDA approval of drugs or medical devices pre-empts the ability for individuals to sue manufacturers for liability in state courts, the New York Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) and Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) have begun "reviewing their support" for prescription drug reimportation in response to recent cases of contaminated medications and other products from other nations, advisers to the candidates said on Thursday during the annual conference of the Generic Pharmaceutical Association in Washington, D.C., Reuters/Boston Globe reports.

22 Sep 2008

Hong Kong Medical Director warns of rising HIV prevalence among MSM

The senior medical director of Hong Kong's Centre for Health Protection, Raymond Ho Lei-ming, on Tuesday warned residents that HIV prevalence in the region is increasing among men who have sex with men, Hong Kong's Standard reports (Chui, The Standard, 9/17).

22 Sep 2008

Number of annual malaria cases worldwide decreases

There were about 247 million malaria cases worldwide in 2006, according to the World Malaria Report 2008, which was released by the World Health Organization on Thursday, Reuters reports (MacInnis, Reuters, 9/18). According to the report, 3.3 billion people worldwide were at risk for malaria in 2006, and the disease remains a major burden among children younger than age five and in many African countries (AFP/Google.com, 9/18).

22 Sep 2008

Brazil to produce generic version of Merck's antiretroviral Efavirenz

Brazilian Health Minister Jose Gomes Temporao on Wednesday said Brazil will begin producing a generic version of Merck's antiretroviral efavirenz, the AP/USA Today reports.

22 Sep 2008

Congress approves legislation that would expand Americans with Disabilities Act

The House on Wednesday gave final approval to Senate legislation (S 3406) expanding the definition of disability for people claiming discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New York Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Senate hearing discusses recommendations for increased regulations on direct-to-consumer ads for medical devices

Lawmakers and witnesses on Wednesday at a Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing discussed recommendations for increased regulations on direct-to-consumer advertisements for medical devices, Dow Jones reports (Corbett Dooren, Dow Jones, 9/17).

22 Sep 2008

Editorial questions proposals to limit health services to undocumented immigrants

The "lack of a clear national policy to more effectively deal with the 12 million to 14 million [undocumented] immigrants now in the country is glaring," a Raleigh News & Observer editorial states. "But the situation is not improved when individual localities adopt harsh and varied measures to try to address the problem within their borders," the editorial adds.

22 Sep 2008

Studies look at Hispanics' access to U.S. health care system

Three studies published online on Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health look at how poverty, language and health insurance coverage affect access to care among foreign-born U.S. residents, particularly Hispanics, HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report reports.

22 Sep 2008

Uganda to provide malaria drug coartem to clinics at reduced price

Uganda's Ministry of Health will provide the artemisinin-based combination therapy Coartem to private health clinics at subsidized prices to curb the spread of malaria in the country, Minister of State for Primary Health Care Emmanuel Otaala said Wednesday, New Vision reports.

22 Sep 2008

Greater awareness of HIV/AIDS, other global health issues attributed to the growth in public health students

The Washington Post on Friday examined the "record numbers" of undergraduate college students who are taking classes in epidemiology, global health and public health, driven in part by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and a motivation to contribute to the field.

22 Sep 2008

China should provide medical care, compensation to HIV-positive blood donors, Piot says

UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot on Thursday encouraged the Chinese government to provide compensation and medical care to thousands of people who contracted HIV through the government-supported blood transfusions in the late 1990s and early 2000s, AFP/AsiaOne News reports.

22 Sep 2008

New York City report finds reduced HIV/AIDS-related deaths, increased condom distribution in FY 2008

New York City has made significant progress in reducing the number of HIV/AIDS-related deaths, increasing voluntary HIV testing rates and distributing no-cost condoms during the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to the Mayor's Management Report, the New York Daily News reports.

22 Sep 2008

Mozambique's progress on HIV/AIDS insufficient, World Bank official says

Mozambique has made insufficient progress in efforts to address HIV/AIDS over the past year despite increased efforts to expand access to antiretroviral drugs, a World Bank official said on Wednesday at a meeting held in Maputo, Mozambique, to review the country's progress in implementing World Bank-financed projects over the last year, the Independent Online reports.

22 Sep 2008

U.S. conference on AIDS to focus on HIV/AIDS prevention among minorities

The 2008 U.S. Conference on AIDS, sponsored by the National Minority AIDS Council, began on Thursday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and through Sunday will focus on ways to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in minority communities, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports (Lewis et al., South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 9/18).

22 Sep 2008

Early antiretroviral treatment for people with HIV/TB coinfection could reduce mortality by half

People with HIV/tuberculosis coinfection who began antiretroviral treatment within six months of starting TB treatment had a 55% lower mortality rate than people with HIV/TB coinfection who did not begin antiretroviral therapy until after they had finished a six-month TB treatment course, according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Business Day reports (Kahn, Business Day, 9/18).

22 Sep 2008

Sen. Edward Kennedy holds video conference with HELP Committee Democrats to discuss health care reform strategy

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) on Thursday held a videoconference with Democratic committee members to discuss a strategy to pass legislation next year that would overhaul the U.S. health care system, CongressDaily reports.

22 Sep 2008

House, Senate Veterans Committee Chairs push to approve VA budget one year in advance

The chairs of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs committees are pushing for legislation that would allow Congress to approve funding for veterans' health care programs one year in advance, the New York Times reports.

22 Sep 2008

Reauthorization of Indian health care improvement act 'desperately' needed, columnist says

"The health issues facing American Indians in the [U.S.] make them the most at-risk minority in the country, and yet, the Indian Health Service receives only 55% of the funds it needs," Fargo Forum columnist Peter Bresko writes in an opinion piece. He adds that IHS "desperately needs" the $1 billion annual increase in funding proposed under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (S 1200).

22 Sep 2008

Medical News

Huckabee discusses need to focus on preventable health problems

Supreme Court prepares to hear pre-emption case that could give pharmaceutical companies protection against liability

Advisers to Presidential candidates discuss positions on reimportation, generics, biotechnology medications

Hong Kong Medical Director warns of rising HIV prevalence among MSM

Number of annual malaria cases worldwide decreases

Brazil to produce generic version of Merck's antiretroviral Efavirenz

Congress approves legislation that would expand Americans with Disabilities Act

Senate hearing discusses recommendations for increased regulations on direct-to-consumer ads for medical devices

Editorial questions proposals to limit health services to undocumented immigrants

Studies look at Hispanics' access to U.S. health care system

Uganda to provide malaria drug coartem to clinics at reduced price

Greater awareness of HIV/AIDS, other global health issues attributed to the growth in public health students

China should provide medical care, compensation to HIV-positive blood donors, Piot says

New York City report finds reduced HIV/AIDS-related deaths, increased condom distribution in FY 2008

Mozambique's progress on HIV/AIDS insufficient, World Bank official says

U.S. conference on AIDS to focus on HIV/AIDS prevention among minorities

Early antiretroviral treatment for people with HIV/TB coinfection could reduce mortality by half

Sen. Edward Kennedy holds video conference with HELP Committee Democrats to discuss health care reform strategy

House, Senate Veterans Committee Chairs push to approve VA budget one year in advance

Reauthorization of Indian health care improvement act 'desperately' needed, columnist says

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