Who really knows Anyone... or anything?!....A Measure of Protection!: Disease News Update

Talk Medical (http://talk.news-medical.net). Post news from your organization or company, post events you are involved in or feel would be of interest to the wider community, blog to your heart's content on current health issues or simply just share any interesting health stories you may have.

Feature Blog Post

Swine Flu (H1N1): Can a Kitten become a Lion?

In Singapore seventeen cases have been reported and in Australia over 1,200. It is only a matter of time that we [in Southeast Asia] really get hit. Are you ready? Should you be worried? Will millions die such as in the 1918 H1N1 pandemic? Read More

Latest News

Farmed fish and mad cow disease – researchers air new concerns
University of Louisville neurologist Robert P. Friedland, M.D., questions the safety of eating farmed fish in the June issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, adding a new worry to concerns about the nation's food supply.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090616/Farmed-fish-and-mad-cow-disease-e28093-researchers-air-new-concerns.aspx

Distributed drug discovery for neglected diseases
Researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) have developed Distributed Drug Discovery (D3), a new low-cost strategy to accelerate the discovery of drugs to treat neglected diseases such as tuberculosis, leprosy, leshmaniasis, dengue fever, and Chagas disease.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090616/Distributed-drug-discovery-for-neglected-diseases.aspx

Agencies and health departments prepare for swine flu
Governments and drug companies are struggling with efforts to prepare for a possible resurgence of swine flu in the fall as well as questioning who should receive swine flu vaccines as they ramp up production.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090615/Agencies-and-health-departments-prepare-for-swine-flu.aspx

South African AIDS advocate who created radio diaries dies of drug-resistant tuberculosis
South African AIDS activist Thembi Ngubane recently died of drug-resistant tuberculosis at the age of 24, the AP/Washington Post reports (Nullis, AP/Washington Post, 6/14).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090615/South-African-AIDS-advocate-who-created-radio-diaries-dies-of-drug-resistant-tuberculosis.aspx

Reuters examines WHO efforts to fight H1N1 in developing countries
Reuters examines the WHO's battle against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus in "[d]eveloping countries, where medical care systems are weak and supplies of antivirals insufficient." In addition to "supplying countries with diagnostic kits, medicines and masks and gloves to protect health care workers and minimize the further spread of the new virus," the WHO is continuing to distribute doses of the antiviral Tamiflu, which has been "shown to be effective so far against H1N1," according to Reuters.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090615/Reuters-examines-WHO-efforts-to-fight-H1N1-in-developing-countries.aspx

Boston Globe examines the U.S. strategy towards global health
The Boston Globe examines the U.S. strategy towards global health aid. "President George W. Bush scored major advances in his administration's worldwide campaign against AIDS," and "[t]he Obama administration believes it can leverage Bush's successes into an assault against a much broader array of diseases that afflict poor countries," writes the Globe.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090615/Boston-Globe-examines-the-US-strategy-towards-global-health.aspx

Obama pledges $73 million to Zimbabwe
Following talks with Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the White House Friday, President Obama pledged $73 million in aid to the country, AFP/Google.com reports (Carmichael, AFP/Google.com, 6/13).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090615/Obama-pledges-2473-million-to-Zimbabwe.aspx

International AIDS conference could return to U.S. if ban on HIV-positive visitors is reversed
The International AIDS Society (IAS) announced Thursday it is considering Washington, D.C., as the location for the 2012 biannual International AIDS Conference, Science Magazine's blog, the ScienceInsider reports. "But before it holds the conference anywhere in the U.S., the federal government must change a law that bans HIV-infected people from entering the country," according to Science Insider.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090615/International-AIDS-conference-could-return-to-US-if-ban-on-HIV-positive-visitors-is-reversed.aspx

High-tech approach to combat sepsis
When Jason Martin gives a talk about his research, he begins with the dramatic story of Mariana Bridi da Costa: The young Brazilian supermodel died from severe sepsis in January after amputation of both her hands and feet failed to stop its spread.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090615/High-tech-approach-to-combat-sepsis.aspx

Rhinosinusitis may be a factor in toxic shock syndrome in children
Rhinosinusitis (infection and inflammation in the sinus passages surrounding the nose) appears to be a primary factor in about one-fifth of toxic shock syndrome cases in children, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090615/Rhinosinusitis-may-be-a-factor-in-toxic-shock-syndrome-in-children.aspx

FDA releases fraudulent H1N1 flu virus product list
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is enforcing the laws that protect consumers from illegal products marketed through the Internet that claim to diagnose, prevent, mitigate, treat or cure the 2009 H1N1 flu virus.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090615/FDA-releases-fraudulent-H1N1-flu-virus-product-list.aspx

Renewed call for California 'condoms in porn' law at Larry Flynt's store
After the Los Angeles Times reported that as many as 16 actors and actresses in the adult entertainment industry recently tested positive for HIV, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a press conference, protest and rally Monday, June 15th at 9:00pm at porn impresario Larry Flynt's Hustler/Hollywood Store on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood (8920 Sunset Blvd.) to call for the introduction of landmark California legislation that would require the use of condoms by actors performing in porn videos produced by California's multi-billion dollar adult entertainment industry -- a mainstay of the San Fernando Valley economy.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090614/Renewed-call-for-California-condoms-in-porn-law-at-Larry-Flynts-store.aspx

To flu experts, 'pandemic' confirms the obvious
"It came as no surprise on Thursday when the World Health Organization declared that the swine flu outbreak had become a pandemic," The New York Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/To-flu-experts-pandemic-confirms-the-obvious.aspx

Recent releases: HIV prevention; clinical trials debate; definition of global health; drug resistant tuberculosis
In a Journal of the American Medical Association commentary piece, Anthony Fauci and Carl Dieffenbach of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases explore results from a WHO mathematical model study that found universal, voluntary, annual HIV testing followed up with immediate treatment for those testing positive -- the "test and treat model" -- could "reduce HIV incidence" and "end the [HIV] pandemic within 50 years."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/Recent-releases-HIV-prevention3b-clinical-trials-debate3b-definition-of-global-health3b-drug-resistant-tuberculosis.aspx

Global Post articles examine Malaria worldwide
Global Post examines the quest for an effective vaccine to fight malaria. According to Global Post, "epidemiologists are pinning their hopes on a malaria vaccine" because "[k]illing mosquitoes, or avoiding bites, is an imprecise solution to malaria."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/Global-Post-articles-examine-Malaria-worldwide.aspx

International scientists' network to map drug-resistant malaria
PTI/Hindu reports on the Worldwide Antimalarial Resistance Network (WWARN) – an "international network of malaria scientists," which will be "established to map the emergence of resistance" to malaria drugs and "guide global efforts to control and eradicate the disease."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/International-scientists-network-to-map-drug-resistant-malaria.aspx

Wall Street Journal examines program to spur vaccine development for developing world diseases
The Wall Street Journal examines a $1.5 billion program supported by Italy, the U.K., Canada, Russia, Norway and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that hopes "to encourage pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines for diseases common to poor countries," which is expected to be announced Friday "on the sidelines of a meeting of top finance officials from the Group of Eight major industrial powers."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/Wall-Street-Journal-examines-program-to-spur-vaccine-development-for-developing-world-diseases.aspx

Progress seen in some African HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment programs, U.N. Special Envoy says at World Economic Forum on Africa
Several African countries have successfully scaled up their HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs, U.N. Special Envoy for HIV and AIDS in Africa Elizabeth Mataka said during a media briefing at the World Economic Forum on Africa being held in Cape Town, South Africa, the ZANIS/Lusaka Times reports. Zambia and Botswana were among some of the countries that have made significant progress in southern Africa, according to Mataka.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/Progress-seen-in-some-African-HIVAIDS-prevention-treatment-programs-UN-Special-Envoy-says-at-World-Economic-Forum-on-Africa.aspx

Recipients of HIV/AIDS programs aid expected to feel crunch of global economic crisis
At the 2009 HIV Implementers' Meeting in Namibia Thursday, Paul DeLay, deputy executive director of UNAIDS, said the global economic crisis will impact countries who receive international aid for HIV/AIDS programs, so recipients of such aid should identify priorities for their programs, the China Post reports (China Post, 6/12).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/Recipients-of-HIVAIDS-programs-aid-expected-to-feel-crunch-of-global-economic-crisis.aspx

Declaration of H1N1 pandemic to accelerate H1N1 vaccine production
The WHO's decision Thursday to declare H1N1 (swine) flu a pandemic will "speed the production of a vaccine against the new virus," however scientists continue to caution that "it will be fall at the earliest before the first doses are available," the Los Angeles Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/Declaration-of-H1N1-pandemic-to-accelerate-H1N1-vaccine-production.aspx

Structure of the HIV protein shell revealed
New research by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and other institutions provides a close-up look at the cone-shaped shell that is the hallmark of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), revealing how it is held together - and possible ways to break it apart.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/Structure-of-the-HIV-protein-shell-revealed.aspx

90 per cent of the world's population won't have access to antivirals in pandemic - generic drugs may help though
Almost 90 per cent of the world's population will not have timely access to affordable supplies of vaccines and antiviral agents in the current influenza pandemic, but it is possible that inexpensive generic drugs that are readily available, even in developing countries, could save millions of lives.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090613/90-per-cent-of-the-worlds-population-wont-have-access-to-antivirals-in-pandemic-generic-drugs-may-help-though.aspx

The Lancet to launch series on the state of public health in Southeast Asia
As the global health community confronts the threat of a major new influenza pandemic, The Lancet, in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation and the China Medical Board, will develop a major Series to assess the state of public health in southeast Asia.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090612/The-Lancet-to-launch-series-on-the-state-of-public-health-in-Southeast-Asia.aspx

Bioprocess increases vaccine yield
Empa researchers have managed to adapt a process for manufacturing certain vaccines - in particular that against Haemophilus influenzæ bacteria - for use in bioreactors, with the result that the yield is enhanced enormously.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090612/Bioprocess-increases-vaccine-yield.aspx

UK tops the list of countries at extreme risk to the spread of swine flu
A Warwick Business School professor and one of the founders of global risks specialist, Maplecroft, has released three new maps and indices revealing the countries most at risk from an influenza pandemic.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090612/UK-tops-the-list-of-countries-at-extreme-risk-to-the-spread-of-swine-flu.aspx

Don't panic because there's a pandemic!
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has officially raised the level of the swine flu alert to 6 - the highest level - and declared the outbreak a pandemic following an emergency meeting.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090612/Dont-panic-because-theres-a-pandemic!.aspx

How prepared are we? New study to investigate Australia's pandemic preparedness
Public health experts have warned that a severe pandemic has the potential to cripple essential infrastructure and cause a catastrophic collapse of systems. A new study, to be undertaken by the University of New South Wales (UNSW), will assess how prepared Australia really is for a pandemic and identify 'weakest links'.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090611/How-prepared-are-we-New-study-to-investigate-Australiae28099s-pandemic-preparedness.aspx

Women, girls priority in U.S. efforts against global HIV/AIDS, Clinton tells international health experts
In a video address to international HIV/AIDS experts gathered in Namibia for the 2009 HIV/AIDS Implementers Meeting Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton emphasized the Obama administration's commitment to women and girls in the fight against HIV/AIDS, the AP/Washington Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090611/Women-girls-priority-in-US-efforts-against-global-HIVAIDS-Clinton-tells-international-health-experts.aspx

National survey looks at HIV/AIDS in South Africa
According to the results of a national survey conducted in 2008 and released Tuesday, HIV prevalence among South Africans between the ages of 15 and 24 dropped from "a high of 10.3 percent in 2005 to 8.7 percent last year, with the decreases most marked among teenagers," AFP/Google.com reports (AFP/Google.com, 6/9).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090611/National-survey-looks-at-HIVAIDS-in-South-Africa.aspx

WHO declares H1N1 virus spread a pandemic
WHO has declared that the spread of the H1N1 (swine) flu virus has reached pandemic level, the AP/Google.com reports (AP/Google.com, 6/11). The Phase 6 pandemic alert indicates that two regions of the world are experiencing significant outbreaks, according to the Wall Street Journal.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090611/WHO-declares-H1N1-virus-spread-a-pandemic.aspx

Zimbabwean PM to meet with Clinton, Obama in appeal for foreign aid
Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai met with U.S. lawmakers in Washington, D.C., Wednesday in an attempt to secure donations for a country in economic collapse, ZimOnline reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090611/Zimbabwean-PM-to-meet-with-Clinton-Obama-in-appeal-for-foreign-aid.aspx

World Economic Forum on Africa begins; reports examine African development
The World Economic Forum on Africa - a three-day event, which this year is focusing primarily "on the world economic downturn and how to lessen its effect on African economies" - kicked off Wednesday in Cape Town, South Africa, VOA News reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090611/World-Economic-Forum-on-Africa-begins3b-reports-examine-African-development.aspx

The 'hijacking mechanism' of HIV-1 pinpointed
Researchers at McGill University and the affiliated Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital - along with colleagues at the University of Manitoba and the University of British Columbia - may have found a chink in the armour of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), the microorganism which causes AIDS. They have pinpointed the key cellular machinery co-opted by HIV-1 to hijack the human cell for its own benefit.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090610/The-hijacking-mechanism-of-HIV-1-pinpointed.aspx

Spike in Australian H1N1 cases could lead WHO to declare pandemic
The H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak could soon be declared the first flu pandemic in 41 years after a recent jump in the number of confirmed cases in Australia, WHO officials said Tuesday, the AP/Google.com reports (Jordans, AP/Google.com, 6/9).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090610/Spike-in-Australian-H1N1-cases-could-lead-WHO-to-declare-pandemic.aspx

Global AIDS coordinator nominee Goosby testifies before Senate committee
President Obama's choice for the State Department's global AIDS coordinator position, Eric Goosby, testified on Tuesday at a confirmation hearing with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, VOA News reports. Goosby would work to continue PEPFAR's success, and "says he will emphasize prevention if he is confirmed by the Senate," VOA News writes.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090610/Global-AIDS-coordinator-nominee-Goosby-testifies-before-Senate-committee.aspx

Philippines Health Secretary warns of impending Dengue threat
With the start of the rainy season, Francisco Duque III, health secretary in the Philippines, on Tuesday emphasized a continued government commitment to controlling and preventing dengue - a disease for which there is currently no vaccine or specific drug, the Manila Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090610/Philippines-Health-Secretary-warns-of-impending-Dengue-threat.aspx

Disease control expert urges health workers to clean hands and save lives
Australia's World Health Organization infectious disease expert and Director of Hand Hygiene Australia has urged all health professionals to improve infection control and save lives by adopting the new National Hand Hygiene Initiative.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/Disease-control-expert-urges-health-workers-to-clean-hands-and-save-lives.aspx

New York Times examines varying definitions of 'pandemic'
"The new swine influenza virus [H1N1], which appeared suddenly after years of warning about a potential pandemic of avian influenza, upset the WHO's assumptions that most people have the same understanding of the word pandemic," says the New York Times in a report that examines the difficultly health experts have had when attempting to agree upon what constitutes a pandemic.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/New-York-Times-examines-varying-definitions-of-pandemic.aspx

AP/Washington Post examines experimental malaria vaccine, mutant mosquitoes to combat malaria
During the 1990s, Sanaria CEO Stephen Hoffman "irradiated malaria-carrying mosquitoes to weaken the parasites inside them, and he and 13 colleagues subjected themselves to more than 1,000 bites," according to the AP/Washington Post.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/APWashington-Post-examines-experimental-malaria-vaccine-mutant-mosquitoes-to-combat-malaria.aspx

Opinion: Second-line ARVs in India; PEPFAR funding
The successful scale-up of services for people living with HIV (PLHIV) in India "is now at risk," write Loon Gangte, president of the Delhi Network of Positive People, and Leena Menghaney, projects manager in India for Medecins Sans Frontieres' Campaign for Access to Essential Medicines, in a livemint.com editorial.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/Opinion-Second-line-ARVs-in-India3b-PEPFAR-funding.aspx

Australia's swine flu alert level may be raised a notch
As Australia's number of confirmed cases of influenza A H1N1 (swine flu) continues to soar - the toll is now 1,211 - there is now the very real possibility that the swine flu alert level will be raised a notch.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/Australias-swine-flu-alert-level-may-be-raised-a-notch.aspx

Jacob Zuma addresses increased access to antiretrovirals, reduction in HIV incidence
South African President Jacob Zuma on Wednesday said he wants to have 80 percent of HIV-positive South Africans who need antiretrovirals (ARVs) on them by 2011, BuaNews reports (BuaNews/allAfrica.com, 6/3).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/Jacob-Zuma-addresses-increased-access-to-antiretrovirals-reduction-in-HIV-incidence.aspx

3-day polio, measles vaccination campaign launched in Uganda
Uganda on Saturday launched a three-day polio and measles immunization campaign, Possy Mugyenyi, the country's immunization manager, said, UGPulse.com reports (Nyanzi, UGPulse.com, 6/5). More than 6 million children are being targeted, IRIN reports (IRIN, 6/5).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/3-day-polio-measles-vaccination-campaign-launched-in-Uganda.aspx

WHO to incorporate disease severity into pandemic alert scale
A meeting of the WHO's emergency committee held Friday to discuss the H1N1 (swine) flu ended without a pandemic declaration, but experts concluded that declarations would now be based upon the severity and transmission pattern of a virus, Reuters reports (Nebehay, Reuters, 6/5). "The Emergency Committee is composed of international experts and its task is to give advice to the WHO chief on influenza outbreak responses," according to Xinhua writes (Xinhua, 6/6).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/WHO-to-incorporate-disease-severity-into-pandemic-alert-scale.aspx

Lyme disease emerging in Canada
Lyme disease is emerging in Canada, and is expected to increase with climate change, but effective, enhanced surveillance and clinician awareness will be key to minimizing the impact of the disease, write researchers in a review in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/Lyme-disease-emerging-in-Canada.aspx

New discovery about mycobacteria – implications for tuberculosis research
A close relative of the microorganism that causes tuberculosis in humans has been found to form spores. This is a sensational finding because researchers have long been convinced that these kinds of bacteria - the mycobacteria - were incapable of forming spores.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090609/New-discovery-about-mycobacteria-e28093-implications-for-tuberculosis-research.aspx

Scientists use climate variables and vegetation indices to predict and mitigate Dengue epidemics
Dengue Fever (DF) and Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF) are the most important vector-borne viral diseases in the World. Around 50-100 million cases appear each year putting 2.5 billion people at risk of suffering this debilitating and sometimes fatal disease.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090605/Scientists-use-climate-variables-and-vegetation-indices-to-predict-and-mitigate-Dengue-epidemics.aspx

International HIV/AIDS experts to meet in Namibia next week
Thousands of international HIV/AIDS experts will convene in Windhoek, Namibia, next week for a five-day meeting focused on HIV/AIDS, New Era reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090605/International-HIVAIDS-experts-to-meet-in-Namibia-next-week.aspx

Articles examine use of mobile phones for global health
The Economist examines how mobile phones could be used to detect the spread of diseases worldwide. According to the Economist, "[t]he world's 4 billion mobile phones could be turned into sensors on a global data-collection network" and aid workers, engineers and several other professionals "are now building systems that use handsets to sense, monitor and even predict population movements, environmental hazards and public-health threats."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090605/Articles-examine-use-of-mobile-phones-for-global-health.aspx

Officials concerned about potential disease outbreaks among displaced Pakistanis; Obama requests more U.S. aid money
U.N. officials on Thursday expressed growing concern about potential disease outbreaks among the two million displaced Pakistanis and warned that aid money is running out, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 6/4).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090605/Officials-concerned-about-potential-disease-outbreaks-among-displaced-Pakistanis3b-Obama-requests-more-US-aid-money.aspx

WHO recommends global use of rotavirus vaccines - can protect millions of children from diarrhoeal diseaseas
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that rotavirus vaccination be included in all national immunization programmes to provide protection against a virus that is responsible for more than 500,000 diarrhoeal deaths and 2 million hospitalizations every year among children. More than 85% of these deaths occur in developing countries in Africa and Asia. This new policy will help ensure access to rotavirus vaccines in the world's poorest countries.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090605/WHO-recommends-global-use-of-rotavirus-vaccines-can-protect-millions-of-children-from-diarrhoeal-diseaseas.aspx

Drug-resistant tuberculosis a very real threat in the Pacific region
Health officials in the Pacific are concerned about two new strains of tuberculosis - multi drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) - both strains have been found to be resistant to the two most powerful drugs that have been used to treat tuberculosis (TB) for the past five decades.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090605/Drug-resistant-tuberculosis-a-very-real-threat-in-the-Pacific-region.aspx

Australia's swine flu toll soars to almost 900
As the number of swine flu cases now confirmed in Australia edges close to 900, neighbour Singapore has issued advice warning its residents not to travel to Victoria the state worst-hit by the outbreak of influenza A H1N1 with 752 cases.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090604/Australias-swine-flu-toll-soars-to-almost-900.aspx

Australia in top five countries worse hit by swine flu
The latest update from the World Health Organization, #43, says as of 3rd June, 66 countries have officially reported 19,273 cases of influenza A H1N1 infection (swine flu), including 117 deaths.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090604/Australia-in-top-five-countries-worse-hit-by-swine-flu.aspx

White House seeks more money in case of a H1N1 pandemic emergency
The White House requested new funding for swine flu from Congress late Tuesday and also sought an additional $3.1 billion from the unspent stimulus funds in case of a pandemic emergency, according to various news sources.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090604/White-House-seeks-more-money-in-case-of-a-H1N1-pandemic-emergency.aspx

Congress unlikely to approve Obama's request for additional flu money, majority leader says
U.S House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) on Wednesday expressed skepticism that Congress would approve President Obama's recent request for an additional $2 billion to help fight the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters/Washington Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090604/Congress-unlikely-to-approve-Obamas-request-for-additional-flu-money-majority-leader-says.aspx

Mozambique's Health Minister reviews country's health status with Parliament
A nationwide vaccination effort in Mozambique helped to slash the number of reported cases of measles in Mozambique in 2008, Health Minister Ivo Garrido said Wednesday when addressing the country's parliament, Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique/allAfrica.com reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090604/Mozambiques-Health-Minister-reviews-countrys-health-status-with-Parliament.aspx

One in four nursing home residents carries Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major problem in nursing homes with one in four residents carrying the bacteria, a study by Queen's University Belfast and Antrim Area Hospital has found.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090604/One-in-four-nursing-home-residents-carries-Methicillin-resistant-Staphylococcus-aureus.aspx

U.S. doubles annual Malawi HIV/AIDS support to $45 million
The U.S. government recently announced a commitment to double its support for Malawi's efforts to fight HIV/AIDS to $45 million annually, Xinhua reports (Xinhua, 6/2).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090603/US-doubles-annual-Malawi-HIVAIDS-support-to-2445-million.aspx

Indonesia to host AIDS congress; smoking ban in Ghana
Indonesia will host the 9th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific region, August 3 – 13 in Bali, organizers of the event announced Wednesday, Xinhua reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090603/Indonesia-to-host-AIDS-congress3b-smoking-ban-in-Ghana.aspx

WHO closer to declaring H1N1 flu outbreak a pandemic
The WHO on Tuesday said it was "getting closer" to declaring the H1N1 (swine) flu outbreak to be a pandemic, as the virus continues to spread to people outside of North America, and in populations "as far apart as Britain, Spain, Japan, Chile and Australia," the AP/Washington Post reports (Jordans, AP/Washington Post, 6/2).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090603/WHO-closer-to-declaring-H1N1-flu-outbreak-a-pandemic.aspx

Vietnam publishes report documenting Millennium Development Goal progress
Vietnam recently published a report tracking its progress towards the U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets, which outlines the health ministry's work with other government and international agencies, Vietnam News reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090603/Vietnam-publishes-report-documenting-Millennium-Development-Goal-progress.aspx

Swine flu in Victoria - alert measures move up a level
The number of confirmed swine flu cases in Australia has now reached 502 - three quarters of which are in Victoria and as a result the state's alert measures have been moved from "contain" to the next level, the "sustain" phase.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090603/Swine-flu-in-Victoria-alert-measures-move-up-a-level.aspx

Swine flu - a threatening pandemic or media panic?
The latest update from the World Health Organisation (WHO) # 42, reports that as of the 1st June 2009, 62 countries have officially reported 17,410 cases of influenza A H1N1 infection (swine flu), including 115 deaths.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090603/Swine-flu-a-threatening-pandemic-or-media-panic.aspx

U.N. agencies increase request for foreign donations to Zimbabwe
In the midst of Zimbabwe's growing humanitarian crisis, U.N. agencies on Monday released a revised statement of appeal for foreign donations totaling $718 million for "food, clean water, AIDS medicines and other aid – up from an estimate of $550 million in November," the AP/Washington Post reports (Shaw, AP/Washington Post, 6/1).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090602/UN-agencies-increase-request-for-foreign-donations-to-Zimbabwe.aspx

Report shows Jamaica's progress towards achieving U.N. MDGs
Jamaica has already achieved some U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets and is "on track" to attain five more, according to a report that mapped the country's progress toward the MDGs, the Jamaica Observer reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090602/Report-shows-Jamaicas-progress-towards-achieving-UN-MDGs.aspx

British researchers call for WHO to 'condemn homeopathy' for serious diseases
British researchers on Monday requested the WHO "publicly condemn homeopathy as a treatment for serious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria," amid growing concern that some patients are dying as a result of choosing homeopathy over effective medicines, the Mail & Guardian reports. "The WHO works with national organisations that promote homeopathy and other alternative medicines in their public health programmes," according to the Mail & Guardian.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090602/British-researchers-call-for-WHO-to-condemn-homeopathy-for-serious-diseases.aspx

Universal access to malaria drugs, prevention by 2013 will lead to eradication, Nigerian Government says
The Nigerian government believes that by 2013 malaria will cease to be a major public health problem in the country because families will have universal access to prevention and treatment, which will ultimately lead to malaria eradication in Nigeria, according to a document prepared by the National Malaria Control Program of the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja, Nigeria, Xinhua reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090602/Universal-access-to-malaria-drugs-prevention-by-2013-will-lead-to-eradication-Nigerian-Government-says.aspx

Research sheds new light on how bird flu outbreaks begin in wild bird populations
New data on the persistence of avian influenza viruses in the environment has allowed a team of University of Georgia researchers to create the first model that takes into account both direct and indirect transmission of the viruses among birds. The model, which is detailed in the early online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, has the potential to shed new light on how outbreaks begin in wild bird populations.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090602/Research-sheds-new-light-on-how-bird-flu-outbreaks-begin-in-wild-bird-populations.aspx

Discovery of new arenavirus associated with hemorrhagic fever – first identified in nearly four decades
Scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases of National Health Laboratory Service (NICD-NHLS), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Roche's 454 Life Sciences Corporation have discovered the new virus responsible for a highly fatal hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Zambia and South Africa in late 2008.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090602/Discovery-of-new-arenavirus-associated-with-hemorrhagic-fever-e28093-first-identified-in-nearly-four-decades.aspx

A pandemic of human fear and anxiety
Is a flu pandemic looming and if so should we worry? It is now 41 years since we experienced the last pandemic of flu and many think that we are overdue for the next one. But have we over-reacted to the present outbreak of swine flu?
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090601/A-pandemic-of-human-fear-and-anxiety.aspx

Experts say let swine flu run its course
With the number of influenza A H1N1 (swine flu) cases in Australia now over 300 federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon says the government is considering whether to elevate the nation's response to the disease from the contain to sustain phase, as it may be impossible to keep quarantining people.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090601/Experts-say-let-swine-flu-run-its-course.aspx

Australian swine flu toll now over 300
The World Health Organisation's last update on the outbreak of influenza A(H1N1) - swine flu says as of the 29th of May, 53 countries have officially reported 15,510 cases including 99 deaths and Australian health authorities have confirmed that more than 300 people have been diagnosed with swine flu in Australia and all states and territories are now affected by the virus.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090601/Australian-swine-flu-toll-now-over-300.aspx

Marijuana effectiveness as an HIV self-care strategy
Those in the United States living with HIV/AIDS are more likely to use marijuana than those in Kenya, South Africa or Puerto Rica to alleviate their symptoms, according to a new study published in Clinical Nursing Research, published by SAGE.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090531/Marijuana-effectiveness-as-an-HIV-self-care-strategy.aspx

Researchers plan to target immune cells responsible for eluding antiretroviral treatment
Certain human immune cells known as macrophages are composed of hybrid HIV strains that elude treatment and antiretroviral drugs, according to a new study by researchers from the University of Florida and other institutions, the Gainesville Sun reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090531/Researchers-plan-to-target-immune-cells-responsible-for-eluding-antiretroviral-treatment.aspx

Thai HIV/AIDS advocates urge increased treatment access for IDUs
The Thai AIDS Treatment Action Group recently called on the country to launch a comprehensive harm reduction program for injection drug users in an effort to help curb the spread of HIV, Thailand's The Nation reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090531/Thai-HIVAIDS-advocates-urge-increased-treatment-access-for-IDUs.aspx

Report estimates significant impact of widespread circumcision effort in Botswana
Botswana's campaign to circumcise about 500,000 men by 2012 will prevent nearly 70,000 new HIV cases by 2025, according to a report published Thursday in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, AFP/Yahoo! News reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090531/Report-estimates-significant-impact-of-widespread-circumcision-effort-in-Botswana.aspx

HIV prevention efforts in five African countries not reaching at-risk groups, report says
National HIV prevention strategies in at least five African countries are not reaching the groups most at risk of infection, according to a report from UNAIDS and the World Bank conducted in conjunction with the national HIV/AIDS authorities of Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland and Uganda, IRIN/PlusNews reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090531/HIV-prevention-efforts-in-five-African-countries-not-reaching-at-risk-groups-report-says.aspx

To Unsubscribe simply click this link and check the unsubscribe box without entering any further information. To Modify your Email Address click here to make your changes.

News-Medical.Net (AZoM.com Pty.Ltd.)
Suite 24, MVB
90 Mona Vale Road
Mona Vale
Sydney
NSW, 2103
Australia

Tel: Direct +61 2 9999 0070
e-mail: info@news-medical.net