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Depth and Breadth of the New Pandemic H1N1 Swine Flu

Pandemics are rare but they do occur. In the last 100 years we have had three. They circle the globe in two or three waves at different times and with varying degree of severity.
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Australian swine flu vaccine ready in months
A vaccine developed 'in record time' by Australian scientists to protect against the influenza A H1N1 virus (swine flu) may not be available just yet because this swine flu vaccine, developed by University of Queensland (UQ) scientists, is not yet registered for use in Australia.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090628/Australian-swine-flu-vaccine-ready-in-months.aspx

The swine flu death that wasn't
The latest reports say that tests have confirmed that the death of a 26-year-old man from the remote Aboriginal community of Kiwirrkurra was due to other health issues.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090628/The-swine-flu-death-that-wasnt.aspx

New media-led effort responds to AIDS crisis in black America
Today, leading U.S. media companies announced a new coordinated national campaign to mobilize Black Americans in response to AIDS and promote specific calls-to-action to prevent and reduce the further spread of HIV. Greater Than AIDS - a multi-faceted campaign presented under a common brand that includes targeted public service ads (PSAs) as well as integrated messages in news, entertainment and community content - seeks to strengthen a sense of community among Black Americans in response to HIV/AIDS.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090625/New-media-led-effort-responds-to-AIDS-crisis-in-black-America.aspx

Lancet Infectious Diseases examines spread of XDR-TB
The journal Lancet Infectious Diseases examines the worldwide spread of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB). Currently, about 500,000 of the 9 million new cases of TB that are identified each year are strains of XDR-TB. "Drug resistance is largely man-made - it is vitally important to review antibiotic treatment strategies and to ensure the Stop TB Strategy is fully applied to prevent further selection of drug-resistant mutants," Leonard Amaral of Universidade Nova de Lisboa said.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090624/Lancet-Infectious-Diseases-examines-spread-of-XDR-TB.aspx

IRIN examines PEPFAR funding of IDU programs
IRIN examines a recent comment piece in the journal Lancet that argues PEPFAR can do more to prevent the spread of HIV among injecting drug users (IDUs) in Africa (IRIN, 6/24).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090624/IRIN-examines-PEPFAR-funding-of-IDU-programs.aspx

Malaria cases reported in Cambodian public facilities drop more than 50%
There was more than a 50 percent drop in the total number of malaria cases reported by public facilities in Cambodia between 2003 and 2008, according to the National Centre for Parasitology, Entomology and Malaria Control's annual report, which was released on Tuesday, the Phnom Penh Post reports. Officials are attributing the decrease to village-based treatment and education programs.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090624/Malaria-cases-reported-in-Cambodian-public-facilities-drop-more-than-5025.aspx

Lancet examines Obama's pledge to fight HIV/AIDS
The journal Lancet Infectious Diseases examines whether President Obama is fulfilling his campaign promises to tackle HIV/AIDS abroad and at home. Although Obama has surrounded himself "[w]ith lauded experts … concerns have been raised by activists that investment plans are not matching up to the rhetoric," Lancet writes.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090624/Lancet-examines-Obamas-pledge-to-fight-HIVAIDS.aspx

NewsHour features two health experts on President Obama's global health initiative
On the NewsHour Insider Forum, Ray Suarez interviews global health experts Michele Moloney-Kitts, assistant U.S. global AIDS coordinator, and Christine Lubinski, head of the Center for Global Health Policy and Advocacy about President Obama's $63 billion global health initiative.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090624/NewsHour-features-two-health-experts-on-President-Obamas-global-health-initiative.aspx

HHS awards $35 million contract to company in hopes of faster flu vaccine production
The HHS on Tuesday announced its decision to award a $35 million contract to a U.S. company using "insect cell technology" to develop flu vaccines, AFP/Google.com reports (AFP/Google.com, 6/23).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090624/HHS-awards-2435-million-contract-to-company-in-hopes-of-faster-flu-vaccine-production.aspx

Namibia close to reaching some MDGs
Namibia's recently released second MDG Report 2008 finds that the country is making progress toward achieving some of the U.N. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets. However, the Prime Minister says the global economic situation could reverse progress and notes that the country is behind on some health-related targets, New Era reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090624/Namibia-close-to-reaching-some-MDGs.aspx

Americans come up with first swine flu vaccine
The company based in Connecticut, Protein Sciences Corporation, won a $35-million government contract to develop an influenza vaccine using insect cell technology and Protein Sciences's director Dan Adams says the first batch of about 100,000 doses were produced last week and the manufacture of the vaccine continues.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090624/Americans-come-up-with-first-swine-flu-vaccine.aspx

Intervention strategies to curb spread of pandemic flu
Mathematicians, biostaticians and public health officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States will gather at Arizona State University this week to focus on understanding, possibly mitigating the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. They are planning to take up the challenge of proposing science-based strategies that can slow the spread of pandemic flu.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090624/Intervention-strategies-to-curb-spread-of-pandemic-flu.aspx

Swine flu tally has U.S. top and Australia 6th
The latest update, # 52, from the World Health Organisation on the influenza A H1N1 pandemic (swine flu), says as of the 22nd of June the grand total of those infected is now 52,160 including 231 deaths.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090623/Swine-flu-tally-has-US-top-and-Australia-6th.aspx

PAHO board to discuss 'revolving fund' vaccine system
PAHO's board this week is set to discuss "a long-standing system that makes vaccines affordable to middle-income Latin American countries" because of growing concerns that the policy "deters manufacturers from offering deeper discounts on such products to the world's least developed countries," the Financial Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090623/PAHO-board-to-discuss-revolving-fund-vaccine-system.aspx

H1N1 spread continues worldwide; first death in Asia confirmed
The H1N1 (swine flu) virus has now infected more than 52,000 people, leaving 231 dead, the WHO said Monday, AFP/Washington Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090623/H1N1-spread-continues-worldwide3b-first-death-in-Asia-confirmed.aspx

Merck partners with non-profit for neglected diseases initiative
The pharmaceutical company, Merck, announced Monday it was partnering with the non-profit Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) in an effort to improve treatments for neglected tropical diseases (NTD), the AP/CNBC reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090623/Merck-partners-with-non-profit-for-neglected-diseases-initiative.aspx

Number of Polio cases in Nigeria decreases, some states still showing low immunizations rates
The number of polio cases in Nigeria has gone down from 799 in 2008 to 353 this year, according to the country's National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Africa Science News Service reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090623/Number-of-Polio-cases-in-Nigeria-decreases-some-states-still-showing-low-immunizations-rates.aspx

Scientists block Ebola infection in cell-culture experiments - could lead to first therapy
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered two biochemical pathways that the Ebola virus relies on to infect cells.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090623/Scientists-block-Ebola-infection-in-cell-culture-experiments-could-lead-to-first-therapy.aspx

New tuberculosis drug targets
A fundamental question about how sugar units are strung together into long carbohydrate chains has also pinpointed a promising way to target new medicines against tuberculosis.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090623/New-tuberculosis-drug-targets.aspx

Cryo-electron tomography shows immature HIV in 3D
Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University Clinic Heidelberg, Germany, have produced a three-dimensional reconstruction of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), which shows the structure of the immature form of the virus at unprecedented detail. Immature HIV is a precursor of the infectious virus, which can cause AIDS.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090623/Cryo-electron-tomography-shows-immature-HIV-in-3D.aspx

Senate confirms Goosby as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator
The Senate on Friday confirmed President Obama's U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator nominee Eric Goosby, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Goosby - who "served previously in the Clinton administration as director of HIV/AIDS policy in the Department of Health and Human Services and as chief adviser to the president on HIV-related issues" - will now "head the U.S. strategy for addressing HIV around the world, and oversee the implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief" (PEPFAR), the newspaper writes.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090622/Senate-confirms-Goosby-as-US-Global-AIDS-Coordinator.aspx

Ghana launches public-private partnership to control malaria
Ghana's Ministry of Health recently launched the Nationwide Mosquito Control Programme (NAMCOP) in conjunction with the waste management company Zoomlion Ghana Limited, the Ghanaian Chronicle/allAfrica.com reports (Akweetey, Ghanaian Chronicle/allAfrica.com, 6/19).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090622/Ghana-launches-public-private-partnership-to-control-malaria.aspx

Ban Ki-Moon calls on governments to eradicate polio
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday at the Rotary International (RI) Annual Convention in Birmingham, U.K., said that governments worldwide should continue to work towards eradicating polio, BBC reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090622/Ban-Ki-Moon-calls-on-governments-to-eradicate-polio.aspx

To stop spread of HIV, prevention campaigns in China targeting sex workers, MSM
CNN examines China's efforts to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS by educating sex workers about the disease and prevention strategies. "It is estimated that some 700,000 people are living with HIV in China and there are about 50,000 new infections every year, according to the Chinese government and UNAIDS. The U.N. agency believes a significant number of those new infections include sex workers," CNN writes.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090622/To-stop-spread-of-HIV-prevention-campaigns-in-China-targeting-sex-workers-MSM.aspx

Do viruses make bacteria more deadly?
In England and Wales, the national health statistics in 2007 showed that there were 8,324 death certificates which named Clostridium difficile. This is a bacterium which causes severe diarrhoea in humans and animals as the underlying cause of death, a 28% increase from 2006.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090622/Do-viruses-make-bacteria-more-deadly.aspx

Discovery on HIV replication may lead to new therapies
Researchers from the newly-established VGTI Florida and the University of Montreal have uncovered a possible method for eradicating HIV infection in the human body.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090622/Discovery-on-HIV-replication-may-lead-to-new-therapies.aspx

Questions raised over Australia's first swine flu related death
According to the latest update (51) on the swine flu pandemic (influenza A H1N1), from the World Health Organisation (WHO), as of the 19th of June 2009 there have now been 44,287 laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu worldwide and 180 deaths.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/Questions-raised-over-Australias-first-swine-flu-related-death.aspx

Experts warn swine fever could devastate Australian pig population
Australian experts are warning that an outbreak of the pig disease 'swine fever' could easily and rapidly spread across Australia.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/Experts-warn-swine-fever-could-devastate-Australian-pig-population.aspx

HIV antibody tests unreliable for early infections in teens
A previously healthy teenager shows up at the doctor's office with a sore throat, fever, aches and general malaise. Routine blood tests are normal, an HIV test comes back negative, and the pediatrician sends the patient home with a diagnosis of acute viral infection.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/HIV-antibody-tests-unreliable-for-early-infections-in-teens.aspx

HIV-positive Cambodians evicted from Phnom Penh homes
To make way for a Ministry of Tourism garden, 20 families with HIV-positive members have been evicted from their homes and moved outside of the city, reports the Phnom Penh Post.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/HIV-positive-Cambodians-evicted-from-Phnom-Penh-homes.aspx

Economist examines schistosomiasis in China
The Economist examines schistosomiasis in China. The disease, which is also called snail-fever, is the "world's second-most prevalent tropical disease after malaria, affecting 207 million people of whom 726,000 are Chinese, according to the most recent official figures, from 2004," the Economist reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/Economist-examines-schistosomiasis-in-China.aspx

Some call for more action at conclusion of Pacific Health Summit
Some Pacific Health Summit attendees said more action should have come from the tuberculosis-focused conference, which ended on Thursday in Seattle, Seattle Times' "Business of Giving" blog reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/Some-call-for-more-action-at-conclusion-of-Pacific-Health-Summit.aspx

BBC examines river blindness program in sub-Saharan Africa
BBC examines a campaign in sub-Saharan Africa that is helping to distribute drugs to prevent onchocerciasis, also known as river blindness - a disease "caused by a parasite that is spread from human to human by the black fly, which once flourished along river beds where there is fast-flowing water."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/BBC-examines-river-blindness-program-in-sub-Saharan-Africa.aspx

U.S. flu funds; South Africa confirms first case; EU encouraged to coordinate pandemic vaccine policy
The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a $105.9 billion war-funding bill that "includes $7.7 billion to prepare for pandemic flu," the Washington Post reports (Bacon, Washington Post, 6/19).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/US-flu-funds3b-South-Africa-confirms-first-case3b-EU-encouraged-to-coordinate-pandemic-vaccine-policy.aspx

PEPFAR and IDUs; economic crisis and health; human-rights and pharmaceutical companies
Although PEPFAR has helped to provide "antiretroviral therapy to 2.1 million people with HIV, almost all of whom live in sub-Saharan Africa, and has spent more than US$18 billion on the continent" it has failed to reach "thousands of injecting drug users in PEPFAR countries in Africa, many of whom have HIV," according to the authors of a recent comment in the journal Lancet.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/PEPFAR-and-IDUs3b-economic-crisis-and-health3b-human-rights-and-pharmaceutical-companies.aspx

Lancet studies examine aspects of global health funding
"Global health funding boosted by private donors has quadrupled since 1990, but the extra money has not always gone to the right countries and diseases, according to a pair of studies released Friday," in the journal Lancet, AFP/Google.com reports (Hood, AFP/Google.com, 6/18).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090621/Lancet-studies-examine-aspects-of-global-health-funding.aspx

Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline will donate influenza vaccines to WHO
The drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis will donate millions of doses of a vaccine that offers protection against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus to the WHO once the vaccine is ready, the company's chief executive officer announced Tuesday, Reuters reports (Elsner, Reuters, 6/17).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/Sanofi-Aventis-GlaxoSmithKline-will-donate-influenza-vaccines-to-WHO.aspx

Uganda to distribute insecticide-treated nets to all citizens
The Ugandan ministry of health said that everyone in the country will receive free insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) to prevent malaria beginning in September, James Kakooza, the state minister for primary health care, said, New Vision/allAfrica.com reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/Uganda-to-distribute-insecticide-treated-nets-to-all-citizens.aspx

PEPFAR funds used to encourage Swaziland couples to get tested together
CNN examines the success of an HIV testing campaign in Swaziland that urges couples to get tested together. "The nationwide initiative - funded by the United States government and implemented by global charity 'Population Services International' (PSI) - is aimed at couples because tests can be useless if partners are not aware of the others' HIV status," CNN writes.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/PEPFAR-funds-used-to-encourage-Swaziland-couples-to-get-tested-together.aspx

Tibotec, TB Alliance join to expedite development of promising tuberculosis drug
The pharmaceutical company Tibotec said it will join with the non-profit Global Alliance for Tuberculosis Development (TB Alliance) to speed up the development of the experimental TB drug TMC207, Health-e/IOL reports (Thom, Health-e/IOL, 6/18). Tibotec, which is a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, announced the news on Wednesday at the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle (Doughton, Seattle Times, 6/18).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/Tibotec-TB-Alliance-join-to-expedite-development-of-promising-tuberculosis-drug.aspx

U.S. recommits to improving health, education in Nigeria
The Guardian examines the recent U.S. commitment to continue support for the development of Nigeria's health and education sector by Anne Fleuret, Nigeria's acting mission director of USAID.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/US-recommits-to-improving-health-education-in-Nigeria.aspx

House State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee approves FY10 funding measure
The House State-Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee "unanimously approved its FY10 funding measure without any amendments" on Wednesday, "deferring expected fights for the full committee markup in a week," CongressDaily reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/House-State-Foreign-Operations-Appropriations-Subcommittee-approves-FY10-funding-measure.aspx

Continued international investment, decreased discrimination key to fight against HIV/AIDS, says U.N. Secretary-General
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon during a General Assembly meeting Tuesday urged governments not to cut aid for the international fight against HIV/AIDS, the AP/Washington Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/Continued-international-investment-decreased-discrimination-key-to-fight-against-HIVAIDS-says-UN-Secretary-General.aspx

$7.7 billion for H1N1 included in "House War-Spending Bill"
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday narrowly passed a $106 billion war-funding bill, which "included 7.7 billion to help the nation prepare for an outbreak of the H1N1 virus, the so-called swine flu," the Washington Times reports (Rowland, Washington Times, 6/17). The spending bill will now move to the Senate for consideration (Pelofsky, Reuters, 6/16).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/2477-billion-for-H1N1-included-in-e2809cHouse-War-Spending-Bille2809d.aspx

Africa marks "Day of the African Child"
Liberia's Ministry of Gender transported 1,000 children to events in northwest Lofa County. IRIN writes, "In an effort to improve access to health care and slash neonatal deaths, Liberia's government suspended health care fees in 2007. The recent UNICEF-Save the Children report named Liberia as one of the few sub-Saharan African countries on target to meet its child health goal by 2015" (IRIN, 6/16).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/Africa-marks-e2809cDay-of-the-African-Childe2809d.aspx

Globe and Mail examines GlaxoSmithKline's RTS,S malaria vaccine trials in Kenya
The Globe and Mail examines GlaxoSmithKline's RTS,S malaria vaccine trials in Kilifi, Kenya – one of the sites where the experimental vaccine is being tested. "The stories of the mothers of Kilifi open a window on the challenges faced by researchers as they build a trial that will include more than 16,000 babies from 11 sites spread across sub-Saharan Africa," the Globe and Mail reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090618/Globe-and-Mail-examines-GlaxoSmithKlines-RTSS-malaria-vaccine-trials-in-Kenya.aspx

Research uncovers clues to the development of cancers in AIDS patients
In a series of recently-published articles, a research team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has uncovered clues to the development of cancers in AIDS patients.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090617/Research-uncovers-clues-to-the-development-of-cancers-in-AIDS-patients.aspx

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine
Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the current swine flu.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090617/Targeting-children-may-be-an-effective-use-of-limited-supplies-of-flu-vaccine.aspx

Household structure and infectious disease transmission
Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research at the University of Warwick funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the current swine flu.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090617/Household-structure-and-infectious-disease-transmission.aspx

Six 'major health agencies' form alliance to address chronic diseases in developing countries
A group of "major health agencies" from Australia, Canada, China, the U.K. and the U.S., which "together control 80 percent of the world's public health-research funding," have joined together to form the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) to combat chronic diseases in developing countries, Time reports (Walsh, Time, 6/16).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090617/Six-major-health-agencies-form-alliance-to-address-chronic-diseases-in-developing-countries.aspx

VOA News examines international HIV/AIDS implementers meeting
VOA News examines the 2009 HIV/AIDS Implementers Meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, which recently brought together 1,500 people from 55 countries to compare notes on HIV/AIDS programs around the world. The article features comments by Assistant U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Michele Moloney-Kitts who attended and shared some of her experiences from the meeting.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090617/VOA-News-examines-international-HIVAIDS-implementers-meeting.aspx

U.N. Secretary-General, WHO Director-General appeal for continued investment in global health
Despite the current global economic crisis, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for a continued international commitment to investing in health, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090617/UN-Secretary-General-WHO-Director-General-appeal-for-continued-investment-in-global-health.aspx

Maternal, child health lag behind other Millennium Development Goals, study finds
Despite signs of progress in the treatment of HIV/AIDS, malaria and childhood diseases, efforts to reduce maternal and newborn health as part of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) lag behind, according to the 2009 Report of the Global Campaign for the Health Millennium Development Goals released Monday, Inter Press Service reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090617/Maternal-child-health-lag-behind-other-Millennium-Development-Goals-study-finds.aspx

Opinion: U.S. should double global maternal, child health spending; Ban, Chan want 'global solidarity'; resources for diabetes, HIV/AIDS
Although "child survival is improving - albeit way too slowly - in most regions of the world," sub-Saharan Africa "continues to have the world's highest child-mortality rates," former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, who serves as the chairman of Save the Children's Survive to 5 campaign, writes in a Washington Times opinion piece. Frist asserts, "We cannot continue to allow one of every seven African children to die when it is so readily within our reach to prevent those deaths."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090617/Opinion-US-should-double-global-maternal-child-health-spending3b-Ban-Chan-want-global-solidarity3b-resources-for-diabetes-HIVAIDS.aspx

Preventing spread of infectious diseases is everyone's responsibility – and everyone's job
According to a report published today, we must all share responsibility for preventing the spread of diseases such as swine flu, SARS, avian influenza, diarrhoeal and skin diseases, and even the common cold.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090616/Preventing-spread-of-infectious-diseases-is-everyonee28099s-responsibility-e28093-and-everyonee28099s-job.aspx

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