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The next health tsunami: Non-communicable diseases

The International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) and the World Heart Federation (WHF) called today on the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to take immediate action to avert the fastest growing threat by non-communicable diseases (NCDs) to global health.
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Latest News

Clinton says U.S. will work with India to address health challenges, hunger
The U.S. will work to address the health challenges facing India among other countries and will aim to improve maternal and child health care services through comprehensive dialogue, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday after visiting a Self Employed Women's Association (SEWA) trade outlet in Mumbai, India, PTI/Yahoo! News reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Clinton-says-US-will-work-with-India-to-address-health-challenges-hunger.aspx

South Africa launches HIV/AIDS vaccine trial
"The first clinical trial of an HIV/AIDS vaccine designed and developed in South Africa was launched in Cape Town" Monday, the SAPA/The Times reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/South-Africa-launches-HIVAIDS-vaccine-trial.aspx

MSM HIV infection rates in some African countries significantly higher than general population rates, study says
HIV infection rates among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in "some African countries are 10 times that of the general male population, and stigma, poor access to treatment or testing are to blame," according to a Lancet study published online on Monday, AFP/China Post reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/MSM-HIV-infection-rates-in-some-African-countries-significantly-higher-than-general-population-rates-study-says.aspx

IAS Conference begins, report says economic crisis forcing Africans living with HIV/AIDS off life-saving medications
At a news conference opening the 5th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention on Sunday in Cape Town, South Africa, Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, expressed disappointment that the "G8 ignored the HIV-AIDS issue at its annual summit this month," which was "just four years after pledging at the 2005 Gleneagles [G8] summit to fight for universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010," the Globe and Mail reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/IAS-Conference-begins-report-says-economic-crisis-forcing-Africans-living-with-HIVAIDS-off-life-saving-medications.aspx

New swine flu resource online
A new interactive website providing accurate, bang-up-to-date information on swine flu to the general public launches today.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/New-swine-flu-resource-online.aspx

Gene variants associated with survival advantage in African Americans with HIV
From the start of the HIV epidemic, it appeared that some of the people who were infected with the virus were able to ward off the fatal effects of the disease longer than others.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Gene-variants-associated-with-survival-advantage-in-African-Americans-with-HIV.aspx

Airlines blocking travellers suspected of having swine flu
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the H1N1 influenza A pandemic (swine flu) has killed around a total of 430 people and as health officials worldwide grapple to deal with rapid rise in the number of cases, airlines in Britain are blocking travellers suspected of having swine flu.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Airlines-blocking-travellers-suspected-of-having-swine-flu.aspx

Swine flu jab may be available sooner
The Australian government is planning to spend $44 million over a four year period on extra vaccinations for seasonal flu - this will provide enough vaccinations for another 2.2 million people which will be available from January 1st next year.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090720/Swine-flu-jab-may-be-available-sooner.aspx

Researchers discover how flu damages lung tissue
A protein in influenza virus that helps it multiply also damages lung epithelial cells, causing fluid buildup in the lungs, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Southern Research Institute . Publishing online this week in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers say the findings give new insight into how flu attacks the lungs and provides targets for new treatments.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090719/Researchers-discover-how-flu-damages-lung-tissue.aspx

New perspectives in the treatment of disease
The team, led by Professor Matthias Mann of Novo Nordisk Center for Protein Research at the University of Copenhagen and the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Germany, have detected 3,600 acetylation switches in 1,750 different proteins.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/New-perspectives-in-the-treatment-of-disease.aspx

Fewer births in states such as California rates shifting rotavirus epidemics
Fewer births in states such as California may be delaying the annual onset of a common intestinal virus in the southwest, according to epidemiologists. The timing of infectious outbreaks in other locations such as the northeast remains more or less unchanged.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/Fewer-births-in-states-such-as-California-rates-shifting-rotavirus-epidemics.aspx

Polio update in Nigeria July 2009
In 2009, the northern states of Nigeria have experienced a large polio outbreak due to wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) with 258 cases, compared to 32 cases for the same period in 2008. WPV3 from northern Nigeria has this year spread internationally to Niger.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/Polio-update-in-Nigeria-July-2009.aspx

Majority of Americans' believe serious outbreak of H1N1 coming in fall/winter
As part of a series about Americans' response to the H1N1 flu outbreak, the Harvard Opinion Research Program at the Harvard School of Public Health is releasing a national poll that focuses on Americans' views and concerns about the potential for a more severe outbreak of Influenza A (H1N1) in the fall or winter. The polling was done June 22-28, 2009.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/Majority-of-Americans-believe-serious-outbreak-of-H1N1-coming-in-fallwinter.aspx

AIDS Healthcare Foundation sues L.A. County to require condom use in pornography
In response to the County's inaction regarding the latest HIV outbreak and thousands of reported sexually transmitted diseases in LA's porn industry, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a press conference tomorrow, Friday, July 17th at 10:30 AM Pacific to announce the filing of a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) to require condom use in the production of pornography.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090717/AIDS-Healthcare-Foundation-sues-LA-County-to-require-condom-use-in-pornography.aspx

South American health ministers gather in Argentina to discuss H1N1 preparedness
The health ministers of six South American countries gathered in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Wednesday to "coordinate defenses against" the H1N1 (swine flu) virus which has killed nearly 200 people in the region," the AFP/Google.com reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/South-American-health-ministers-gather-in-Argentina-to-discuss-H1N1-preparedness.aspx

IRIN examines efforts to improve sleeping sickness dectection
IRIN examines the efforts of the Geneva-based Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to develop less costly surveillance equipment to improve the ability to detect the parasitic disease trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) in endemic countries.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/IRIN-examines-efforts-to-improve-sleeping-sickness-dectection.aspx

Genome sequencing of schistosomiasis parasites could promote drug development
Researchers have sequenced the genomes of two parasites that cause bilharzia or schistosomiasis - a disease transmitted by water-borne snails that affects more than 200 million people worldwide - "revealing potential weaknesses that could be exploited by drug developers," Nature reports (Smith, 7/15).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Genome-sequencing-of-schistosomiasis-parasites-could-promote-drug-development.aspx

WHO gives up counting swine flu cases
In its latest briefing on the H1N1 influenza A pandemic (swine flu), the World Health Organisation (WHO) says the unprecedented speed of the spread of the virus means reporting requirements and the data needed for risk assessment, both within affected countries and at the global level, are changing.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/WHO-gives-up-counting-swine-flu-cases.aspx

Discovery of new transmission patterns may help prevent diarrhea-causing disease rotavirus
New vaccines have the potential to prevent or temper epidemics of the childhood diarrhea-causing disease rotavirus, protect the unvaccinated and raise the age at which the infection first appears in children, federal researchers reported in a study today.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Discovery-of-new-transmission-patterns-may-help-prevent-diarrhea-causing-disease-rotavirus.aspx

Swine flu warning issued to pregnant women
Health officials are warning pregnant women to be extra careful in the midst of the current swine flu pandemic after three pregnant patients in New South Wales are in intensive care after contracting the novel H1N1 influenza virus.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090716/Swine-flu-warning-issued-to-pregnant-women.aspx

NPR examines Obama's 'broad' global health strategy; maternal health in Afghanistan discussed at congressional briefing
NPR reports on President Obama's "broad global health strategy," which would increase the amount of funding for family planning, maternal and child health programs to about a "half billion dollars" next year. According to NPR, "the U.S. has committed $230 million [over the next five years] directly to health in Afghanistan, whose government has already built 2,000 health facilities since the collapse of the Taliban regime" (Wilson, 7/15).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/NPR-examines-Obamas-broad-global-health-strategy3b-maternal-health-in-Afghanistan-discussed-at-congressional-briefing.aspx

GlaxoSmithKline pledges $97 million investment in AIDS drugs for Africa, allows South African drugmaker to produce generic second-line treatment
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) on Tuesday announced plans to invest $97 million over 10 years "to improve research, development and access to AIDS drugs in Africa," Reuters reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/GlaxoSmithKline-pledges-2497-million-investment-in-AIDS-drugs-for-Africa-allows-South-African-drugmaker-to-produce-generic-second-line-treatment.aspx

Review of Brazil's HIV/AIDS treatment programs shows importance of generic drugs, researchers say
"Brazil has been successful in its nearly 20-year effort to treat people living with" HIV/AIDS, and generic medicines have been "a large part of the solution," according to a recent Health Affairs review, UPI reports (UPI, 7/14).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Review-of-Brazils-HIVAIDS-treatment-programs-shows-importance-of-generic-drugs-researchers-say.aspx

Prevalence of artemisinin monotherapies raising risk of resistence
Almost half of all artemisinin manufacturers and malaria-endemic countries are "failing to comply" with WHO requirements to sell the treatment in combination with other drugs, which is increasing the risk that malaria parasites will develop resistance to artemsinin, Nature reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Prevalence-of-artemisinin-monotherapies-raising-risk-of-resistence.aspx

Flu mortality formula is potentially misleading, say scientists
A standard calculation used in forecasting potential numbers of deaths during the swine flu pandemic risks misleading healthcare planners by being open to both over- and under-estimation of the true figures, say the authors of new research published today in the British Medical Journal.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Flu-mortality-formula-is-potentially-misleading-say-scientists.aspx

'Unstoppable Swine flu' and how to deal with it
Health authorities worldwide are preparing for what the World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed the 'unstoppable' spread of the new A/H1N1 virus (swine flu) for which Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, says a vaccine will not be available for several months to come.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Unstoppable-Swine-flu-and-how-to-deal-with-it.aspx

Toronto Star columnist examines polio eradication in India
According a Toronto Star column, it is an "enormous challenge" for India's government to try to get all of its citizens immunized against polio. "It has used everything from elephants and camels to rickety boats and bikes to ferry the vaccine to remote regions where temperatures have topped 40C the past three months.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Toronto-Star-columnist-examines-polio-eradication-in-India.aspx

Novartis to partner with OneWorld Health to develop diarrhea drug
"Swiss drug company Novartis AG and the Institute for OneWorld Health, a nonprofit group, will announce this week a partnership to discover drugs for a type of diarrhea that kills about 1.6 million children each year in the developing world," the Wall Street Journal reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/Novartis-to-partner-with-OneWorld-Health-to-develop-diarrhea-drug.aspx

WHO recommends vaccine makers move forward in mass production of H1N1 vaccine
"Saying the new H1N1 [swine flu] virus is 'unstoppable', the WHO gave drug makers a full go-ahead to manufacture vaccines against the pandemic influenza strain on Monday and said healthcare workers should be the first to get one," Reuters reports (Fox, 7/14).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090715/WHO-recommends-vaccine-makers-move-forward-in-mass-production-of-H1N1-vaccine.aspx

Developing countries can successfully combat HIV/AIDS epidemic with generics
Brazil's nearly two-decade effort to treat people living with HIV and AIDS shows that developing countries can successfully combat the epidemic. Inexpensive generic medicines are a large part of the solution, say researchers from Brown University and the Harvard School of Public Health.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090714/Developing-countries-can-successfully-combat-HIVAIDS-epidemic-with-generics.aspx

Obama addresses Ghana's parliament, reiterates U.S. global health initiative
During his visit to Ghana over the weekend, President Obama praised the country for its achievements while calling on African leaders to take responsibility for the future of the continent, CNN reports. "Despite the progress that has been made - and there has been considerable progress in parts of Africa - we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled," Obama said during a speech before the Ghanaian parliament (7/11).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090713/Obama-addresses-Ghanas-parliament-reiterates-US-global-health-initiative.aspx

U.S. to commit additional $1 billion to H1N1 vaccine development
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday the U.S. has agreed to put an addition $1 billion towards ingredients for the production of a vaccine that offers protection against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090713/US-to-commit-additional-241-billion-to-H1N1-vaccine-development.aspx

More than half of malaria drugs in west Africa 'sub-standard quality,' says UNODC
VOA News reports that fake pharmaceuticals pose a greater risk to stability and human security in West Africa than illegal drug trafficking, according to U.N. Office Against Drugs and Crime report. More than half of the malaria medication available in West Africa is of "sub-standard quality," according to U.N. estimates, VOA News writes, adding, "West Africa has the highest estimated rate of malaria on the continent, with nearly 98 million cases of malaria per year."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090713/More-than-half-of-malaria-drugs-in-west-Africa-sub-standard-quality-says-UNODC.aspx

The latest news on swine flu
The latest update from the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that as of the 6th of July the worldwide total of H1N1 influenza A cases (swine flu) had reached 94,512 including 429 deaths.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090713/The-latest-news-on-swine-flu.aspx

Senate Committee approves bill to fund State Department global health programs, global fund
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 29-1 to pass a $48.69 billion draft bill to "fund the State Department and foreign affairs activities in fiscal 2010," CQ reports. "Global health programs would receive $7.8 billion, which is $434 million more than fiscal 2009 funding and $178 million more than the administration request.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/Senate-Committee-approves-bill-to-fund-State-Department-global-health-programs-global-fund.aspx

WHO approves second HPV vaccine
The WHO announced Thursday it had approved a second cervical cancer vaccine, opening "U.N. agencies and partners [to] now officially buy millions of doses of the vaccine for poor countries worldwide," where an estimated 80 percent of the 280,000 annual deaths from cervical cancer occur each year, the AP/Google.com reports (7/9).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/WHO-approves-second-HPV-vaccine.aspx

U.S. moves forward with preparations for H1N1 vaccination campaign
The Obama administration on Thursday said a nationwide vaccination program could begin as early as mid-October to protect Americans from the H1N1 (swine flu) virus and pledged $350 million to help prepare communities across the country for this effort, the Washington Times reports (Ward, 7/9).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090712/US-moves-forward-with-preparations-for-H1N1-vaccination-campaign.aspx

Humans may give swine flu to pigs
The strain of influenza, A/H1N1, that is currently pandemic in humans has been shown to be infectious to pigs and to spread rapidly in a trial pig population.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Humans-may-give-swine-flu-to-pigs.aspx

Obama cabinet members meet Thursday for H1N1 preparedness summit
"The White House, months before flu season, will roll out the big guns Thursday for a swine flu preparedness summit, underscoring the importance the Obama administration is placing on the pandemic," CNN reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Obama-cabinet-members-meet-Thursday-for-H1N1-preparedness-summit.aspx

President Obama to visit Ghana Friday - major policy statement
IRIN reports that Ghanaians "are mixing high hopes with caution" in anticipation of President Obama's arrival in the country Friday – "his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa." Obama is expected to "make a major policy statement," according to IRIN. The article looks back at some of the commitments that former Presidents Bush and Clinton previously made to Africa (7/8).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/President-Obama-to-visit-Ghana-Friday-major-policy-statement.aspx

Global Fund-financed programs reaching more people, report shows
The most recent statistics on programs funded in 140 countries through the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria released Wednesday reveal "[m]ore than 2 million people living with HIV have been reached with life-saving treatment," the UN News Centre reports (7/8).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/Global-Fund-financed-programs-reaching-more-people-report-shows.aspx

One secret to how tuberculosis resists the host immune system
Mycobacterium tuberculosis is arguably the world's most successful infectious agent because it knows how to avoid elimination by slowing its own growth to a crawl. Now, a report in the July 10 issue of the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication, offers new insight into the bugs' talent for meager living.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090709/One-secret-to-how-tuberculosis-resists-the-host-immune-system.aspx

ECOSOC's agenda should include noncommunicable disease threat in developing countries
"[E]xplicit indicators to measure progress in reducing heart diseases, stroke, diabetes, cancers and chronic respiratory diseases" are missing from the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) agenda as it meets in Geneva this week "to focus on implementing the internationally agreed goals and commitments in regard to public health," and the "omission needs to be urgently addressed if the intent is to have a major impact on reducing poverty by 2015," Ala Alwan, WHO's assistant director-general for Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health; George Alleyne, PAHO's director emeritus; and Martin Silink, president of the International Diabetes Federation write in an opinion piece in the Hindu.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090708/ECOSOCs-agenda-should-include-noncommunicable-disease-threat-in-developing-countries.aspx

WHO to recommend countries stop testing for H1N1
Within the next few days, the WHO "will recommend that countries stop trying to test all suspected cases of swine flu, said Keiji Fukuda, the agency's assistant director-general of health security and environment," Tuesday during a conference call with reporters, Bloomberg reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090708/WHO-to-recommend-countries-stop-testing-for-H1N1.aspx

IPS examines need for new drugs to treat neglected tropical diseases
Inter Press Service News Agency examines the shortcomings of treatments for neglected tropical diseases - which, according to the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), account "for 12 percent of the global disease burden," and 1.3 percent of the new drugs developed between 1975 to 2004.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090708/IPS-examines-need-for-new-drugs-to-treat-neglected-tropical-diseases.aspx

Health indicators in South Africa vary by district, report indicates
In South Africa - "the quality of health care, including access to HIV prevention and testing services," largely depends on which of the country's 52 districts a resident lives in - according to findings in the latest District Health Barometer (DHB), an annual report by Health Systems Trust, IRIN reports. "Some of the inequities highlighted by the [report] can be traced to differences in health spending," IRIN writes.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090708/Health-indicators-in-South-Africa-vary-by-district-report-indicates.aspx

Developing countries need $1 billion by end of year to cope with H1N1, U.N. says
Developing countries will need an estimated $1 billion by year's end to ensure their access to antivirals and vaccines to protect against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday, AFP/Google.com reports. "Funding had 'not been flowing as expected,' following appeals in recent weeks, [Ban] added," according to the news service (7/6).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Developing-countries-need-241-billion-by-end-of-year-to-cope-with-H1N1-UN-says.aspx

Economic crisis already crippling global HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention programs, UNAIDS, World Bank report says
Global HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs are already feeling the effects of the global economic crisis, according to a report (pdf) released Monday by UNAIDS and the World Bank, AFP/Google.com reports (7/6).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Economic-crisis-already-crippling-global-HIVAIDS-treatment-prevention-programs-UNAIDS-World-Bank-report-says.aspx

Artemisinin-based combination therapy for treating uncomplicated malaria
Current combination malaria therapies recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) provide adequate treatment for mild malaria, according to a Cochrane Systematic Review of the evidence. However, selected trials had high failure rates for some combinations and evidence for the effectiveness of anti-malarial therapies is lacking in some vulnerable groups.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Artemisinin-based-combination-therapy-for-treating-uncomplicated-malaria.aspx

Iron supplements for preventing or treating anemia among children in malaria-endemic areas
Iron supplements do not increase the likelihood of contracting malaria and should not be withheld from children at risk of the disease, despite World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines to the contrary, a new review by Cochrane Researchers suggests.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Iron-supplements-for-preventing-or-treating-anemia-among-children-in-malaria-endemic-areas.aspx

U.S. military broad-based influenza monitoring system
The recent global swine flu outbreak has underscored the critical need for good surveillance and rapid access to epidemiological data. The US military, starting with early monitoring efforts in the 1970s, has developed a broad-based influenza monitoring system. In an article published in the September 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers describe this little-known national jewel that has repeatedly made notable contributions to global influenza control through close collaboration with CDC, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the WHO, and many other partners.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/US-military-broad-based-influenza-monitoring-system.aspx

AP/Los Angeles Times examines Haiti's fight against HIV
The AP/Los Angeles Times examines Haiti's success at reducing the number of people infected with HIV/AIDS in the country through the work of the "nonprofit groups, Boston-based Partners in Health (PIH) and Port-au-Prince's GHESKIO, widely considered to be the world's oldest AIDS clinic."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/APLos-Angeles-Times-examines-Haitis-fight-against-HIV.aspx

Communicable disease epidemics in developing world not being adequately addressed, IFRC says
The "crippling" and "growing burden" of communicable diseases such as dengue fever, polio, or meningitis is not being sufficiently addressed in developing countries, according to "The Epidemic Divide," a report released Monday by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), AFP/Google.com reports. According to the report, resources to deal with existing epidemics are "scarce."
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Communicable-disease-epidemics-in-developing-world-not-being-adequately-addressed-IFRC-says.aspx

International health experts hold two-day H1N1 meeting
WHO leaders and international health ministers met Thursday for a two-day meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to share the lessons learned from the spread of H1N1 (swine flu) (Xinhua, 7/3) and strategies for "battling the pandemic," the AP/Washington Post reports (Rodriguez, 7/2).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/International-health-experts-hold-two-day-H1N1-meeting.aspx

World poverty gains reduced, countries unlikely to achieve most MDGs, U.N. report says
The global economic downturn has "reversed a 20-year decline in world poverty" and could "add up to 90 million to the ranks of the hungry in 2009, an increase of six percent over current totals," according to a U.N. report on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched in Geneva on Monday, Reuters reports (Evans, 7/6).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/World-poverty-gains-reduced-countries-unlikely-to-achieve-most-MDGs-UN-report-says.aspx

IRIN examines government officials, advocates reaction to global fund restructuring in Zimbabwe
IRIN examines how government officials and HIV/AIDS advocates in Zimbabwe are responding to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria's decision to channel funds through the UNDP rather than the government-operated National AIDS Council (NAC).
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/IRIN-examines-government-officials-advocates-reaction-to-global-fund-restructuring-in-Zimbabwe.aspx

Pakistani refugees continue to be at high risk for disease, U.N. says
The 2 million Pakistani refugees forced from their homes due to a military offensive against Taliban militants in the northwestern Swat Valley continue to be at high risk for diseases "as they cope with damaged water and sewage systems in towns and villages," according to the U.N., Bloomberg reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Pakistani-refugees-continue-to-be-at-high-risk-for-disease-UN-says.aspx

Global Fund faces $3 billion funding shortfall
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is facing a budget shortfall of about $3 billion, Marcela Rojo, a Global Fund spokesperson, said on Friday, Reuters reports.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Global-Fund-faces-243-billion-funding-shortfall.aspx

Vets learn how to track disease
Fourteen veterinarians from Indonesia are learning how to track and stop the spread of animal borne diseases in a three-week training program hosted by the University of Sydney.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090707/Vets-learn-how-to-track-disease.aspx

Whooping cough epidemic on North Coast of New South Wales
Health officials on the North Coast of New South Wales say there is now an epidemic of whooping cough in the region and they are advising young children and those who have close contact with them to be vaccinated.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090705/Whooping-cough-epidemic-on-North-Coast-of-New-South-Wales.aspx

Swine flu different from ordinary flu in a number of ways
Scientists say new research has shown that the new H1N1 influenza strain (swine flu) is somewhat less contagious than seasonal flu, but appears to be more able to cause stomach upsets.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090705/Swine-flu-different-from-ordinary-flu-in-a-number-of-ways.aspx

Concern over case of drug resistant swine flu
The influenza A H1N1 (swine flu) outbreak has now spread to almost all corners of the world - the last update, # 56, from the World Health Organisation (WHO) says there are now a grand total of 77,201 confirmed cases including 311 deaths.
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20090702/Concern-over-case-of-drug-resistant-swine-flu.aspx

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