News at a glance: Modernizing bed nets, IDing a Solar System visitor, and health lessons from Beethoven ’s hair
PUBLIC HEALTH
Next-gen bed nets get go-ahead
A new type of malaria-fighting bed net
received a major endorsement
from the World Health Organization (WHO) last week. The net combines two chemicals to more effectively kill the mosquitoes that transmit the parasite behind malaria, a disease that killed an estimated 619,000 people in 2022, most of them young children in sub-Saharan Africa. Insecticide-treated bed nets have helped drive malaria rates down dramatically. But in recent years, resistance to the insecticide used to treat nets, pyrethroid, has been spreading. That has contributed to ...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 23, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news
White House budget includes ambitious push to eliminate hepatitis C
The Biden administration's fiscal year 2024 budget proposal, announced yesterday, aims to eliminate hepatitis C from the United States by creating a nationwide program to fight the disease. If funded by Congress, the 5-year, $11.3 billion program would expand testing, broaden access to powerful antiviral drugs, and boost awareness.
“I can’t really recall a circumstance quite like this, where we have the chance to do something this groundbreaking, so we just have to figure out how to make it work,” Francis Collins, acting science adviser to President Joe Biden and former head of the National Institutes of Health...
Source: ScienceNOW - March 11, 2023 Category: Science Source Type: news
Research Uncovers Cheaper Diagnostic Tools For Chronic Hepatitis B in Africa
This study adds guidance as to when such earlier diagnosis may be attained.
“However, research is one thing, health systems strengthening another. Studies like this one add to the impetus and arm the policymakers to make the right decisions,” he says.
But he urges communities to take charge of these findings instead of leaving action in the hands of “sometimes incapacitated policymakers’ hands.”
“The question should be, what is the community saying about findings such as these? If we wait for policymakers to decide when they are going to invest in hepatitis B interventions, we will wait for the rest of our ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - March 2, 2023 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Charles Mpaka Tags: Africa Featured Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations IPS UN Bureau IPS UN Bureau Report Malawi Source Type: news
Ghana: Child Immunization Vaccine Shortage Hits Ghana
[VOA] Accra -- The Ghana Health Service says a shortage of routine vaccines for children blamed for a measles outbreak that infected 120 will be resolved within weeks. Health officials said the shortage of vaccines against polio, hepatitis B, and measles was caused by the depreciation of Ghana's currency, the cedi. The Pediatric Society of Ghana warned childhood diseases could quickly spread if the vaccines were not soon made available. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - February 28, 2023 Category: African Health Source Type: news
Response After 3rd COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients With AIH Response After 3rd COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients With AIH
This study found that a third COVID-19 vaccination increased antibody levels in patients with autoimmune hepatitis, although the response was not as strong as in healthy controls.Liver International (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - February 23, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Gastroenterology Journal Article Source Type: news
Prognosis of Hepatitis E in Patients With Chronic Liver Disease Prognosis of Hepatitis E in Patients With Chronic Liver Disease
This analysis found a high prevalence of hepatitis E infection in hospitalized patients with chronic liver disease, suggesting that HEV vaccination is appropriate for patients with pre-existing CLD.Journal of Viral Hepatitis (Source: Medscape Hiv-Aids Headlines)
Source: Medscape Hiv-Aids Headlines - February 13, 2023 Category: Infectious Diseases Tags: Gastroenterology Journal Article Source Type: news
A One-Shot COVID-19 Treatment Shows Promise
The current medicine chest for treating COVID-19 is fairly sparse. Only one drug—remdesivir—is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and three—Paxlovid, molnupiravir, and convalescent plasma—have emergency use authorization from the FDA. With new variants of the virus continuing to emerge, developing next-generation treatments is a top priority.
One such therapy could be interferon lambda. In a study published Feb. 8 in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers led by Dr. Jeffrey Glenn at Stanford University report that a single injection of that drug within three days of o...
Source: TIME: Health - February 9, 2023 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Alice Park Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 healthscienceclimate Source Type: news
Janssen Announces Unblinding of Phase 3 CARTITUDE-4 Study of CARVYKTI ® (cilta-cel) as Primary Endpoint Met in Treatment of Patients with Relapsed and Refractory Multiple Myeloma
RARITAN, New Jersey, January 27, 2023 – The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson today announced that the Phase 3 CARTITUDE-4 study evaluating CARVYKTI® (ciltacabtagene autoleucel; cilta-cel) versus pomalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (PVd) or daratumumab, pomalidomide, and dexamethasone (DPd) for the treatment of patients with relapsed and lenalidomide-refractory multiple myeloma met its primary endpoint of significant improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) at the first pre-specified interim analysis. As a result of meeting the primary endpoint, the Independent Data Monitoring Commi...
Source: Johnson and Johnson - January 27, 2023 Category: Pharmaceuticals Tags: Latest News Source Type: news
WHO art competition for school students & quot;75 years of improving public health & quot;
Dear students,
On 7 April 2023 ̶ World Health Day ̶ the World Health Organization will observe its 75th birthday.
In 1948, countries of the world came together and founded WHO to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable – so everyone, everywhere could attain the highest level of health and well-being.
To advance the health and security of all people, WHO works with governments, communities, international organizations, foundations, advocates, researchers and health workers, and WHO’s 75th anniversary year is an opportunity to look back at the public health succe...
Source: WHO EMRO News - January 25, 2023 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news
Hepatitis A Outbreaks With Person-to-Person Transmission Hepatitis A Outbreaks With Person-to-Person Transmission
Hepatitis A infection declined significantly after the introduction of pediatric HAV vaccines, but new outbreaks associated with person-to-person transmission mark a shift in HAV epidemiology.Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - December 16, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Public Health & Prevention Journal Article Source Type: news
Hepatitis B vaccine: What to know to protect yourself
Hepatitis is inflammation in the liver caused by specific viruses. The hepatitis viruses are referred to as types A, B, C, D and E. All types affect the liver, but they differ in illness severity and prevention options. In the U.S., the most common forms are hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Acute or chronic hepatitis B Hepatitis B is a serious disease caused by a virus that attacks the liver. It's one of the more… (Source: News from Mayo Clinic)
Source: News from Mayo Clinic - December 13, 2022 Category: Databases & Libraries Source Type: news
Africa: Scientists Uncovered the Structure of the Key Protein for a Future Hepatitis C Vaccine - Here's How They Did It
[The Conversation Africa] The hepatitis C virus, or HCV, causes a chronic liver infection that can lead to permanent liver scarring and, in dire cases, cancer. It affects around 71 million people worldwide and causes approximately 400,000 deaths each year. While treatments are available for HCV-related infections, they are expensive, hard to access and do not protect against reinfection. A vaccine that can help prevent HCV infection is a major unmet medical and public health need. (Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine)
Source: AllAfrica News: Health and Medicine - November 22, 2022 Category: African Health Source Type: news
Tenofovir, Vaccine Combo Eliminates Mom-to-Child HBV Transmission
(MedPage Today) -- Earlier maternal tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) combined with infant vaccination completely eliminated vertical transmission of chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) from highly viremic mothers, even without the use of hepatitis... (Source: MedPage Today Gastroenterology)
Source: MedPage Today Gastroenterology - November 8, 2022 Category: Gastroenterology Source Type: news
Structure of hepatitis C proteins reveals viral vulnerabilities
The structure of key hepatitis C virus proteins provides new insights into how the virus invades cells and could inform development of vaccines or antiviral therapies. (Source: NIH Research Matters from the National Institutes of Health (NIH))
Source: NIH Research Matters from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - November 8, 2022 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
New data buoy hopes for promising malaria vaccine —but questions remain
A new vaccine against malaria showed promising preliminary results in a large trial in four African countries, boosting hopes that an additional tool may soon be available to help control the deadly disease. The vaccine, named R21/Matrix-M and developed by researchers at the University of Oxford,
produced similarly impressive results in a small trial
last year
, but the current study posed a stiffer test of its protection.
Initial data from the trial, reported yesterday at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene meeting in Seattle, suggest the vaccine had an efficacy higher than 70% in...
Source: ScienceNOW - November 3, 2022 Category: Science Source Type: news
