The latest in Contagious and Infectious Diseases

Gastroenteritis strikes cruise ship in Brazil

2010-03-12T11:45:09Z

<div id="subtitle">Gastroenteritis strikes same cruise ship in Brazil for the 2nd time; 47 passenger sickened</div><div><p>Nearly 50 passengers aboard an international cruise ship docked in Brazil have been stricken with vomiting and diarrhea, a health official said Friday. It was the same ship that last week was briefly placed under quarantine after hundreds of people came down with gastroenteritis.</p><p>"At least ...

Drugmakers agree on landmark vaccines deal for poor

2010-03-11T15:30:24Z

<div><p>LONDON (Reuters) - Several drug firms have agreed on a landmark deal to supply up to 200 million doses a year of cut-price pneumococcal vaccines to developing nations, according to the global immunization alliance that is overseeing the deal.</p><p>Leading manufacturers of such vaccines include GlaxoSmithKline and Reuters Health) - Needle-exchange programs designed to cut injection drug users' risk of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and other infections do seem to reduce needle sharing, but there is only limited evidence that they lower disease transmission, a new research review concludes.</p><p>Reporting in the journal Addiction, researchers say that based on their study -- an analysis of five pr...

Mongolian protestors demand health minister resign

2010-03-11T06:45:40Z

<div><p>ULAN BATOR (Reuters) - Hundreds of protesters gathered in Ulan Bator's central Sukhbatar Square Thursday to demand the resignation of Mongolia's health minister for failing to curtail the spread of the H1N1 strain of influenza.</p><p>The first demonstration in the heart of the capital since post-elect...

S.Africa announces plans to ramp up HIV testing

2010-03-11T05:16:45Z

<div><p>The South African government on Thursday announced a ramped up AIDS plan that aims to test 15 million residents for HIV in the world's worst affected country by next June.</p><p>President Jacob Zuma's cabinet, which approved the scaled up programme on Wednesday, will lead a voluntary and public testing campaign with the goal of a 50 percent drop in the rate ...

Australian authors protest China visa refusal

2010-03-11T01:00:12Z

<div><p>CANBERRA (Reuters) - More than 90 Australian authors signed a letter on Thursday decrying China's refusal to grant a visa to one of the country's most celebrated writers because he was HIV-positive, a move that Beijing defended.</p><p>Robert Dessaix, whose 1996 nove...

Bill Clinton, Bill Gates unite in foreign aid plea

2010-03-10T16:16:34Z

<div><p>Former president Bill Clinton and Microsoft founder Bill Gates called Wednesday on US lawmakers to boost foreign aid to fight diseases like HIV/AIDS and malaria in the world's poorest nations.</p><p>The leading philanthropists went to

Scabies pill also works against resistant lice: study

2010-03-10T14:17:12Z

<div><p>Ivermectin, a pill prescribed for the skin disease known as scabies, also gets rid of hair lice that are resistant to conventional lotions, a study published on Thursday says.</p><p>Lice affects over 100 million people worldwide each year, especially children of primary school age, according to the paper, appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine.</p>...

CORRECTED: U.S. herpes rates remain high: CDC

2010-03-10T14:16:29Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - About 16 percent of Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 are infected with genital herpes, making it one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.</p><p>Black women had the highest rate of infection at 48 percent and women were nearly twice likely as men to be infected, according to an analysis by the Reuters) - About 16 percent of Americans between the ages of 14 and 49 are infected with genital herpes, making it one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases, U.S. health officials said on Tuesday.</p><p>Black women had the highest rate of infection at 48 percent and women were nearly twice likely as men to be infected, according to an analysis by the Vienna later this year, will focus on marginalised groups living with the disease, such as injecting drug users in Eastern Europe, organisers said Wednesday.</p><p>"AIDS 2010 will be the conference for people without a voice," the head of U...

New maps guide African truckers to AIDS clinics

2010-03-10T08:18:00Z

<div><p>African trucking routes, long known as pathways for spreading HIV across borders, have been drawn in new maps that also direct drivers to clinics that treat AIDS, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.</p><p>About 20,000 maps have been printed and distribution began last week, Catherine Larkin, a spokeswoman for the project, told AFP.</p><p>English maps for East, West and

Britain gives one million pounds to S.Africa for condoms

2010-03-09T16:15:50Z

<div><p>Britain announced Tuesday one million pounds in aid to South Africa for the purchase of condoms to tackle HIV and AIDS in the world's worst-affected country ahead of the 2010 World Cup.</p><p>The money, equivalent to 1.1 million euros or 1.5 million dollars, is to bolster the host's condom s...

Canadian vaccination study proves 'herd immunity'

2010-03-09T13:46:58Z

<div><p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Inoculating children against flu protects more people of all ages in the larger community, probably because young people tend to spread viruses through physical play, Canadian researchers said on Tuesday.</p><p>Researchers at McMaster University in Reuters Health) - Although studies in Africa have shown that circumcision can lower the spread of HIV among heterosexuals, it may not do much to prevent infections among gay and bisexual men in Western countries, a new study suggests.</p><p>A number of studies in African nations have found that circumcised heterosexual men were up to 60 percent l...

WHO unveils landmark anti-malaria measures

2010-03-09T10:16:38Z

<div><p>The World Health Organisation unveiled Tuesday landmark new measures to counter the misuse of anti-malaria drugs, which is threatening attempts to stifle some 250 million cases a year of the disease.</p><p>The UN health agency recommended that all suspected cases of the mosquito-borne disease should be tested and diagnosed b...

oscars elton john party 3

2010-03-08T19:01:49Z

Katie Price 18th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards (Oscars) Viewing Party - Arrivals held at the Pacific Design Center West Hollywood, California - 07.03.10

oscars elton john party 4

2010-03-08T19:01:36Z

Niecy Nash 18th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards (Oscars) Viewing Party - Arrivals held at the Pacific Design Center West Hollywood, California - 07.03.10

Jeremy Piven 18th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Awards (Oscars) Viewing Party - Arrivals held at the Pacific Design Center West Hollywood, California - 07.03.10

US Supreme Court to consider vaccination lawsuit

2010-03-08T17:16:06Z

<div><p>The US Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether the parents of a child who suffered serious health problems after being vaccinated can sue a pharmaceutical company for compensation.</p><p>The case, which the highest US court will hear in autumn, will serve as a focal point in a years-long debate in the United States over the effectivene...