Dr. Andreas Diacon from Stellenbosch University in South Africa offered an update on MDR and XDR Tuberculosis from his vantage point as a clinician and researcher in South Africa. One percent of the South African population is diagnosed with active tuberculosis every year—a huge disease burden. He noted that when they are able to treat […]
“These are not accidents or random events, but predictable consequences of complex interactions,” said Gerald Freidland, MD, as he painted a frightening picture of the emergence of extensively drug resistant (XDR) tuberculosis in Tugela Ferry, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. He spoke to a packed audience at the 48th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society […]
Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby, MD, gave a plenary talk to a packed audience at the annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America entitled HIV/AIDS- Response to an Epidemic, Implications for Global Health. There was little news in his address as he spelled out the accomplishments to date of the U.S. President’s Emergency […]
AIDS mortality in South Africa has seen an observed decrease at the population level from 2006-09 — the first time since the epidemic began, according to Jeffrey Klausner, MD, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Pretoria. He presented on the impact of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) […]
HIV
Sub-Saharan African countries where adolescents 15 or younger could be tested for HIV without sign-off by parents or guardians show 11 percent higher rates of testing […]
Tuberculosis
With the release of a “pre-final text” of updated guidelines for treatment of multidrug- and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis, the World Health Organization made official substantial changes to […]
Research & Development
A trial to test the safety of, and immune response prompted by, the latest candidate for a vaccine to protect against Zika virus infection has begun […]
Policy
A year that started with a shutdown of the U.S. government is ending the same way, demonstrating ongoing instability in American policy, funding and global health […]