The first complete treatment for AIDS that is taken once a day as a single pill is expected to be available soon.

The pill, which combines three drugs made by two companies, would be a milestone in improving the simplicity of treatment for the disease, experts say. It should make it easier for people to take their medicine regularly, which is important for keeping the virus that causes the disease in check. (nytimes.com)

July 08, 2006

Spain has recorded its first case of H5N1 bird flu, the Agriculture Ministry said Friday. The deadly strain was found in a water fowl in a marsh area outside the northern city of Vitoria. (seattlepi.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Bird Flu

June 25, 2006

A new drug to treat HIV won federal approval Friday. The Food and Drug Administration said it approved Prezista for the treatment of the human immunodeficiency virus. The drug is the first approved HIV medication for its maker, Johnson & Johnson. (JNJ) It's also the first new HIV drug approved since June 22, 2005. (excite.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: HIV/AIDS

June 23, 2006

The World Health Organization has detailed the first evidence that a person likely caught the bird flu virus from a human, then passed a slightly mutated version to another person. But experts said Friday the genetic change does not increase the threat of a pandemic. (excite.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Bird Flu

June 20, 2006

Authorities in the Bahamas said Monday they would spray areas around the island chain's capital and in a southern island in a bid to contain a malaria outbreak that has sickened 16 people, including an American visitor and a Canadian tourist, officials said. (USATODAY.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Malaria

June 17, 2006

A case of H5 avian flu has been detected in a gosling from a small backyard flock in the western end of Prince Edward Island.

Further testing on the bird will be conducted over the weekend to determine the exact strain and virulency of the virus. (canada.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Bird Flu

June 16, 2006

The death of a 38th person from avian flu in Indonesia was confirmed yesterday by the World Health Organization and the situation in that country continued to worsen. (nytimes.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Bird Flu

June 04, 2006

In the wake of a cluster of avian flu cases that killed seven members of a rural Indonesian family, it appears likely that there have been many more human-to-human infections than the authorities have previously acknowledged. (SFGate.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Bird Flu

May 26, 2006

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a vaccine for shingles called Zostavax. It is made by Merck & Co. Inc, and is only for adults who previously have had chickenpox. Shingles, also called herpes zoster, strikes when the chickenpox virus reactivates and resumes reproducing after lying dormant for decades in nerve cells in the body. (MSNBC)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Shingles

May 23, 2006

All seven people infected with bird flu in a cluster of Indonesian cases can be linked to other patients, according to disease trackers investigating possible human-to-human transmission of the H5N1 virus. (Bloomberg.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Bird Flu

May 17, 2006

Using a novel screening technique, scientists from Merck & Co. have found a chemical compound that is effective against germs that have developed resistance to existing antibiotics. The discovery could provide a vital weapon in the ongoing battle against infectious bacteria, which are constantly evolving defenses to the drugs used against them. (MSNBC)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Antibiotics

May 07, 2006

The World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) had announced in Paris last week that two outbreaks of bird flu had occurred in Abidjan, making Ivory Coast the seventh country in Africa to report the disease. (NEWS24.com)

Posted by news editor | Filed under: Bird Flu