On Thursday, May 2, 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a report, "Trends in Deaths from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus?United States, 1979-1998," that revealed a 60-70 per
According to local media reports, veterinary authorities are carrying out tests in order to determine whether poultry found dead in a farm in southwestern Saudi Arabia were infected with the bird flu virus.It seems that samples from the poultry
According to the latest report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), one of the effects of a major outbreak of bird flu in the Europe would be higher world market prices for poultry.If e
According to Chinese media sources a Chinese insurance company is offering a life policy specifically for bird flu.But people in Chinese cities will have to pay more than those in the country.It seems that the Minsheng Life Insurance Co,
Concern has been raised in Malaysia after a second flock of pigeons was found dead in the country's northwest.According to reports health officials are worried following the deaths of more than 11 wild pigeons in Sungai Petani, and they are car
As international health experts finalised plans at a UN conference in Geneva, on the spread of bird flu, Vietnam, reported its 42nd death from the avian virus.To date over 60 people, mainly in Asia, have died from the virus.Although vete
According to an annual report on sexually transmitted diseases (STD), by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the number of U.S. syphilis cases rose for the fourth year in 2004, and
The announcement by Health experts of a $1 billion plan to halt the spread of bird flu came at the same time as Indonesia said initial tests showed the virus had killed a 16-year-old girl.This takes the death toll from the virus up to 65.
According to health officials in Kuwait two birds infected with avian flu have been destroyed, but it seems the strain of the virus present in the birds is weaker than the one which has killed more than 60 people in Asia.The officials say that
Doctors in the UK are urging a man to come forward for more tests after he apparently shook off the HIV virus.It seems 25 year old Andrew Stimpson, was diagnosed as being HIV-positive in August 2002, but further blood tests 14 months later gave
Date: Tuesday, 13-Feb-2007
Officials from a group of wealthy nations on Friday launched a $1.5 billion plan to provide and develop vaccines for diseases -- including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria -- that largely affect developing countries, the New York Times reports (Rosenthal, New York Times, 2/10).Under the program, donor countries will pledge to buy vaccines that are being developed at a preferential price when they are available. This would create a financial incentive for drug companies to develop vaccines for diseases that largely affect developing countries (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 2/8). Italy, Canada, Norway, Russia and the United Kingdom have committed the funding for the program, which was launched in Rome (New York Times, 2/10). The program, known as the Advance Market Commitment, will phase out its funding after seven to 10 years, and vaccine manufacturers will be required to continue selling their products to developing countries at the discounted price that was established during the process. Vaccines must meet the standards of efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness laid out by the GAVI Alliance, the World Bank and an assessment committee (Falconi, AP/CP/Globe and Mail, 2/9). According to the GAVI Alliance and the World Bank, the program is expected to prevent the deaths of 5.4 million children by 2030. The first phase of the plan will focus on the pneumococcal vaccine, which prevents pneumonia in children (New York Times, 2/10). World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz, who attended the launch, said the plan's success requires that the vaccines reach patients, are administered effectively and their results are monitored. He added that the international community should help developing countries improve health care infrastructures to increase access to services (Castelfranco, VOA News, 12/9).
Related Editorial, Opinion Piece Washington Post: Even though the plan is a "relatively cheap, market-based approach" to vaccine development, the U.S. contribution is "[n]otably absent," a Washington Post editorial says. This is a "mistake" that policymakers should "correct as the initiative proceeds," the editorial says (Washington Post, 2/12). British Finance Minister Gordon Brown, Independent: The new vaccine purchase plan is a "workable, powerful and cost-effective mechanism" that "turns a vague hope for a medical breakthrough into an immediate reality," Brown writes in an Independent opinion piece. He adds that he believes this year will see a "breakthrough in the way we develop and produce life-saving vaccines" (Brown, Independent, 2/10). This article is republished with kind permission from our friends at the The Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery of in-depth coverage of health policy developments, debates and discussions. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for Kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Copyright 2007 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.