News (Updated September 30,
2007)
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Mon Sep 24, 2007 6:22 PM BST
By Anthony J. Brown, MD
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A multinational team of researchers has developed
a system that can detect the bird flu virus on a throat swab specimen in less
than 30 minutes.
The ability to combat an epidemic of H5N1 bird flu on a global scale would
depend on having a low-cost, easy-to-use test that could quickly identify the
earliest cases, note Dr. Juergen Pipper, from the Institute of Bioengineering
and Nanotechnology in Singapore, and colleagues in the research journal Nature
Medicine.
In their report, the researchers describe the development of a handheld
system that uses magnetic particles and permanent magnets to isolate, purify,
and concentrate viruses contained in small droplets. The sample then undergoes
testing by PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, to identify the viral RNA.
Compared with current tests, the new system was four times faster in
detecting H5N1 and up to 50 times cheaper to perform.
Dr. Pipper told Reuters Health that a goal in future studies will be to
expand the testing capabilities of the system, so that it more accurately
identifies H5N1. By testing more RNA sequences in a specimen, "it would be
possible to distinguish a rather harmless 'seasonal' influenza from avian
influenza."
The researchers also point out that the system could be easily adapted to
test for other disease-causing viruses such as HIV, SARS or hepatitis B virus.
SOURCE: Nature Medicine, online September 23, 2007.
30 Sep 2007 07:57:22 GMT
By Mike Oboh
KANO, Nigeria, Sept 30 (Reuters) - A court case brought by Nigeria against
Pfizer resumes on Tuesday with the U.S. drug maker saying it answered a call for
help to save the lives of African children during a meningitis epidemic.
Nigeria alleges Pfizer deceived patients and caused the death of 11 children
in 1996 when it performed clinical trials for a new drug. With the northern
state of Kano, it is suing the company for $8.5 billion.
The meningitis outbreak killed more than 12,000 children in six months near
Kano, a predominantly Muslim metropolis with a history of conflict with the
West. Meningitis is an infection of the nervous system that can kill in hours if
left untreated.
Ngozi Edozien, managing director of Pfizer in West Africa, said the company
brought the experimental drug, Trovan, to Nigeria in response to an
international plea for help.
"There was a compelling reason to look at Trovan because it was an oral
formulation, it was known to have shown efficacy in meningitis and was a
five-day treatment so it was perfect for an epidemic setting," she told
Reuters.
The test involved 200 children, half of whom received Trovan while the other
half received a proven meningitis treatment.
Nigeria alleges Pfizer was responsible for the deaths of 11 children and
permanent health problems for many others. It says it failed to obtain all the
required approvals for the test and did not get proper consent from the
patients.
Pfizer rejects all the charges. It says Trovan saved lives and the alleged
victims were affected by meningitis, not the drug.
The case was first brought in the United States, but thrown out in 2005 by a
judge who said it should be heard in Nigeria.
On Tuesday, Pfizer will be in two courts for civil and criminal proceedings
brought by the Kano state government. The federal government has also brought
civil and criminal charges.
TESTING
Trovan had already been tested on 5,000 people before it was used in Nigeria,
Edozien said.
It was licensed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use on adults a
few months after the Kano trial, and briefly became one of Pfizer's top-selling
drugs.
However, the authorities imposed severe restrictions on its use three years
later when it was found to cause serious liver injuries in some patients.
Mustapha Maisekili, the father of two alleged victims in the Kano trial, said
his two daughters were walking and talking when he took them to the Infectious
Diseases Hospital suffering from flu-like symptoms typical of meningitis.
They died a few weeks later.
"Most of the victims lost hope of getting any form of justice on the
issue," he said.
"If we are compensated through the court judgment we shall be relieved
somehow. Most of us are living hand-to-mouth."
Pfizer faces a hostile reception in Kano, a focus of Islamic radicalism in
Nigeria with a history of religious bloodshed and rejection of Western medicine.
The state government banned vaccines against polio for nine months in 2003,
alleging they contained HIV and were spreading infertility. The Kano boycott
fuelled a resurgence of the crippling virus across Africa.
Civil rights groups say they are planning demonstrations against Pfizer in
the city next week. (Additional reporting by Tom Ashby in Lagos)
Luc Montagnier, the
French virologist credited with discovering HIV, vowed here Wednesday to
shed light on the causes of a Libyan hospital AIDS outbreak and prove that
the six Bulgarian medical workers blamed for it were innocent.
"Our task is not finished yet. The Bulgarian medics are still
accused by Libya of this crime. But I hope that we will be able to continue
our scientific research and prove their innocence," Montagnier said.
Five Bulgarian nurses and a doctor of Palestinian origin were released in
July after spending eight and a half years in jail in Libya on charges of
infecting more than 400 Libyan children with HIV-tainted blood in a hospital
in the northeastern city of Benghazi.
Fifty-six of the children have since died.
The six medics, who had received death sentences, were released on July
24 after international pressure on the Libyan government and then extradited
to Sofia, where they were pardoned by the Bulgarian president.
Montagnier, credited with co-discovering the Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV) in 1983, said that researchers were scheduled to hold a meeting on the
Libyan AIDS outbreak "in the coming weeks or months" under the
aegis of the World Health Organisation.
"I've asked the WHO to organise the meeting in order to
prevent" similar outbreaks occurring in future, particularly in
developing countries, he said.
Montagnier and another Italian professor, Vittorio Colizzi, testified in
court in support of the medics in 2003.
They presented scientific proof that the AIDS outbreak had been caused by
poor hygiene and the multiple use of infected syringes at the hospital long
before the arrival of the six foreigners in 1998.
Montagnier and Colizzi found no evidence of deliberate infection.
Their testimony was disregarded by the Libyan court, but it unleashed a
wave of solidarity in scientific circles around the world, with a series of
articles published in Nature magazine on the transmission of AIDS.
As a sign of recognition for Montagnier's efforts, he was awarded
Wednesday in Sofia the highest distinction of the Bulgarian foreign
ministry, a golden laurel branch.
Beijing, Sep 22 (Prensa Latina) China will begin in November the first stage
of clinical tests on new vaccine to fight the human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV), which causes AIDS, a health source reported on Friday.
The news appeared on the Website of the National Center for the Prevention
and Control of AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, which belongs to the
Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Details on how the vaccine was obtained and candidates for the new vaccine
test have not been provided yet, though it was informed that there will be about
50 volunteers for the test.
According to the source, this first stage of the test will last six months
from November 2007 on.
The vaccine is jointly being developed by the CDC and the National Institute
of Vaccines and Serums.
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