Archives: Morning Breakouts

"After two years of analyzing the results of the largest AIDS vaccine clinical trial ever held -- called RV144 -- researchers say they have found two ways the immune system can respond, which could predict whether those inoculated will be protected or are more likely to become infected with HIV," CNN's health blog "The Chart" reports. The results were presented at the AIDS Vaccine 2011 conference being held this week in Bangkok, Thailand (Young, 9/13).

The data, released yesterday, also focus attention on issues of poverty in the United States, on the role of government programs and on the future of employer-sponsored insurance.

The WHO "published a report Wednesday showing the prevalence of chronic diseases such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular illness around the world, along with countries' abilities to cope with the growing number of people affected by them," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (9/13). In the report, "the WHO said 36 million people died of chronic diseases in 2008, the most recent year for which data is available," VOA News writes, adding, "More than a quarter of those people were less than 60 years old" (9/13). The report's release coincides with the first U.N. summit on non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which is scheduled to take place in New York September 19-20, the AP notes (9/13).

A UNICEF report (.pdf) released on Tuesday suggests that gender disparities between boys and girls in developing countries are relatively small in children's early years, but as children approach adolescence, gaps widen in areas such as education, health, nutrition and protection, Xinhua reports (9/13). According to the report, "[h]ealth and education disparities between boys and girls in developing countries tend not to emerge until adolescence, when girls face increased risks of child marriage, HIV/AIDS infection and domestic violence," TrustLaw writes.

Pediatricians' group and others say there is no evidence to support GOP presidential candidate's comments that inoculations against the human papillomavirus can cause mental retardation.

Multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) "are spreading at an alarming rate in Europe and will kill thousands unless health authorities halt the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday" during the launch of "a new regional plan to find, diagnose and treat cases of the airborne infectious disease more effectively," Reuters reports. "The WHO said that if the plan is fully implemented -- at an estimated cost of $5 billion -- 127,000 people will be successfully treated for drug-resistant TB and 120,000 deaths will be averted by 2015," according to the news agency (Kelland, 9/13).

The Obama administration request for a tax on top earners' health insurance benefits is stirring Democratic opposition.