An oral polio vaccine strain that cannot revert to virulence is needed Wouldn't it be nice to have a better sort of oral polio vaccine? Widespread use of the oral vaccine has brought the eradication of polio tantalisingly within reach. Since 1988 when the world embarked on an effort to wipe out the disease entirely, the number of cases has fallen by 99.8 per cent. Developed by an American scientist, Albert Sabin,...

-The Economic Times His company's software has, over the decades, enabled legions of Indian youth to become computer engineers, and helped the country lay claim to IT superpower status. With luck, his fortune now may help the country achieve something much more basic. The global charity founded on the fortune of software billionaire Bill Gates is joining hands with the Indian government to improve sanitation in rural areas where nearly 60% of...

Health activists say new policy may not address the weaknesses in ongoing routine immunisation programmes and would flood poor countries with new vaccines When the global health leaders meet in Geneva from May 21 to 26 for the World Health Organization's 65th General Assembly, introducing new vaccines in the low- and middle-income countries would be high on their agenda. A “global draft vaccine action plan”, available on WHO's website, details the implementation...

-The Telegraph The decade-long flow of funds from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation into India’s HIV control efforts will stop from June 2013, a foundation official said today, intensifying fears among sections of health activists about the future of the programme. Avahan was the first large-scale health initiative in India to be supported by the foundation, said to be t he world’s largest philanthropic organisation, and will be the first to...

* 11 percent of babies born premature in 2010, 1.1 million died * Experts estimate 75 percent could be saved * U.S. rate at 12 pct, fueled by later births, fertility treatments NEW YORK, May 2 (Reuters) - The world's developed countries have seen their average rate of premature births double to 6 percent since 1995, despite efforts to reduce the phenomenon, according to a report released on Wednesday. Worldwide, 15 million of the...