World

First over-the-counter HIV test kit approved

Published

9 years ago

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Legacy Phuket Gazette

First over-the-counter HIV test kit approved | The Thaiger

PHUKET MEDIA WATCH

– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

U.S. FDA approves first over-the-counter HIV test kit

Phuket Gazette / News Wires
PHUKET: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday approved the first over-the-counter, self-administered HIV test kit.

The FDA-approved OraQuick In-Home HIV Test detects the presence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2 (HIV-2). HIV is the virus that causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, better known as AIDS.

The test kit allows individuals to collect an oral fluid sample by swabbing the upper and lower gums inside of their mouths, then place that sample into a developer vial, and obtain test results within 20 to 40 minutes. However, the FDA noted that positive results should be followed by additional testing in a medical setting as it is not a definite result and requires medical confirmation.

Likewise, a negative test result does not mean that an individual is definitely not infected with HIV, particularly when exposure may have been within the previous three months. Nonetheless, the test has the potential to identify large numbers of previously undiagnosed HIV infections, especially if used by those unlikely to use standard screening methods.

Studies showed that the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test has an expected performance of 92 percent for test sensitivity, the percentage of results that will be positive when HIV is present, which means that one false negative result would be expected out of every 12 test results in HIV-infected individuals. It is also expected to have 99.98 percent performance for test specificity, the percentage of results that will be negative when HIV is not present.

“Knowing your status is an important factor in the effort to prevent the spread of HIV,” said Karen Midthun, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “The availability of a home-use HIV test kit provides another option for individuals to get tested so that they can seek medical care, if appropriate.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection. About one in five are not aware they are infected. Every year, there are about 50,000 new HIV infections, many of which are transmitted by people who are unaware of their HIV status.

Life-sciences team forms new partnerships at US event
Phuket Gazette / The Nation
The Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS) had a successful experience at the 2012 BIO International Convention in the US, forming collaborations with giant US firms to develop advanced pharmacogenomic technologies, plus research partnerships with South Korea.

The collaborative project with the US is aimed at developing “probe capture assay” applications on next-generation DNA-sequencing technologies for HIV-1 pharmacogenomics, the most advanced of its kind in the world. It will put new tools for diagnosing both human and virus genomes in the hands of front-line physicians, and bring clear benefits to patients.

The 2012 BIO International Convention held last week in Boston, Massachusetts drew 20,000 participants including researchers, scientists, investors and businessmen from both the public and private sectors. TCELS led a team of Thai delegates from allied agencies including the Board of Investment (BoI), National Nanotechnology Center (Nanotec) and Naresuan University. Works by Thai researchers were presented at the Thai Pavilion.

TCELS presented projects under its support including a whitening product made from natural latex extracted by Prince of Songkla University; the discovery of genes allergic to the anti-retroviral drugs Nevirapine and d4T (a world first discovery by the Pharmaco-genomics Project at Ramathibodi Hospital with Mahidol University); and other pre-clinical and clinical research developments that meet international standards. This is to prove the country’s potential in research collaboration and services.

TCELS acting head Kamchorn Balangura said that over the four-day event, more than 700 visitors showed their interest and sought details about Bio-Nanotechnology investment, standard clinical research and development, as well as Thai life-science products.

Kamchorn said the event was a great success for Thailand, as the team was able to establish tie-ups with counterparts from major countries in the field such as South Korea and the US. The Chuncheon Bioindustry Foundation (CBF), a South Korean regional industrial estate, is interested in integrating research in the industry, and has already signed an MoU with Thailand.

US biotechnological firm Pathogenica, which works on advanced DNA-sequencing technologies, also agreed to sign an MOU to collaborate with the TCELS-supported Pharmaco-genomics Project.

Prof Wasun Chantratita, head of the Pharmacogenomics Project, said Dr Yemi Adesokan, the chief of Pathogenica, had followed Thai research on pharmacogenomics for a while and expressed an interest in establishing a collaboration. After learning that the Pharmaco-genomics team was at the convention, talks were held and the groups agreed to work together.

— Phuket Gazette Editors

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News Categories:World

Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Survey shows growing acceptance of Covid-19 vaccines in some countries

Published

9 hours ago

Monday, March 1, 2021

Maya Taylor

Survey shows growing acceptance of Covid-19 vaccines in some countries | The Thaiger

PHOTO: Pixabay

A survey of 6 countries shows that the number of people willing to be vaccinated against Covid-19 is on the rise. The poll, conducted by the international consultancy KekstCNC, indicates that the number of people willing to be vaccinated has risen since last year. The countries that took part were the US, the UK, France, Germany, Japan, and Sweden, with all reporting a similar trend.

The highest percentage in favour of vaccination was in the UK, where mass vaccination is well underway. 89% of those surveyed say they’re in favour of being vaccinated, an increase on December’s figure of 70%.

Sweden’s percentage of those in favour of vaccination rose to 76%, from 53% in December. In the US, it was 64%, up from December’s 58%, in Germany, 73% favour vaccination, up from 63%, and in Japan, the percentage is 64%, up from 50% in December.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the numbers were lowest in vaccine-sceptical France, with 59% in favour of the vaccine. However, this is a significant rise from December’s 40%.

In some countries, people were critical of the vaccine rollout, but 76% of people in the UK feel the government has done well. In the US, only 32% are happy with the vaccine rollout, in Germany and Japan it’s 28%, 22% in France and just 20% in Sweden. Both the UK and Israel are seen as having the most success with the rollout of their vaccine programmes.

Covid-19 has now killed 2,543,285 people and infected 114,686,933 around the world since the start of the pandemic in December 2019. The US has recorded the highest number of deaths, at 525,776.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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Politics

Japan may stop assistance projects to Myanmar in response to coup

Published

3 days ago

Friday, February 26, 2021

Ann Carter

Japan may stop assistance projects to Myanmar in response to coup | The Thaiger

Japan may stop assistance projects to Myanmar in response to the military coup, which has received major international backlash. As a major donor to Myanmar, Japan joins other advanced nations in condemning the coup which has seen security forces using violence against peaceful protesters.

Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi was quoted as saying in a phone call that “Japan will strongly urge the Myanmar military to release Suu Kyi and other detained individuals, and to swiftly restore democratic government.”

But it may not impose sanctions like the rest of the other developed countries as its longtime ties with the armed forces, ousted civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy and investment promoting policy in the country may serve as a barrier in doing so. Britan and the United States have imposed sanctions in recent days which include the US freezing military funds.

A Japanese Foreign Ministry official says stopping its support of building projects would give China a chance to move in, increasing its clout in Myanmar. Around 450 Japanese companies operate in Myanmar with Japan being the 5th largest investor in the Southeast nation. Singapore has the most companies, followed by China, Hong Kong and Vietnam.

The Foreign Ministry says Japan spent about US $1.8 billion in official development assistance in the fiscal year of 2019, making it the largest among the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. But it is unknown what China has poured into it as it has refused to disclose its expenditures.

The Japanese government plans to continue coronavirus emergency assistance to Myanmar through international organisations and non-governmental organisations. The World Bank, however, has stopped payments to projects in the nation indefinitely, after the coup on February 1, which disrupted the democratic elections last November and saw the arrest of top leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party, the National League for Democracy, won the elections in a landslide victory.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post

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Law

Australia sets worldwide precedent by passing pay‐to‐play legislation for social media giants

Published

3 days ago

Friday, February 26, 2021

Ann Carter

Australia sets worldwide precedent by passing pay‐to‐play legislation for social media giants | The Thaiger

In a landmark decision, Australia is now requiring global digital giants, such as Facebook and Google, to pay for using local news content on their websites. The move sets a precedent that many global companies have been anticipating.

The law passed yesterday after Facebook and Google reached an agreement to pay local Australian news organisations for using their stories on their websites. 1 week ago, Australians woke up to a blackout after Facebook temporarily banned local news, which included emergency notifications. The blackout was in response to the legislation being put forth for approval, with Facebook spokespeople saying it seemed to be their only choice at the time.

The new law sets the stage for other countries worldwide to gain more revenue for local media companies by making such social media giants pay to use content. Google’s “Showcase” product will now feature paid local news with Facebook showing such paid news under its “News” category.

Companies like Google and Facebook pushed back against the legislation, saying such a law could threaten their companies’ business models, with Google saying it could make their search engine website “unworkable.”

But local news organisations have rebuked the reasoning, citing that social media giants claim a large percentage of online advertisin, leaving local news companies out of the revenue game. Citing that news is gathered by reporting and fieldwork, the companies say it is unfair for social media companies to profit largely off of the work of local, smaller companies.

The law, called the News Media and Digital Platforms Mandatory Bargaining Code, aims to protect such local companies and to sustain public interest journalism. Thousands of journalists have lost their jobs over the past decade as local media outlets have seen the bulk of their advertising revenues flow to digital companies’ sites after using their content.

Australia’s competition watchdog says that for every $100 invested by Australian advertisers, $49 is sent to Google and $24 to Facebook. Now, both online businesses say they will each invest around US $1 billion in local news content globally in the next 3 years. Facebook and Google now have 2 more months to reach solid agreements before being subjected to binding arbritations.

SOURCE: The Phuket News

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