Pediatricians Recommend HPV Vaccine for Boys -- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sally Kalson reports on the American Academy of Pediatrics call to immunize all U.S. boys for HPV or the human papillomavirus, to prevent the cancers linked to the STD. "It's no longer enough to vaccinate pre-teen and adolescent girls against the human papillomavirus, or HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that can cause cervical cancer later in life. A new recommendation...by the American Academy of Pediatrics says that boys in the same age range should be immunized as well, to protect them from HPV-linked cancers...and to prevent them passing the virus on to girls. The academy included the HPV vaccine for boys as part of its revised standard immunization schedule for children and teens. Its inclusion follows a recommendation made in October by the Advisory Committee on Immunization of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] in Atlanta. The vaccine is expensive, running about $360 for three doses over a six-month period that would provide full protection. The cost for girls is covered by many private insurance policies because it is part of the routine schedule. Adding boys to the list makes coverage more likely for them as well...HPV immunization has been controversial in some quarters because the diseases it prevents stem from sexual activity: 15,000 preventable cases among women a year, according to the CDC, including cervical, anal, vaginal, vulvar and throat...and 7,000 among men, mostly oral...Some critics have charged that the shots promote promiscuity. But a CDC study on that topic showed no such effect, said Michael Brady, chairman of the Committee on Infectious Diseases for the American Academy of Pediatrics and chairman of pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio...'Given the amount of cancer in both genders, most people recognize the rationale. Adding males from a cost-effective perspective was the right thing to do.' In 2006, the same CDC panel advocated immunizing females age 11 and 12 up to 26 against HPV, but the rates of those doing so are lagging. Only 45 percent to 50 percent of adolescent girls have received at least one dose, and only a third have completed the entire series."

Bacterial Disguise Evades Vaccine -- BBC News

James Gallagher reports on the new vaccine research concerning pneumonia, specifically. A study…tracked how pneumococcus bacteria responded to the introduction of a vaccine in the US in 2000…Vaccines [usually] train the immune system to attack something unique to an infection…Pneumococcus bacteria, however, comes in more than 90 varieties or serotypes. Each variety looks different to the immune system so would each need separate vaccines…A vaccine against more than 90 types would not be possible, but in 2000 the US authorities began immunising against seven of the most common varieties. Cases rapidly dropped…However, some bacteria managed to change their outer coat -- known as capsule switching -- to avoid the immune response. They did it by collecting pieces of DNA from other pneumococcus bacteria which had died. By analysing bacterial genes, the researchers identified five cases of capsule switching…one of the new strains, called P1…[had] 'become one of the most prevalent' varieties by 2007, the report said. An updated vaccine which protects against 13 types has since been introduced."

WHO Stands by Its Numbers on Malaria Deaths -- Voice of America

Lisa Schlein reports that the World Health Organization is defending the statistics for malaria deaths despite a new, debated, data set highlighted in the Lancet journal. "The World Health Organization [WHO] disputes a new study that claims nearly twice as many people are dying of malaria than current estimates…The [WHO] says both its estimates of malaria deaths and those of [a recent]…Lancet study are statistically the same for all groups in all regions, with one exception. WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl says there’s a notable statistical difference in regard to children over five and adults in Africa. He says the two groups used different methodologies and different sources of data in arriving at their conclusions…Hartl notes it is believed that most people who survive malaria in the first five years of life have a much higher immunity to this mosquito-borne disease later in life. Therefore, he adds, in most cases, diseases other than malaria are the most likely causes of death among adults. The WHO spokesman says it is important to look more carefully at the sources and the quality of data before arriving at conclusions. He says the emphasis of malaria work in the future will aim to improve diagnostic testing, surveillance and vital statistic registration. These three elements together, he says will improve the veracity and accuracy of the estimates obtained."

Outcry Grows Fiercer After Funding Cut by Cancer Group -- The New York Times

Jennifer Preston and Gardiner Harris cull the fallout and report on the uproar created by a recent decision by a pink ribbon-toting cancer foundation to halt aid to a prominent family planning organization, as American’s health care becomes more and more politicized. "The nation’s leading breast cancer advocacy organization confronted the growing furor [this week]…over its decision to largely end its...partnership with…Planned Parenthood, which provides family planning...services in...clinics across the country…The deluge of criticism Komen [the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation] faced on…the Internet…demonstrated...how social media can [quickly] change the national conversation...The furious debate is also a sign of the intense polarization of the nation’s politics in a campaign season…Komen’s founder and chief executive, Nancy G. Brinker...insisted that the organization’s decision had nothing to do with abortion or politics…[but a day earlier] John D. Raffaelli, a Komen board member and Washington lobbyist...told The New York Times…that Komen made the changes to its grant-making process specifically to end its relationship with Planned Parenthood…To Planned Parenthood, that decision amounted to a betrayal of the organizations’ shared goal of saving lives through breast screening programs…The Komen foundation posted a [Web] video…with Ms. Brinker defending its decision. But the video…did not appease the growing number of people online, mostly women, who decried what they view as the politicization of women’s health care."

Special Report: The French Breast Implant Scandal -- Reuters

Alexandria Sage, Natalie Huet and Jean-Francois Rosnoblet team up in a review the PIP breast implant case and report the latest on this medical device scandal from France. "In March 2010, a pair of health inspectors [visited]...the headquarters of Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), a leading international maker of breast implants founded by French entrepreneur Jean-Claude Mas. The inspectors found something odd: six discarded plastic containers of Silopren, a liquid silicone designed for industrial, not medical use, lined up along the outside wall of the production site…The history of breast implants is littered with flawed devices...and billion-dollar lawsuits. Reuters reviewed hundreds of pages of police investigation transcripts and financial documents, and interviewed former PIP employees, the company's suppliers, customers and health experts, to piece together this latest chapter in that history. It is a tale of a haphazardly run and cash-strapped company that allegedly took desperate and sometimes deceptive steps to shave costs and hide the true ingredients of its devices. PIP's efforts were made easier by a European regulatory regime that had been essentially outsourced to the very companies that are meant to be regulated...And it relied on crude, unscientific tests of product quality...Some 75 percent of its implants used the non-approved, cheaper gel, Mas told police."