AMA Publishing Group: Viral Infections (not HIV) Topic Collection

Self-Testing for HPV

Friedrich MJ. — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Teaching Kenyan women to collect their own genital specimens to be used in testing for human papillomavirus (HPV)—the primary risk factor for cervical cancer—shows promise in the detection of this malignancy and could help lower the high rate of cervical cancer in eastern Africa, which is thought to result from a lack of screening programs (Ting J et al. Sexually Transmitted Diseases. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0b013e31828e5a91 [published online April 23, 2013]).

Causes of Diarrheal Disease

Friedrich MJ. — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

New insights into the causes, incidence, and clinical outcome of moderate to severe cases of diarrheal disease in infants and young children have emerged from a large prospective case-control study in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia, report an international team of researchers (Kotloff KL et. Lancet. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736[13]60844-2 [published online May 14, 2013]).

Persistent Obstacles Mar Progress in Eradicating Polio

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 GMT

An emergency action plan set in motion last year has reduced the number of wild poliovirus infections and the geographic reach of transmission to their lowest levels ever reported. However, ongoing transmission in a handful of countries and attacks against health workers in vaccination campaigns stand in the way of global polio eradication.