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New Test Kit Detects Melamine In Infant Formula And Other Food
Larry Wackett and Michael Sadowsky, members of the University of Minnesota"s BioTechnology Institute, developed an enzyme that is used in Bioo Scientific"s new MaxDiscovery™ Melamine Test kit, which simplifies the detection of melamine contamination in food. Melamine is an industrial chemical that killed six Chinese children and hospitalized 150,000 last year after it was added to milk to increase its apparent protein content. Some children may have life-long chronic kidney problems resulting from melamine exposure.
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National Advisory Board Meeting
The first formal meeting of the Health Minister"s new National Advisory Board will take place on Monday, 29 June at 11am in Conference Room 24, Ty Hywel, Cardiff Bay.
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Obama Highlights Health Care Reform Progress In Weekly Address
In his weekly radio and Internet address, President Obama discussed efforts by congressional leaders and health care industry groups on health care reform legislation, The Hill reports. He said that "while there remains a great deal of difficult work ahead, I am heartened by what we have seen these past few days: a willingness of those with different points of view and disparate interests to come together around common goals -- to embrace a shared sense of responsibility and make historic progress" (Youngman, The Hill, 5/16). He said, "I have always believed that it is better to talk than not to talk, that it is far more productive to reach over a divide than to shake your fist across it," which has "been an alien notion in Washington for far too long, but we are seeing that the ways of Washington are beginning to change."In the Republican radio and Internet address. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), a cardiovascular surgeon, said that a "government takeover of health care will put bureaucrats in charge of health care decisions that should be made by families and doctors." He added, "It will limit treatment options and lead to rationed care," and "to pay for government health care, your taxes will be raised." Boustany, a member of the House Republican Health Care Solutions Group, said, "That is something we cannot support, and frankly, it would clearly violate some of the principles the president himself has endorsed" (Superville, AP/Washington Post, 5/16). In related news, Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag on Sunday said on CNN"s "State of the Union" that the administration might support taxing health care benefits to health pay for health care reform (Barr, Politico, 5/17). Timeline
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Mexican, Chilean Presidents Appeal For Developing Countries Access To H1N1 Vaccine

Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet on Thursday emphasized the importance of developing countries having access to a vaccine that offers protection against the H1N1 (swine flu), "that has killed over 200 people and infected tens of thousands worldwide," AFP/MSN Philippine News reports. "It is urgent to ensure, on the one hand, access for all developing countries to an effective vaccine, when available, and of course to ensure the availability of appropriate treatment to combat this disease," Calderon said. Though vaccine manufacturers have been racing to develop an H1N1 vaccine, there have been varying responses from the companies on whether or not they will supply free vaccines to poor nations. "Bachelet said the experience of Mexico, which was at the center of the global pandemic when it first emerged in late April, will be very useful for her government to address "the growing number of cases" in Chile, which has confirmed seven deaths and 5,186 infections," AFP/MSN Philippine News writes. The statements came after a two-day meeting between the leaders. On Wednesday, Bachelet expressed disapproval over the decisions of Argentina, Peru, Cuba and Ecuador to suspend flights to and from Mexico. "Chile believes in solidarity among Latin Americans" (AFP/MSN Philippine News, 6/25). Sanofi-Aventis Begins Large-Scale Production Of H1N1 Vaccine Vaccine maker Sanofi-Aventis announced Thursday it has started "large-scale production" of an H1N1 vaccine at its facilities located in the U.S. and France, Reuters reports. "Sanofi said dosage requirements for the vaccine will be based on clinical trials expected to take place during the summer in the northern hemisphere," the news agency writes (Steenhuysen, Reuters, 6/25). "The company has the capacity to make 270 million doses of vaccine per year at its three plants," the Los Angeles Times reports (Maugh, Los Angeles Times, 6/25). U.S. Officials Estimate Number Of H1N1 Cases Near 1M U.S. health officials on Thursday said they believe as many as 1 million Americans have been infected with H1N1 and "6 percent or more of some urban populations are infected," the AP/Washington Post reports. The estimates were based upon survey data collected by health officials and mathematical modeling (Stobbe, AP/Washington Post, 6/26). According to the Los Angeles Times, Lyn Finelli, a flu surveillance official with CDC, told members of a vaccine advisory committee that while "nearly 28,000 laboratory-confirmed" cases have have been reported in the U.S., "standard models of viral spread indicate that many times that number have been infected." The seasonal flu typically infects between 15 million to 60 million Americans annually. By this time of year, "[t]he normal seasonal flu virus has virtually disappeared from this country, as would be expected. But the novel H1N1 virus is continuing to spread, and now accounts for 98% of all cases," the newspaper writes (Los Angeles Times, 6/25). "As many as 60 million doses of vaccine to protect against the new virus could be ready by September, said Robin Robinson, an official with the federal agency that oversees vaccine manufacture and distribution. That prediction seemed a bit optimistic, others at the meeting said," the AP/Washington Post writes (AP/Washington Post, 6/26). H1N1 Confirmed In Vanuatu Also on Thursday, the island nation of Vanuatu confirmed its first cases of H1N1, "becoming the latest Pacific country hit by the epidemic after New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and French Polynesia," Xinhua reports (Xinhua, 6/25). A full list of country cases and deaths is available here (WHO Influenza A(H1N1) - update 54, 6/26). This information was reprinted from globalhealth.kff.org with kind permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Global Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at globalhealth.kff.org. © Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.


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