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SPRING 2008
It has been over 100 years since the discovery that malaria is caused by mosquito-borne infection with the microscopic Plasmodium parasite. Despite intensive global efforts to control and eradicate the disease, malaria remains one of the world's most important public health problems. As many as one billion people are infected with malaria each year and more than two million people die, mostly young children living in the poorest communities. Close to two and a half billion people live at constant risk of malaria, and recent re-evaluation of the global burden shows that one billion of these live in the Asia-Pacific region. The Burnet Institute is building its capacity for research into malaria, both in the laboratory and in the field. Find out more in the Spring 2008 edition of IMPACT.
AUTUMN 2008
Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) encompasses heart, stroke and blood vessel disease and the leading cause of death in Australia, accounting for 36 per cent of all deaths. Apart from the personal toll, CVD costs the Australian health system $7.6 billion each year, and is deemed one of Australia's largest health problems. Burnet
scientists are looking at ways by which CVD can be prevented using novel approaches to understand blood clot formation and how these can be prevented.Find out more in the latest edition of IMPACT.
SPRING 2007
Rheumatoid arthritis is a very debilitating disease which usually affects younger people often occurring during their thirties. However, one in six Australians of all ages and backgrounds have some form of arthritis. Rheumatoid arthritis is caused by a malfunction in the immune system and is distinct from osteoarthritis, which is inflammation of the joints caused by wear and tear. Burnet researchers are developing new therapies that target early events in arthritis. Read about our most exciting studies in the Spring 2007 edition of IMPACT. We are taking two approaches to this crippling disease. Our is approach, is a designed chemical-type drugs that target the Fc receptors and have shown that these drugs completely inhibit arthritis in mice. Our second approach has been to use genetic engineering to make soluble forms of the FcR to inject these as decoy locks to intercept the immune complex before they trigger the FcR on inflammatory white blood cells. This approach too has had very encouraging results.Find out more in the latest edition of IMPACT.
AUTUMN 2007
The World Health Organization and UNAIDS recently confirmed that male circumcision should be added to current interventions to reduce the spread of HIV. Three African trials have shown that circumcision halved the rate of HIV infection in heterosexual men. The recommendations largely apply to countries where rates of heterosexual transmission is high. Experts warned that greater use of circumcision would not replace the need for other prevention methods, such as condoms. Public Health professional from the Burnet Institute are examining the socio-economic effects of male circumcision in various Asia-Pacific countries, read more about this new project in the AUTUMN 2007 edtion of IMPACT
But modelling studies have shown that if male circumcision was more widely available, millions of lives, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa would be saved. read the latest developments in the AUTUMN edition of IMPACT.
SPRING 2006
Over 30 countries came together at the 4th International Bird Flu Summit which was held on 15 March 2007 in Washington, DC to address issues on pandemic preparedness and bird flu. The threat of the bird flu virus mutating into a strain capable of causing a pandemic intensifies amidst a growing number of outbreaks and human cases in different parts of the world. Since 2003, a total of 168 people have died out of the 277 infected, according to the World Health Organization. It is important then, that preparations are made to improve the chance that we can avert or at least reduce the impact of an influenza pandemic. To this end, Burnet's Vaccine Program has successfully obtained five new research grants from the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council to fund Avian Influenza projects, read the latest developments in the SPRING 2006 edition of IMPACT.
AUTUMN 2006
The merger of the Burnet Institute and Austin Research Institute officially took effect on 1 January 2006, bringing together two of Australia's leading research and public health institutes under one banner, the Burnet Institute. The Burnet Institute takes its name from Sir Frank Macfarlane Burnet, one of Australia's greatest immunologists who had an interest in virology and cancer. The merger was a logical and strategic step given the complimentary nature of the research program at both institutes, read more about the importance of this merger in the AUTUMN 2006 edition of IMPACT.
SUMMER 2005
Malaria and HIV are responsible for more than five million deaths each year, the majority of which occur in resource-poor communities. On its own, malaria is thought to kill as many as 2.7 million people, with 90 per cent of these occurring in tropical Africa. Burnet Institute scientists, in collaboration with researchers at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, are investigating why HIV-infected women have a reduced immunity to malaria, and why pregnant women are at especially high risk. Read more about this innovative project in the SUMMER 2005 edition of IMPACT.
WINTER 2005
The Burnet Institute's Centre for International Health has an office in Maputo and has recently expanded its work in Mozambique. The AIDS epidemic in Mozambique initially lagged behind its neighbours; Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. A national study in 1987 showed overall HIV-1 prevalence rate at 1.2 per cent whilst in Manica Province it was 2.7 per cent. Two major forces influenced the spread of the HIV epidemic to Mozambique: war and commercial corridors. Read about Burnet's work in Chimoio and Maputo in the WINTER 2005 edition of IMPACT.