Medical Services International Moves Into Additional Countries In Africa

Medical Services International Inc (OTC: MSITF) wishes to announce that it has been approached by distributors in an additional 5 countries in Africa to start supplying the VScan HIV and TB rapid test kits. Currently it has been reported that the test kits being supplied to these countries are very inaccurate (less than 80% accuracy when compared to conventional tests). Inaccurate kits are worse than no kits as these kits miss HIV positive people, giving a false sense of security, therefore increasing the spread of HIV. The distributors have heard about the continued accuracy of the VScan HIV test kits and have been given copies of the test data from regulatory bodies in other countries showing the accuracy of the VScan HIV test kits.

The distributors have indicated that this could result in the purchase of up to an additional 2,000,000 VScan test kits per year. The Company believes that by the end of 2007, it will be the largest supplier of HIV, TB, Dengue Fever and Malaria rapid test kits in the world.

About VScan

The VScan rapid test kit is a single use, disposable, accurate, cost effective, easy to use test for the screening of HIV 1&2, Hepatitis B&C, Tuberculosis (TB), Dengue Fever, West Nile, Syphilis, Malaria and Prostate cancer. The kits cannot be sold in Canada.

Medical Services International Inc trades in the United States on the NQB Pinksheets under the symbol "MSITF". For further information go to http://www.medicalservicesintl.com or http://www.minerva-biotech.com.

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause results to differ materially. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include but are not limited to new economic conditions, risk in product development, market acceptance of new products and continuing product demand, level of competition and other factors described in Company reports an other filings with regulatory bodies.

Medical Services International Inc
http://www.medicalservicesintl.com

USP Publishes Standards For Medications For Neglected Diseases

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) has released free documentary standards for medicines used outside the United States to treat neglected infectious diseases. The standards are available on USP's Web site at http://www.usp.org/internationalStandards.

"Public standards for such medicines are urgently needed to help ensure that patients in all parts of the world have access to good quality medications," said Roger L. Williams, M.D., USP executive vice president and CEO. "These international standards will make it easier for healthcare organizations in countries without sufficient regulatory and pharmacopeial resources of their own to ensure the quality and purity of medications."

The World Health Organization estimates that 1 billion people -- one sixth of the world's population -- suffer from neglected tropical diseases. Widespread counterfeiting and distribution of sub-standard drugs has worsened this situation.

The initial two drugs included in the International Standards program are used in the treatment of HIV-AIDS: Abacavir Sulfate, and Efavirenz. These monographs are posted in draft form, with a 90-day period for public comment that ends on April 30, 2007. Instructions for submitting comments are at http://www.usp.org/internationalStandards/. Monographs for drugs used to treat malaria will be added shortly as part of the ongoing program.

USP's standards are widely recognized internationally as authoritative, science-based, and credible. They are developed through a process that is transparent and open to public comment. As the world's only private pharmacopeia, USP has the unique ability to work across borders, giving it the ability to set voluntary standards for medicines used outside the United States.

The worldwide public health benefits of the International Standards initiative include:

-- Supporting the effort to provide quality drugs to patients with the greatest need;

-- Helping ensure that medicines for neglected infectious diseases in international commerce meet a high standard of quality;

-- Ensuring the availability of science-based public standards that help prevent counterfeit, sub-standard, or adulterated medicines; and

-- Assisting foreign regulatory bodies, customs officials, purchasing agents, and others by providing information for testing the quality of medicines within a country or in international commerce.

For more information on USP's international standards, visit http://www.usp.org/internationalStandards/.

USP -- Advancing Public Health Since 1820

The United States Pharmacopeia (USP) is a nonprofit, nongovernmental, standards-setting organization that advances public health and improves patient safety by ensuring good pharmaceutical care. USP standards, which are recognized worldwide, are developed through a unique process of public involvement by volunteers representing pharmacy, medicine, and other healthcare professions, as well as science, academia, government, the pharmaceutical industry, and consumer organizations. For more information about USP and its standards-setting activities, visit http://www.usp.org/aboutUSP/media.

United States Pharmacopeia
http://www.usp.org/internationalStandards/

Thai Health Minister To Break Patents, Issue Compulsory Licenses For Antiretroviral, Heart Disease Drugs

Thai Public Health Minister Mongkol Songkhla plans to break patents on an antiretroviral drug and a drug for heart disease by issuing compulsory licenses to produce lower-cost versions, Ministry of Public Health spokesperson Suphan Srithamma announced on Thursday, AFP/Yahoo! News reports (AFP/Yahoo! News, 1/25). Mongkol declined to name the two drugs until the ministry officially announces the compulsory licensing on Monday, Thailand's Nation reports (Khwankom, Nation, 1/26). World Trade Organization regulations allow governments to declare a "national emergency" and issue compulsory licenses without consulting the foreign patent owner. Thailand, which has 580,000 people living with HIV/AIDS, has won international recognition for its quick launch of a national drug program that treats more than 82,000 HIV-positive people. However, the government's commitment to providing universal access to care is facing increasingly high drug costs (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/1/06). "We have to do this because we have so many [HIV/AIDS] patients to treat with so little budget," Mongkol said, adding, "We can't watch our people die and their patents have been here for so long" (Wong-Anan, Reuters, 1/25). He added that compulsory licensing "is legitimate domestically and internationally, and Thailand is not the first" country to do it (Nation, 1/26). Teera Chakajnarodom, president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers' Association, said the Thai government is using an overly broad definition of an emergency. "The law allows such actions with pharmaceutical products only in cases of extreme national emergencies, or during wartime, and only after negotiation with the companies concerned," Teera said, adding, "It is a provision in the law that has to be used judiciously and with extreme caution if one is not to undermine the confidence of the investment community" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 1/25). Paul Cawthorne, head of Medecins Sans Frontieres in Thailand, said compulsory licensing is a "perfectly legal method for [the government] to ensure access to essential drugs for Thai people" (Reuters, 1/25).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Violence Against Women Fueling Spread Of HIV Worldwide, Undermining Prevention Efforts, Advocates Say

Violence against women worldwide is fueling the spread of HIV in the population, and unwillingness among some governments to acknowledge the issue will continue to undermine prevention and education efforts, advocates said this week at the World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, Inter Press Service reports. "Violence is largely a cause of HIV infection among many women; violence in the homes and in the streets, violence everywhere," Ludfine Anyango, the national HIV/AIDS coordinator at Action Kenya-International, said. Anyango also discussed women's inability to negotiate condom use with their partners, which puts them at an increased risk of HIV transmission. "Many cannot ask their husbands to use a condom because, in addition to being thought as unfaithful, they fear being beaten," Anyango said, adding, "The woman then has no choice but to continue having unprotected sex with her spouse." Violence against commercial sex workers also is an issue, according to Ros Sokunthy of the Cambodia-based Womyn's Agenda for Change, which promotes the rights of women and female sex workers. "A sex worker negotiates with one man," Sokunthy said, adding, "When she gets to the venue she finds more than one man, and they all want to have sex with her. When she refuses, she is beaten or raped." In addition, WSF participants discussed how some husbands beat their wives if they discover that they visited HIV/AIDS voluntary testing and counseling centers. "This fear discourages many women from knowing their HIV status and thus continue having unprotected sex with their spouses," Mary Watiti -- a counselor at a testing clinic in Kibera, Kenya -- said. According to Inter Press Service, these issues have renewed calls for laws to address all forms of violence against women, as well as implementation of laws in countries where such legislation exists. Male involvement in the fight against HIV/AIDS also is important, advocates said. According to experts, men seem to fear HIV/AIDS stigma more than women do and, as a result, avoid HIV testing clinics. "As long as our men are not part of the war, then we should forget about ending HIV/AIDS infection and the violence that comes with it," Lilian Musang'u, a WSF participant from Malawi, said (Mulama, Inter Press Service, 1/24).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

DANIDA, UNFPA, Radio Station Launch Program In Vietnam To Provide Youth With HIV/AIDS Education

The Danish International Development Agency in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund and the Voice of Vietnam radio on Wednesday launched a radio program that aims to educate young people in the country about HIV/AIDS, the Vietnam News Brief Service reports (Vietnam News Brief Service, 1/25). The long-term goal of the program is to promote increased access to and improve the quality of reproductive health services. The program will be targeted to youth in the country and will focus on changing behavior to prevent HIV transmission, according to the Saigon Times Daily (Trung, Saigon Times Daily, 1/24). The program -- which will be broadcast in 64 provinces and cities in Vietnam and in several ethnic languages -- will run as a serialized soap opera that includes 104 episodes. It will be funded with a $770,000 grant from DANIDA (Vietnam News Brief Service, 1/25). DANIDA earlier collaborated with VOV on a call-in radio program, called "Window of Love," that focused on reproductive health education. The program was positively received among youth in the country, according to the Times Daily. Lack of awareness and understanding about HIV are contributing to stigma and discrimination against HIV-positive people in the country, the Times Daily reports. Vietnamese media outlets -- including radio, television, newspapers and films -- in recent years have sponsored campaigns aimed providing education about HIV/AIDS. The DANIDA project will end in December 2009, the Times Daily reports (Saigon Times Daily, 1/24).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Guyanese Health Ministry To Provide $450,000 For HIV/AIDS Programs Nationwide

The Guyanese Ministry of Health on Tuesday announced it will provide $450,000 to 16 nongovernmental organizations to conduct HIV/AIDS programs nationwide, the Stabroek News reports. The funding will be provided through the health ministry's HIV/AIDS prevention and control project. Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy urged the NGOs -- which include the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, Spectrum Health Net and the Art of Living Foundation -- to execute their projects in a timely and organized manner (Seales, Stabroek News, 1/25). In related news, Guyana's Government Information Agency on Tuesday announced that the number of HIV-positive people accessing antiretroviral treatment at clinics nationwide has increased since the end of 2005, the Caribbean Media Corporation reports (Caribbean Media Corporation, 1/24). Eight public health clinics in six of the country's regions by the end of 2005 were providing access to antiretrovirals, following the establishment in 2002 of the first treatment clinic in the capital, Georgetown, according to Stabroek News. In addition, GINA announced that the government plans to provide 80% of HIV-positive pregnant women in the country with treatment access through a program aimed at preventing vertical HIV transmission. GINA on Wednesday also announced that the government has provided almost 11,000 HIV-positive people with access to treatment through a clinic in the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. According to GINA, the government in conjunction with CDC and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief remodeled the clinic in June 2006 to increase its treatment capacity. The New Guyana Pharmaceutical Company with PEPFAR funding is producing antiretrovirals that the government makes available at no cost to all HIV-positive people in the country, GINA said, adding that Guyana plans to further expand prevention, treatment and care initiatives (Stabroek News, 1/24).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Global AIDS Alliance Thanks Congress For Increasing Funding For AIDS, TB And Malaria Programs

Today the Global AIDS Alliance thanked the US Congress for agreeing to a major increase in funds to combat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in Africa and other regions for fiscal year 2007. Congress will increase funding by $1.3 billion, for a total of $4.5 billion. This will raise the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a cost-effective international partnership, to $724 million.

Congress has recognized that global disease is a true emergency in which bold US leadership can be truly effective. The AIDS epidemic is still spreading, with 4.3 million new infections this past year. Extremely drug- resistant TB is a major new threat, especially in southern Africa. Malaria is a major killer of children and a contributing factor in the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Paul Zeitz, Executive Director of the Global AIDS Alliance, made the following statement:

"This funding increase will save millions of lives and provide urgently needed care and support for millions of orphaned and vulnerable children. We thank all members of Congress responsible for this funding increase, in particular Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Representative David Obey (D-WI), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA). These legislators are putting the US on the right side of history by fully backing the fight against disease. This is exactly the kind of bold leadership we need in the US Congress.

"With the increase for the Global Fund, the US is much better placed to go to other countries and urge them to increase their contributions to the Fund. We will need Germany, Japan and others to now reciprocate by upping their contributions; otherwise the global goal of universal access to AIDS-related services by 2010 will remain out of reach.

"A new, extremely dangerous form of TB has emerged, and much more US funding will be required to combat it, and quickly. Extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) threatens to undermine much of our progress in fighting HIV/AIDS. The emergency is so great that the Congress should use the upcoming Supplemental Budget for 2007 to channel $300 million to address this disease threat.

"A wide range of humanitarian, student and religious groups worked together to urge Congress to provide the funding agreed to this week. People across the United States also appealed to Congress to provide this funding, and Congress responded with vision and leadership.

"Increases are also urgently needed for other global poverty programs, as well as the response to AIDS in the United States, and we hope Congress provides these as a part of the FY 2008 appropriations process."

Global AIDS Alliance
http://www.globalaidsalliance.org

Uganda AIDS Commission Announces Plans To Test 500,000 Annually, Provide Treatment For 90% Of HIV-Positive People By 2012

The Uganda AIDS Commission in a report released last week said it plans to test and counsel 500,000 people for HIV annually by 2012 and provide opportunistic infection prevention and treatment services to 90% of HIV-positive people in the country, Uganda's New Vision reports. The report -- released at a two-day workshop attended by officials and HIV/AIDS advocates in Fort Portal, Uganda -- says the commission aims to increase access to antiretroviral drugs to 90% of HIV-positive people who require treatment. It also says HIV testing and counseling will be available at 107 hospitals and 160 health centers across the country. The strategies include increasing HIV testing and counseling. There are about 1.1 million HIV-positive people in Uganda, and the number of cases is expected to increase to 1.8 million by 2012 "at the current rate of 135,000 new infections annually," the report says (Thawite, New Vision/AllAfrica.com, 1/25). The commission also plans to improve services for people coinfected with HIV and tuberculosis, Xinhua News Agency reports (Xinhua News Agency, 1/25).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Cellulose Sulfate Microbicide Trial Stopped - Statement Developed By The World Health Organization And UNAIDS

A Phase III study of the candidate microbicide* cellulose sulfate to prevent HIV transmission in women has been stopped prematurely because of a higher number of HIV infections in the active compared with the placebo group. This is a disappointing and unexpected setback in the search for a safe and effective microbicide that can be used by women to protect themselves against HIV infection.

Cellulose sulfate was one of four compounds being evaluated in large-scale studies of effectiveness among women at high risk of HIV infection. Currently there are three other Phase III microbicide studies under way. The Carraguard study (sponsored by the Population Council and conducted in three sites in South Africa) is nearing completion and results are expected by the end of 2007. Another product, PRO 2000, is being tested in one study in five sites in South Africa, Tanzania and Uganda (results expected in 2009) as well as in a second study in seven sites in Malawi, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe (results expected in 2008). In this second study a further compound, BufferGel, (a vaginal defence enhancer) is being tested. All the other compounds mentioned are products that block HIV infection - known as HIV entry inhibitors - and have a similar presumed mechanism of action.

Data from these clinical trials will be indispensable to the researchers and developers of emerging and future microbicide candidates. It is important for the microbicide field to understand why cellulose sulfate was associated with a higher risk of HIV infection than the placebo product. At present there is no explanation for this higher rate of transmission of HIV. The need to continue research to find a user-controlled means of preventing HIV infection in women is urgent. Despite the effectiveness and availability of condoms, the HIV epidemic continues to spread and the search for a safe and effective microbicide is a vital part of the effort to stem the spread of the HIV epidemic.

*Microbicides are products being developed to be used by women to reduce the transmission of HIV during sexual intercourse. A microbicide could take the form of a gel, cream, film, tablet or sponge, or be contained in a vaginal ring that releases the active ingredient gradually.

http://www.who.int

New York City Health Department Approves $1.57M Contract To Distribute 20M Condoms To Curb HIV/AIDS

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene recently approved a $1.57 million contract to deliver more than 20 million Ansell Healthcare's Lifestyle condoms and packets of lubricants to organizations and venues in the city to help curb the spread of HIV, the New York Post reports (Campanile, New York Post, 1/26). The health department will pay Ansell four cents per condom, putting the cost of the program at about $720,000 annually, according to health officials. Officials are attempting to make the packaging for the condoms, which will be distributed by the city, more distinctive. Current condoms distributed by the city are wrapped in the red packaging from the Lifestyles brand. City officials said they hope the condom's packaging will help them to better track the effectiveness of their distribution program, the AP/CBS4Denver.com reports. Officials plan to track the progress of the program through an annual community health survey, which polls 10,000 city residents by telephone. New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said, "We ask, 'Did you use a condom the last time you had sex?' And once this is launched, the next time we ask that question, of those people who say yes, we'll say, 'What did the wrapper look like?"' He added that if "they describe our wrapper, then we'll know that they would have used our condom." Frieden said, "Brands work, and people use branded items more than they use nonbranded items, whether it's a cola or a medicine even." New York City currently distributes about 1.5 million condoms monthly, or about 18 million annually, at no cost to organizations, health clinics, advocacy groups, bars, restaurants, nail salons, nightclubs and prisons. Organizations or venues can request an unlimited supply of condoms at no cost through an online ordering system set up by the city health department (AP/CBS4Denver.com, 1/26). There are more than 100,000 HIV-positive people in New York City, and health officials estimate that there are thousands more undiagnosed HIV cases (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 12/20/06).

"Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.