Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Research tests the efficacy of a smallpox vaccine candidate known as LC16m8

When used as an aerosolized weapon, smallpox could be controlled by a new vaccine under study at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, according to new data.

27 May 2004

$498 million to strengthen response to bioterror attacks, infectious diseases, and natural disasters

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced $498 million in awards to states, territories and four major metropolitan areas to strengthen the ability of hospitals and other health care facilities to respond to bioterror attacks, infectious diseases, and natural disasters that may cause mass casualties.

25 May 2004

$3.5 million grant to develop AIDS vaccinations

Researchers at the Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute (VGTI) and the Oregon National Primate Research Center at Oregon Health & Science University have received a $3.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop new methods for vaccinating humans against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the virus that causes AIDS.

25 May 2004

Toxoplasma gondii discovery may help fight against malaria

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill scientists have discovered a protein in the cell wall of parasites that’s crucial to the molecular mechanism allowing them to move between cells, survive and cause disease.

25 May 2004

Weekly cycles of once-daily anti-HIV drugs could reduce cost of HIV treatment

24 May 2004

World health officials adopt global health strategy

The World Health Organization (WHO) Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health was today endorsed by Member States at their annual Health Assembly in Geneva. The strategy addresses two of the major risk factors responsible for the heavy and growing burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which now account for some 60% of global deaths and almost half (47%) of the global burden of disease. NCDs include cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancers and obesity-related conditions.

22 May 2004

WHO reports likely Ebola case in Sudan

As of 10 May, WHO reported cases of Ebola haemorrhagic fever syndrome in Hai-Cuba, Yambio, Western Equatoria Region, south Sudan. A rapid assessment team is in the field to investigate the situation. Clinical samples have been collected and preliminary results are expected soon.

21 May 2004

Weekly cycles of once-daily anti-drugs could reduce cost of HIV treatment

In a small study conducted at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), researchers have shown that it may be feasible to treat HIV-infected patients with a simple, once-daily regimen of anti-HIV drugs given in pre-planned, 7-day-on, 7-day-off cycles. This approach is known formally as “short-cycle structured intermittent antiretroviral therapy” (SIT) or colloquially as the “7-7” approach.

20 May 2004

In the wake of the latest SARS outbreak CDC has implemented new system to guide travelers about potential health hazards

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today implemented a new system for providing travelers with guidance about potential health hazards and the steps they can take to protect themselves when traveling abroad. The new system makes it easier for the public to understand what their risks may be during an emerging public health crisis and what they can do to protect themselves.

20 May 2004

Network formed to tackle potentially fatal reaction to smallpox vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), launched the Atopic Dermatitis and Vaccinia Network (ADVN), a nationwide research group that seeks to reduce the risk of eczema vaccinatum (EV), a severe and potentially deadly complication of smallpox immunization.

19 May 2004

$20.7 million to make smallpox vaccine safer

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a five-year, $20.7 million grant to National Jewish Medical and Research Center to lead a consortium of academic medical centers trying to make smallpox vaccines safer for millions of people with atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema.

19 May 2004

Scientists move closer toward treatment for degenerative diseases

Scientists at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine have discovered a key step that will provide new targets for treatments of many degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Cystic Fibrosis and Diabetes.

17 May 2004

CDC announces new goals and organizational structure

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Julie Gerberding announced today new goals and integrated operations that will allow the federal public health agency to have greater impact on the health of people around the world.

15 May 2004

Largest study comparing leading hepatitis C treatments

Medical centers, hospitals, clinics and other treatment sites across the country are actively enrolling Americans with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a nationwide study that will for the first time determine which of the two FDA-approved pegylated interferon therapy regimens offers patients the best chance to eliminate the virus.

14 May 2004

Cholesterol-lowering drugs could treat multiple sclerosis

Drug treatments for MS are expensive and only partially effective. Recent knowledge that statins promote an anti-inflammatory response from the immune system suggest a potential in the treatment of MS.

13 May 2004

Canada updates Quarantine Act

Health Minister Pierre Pettigrew today introduced in Parliament legislation entitled: "An Act to prevent the introduction and spread of communicable diseases", which would help further protect Canadians from the importation of communicable diseases.

12 May 2004

New chink in the cellular armor of tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy

The family of bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB) and leprosy are notoriously sturdy. And although the diseases they cause have been held in check for the past 50 years by antibiotics, some strains are becoming increasingly resistant to existing therapy.

10 May 2004

Alternative vaccine to Dryvax for smallpox

Not everybody can safely be vaccinated against smallpox using the current FDA-approved vaccine. Scientists hope another study vaccine, now undergoing its first testing in the United States at Saint Louis University, will give a choice to people who can't be given the current vaccine, known as Dryvax®.

10 May 2004

Traditional Chinese medicine contains human placenta

MHRA (Medicines) has recently become aware of a traditional Chinese medicine called Nu Bao. The product patient information leaflet lists human placenta (Placenta hominis), deer antler (Corna cervi pantotrichum) and donkey skin (Colla cori astini) as ingredients.

8 May 2004

Scottish health professionals tackle problems of obesity

The University of Glasgow is bringing together experts in the field of obesity management to address a conference on Friday 7 May 2004 for health professionals on how to tackle obesity.

6 May 2004