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McMaster University researchers identify three factors that influence pandemic influenza

Three waves of the deadliest influenza pandemic in history, known as the Spanish flu, hit England and Wales in 1918, just as World War 1 was coming to an end.

10 Jul 2013

Researchers discover new class of antimalarial compounds

Despite renewed global efforts for eradication, malaria continues to exert devastating effects on human health. An estimated 220 million people are infected each year by malaria-causing Plasmodium parasites, which are transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. This enormous infection burden leads to some 660,000 lives lost to malaria each year, the majority of these young children in sub-Saharan Africa. While a vaccine to prevent malaria remains elusive, we depend on antimalarial compounds both to treat infections and prevent disease.

10 Jul 2013

Curetis starts prospective clinical trial for Unyvero P50 pneumonia application

Curetis AG today announced the start of an additional prospective, multicenter clinical trial of its marketed Unyvero™ P50 Pneumonia Application to demonstrate its clinical and health economic value.

10 Jul 2013

Study reveals that contaminated ultrasound gel causes healthcare-associated infection

After a 2011 outbreak of P. aeruginosa, investigators at Beaumont Health System near Detroit, Michigan determined contaminated ultrasound gel was the source of bacteria causing the healthcare-associated infection.

10 Jul 2013

Sorrento Therapeutics, BGN partner to develop therapeutic antibodies for Hepatitis C Virus

Sorrento Therapeutics, Inc. and B.G. Negev Technologies and Applications Ltd., the technology transfer company of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, have announced an option and license agreement to develop therapeutic products to treat Hepatitis C Virus.

10 Jul 2013

Infection control program and active surveillance can reduce incidence of impatient C. diff infections

A comprehensive infection control program combined with an active surveillance process significantly reduced the incidence of Clostridium difficile (C. diff) infections in a long-term acute care hospital, according to a study published in the Journal for Healthcare Quality, the peer reviewed publication of the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ).

10 Jul 2013

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus currently unlikely to cause a pandemic, finds study

New estimates of the transmissibility of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in humans suggest that it does not yet have pandemic potential, according to research published in The Lancet.

9 Jul 2013

Young patient survives deadly virus with minimal neurological deficits

Rhode Island Hospital successfully treated a 21-year-old patient with severe neuroinvasive Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE), minimizing neurological deficits and resulting in a very positive outcome. The findings from this treatment are published online in advance of print in the journal Neurocritical Care.

9 Jul 2013

ERC awards grants to boost research on vaccines

Vaccination has achieved huge success in controlling many devastating infectious diseases. However, there are still many such diseases, or 'pathogens', against which we cannot generate life-long protective immunity.

9 Jul 2013

Discovery of new receptor could turn the tide against mosquitoes' growing advantage

In the global war against disease-carrying mosquitoes, scientists have long believed that a single molecular door was the key target for insecticide. This door, however, is closing, giving mosquitoes the upper hand.

9 Jul 2013

Seattle researchers map critical molecules that regulate inflammation during flu infection

The influenza virus' ability to mutate quickly has produced new, emerging strains that make drug discovery more critical than ever. For the first time, researchers at Seattle BioMed, along with collaborators at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the University of Washington, have mapped how critical molecules regulate both the induction and resolution of inflammation during flu infection.

6 Jul 2013

Immune response to TB bacterium varies between patients of different ethnic origin

The immune response to the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) varies between patients of different ethnic origin, raising important implications for the development of tests to diagnose and monitor treatment for the disease, according to new research published today in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

5 Jul 2013

Collaborative research yields a wiring map on how TB responds to changes in environment

Despite decades of research on the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB), scientists have not had a comprehensive understanding of how the bacterium is wired to adapt to changing conditions in the host.

5 Jul 2013

Book provides new insight on one of the most common infectious diseases, Chlamydia

Chlamydiae are obligate intracellular bacteria that cause one of the most common sexually transmitted infectious diseases in the world. The infection disproportionately impacts women and the highest prevalence of infection is found in adolescents.

5 Jul 2013

State highlights: Docs prescribe narcotics too often, CDC chief says; Fla. hospices get close scrutiny; Calif. Medi-Cal provider rate bump delayed

The nation's top public health official on Tuesday sharply criticized the widespread treatment of aches and pains with narcotics, saying that doctors are prescribing such drugs too soon, too often and for too long -- putting patients at risk of addiction and overdose. Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that doctors are relying on these powerful drugs to treat chronic pain when physical therapy, exercise and other remedies would be safer and in many cases more effective (Girion and Glover, 7/2).

4 Jul 2013

Study identifies genomic regions associated with cholera susceptibility

An international research team has used a novel approach to identify genetic factors that appear to influence susceptibility to cholera. The findings by investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), the Broad Institute and the International Center for Diarrh-al Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) indicate the importance of pathways involved in regulating water loss in intestinal cells and of the innate immune system in the body's response to the bacteria that causes cholera, which affects from 3 to 5 million people each year and causes more than 100,000 deaths.

4 Jul 2013

Researchers find that hot flashes take heavier toll on quality of life in HIV-infected women

Women with HIV are living longer, so more are entering menopause. As they do, they suffer more severe hot flashes than women without HIV, and their hot flashes take a heavier toll on their quality of life and daily functioning, found researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital.

4 Jul 2013

Research unravels a novel means of communication that allows bacteria to resist antibiotic treatment

New research from Western University unravels a novel means of communication that allows bacteria such as Burkholderia cenocepacia (B. cenocepacia) to resist antibiotic treatment. B. cenocepacia is an environmental bacterium that causes devastating infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) or with compromised immune systems.

4 Jul 2013

Research shows lower daily dose of HIV drug therapy suppresses virus

Millions more people could get access to life-saving HIV drug therapy, following a landmark study led by Australian researchers based at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

4 Jul 2013

First Edition: July 3, 2013

Today's headlines detail the Obama administration announcement that it would delay the health law rule requiring businesses provide insurance to workers.

3 Jul 2013

Disease/Infection News

McMaster University researchers identify three factors that influence pandemic influenza

Researchers discover new class of antimalarial compounds

Curetis starts prospective clinical trial for Unyvero P50 pneumonia application

Study reveals that contaminated ultrasound gel causes healthcare-associated infection

Sorrento Therapeutics, BGN partner to develop therapeutic antibodies for Hepatitis C Virus

Infection control program and active surveillance can reduce incidence of impatient C. diff infections

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus currently unlikely to cause a pandemic, finds study

Young patient survives deadly virus with minimal neurological deficits

ERC awards grants to boost research on vaccines

Discovery of new receptor could turn the tide against mosquitoes' growing advantage

Seattle researchers map critical molecules that regulate inflammation during flu infection

Immune response to TB bacterium varies between patients of different ethnic origin

Collaborative research yields a wiring map on how TB responds to changes in environment

Book provides new insight on one of the most common infectious diseases, Chlamydia

State highlights: Docs prescribe narcotics too often, CDC chief says; Fla. hospices get close scrutiny; Calif. Medi-Cal provider rate bump delayed

Study identifies genomic regions associated with cholera susceptibility

Researchers find that hot flashes take heavier toll on quality of life in HIV-infected women

Research unravels a novel means of communication that allows bacteria to resist antibiotic treatment

Research shows lower daily dose of HIV drug therapy suppresses virus

First Edition: July 3, 2013

How can microdialysis benefit drug development

Global and Local Efforts to Take Action Against Hepatitis

Addressing Important Cardiac Biology Questions with Shotgun Top-Down Proteomics

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