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Innovative approach helps Virginia mount effective response to contaminated steroid crisis

An innovative "hybrid" surveillance strategy-highlighted by close cooperation between public health officials and clinical partners-helped Virginia mount an efficient and effective response to the ongoing outbreak of fungal meningitis and other infections, according to a report in the July/August issue of Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

31 May 2013

Queen's University Belfast scientists awarded research grants to tackle tropical diseases

Queen's University Belfast has been announced as a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative founded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Scientists at the University's Institute for Global Food Security have been awarded grants to pursue two Innovative global health and development research projects aimed at tackling tropical diseases.

31 May 2013

PharmAthene announces lifting of clinical hold on proposed SparVax Phase II study

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has lifted the clinical hold previously placed on a proposed Phase II study of SparVax, a next generation recombinant anthrax vaccine.

31 May 2013

Researchers develop new gene therapy to thwart potential influenza pandemic

Researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania have developed a new gene therapy to thwart a potential influenza pandemic. Specifically, investigators in the Gene Therapy Program, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, directed by James M. Wilson, MD, PhD, demonstrated that a single dose of an adeno-associated virus expressing a broadly neutralizing flu antibody into the nasal passages of mice and ferrets gives them complete protection and substantial reductions in flu replication when exposed to lethal strains of H5N1 and H1N1 flu virus.

30 May 2013

Study: Living in poverty linked to increased risk of getting chlamydia in young adulthood

Living in a poor neighborhood as an adolescent is linked to an increased risk of getting the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia in young adulthood, according to new research.

30 May 2013

Coronavirus incubation period may be longer than previously thought

A detailed clinical description of two cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in France, published online in The Lancet today, suggests that the incubation period for the virus may be longer than previously thought, and longer quarantine periods may be required to rule out infection among patient contacts.

29 May 2013

New suppository developed for treatment of cervical pre-cancer

Infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) can lead to cervical cancer via a preliminary stage - that of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN). In Europe 205,000 women every year are affected by this condition, most of them are aged between 25 and 30 years. Since in many cases slight manifestations of the disease (CIN 1) heal spontaneously, mostly no treatment is given but self-healing monitored by means of rigorous and continuous check-ups.

29 May 2013

Columbia University, Chinese Center for Disease Control to open joint pathogen discovery lab in Beijing

The Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and the National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention within the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention will open a Joint Research Laboratory for Pathogen Discovery to conduct surveillance, identify new infectious microbes, establish novel platforms for diagnostics, and develop drugs and vaccines to treat diseases in humans and animals.

29 May 2013

Mosquito repellent and human odour: an interview with Dr James Logan, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Mosquitoes can carry parasites and other organisms that cause deadly diseases such as malaria and dengue fever. So, protecting yourself against their bites is very important.

28 May 2013

Highly-infectious sickness bug can be killed by copper and copper alloys

New research from the University of Southampton shows that copper and copper alloys will rapidly destroy norovirus - the highly-infectious sickness bug. The virus can be contracted from contaminated food or water, person-to-person contact, and contact with contaminated surfaces, meaning surfaces made from copper could effectively shut down one avenue of infection.

28 May 2013

Common sugar molecule promising target for development of broad-spectrum vaccine

Developing new vaccines to protect against diseases that plague humans is fraught with numerous challenges-one being that microbes tend to vary how they look on the surface to avoid being identified and destroyed by the immune system. However, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have discovered a sugar polymer that is common on the cell surface of several pathogens.

28 May 2013

Molecular switch protects salmonella from harm during infection

For the first time, researchers have found a particular kind of molecular switch in the food poisoning bacteria Salmonella Typhimurium under infection-like conditions. This switch, using a process called S-thiolation, appears to be used by the bacteria to respond to changes in the environment during infection and might protect it from harm, researchers report this week online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition.

28 May 2013

EADV spring symposium: Bioalliance Pharma presents Sitavig study results

BioAlliance Pharma SA, a Company dedicated to the development of orphan oncology products and supportive care products, has presented the results of the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic study on Sitavig at the 10th EADV spring symposium (European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology) in Cracow (Poland) on May 24, 2013.

28 May 2013

VINARES project aims to strengthen evidence-based control of antibiotic use in Vietnam

The increasingly widespread resistance to antibiotics is a global threat. One of the most vulnerable countries is Vietnam, with 90 million inhabitants. In an attempt to change this development, the VINARES project was started in the autumn of 2012 led by researchers from Sweden, UK and Vietnam.

27 May 2013

Discovery highlights new method to make HIV vaccine that targets the virus

A new discovery at Oregon Health & Science University highlights an ingenious method to ensure the body effectively reacts when infected with the highly evasive HIV virus that causes AIDS.

26 May 2013

Sinovac Beijing receives GMP certificate for its proprietary vaccines

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced that Sinovac Beijing, the main operating subsidiary company of Sinovac, obtained the Certificate of Good Manufacturing Practices for Pharmaceutical Products (GMP Certificate) from the China State and Food Administration (CFDA) for its proprietary vaccines, its Haidian district bulk production plants, and its Changping filing and packaging facility.

24 May 2013

New, improved drugs can boost body's natural flu killer system

A known difficulty in fighting influenza (flu) is the ability of the flu viruses to mutate and thus evade various medications that were previously found to be effective. Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have shown recently that another, more promising, approach is to focus on improving drugs that boost the body's natural flu killer system.

24 May 2013

Findings highlight importance of IL-21 in the development of antiviral vaccines

Scientists at Emory Vaccine Center have shown that an immune regulatory molecule called IL-21 is needed for long-lasting antibody responses in mice against viral infections.

24 May 2013

Novel multiplex immunoassay approach to capture HIV antibodies

Detection of HIV antibodies is used to diagnose HIV infection and monitor trials of experimental HIV/AIDS vaccines. New, more sensitive detection systems being developed use microspheres to capture HIV antibodies and can measure even small amounts of multiple antibodies at one time.

24 May 2013

Viewpoints: Sen. Alexander sees reflections of Oliver North in Sebelius' quest to raise funds; vaccine scare's legacy

Major news outlets in recent days have reported that U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is raising money from the private sector -- including from health care executives -- for use by a private entity that is helping to implement ObamaCare. ... Is Ms. Sebelius raising funds for a private entity and then coordinating with that entity to do something Congress has refused to authorize, or for which it has refused to appropriate funds?

24 May 2013

Disease/Infection News

Innovative approach helps Virginia mount effective response to contaminated steroid crisis

Queen's University Belfast scientists awarded research grants to tackle tropical diseases

PharmAthene announces lifting of clinical hold on proposed SparVax Phase II study

Researchers develop new gene therapy to thwart potential influenza pandemic

Study: Living in poverty linked to increased risk of getting chlamydia in young adulthood

Coronavirus incubation period may be longer than previously thought

New suppository developed for treatment of cervical pre-cancer

Columbia University, Chinese Center for Disease Control to open joint pathogen discovery lab in Beijing

Mosquito repellent and human odour: an interview with Dr James Logan, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Highly-infectious sickness bug can be killed by copper and copper alloys

Common sugar molecule promising target for development of broad-spectrum vaccine

Molecular switch protects salmonella from harm during infection

EADV spring symposium: Bioalliance Pharma presents Sitavig study results

VINARES project aims to strengthen evidence-based control of antibiotic use in Vietnam

Discovery highlights new method to make HIV vaccine that targets the virus

Sinovac Beijing receives GMP certificate for its proprietary vaccines

New, improved drugs can boost body's natural flu killer system

Findings highlight importance of IL-21 in the development of antiviral vaccines

Novel multiplex immunoassay approach to capture HIV antibodies

Viewpoints: Sen. Alexander sees reflections of Oliver North in Sebelius' quest to raise funds; vaccine scare's legacy

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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