Disease/Infection News

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Bringing malnutrition into the political spotlight

"Most people think malnutrition is all about not having enough food or enough of the right kind of food to eat," but while "this is a big part of the story ... there are many other links in the chain," Lawrence Haddad, director of the Institute of Development Studies, writes in a BBC Magazine opinion piece.

1 Dec 2012

Report finds low infection rate for hip replacement or revision procedures at HSS

For the fourth year in a row, Hospital for Special Surgery has an infection rate that is significantly lower than the New York State average for hip replacement or revision surgeries, according to the 2011 report on hospital infection rates just released by the State Department of Health.

1 Dec 2012

Cedars-Sinai surgeons use evidence-based protocols to reduce post-operative infections

Surgical teams at Cedars-Sinai have reduced surgical site infections by more than 60 percent for patients who undergo colorectal procedures by introducing evidence-based protocols that are easy to follow and relatively low in cost.

1 Dec 2012

The Atlantic features special section for AIDS articles

In recognition of World AIDS Day on December 1, the Atlantic features a collection of new and previous stories related to HIV/AIDS, titled "AIDS Around the World: Prevention, Treatment and Beyond."

1 Dec 2012

Aidspan publishes new issue of 'Global Fund Observer'

Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, on Friday published Issue 204 of its "Global Fund Observer."

1 Dec 2012

Mass. Republicans want top state health official to resign

The state's Republicans are challenging the handling of the recent meningitis outbreak and drug test tampering allegations.

1 Dec 2012

Health People comments on PEPFAR Blueprint for an AIDS Free World

The Obama Administration's PEPFAR "Blueprint for an AIDS Free World" released yesterday by U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton is an impressive and welcome roadmap forward," said Chris Norwood, Executive Director of Health People, Inc. in the South Bronx, where 2% of the adult population has HIV/AIDS.

1 Dec 2012

University of Washington team develops electrically spun cloth to prevent pregnancy, HIV

The only way to protect against HIV and unintended pregnancy today is the condom. It's an effective technology, but not appropriate or popular in all situations.

1 Dec 2012

The Lancet issues special series of articles focused on emerging zoonoses

Today, the prestigious British medical journal, The Lancet, has issued a special series of articles focused on emerging zoonoses (human diseases that originate in or are shared with animals).

1 Dec 2012

Financial Times publishes special report on global AIDS response

The Financial Times on Friday published a special report titled, "FT Health: Combating AIDS 2012."

1 Dec 2012

New strains of HIV spreading in India, scientists warn

"While India has drastically reduced the spread of HIV over the past decade, new strains of the virus that cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are troubling medical scientists in this country," Inter Press Service reports (Devraj, 11/29).

1 Dec 2012

Loss of either T-bet or Eomes protein reduces immune system's ability to fight viral infection

When you get an acute infection, such as influenza, the body generally responds with a coordinated response of immune-cell proliferation and attack that rapidly clears the pathogen. Then, their mission done, the immune system stands down, leaving a population of sentinel memory cells to rapidly redeploy the immune system in the event of reinfection.

1 Dec 2012

Scientists can produce new proteins by following certain rules

By following certain rules, scientists can prepare architectural plans for building ideal protein molecules not found in the real world. Based on these computer renditions, previously non-existent proteins can be produced from scratch in the lab. The principles to make this happen appear this month in Nature magazine.

1 Dec 2012

Current hospital cleaning protocol may be inadequate to rid MDR A. baumannii

Current hospital cleaning protocol may be inadequate to rid patient rooms of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii, according to a study in the December issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

1 Dec 2012

Researchers study antimicrobial peptides in fish gills to find solution for blocking human infections

Living in an environment teaming with bacteria and fungi, fish have evolved powerful defenses against waterborne pathogens, including antimicrobial peptides located in their gills. Undergraduate researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute are studying the biology and the mechanics of one of those peptides with the hope they can use that knowledge to create engineered surfaces that kill bacteria responsible for foodborne illnesses and hospital-acquired infections.

1 Dec 2012

Tissue damage, disease severity in C. diff. infection associated with disruption of PPARγ pathway

Researchers in the Nutritional Immunology and Molecular Medicine Laboratory at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute have discovered how a common diarrhea-causing bacterium sends the body's natural defenses into overdrive, actually intensifying illness while fighting infection.

1 Dec 2012

Use resources efficiently to end AIDS epidemic

"[O]ne thing I've learned from working on HIV/AIDS my entire political career -- we are far better united than divided," Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) writes in a Politico opinion piece, noting examples of bipartisan legislation that "help to slow the rate of infections and reduce the number of deaths from AIDS."

1 Dec 2012