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WHO declares end to global swine flu pandemic

"The World Health Organization is declaring an end to the global swine flu pandemic," the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports.

12 Aug 2011

Spread of Polio in Pakistan threatening goal of eradication

With 63 cases of polio diagnosed in Pakistan this year, nearly double the number recorded in the same time period 2010, the U.N. "says that these findings suggest Pakistan could be the 'last polio reservoir worldwide' - the country standing in the way of eliminating only the second global epidemic disease after smallpox," the Atlantic Wire reports.

12 Aug 2011

Common barriers and strategies to implement new anti-MRSA practices in ICUs

Researchers from the Indiana University have identified common barriers and strategies for successfully implementing practice changes in Intensive Care Units.

12 Aug 2011

New technique can help develop HIV vaccines

Researchers have traced in detail how certain powerful HIV neutralizing antibodies evolve, a finding that generates vital clues to guide the design of a preventive HIV vaccine, according to a study appearing in Science Express this week.

12 Aug 2011

Alternatives needed to inaccurate blood tests used to diagnose active TB

A guest post in PLoS Medicine's "Speaking of Medicine" blog, written by tuberculosis (TB) researchers Madhukar Pai of McGill University, David Dowdy of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Karen Steingart of the University of Washington School of Public Health, examines the medical, public health and economic consequences of the widespread use of inaccurate antibody-based serological diagnostic tests for active TB.

12 Aug 2011

Ecological research on disease prevention and human biome

Public awareness about the role and interaction of microbes is essential for promoting human and environmental health, say scientists presenting research at the Ecological Society of America's (ESA) 96th Annual Meeting from August 7-12, 2011.

12 Aug 2011

PBS NewsHour examines use of Twitter to track disease spread

PBS NewsHour's blog "The Rundown" examines "a recent slate of independent studies" that assert "Twitter can accurately track the spread of a virus or disease - and do it much faster than traditional surveillance methods."

12 Aug 2011

U.S Global Malaria Coordinator discusses U.S. investment in global fight against malaria

In a Malaria Policy Center "Malaria Watch TV" video post, U.S. Global Malaria Coordinator Rear Admiral Tim Ziemer "speaks with the Malaria Policy Center about the status of the malaria fight and how the U.S. is leading the way against this preventable and treatable disease," the organization writes.

12 Aug 2011

DYCAST software predicts spread of mosquito-borne West Nile virus in California counties

A computerized epidemiological model of the spread of the mosquito-borne West Nile virus in 17 counties of California in 2005 successfully predicted where 81.6 percent of human cases of the disease would arise and defined high-risk areas where the risk of infection turned out to be 39 times higher than in low-risk areas, according to newly published research.

12 Aug 2011

C. difficile infection more prevalent in Chicago-area acute care hospitals

An outbreak strain of Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that causes diarrhea and sometimes life-threatening inflammation of the colon, is common in Chicago-area acute care hospitals, an investigation published in the September issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology suggests.

12 Aug 2011

Researchers discover key reason why pyrazinamide shortens duration of TB therapy

Pyrazinamide has been used in combination with other drugs as a first-line treatment for people with tuberculosis (TB) since the 1950s, but exactly how the drug works has not been well understood.

12 Aug 2011

Three approaches for HIV testing among African American MSM

The odds for effectively detecting HIV in African-American men vary by method, researchers have found. The study, which appears in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine, suggests that HIV-prevention efforts must be multi-faceted, taking into account differences in within this demographic.

12 Aug 2011

Researchers identify unknown link between migration of WBCs to infected tissues, immune memory

Researchers from Dr. Woodland's lab at the Trudeau Institute have now identified a previously unknown link between the migration of white blood cells to infected tissues and the ability of these cells to survive and become long-lived memory cells after the infection has been cleared.

11 Aug 2011

Twitter, Facebook emerging as disease-fighting tools

From Iowa to Brazil, researchers are discovering there is a distinct association between complaints, worries and random rants on the social media site and the spread of medical issues as wide-ranging as the flu, dengue fever and pollen-induced allergies.

11 Aug 2011

BCG vaccine can help immune system recognise cancer cells as 'foreign'

Scientists have found a potential new mechanism to stimulate the body's own ability to fight cancer using Baculillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) - the germ commonly used to inoculate against tuberculosis.

11 Aug 2011

Members of U.S. delegation to Horn of Africa discuss response efforts

The August 8 visit of a U.S. delegation to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa "was important in terms of shedding light on the important efforts that are under way and the importance of continued support from the international community," Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration Eric Schwartz said on Tuesday during a briefing on the trip, IIP Digital reports.

11 Aug 2011

Commercial blood serum antibody tests cost-effective, not accurate for active TB

Commercial blood serum antibody tests—widely used in India and other developing countries to diagnose active tuberculosis—are not accurate or cost-effective, according to an analysis by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the University of Washington School of Public Health and McGill University.

11 Aug 2011

Pakistan faces HIV/AIDS spreading from high-risk groups to general population

"For a long time, perceptions of Pakistan as a conservative Muslim country encouraged a belief that HIV/AIDS incidence would be non-existent or very low," but "with the number of HIV cases rising, the government finally included it in its 2009 national health policy," BBC News reports.

11 Aug 2011

New computational model could forecast cholera outbreaks

Just as the rainy season is driving a new surge of cholera cases in Haiti, a new computational model could forecast where outbreaks are likely to occur.

11 Aug 2011

CDC Director lauds India for TB and tobacco use control efforts, urges preparations to fight NCDs

CDC Director Thomas Frieden, who currently is visiting India and who previously worked with the Indian government assisting in tuberculosis (TB) control, praised the country's "progress in controlling tuberculosis and tobacco use" on Monday during a speech to health practitioners and policymakers, according to the Wall Street Journal's "India Real Time" blog.

11 Aug 2011