Disease/Infection News

RSS

WHO says it is better prepared for influenza pandemic

"More than 100 public health experts have wrapped up a three-day meeting in Geneva to review a Global Action Plan for Influenza Vaccines that was developed in 2006, and to develop a strategic plan of action for the next five years," VOA News reports, noting that the WHO "says the world is better prepared for the next influenza pandemic than it was in the past".

16 Jul 2011

Heavy rains, disease affecting drought refugees in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia

People who have fled the drought in Somalia to camps near the capital Mogadishu are being hit by cold, heavy rains, and at least five people have died of exposure, according to aid workers, BBC News reports.

16 Jul 2011

Genome Research publishes studies utilizing emerging Collaborative Cross mouse strains

The Collaborative Cross represents a large collection of new inbred mouse strains created by the mouse genetics community aimed at revolutionizing the study of complex genetic traits and diseases. Derived from classical inbred strains and wild-derived strains, the CC captures nearly 90% of known genetic variation in laboratory mice, far surpassing more commonly used inbred strains.

15 Jul 2011

Opinions about the CIA's ruse vaccination campaign in Pakistan

Health experts and writers continue to react to the CIA's use of a vaccine campaign to hunt Osama bin Laden.

15 Jul 2011

Simple steps can improve malaria prevention

Megan Fotheringham, a public health adviser with the President's Malaria Initiative, describes in a post on USAID's "IMPACTblog" how a program in Kenya worked to improve the successful administration of malaria prevention therapy among pregnant women in the country's Gem District simply by sending to antenatal clinics a memo describing when to administer the treatment.

15 Jul 2011

Vaccine and aid workers express anger over CIA plot to collect DNA through fake vaccine program

"Vaccine program workers, who sometimes struggle to gain public trust and governmental cooperation in the first place, are furious about the deception" of the CIA in establishing a fake vaccination program in Pakistan in an attempt to gather DNA from Osama bin Laden's family, ScienceInsider reports.

15 Jul 2011

Berks County's Department of Health advises public about possible measles exposure

The state Department of Health is advising the public of a possible case of measles exposure in Morgantown, Berks County.

15 Jul 2011

Non-invasive 'swine flu' breath test could help ease future vaccine shortages

A test, novel breath measuring the immune response to the H1N1 flu virus, could help to ease future vaccine shortages by identifying the people who have already been infected with the flu virus.

15 Jul 2011

Tea or coffee can protect from MRSA superbug

According to the latest study in the Annals of Family Medicine, people who drink tea or coffee regularly may be less likely to carry the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in their nostrils.

14 Jul 2011

Device that crowd-sources water quality introduced at TEDGlobal conference

Researchers at the TEDGlobal conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, this week described a device that crowd-sources water quality to "chec[k] supplies in real-time, alerting users to possible infections," and "upload[s] the data, allowing scientists to monitor the location and movement of outbreaks," BBC News reports

14 Jul 2011

Study finds structural determinants of adolescent girls' vulnerability to HIV

A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows that community members correlate an increase in HIV vulnerability among adolescent girls with weak structural support systems.

14 Jul 2011

Studies show AIDS drugs can prevent heterosexuals from acquiring HIV

Two new studies released early Wednesday show that AIDS drugs can prevent heterosexuals from acquiring HIV, adding to a growing number of new methods to slow the spread of the virus world-wide.

14 Jul 2011

New paper provides unique review on respiratory disorders in the Middle East

Lung diseases in the Middle East range from the centuries-old pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) to modern manifestations caused by chemical warfare. A new paper now available in Respirology, a journal of the Asian Pacific Society of Respirology, provides pulmonologists and patients with the first comprehensive review of respiratory illnesses specific to the Persian Gulf region, and the challenges in treating them.

14 Jul 2011

European Respiratory Society Congress to take place on September 24, 2011

The 2011 European Respiratory Society Congress will take place at the Amsterdam RAI congress centre from Saturday 24 September to Wednesday 28 September 2011.

14 Jul 2011

Malaria prevention project using dirty sock odor awarded Grand Challenges grant

The odor of dirty socks can be used to attract mosquitoes and kill them before they're able to spread malaria, Fredros Okumu of the Ifakara Health Institute in Tanzania said on Wednesday, Agence France-Presse reports.

14 Jul 2011

Positive data from Inovio's VGX-3400X Phase I study against H5N1 influenza

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that significant T cell and antibody responses were generated in its Phase I clinical study of VGX-3400X, a SynCon DNA vaccine for the prevention of avian H5N1 influenza delivered using intramuscular (IM) electroporation.

14 Jul 2011

'Sex' between viruses can create new influenza pandemic

A new University of Maryland-led study finds that 'sex' between the virus responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic (H1N1) and a common type of avian flu virus (H9N2) can produce offspring -- new combined flu viruses -- with the potential for creating a new influenza pandemic.

14 Jul 2011

New Tamiflu anti-viral flu medication in lower concentration

When flu season arrives this fall, a liquid form of Tamiflu—the most widely used anti-viral flu medication—will be available in a new, lower concentration to reduce the possibility of medication errors.

14 Jul 2011

Scientists discover new mechanism of drug resistance in hospital microbes

Hospitals struggle to prevent the infections that complicate treatment for cancer, joint replacement, heart surgery and other conditions. Hospital-acquired infections are often resistant to multiple antibiotics, leading to approximately 100,000 deaths and more than $30 billion in additional health care costs yearly.

14 Jul 2011

Five-year research initiative to cure HIV disease

A team of AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and other institutions have embarked on a joint five-year research initiative to cure HIV disease by finding ways to completely purge the virus from the body in people already successfully suppressing the virus with antiretroviral drug therapy.

14 Jul 2011