Disease/Infection News

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U.N. MDG summit begins; UNAIDS data shows 22 African countries see drop in new HIV infections

"Ten years after world leaders set the most ambitious goals ever to tackle global poverty, they are meeting again to try to spur action to meet the targets by the 2015 deadline - which the U.N. says will be difficult, if not impossible, in some cases," the Associated Press reports. More than 140 world leaders are scheduled to participate in the three-day U.N. Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which kicks off Monday.

21 Sep 2010

Discovery could lead to new treatment methods for toxoplasmosis

The parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis requires a stress response system that helps it survive the move to infect new cells, Indiana University School of Medicine scientists have reported, a discovery that could lead to new treatments to control the disease.

21 Sep 2010

Trius and Scripps to develop antibiotics from marine biomedical sources

In an effort to tap into the vast potential of the oceans as a source for novel medical treatments, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), a part of the Department of Defense (DoD), has awarded San Diego-based Trius Therapeutics, Inc. a four-and-a-half year contract worth up to $29.5 million to collaborate with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego for the development of novel antibiotics directed against microorganisms that cause serious infections.

21 Sep 2010

Study suggests older people may not benefit from new tuberculosis vaccines

Elderly people might not benefit from some of the tuberculosis vaccines currently in development, recent research suggests.Some vaccines under study are designed to activate a specific molecule that is an early participant in the immune response against TB in young people. But a recent Ohio State University study suggests that in older people, this molecule remains relatively inactive, even in the face of TB infection.

21 Sep 2010

Flu shots, heart attacks and flu prevention guidelines

According to a new British study yearly flu shots may protect against heart attacks, and the earlier in the season a shot is given the greater the protection. Niroshan Siriwardena, a professor of primary and pre-hospital health care at the University of Lincoln said, “The risk of getting a heart attack was reduced by 19 percent for those who had a vaccination in the past year.”

21 Sep 2010

Dengue fever vaccine in the pipeline

Australians researchers are moving towards producing the first ever vaccine for dengue fever, the potentially life-threatening infection spread by mosquitoes in the tropics. At present late stage clinical trials are underway for a vaccine that would protect against all four known strains of the disease. Participants are now being recruited in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane.

20 Sep 2010

Gov. Paterson vetoes more rent relief for HIV/AIDS patients

Gov. David A. Paterson, D-N.Y., has vetoed a bill to provide increased rent relief for more than 11,000 New Yorkers with HIV and AIDS.

20 Sep 2010

Scientific update conference on Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases

Lyme disease is a growing threat in the U.S., with numbers that continue to rise despite increased awareness about the disease. "Little is being done to stop the spread of Lyme disease and to help those who are suffering from chronic Lyme," says Pat Smith, president of the all-volunteer national Lyme Disease Association, which funds research, educates the public, and provides scientific conferences for doctors.

20 Sep 2010

H1N1 influenza increases neurological complications in children: Study

A recent study by researchers at the University of Utah determined that the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) caused a higher rate of neurological complications in children than the seasonal flu. The most common complications observed were seizures and encephalopathy.

20 Sep 2010

Adenovirus exposure may cause obesity in children: Study

The emerging idea that obesity may have an infectious origin gets new support in a cross-sectional study by University of California, San Diego School of Medicine researchers who found that children exposed to a particular strain of adenovirus were significantly more likely to be obese.

20 Sep 2010

Researchers discover HIV-1 resists AZT drug

Rutgers researchers have discovered how HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, resists AZT, a drug widely used to treat AIDS. The scientists, who report their findings in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, believe their discovery helps researchers understand how important anti-AIDS treatments can fail and could help AIDS researchers develop more effective treatment for the disease.

20 Sep 2010

CytoGenix initiates novel liner DNA technology testing on ferrets for vaccine development

CytoGenix, Inc. today announced that it has initiated the process of testing CytoGenix's novel liner DNA technology on ferrets, with the expectations of a positive result, furthering the development of the vaccine candidate.

18 Sep 2010

CDC, Epocrates educate healthcare professionals about safe injection practices

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Epocrates, Inc. are educating healthcare professionals about safe injection practices conveniently and effectively on their smartphone devices. Epocrates' EssentialPoints mobile detailing program provides healthcare professionals with key lessons that can be applied directly to patient care.

18 Sep 2010

Proposal by WHO to eliminate AIDS in South Africa is flawed, model shows

In 2008, Reuben Granich and his colleagues at the World Health Organization published a paper in the medical journal The Lancet that proposed a new strategy for combating HIV in South Africa, a country staggered by the virus, with as much as 18 percent of the population estimated to be infected.

18 Sep 2010

Walgreens pharmacists in California offer immunizations that protect against pertussis

With the state of California on pace for the worst epidemic of pertussis, or whooping cough, in nearly five decades, officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the California Department of Public Health continue to strongly encourage vaccination to help increase immunity and stop the spread of the disease for all Californians.

18 Sep 2010

Scientists develop computer model to examine genetic switch for TB dormancy

An examination of a portion of the tuberculosis genome that responds to stress has allowed Rice University bioengineers Oleg Igoshin and Abhinav Tiwari to zero in on a network of genes that may "switch" the disease into dormancy.

18 Sep 2010

Global Fund head repeats appeal for emerging countries to invest more in fight against AIDS, TB, malaria

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Director Michel Kazatchkine on Thursday repeated his appeal for emerging countries to scale up their contributions to fight the three major diseases, Agence France-Presse reports.

18 Sep 2010

InVision-Plus connector reduces CLABSI infections: Report

The InVision-Plus needleless IV connector helped three different organizations sharply reduce and in some cases completely eliminate central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI), according to three poster presentations that will be presented at AVA 2010, the annual scientific meeting of the Association for Vascular Access.

18 Sep 2010

CMB initiates first human trial for plant-produced H1N1 influenza vaccine

Fraunhofer USA Center for Molecular Biotechnology (CMB) announced today it has initiated the first human trial of plant-produced H1N1 influenza vaccine at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Clinical Trials Center (WRAIR-CTC).

18 Sep 2010

Researchers discover evolutionary nature of bacteria to spread chronic infectious disease

Researchers from the Center for Genomic Sciences at Allegheny General Hospital (AGH) in Pittsburgh have made a landmark discovery about the evolutionary nature of bacteria in the setting of chronic infectious disease. Reporting today in the journal PLos Pathogens, the AGH team documents for the first time that bacteria engage in a process called horizontal gene transfer to evolve rapidly during the course of a single infection.

18 Sep 2010