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Mandatory influenza vaccination for healthcare personnel needed

Influenza vaccination of healthcare personnel is a professional and ethical responsibility and non-compliance with healthcare facility policies regarding vaccination should not be tolerated, according to a position paper released today by the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA).

31 Aug 2010

Greater clarity on legal implications of testing incapacitated patients for blood-borne viruses needed

Anaesthetists are calling for greater clarity on the legal implications of testing incapacitated patients for blood-borne viruses, after a survey found that this is often done following staff needlestick injuries, in possible breach of UK legislation.

31 Aug 2010

Ralphs Grocery Company to offer seasonal flu vaccine at $25

Ralphs Grocery Company is making it easy and affordable for customers to stay healthy by getting seasonal flu immunizations early.

31 Aug 2010

Research on trypanosomes can open way for African sleeping sickness drug development

Trypanosomes are parasites responsible for many human and animal diseases, primarily in tropical climates. One disease these parasites cause, African sleeping sickness, results from the bite of infected tsetse flies, putting over 60 million Africans at risk in 36 sub-Saharan countries. The recent 1998-2001 sleeping sickness epidemics in South Sudan, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda killed tens of thousands of people and resulted in over a half million infected individuals.

31 Aug 2010

Salmonella contamination drives retail sales of pasteurized shell eggs

Consumer demand for safe eggs has driven retail sales of pasteurized shell eggs up by more than 50% since Aug. 16 when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended their use to prevent illness from egg-related Salmonella Enteritidis, announced National Pasteurized Eggs (NPE).

31 Aug 2010

BARDA awards $27 million contract to Achaogen for antibiotic development

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) today awarded a contract to develop an antibiotic that could be used against possibly two types of bioterrorism as well as common infections that are becoming resistant to antibiotics.

31 Aug 2010

Amino acid arginine vital in fighting infection

Richard Lamb and his post doctoral fellow Virginie Mieulet, in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, may be able to explain why proper nutrition is so vital in fighting infection.

31 Aug 2010

Achaogen receives contract from BARDA for developing ACHN-490 antibiotic treatment

Achaogen, a biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing innovative antibiotics to treat life-threatening, multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacterial infections, today announced the award of a contract with The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

31 Aug 2010

U.N.-NGO conference on MDGs kicks off in Australia

Ahead of next month's U.N. Summit in New York, a joint U.N.-NGO conference tracking the world's progress toward reaching the U.N. Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) kicked off in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday, ABC News reports (8/30).

30 Aug 2010

Opinions: MDG progress; Drug patents; Aid for scientific research; Avoiding food crises; Hunger in India; U.S. commitments to PEPFAR, Global Fund

"Between the catastrophes of the Haiti earthquake and the Pakistan floods, there was actually some good news this spring on the global health front, which offers hope that the United Nations' ambitious Millennium Development Goals might not be at a standstill. Though a great deal remains to be done, all of us are living longer, fewer mothers are dying in childbirth, and fewer children are dying before school age," Eli Adashi, professor of medical science at Brown University, writes in Boston Globe editorial.

30 Aug 2010

Also in Global Health News: GM mosquitoes; Iodine deficiency in Nepal; South African health workers strike; Novartis to build vaccine plant in Brazil; Population control in Niger

Malaysia is still "considering releasing" up to 3,000 mosquitoes that are genetically modified to "combat dengue fever, in a landmark field trial that has come in for criticism from environmentalists," Agence France-Presse reports. The insects are modified "so that their offspring quickly die," which researchers hope will cull the population and lessen the risk of dengue.

30 Aug 2010

Nanotherapeutics files NanoDTPA IND for treatment of radiation exposure

Nanotherapeutics, Inc., announced that it has filed an Investigational New Drug (IND) Application with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for NanoDTPA™ an orally administered capsule that is a less invasive treatment alternative to the FDA approved injectable Zn-DTPA (diethylenetriamine pentacetic acid). DTPA is used to remove radioactive compounds from the body to help eliminate the contamination. The NanoDTPA™ capsule is a unique orally-bioavailable fine particle formulation that allows DTPA to be absorbed into the body from the gastrointestinal tract.

30 Aug 2010

Trius commences oral torezolid phosphate Phase 3 clinical study for ABSSSI

Trius Therapeutics, Inc. announced that the first patient has been dosed in its Phase 3 clinical study of the oral dosage form of torezolid phosphate for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI). The double-blind, active control, pivotal study is designed to compare the efficacy and safety of once-daily oral administration of 200 milligrams of torezolid phosphate for six days of treatment with the efficacy and safety of twice-daily oral administration of 600 milligrams of linezolid (Zyvox®) for 10 days of treatment.

30 Aug 2010

FDA approves additional strengths of SOLODYN for inflammatory lesions treatment

Medicis today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved additional strengths of SOLODYN (minocycline HCl, USP) Extended Release Tablets in 55 mg, 80 mg and 105 mg dosages for the treatment of inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris in patients 12 years of age and older.

30 Aug 2010

Children, teens need good health before the start of new school year, says medical director

With the back to school shopping season in full swing, it is also important to arm area children and teens with other tools they need to have a good school year- like medical exams. These are critical to good health and should take place before or shortly after the start of the new school year, and include a routine doctor's exam to confirm that all immunizations are up-to-date, a dental check-up, and a vision exam.

30 Aug 2010

Cargill recalls four tons of ground beef products due to E. coli O26 recent outbreak

The recent outbreak of E. coli O26 linked to three illnesses and the recall of four tons of ground beef products produced by Cargill Meat Solutions is the precise reason these pathogens need to be monitored, says Seattle food safety attorney Bill Marler.

30 Aug 2010

Researchers find infectious disease proliferation in complex networks

A team of researchers led by Dr. Hern-n Makse, professor of physics at The City College of New York (CCNY), has shed new light on the way that information and infectious diseases proliferate across complex networks.

30 Aug 2010

Health care-associated infections increase length of hospital stays

Adults who developed health care-associated infections (HAIs) due to medical or surgical care while in the hospital in 2007 had to stay an average of 19 days longer than adults who didn't develop an infection, (24 days versus 5 days), according to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

30 Aug 2010

Scientists develop microarray technology to create blood transcriptional signatures for infectious diseases

It may soon be possible to identify patients who will develop tuberculosis, as scientists have identified changes in the blood specific to the disease. These findings are from an international study published in the August 19 issue of Nature and conducted by doctors and researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital using blood profiling techniques to understand infections.

30 Aug 2010

Scientists report frog skin contains new genera of antibiotics

Kissing a frog won't turn it into a prince except in fairy tales but frogs may be hopping toward a real world transformation into princely allies in humanity's battle with antibiotic-resistant infections that threaten millions of people worldwide. Scientists today reported that frog skin contains natural substances that could be the basis for a powerful new genre of antibiotics.

30 Aug 2010

Disease/Infection News

Mandatory influenza vaccination for healthcare personnel needed

Greater clarity on legal implications of testing incapacitated patients for blood-borne viruses needed

Ralphs Grocery Company to offer seasonal flu vaccine at $25

Research on trypanosomes can open way for African sleeping sickness drug development

Salmonella contamination drives retail sales of pasteurized shell eggs

BARDA awards $27 million contract to Achaogen for antibiotic development

Amino acid arginine vital in fighting infection

Achaogen receives contract from BARDA for developing ACHN-490 antibiotic treatment

U.N.-NGO conference on MDGs kicks off in Australia

Opinions: MDG progress; Drug patents; Aid for scientific research; Avoiding food crises; Hunger in India; U.S. commitments to PEPFAR, Global Fund

Also in Global Health News: GM mosquitoes; Iodine deficiency in Nepal; South African health workers strike; Novartis to build vaccine plant in Brazil; Population control in Niger

Nanotherapeutics files NanoDTPA IND for treatment of radiation exposure

Trius commences oral torezolid phosphate Phase 3 clinical study for ABSSSI

FDA approves additional strengths of SOLODYN for inflammatory lesions treatment

Children, teens need good health before the start of new school year, says medical director

Cargill recalls four tons of ground beef products due to E. coli O26 recent outbreak

Researchers find infectious disease proliferation in complex networks

Health care-associated infections increase length of hospital stays

Scientists develop microarray technology to create blood transcriptional signatures for infectious diseases

Scientists report frog skin contains new genera of antibiotics

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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