Disease/Infection News

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Severe swine flu cases on the rise

Severe cases of swine flu requiring intensive care are on the rise this week. This has prompted a warning for the vulnerable to be vaccinated. NSW Health Communicable Diseases Branch director Dr Jeremy McAnulty said that the cases appear to be caused by the flu strain that caused the 2009 pandemic.

3 Aug 2010

Pakistani officials fear cholera outbreak after massive flooding

After floods in northwest Pakistan have "already killed up to 1,200 people" and forced 2 million from their homes, authorities are now concerned about disease spread, the Associated Press reports.

2 Aug 2010

Life Technologies launches new assay to detect deadly strain of E. coli

Life Technologies, a provider of innovative life science solutions, announced at the International Association of Food Protection annual meeting the launch of the MicroSEQ E. coli O157:H7 assay, designed to detect the deadly strain of Escherichia coli (E. coli), using the company's industry-leading real-time PCR technology.

2 Aug 2010

Researchers discover mechanism linking H. pylori infection and stomach cancer

Researchers have discovered a mechanism by which Helicobacter pylori, the only known cancer-causing bacterium, disables a tumor suppressor protein in host cells.The new study, in the journal Oncogene, reports the discovery of a previously unknown mechanism linking H. pylori infection and stomach cancer, the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide.

2 Aug 2010

Path-O-Cide, Fiber Coat with Kevlar protect from major health issues: Prime Coat Coating Systems

The Annual ACA Convention attendees will be the first to see 2 new products from Prime Coat Coating Systems. Path-O-Cide and Fiber Coat with Kevlar will revolutionize the way that correctional facilities are constructed and refurbished for the near future.

31 Jul 2010

Stop & Shop Supermarket announces voluntary recall of Nature's Promise Alfalfa, Zesty Sprouts

The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company has announced a voluntary recall of Nature's Promise Alfalfa and Zesty Sprouts because they have the potential to be contaminated with listeria monocytogenes.

31 Jul 2010

FDA announces approval of vaccines for 2010-2011 US influenza season

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has approved vaccines for the 2010-2011 influenza season in the United States.

31 Jul 2010

WHO expert: Faster MDR-TB test should be made available to vulnerable populations

A new diagnostic tool that shortens the diagnosis of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) from eight weeks to two hours should be made available to vulnerable populations according to a WHO expert, Reuters reports.

31 Jul 2010

Need for shelter in Haiti; Avoiding disease outbreaks; Presidential election

USAID Director Rajiv Shah "says shelter and rubble removal are immediate priorities in the reconstruction efforts in earthquake-devastated Haiti," VOA News reports. Shah briefed the House Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere Thursday, and also "said between 300,000 and 400,000 units of shelter are needed. He said aid workers are trying to provide about 135,000 transitional structures right now."

31 Jul 2010

Research establishes bases of possible future pharmaceutical drugs to combat AIDS virus

The doors are closing on the AIDS virus. The scientific community continues to strive to find the formula that will halt the advance of one of the viruses that has sparked most scientific interest over recent years. A study by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient-ficas (CSIC) and led by Mr F-lix Go-i, director of the Biophysics Unit at the CSIC-University of the Basque Country Mixed Centre, has developed a method of attack against the AIDS virus The method involves creating a prevention system, i.e. an 'armour' in the cells that are likely to be infected and thus impede, de facto, the virus from accessing them and starting to act on their immunological system.

31 Jul 2010

Study finds ST131 a major cause of antimicrobial-resistant E. coli infections

The new strain, ST131, was a major cause of serious antimicrobial-resistant E. coli infections in the United States in 2007, researchers found. This strain has been reported in multiple countries and encountered all over the United States. In the study, researchers analyzed resistant E. coli isolates collected during 2007 from hospitalized patients across the country. They identified 54 ST131 isolates, which accounted for 67 percent to 69 percent of E. coli isolates exhibiting fluoroquinolone or extended-spectrum cephalosporin resistance.

31 Jul 2010

Opinions: IDUs and HIV; AIDS 2010; International Violence Against Women Act

In a Los Angeles Times opinion piece, Evan Wood, associate professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, writes about the Vienna Declaration, a document he helped to draft, that calls for international leaders to revise drug policies to incorporate greater scientific evidence and promote HIV prevention, treatment and care for drug users.

31 Jul 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

A Center for Global Development memo offers suggestions for the U.S. to improve its commitment to policies that benefit poor countries after it ranked 17th out of 22 wealthy in the 2009 Commitment to Development Index. Among a set of 20 recommendations, the authors suggest the U.S. "[i]ncrease foreign aid, especially through such vehicles as the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), which gives to relatively well-governed countries, or a global 'Cash on Delivery' fund that would pay countries after making confirmed progress toward agreed-upon outcomes, thereby reducing the proliferation of aid projects," the authors write(Prieto/Roodman).

31 Jul 2010

GSK anticipates to supply over 30 million doses of FLULAVAL, FLUARIX for 2010-2011 flu season

GlaxoSmithKline announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) has released the first lots of FluLaval® [Influenza Virus Vaccine] allowing distribution in the U.S. to begin for the 2010-2011 flu season. GSK anticipates distribution of Fluarix® [Influenza Virus Vaccine] to follow in the next several weeks.

30 Jul 2010

Anadys Pharmaceuticals reports SVR12 data for ANA598

Anadys Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that six of six patients (100%) in the ANA598 200 mg twice daily (bid) arm who were randomized to stop all treatment at Week 24 in an ongoing Phase II trial maintained undetectable levels of virus 12 weeks after stopping treatment, referred to as Sustained Virological Response 12, or SVR12.

30 Jul 2010

Kiehl's Since 1851 inaugurates LifeRide to raise funds for amfAR

Maintaining its long-standing tradition of supporting HIV/AIDS charities, Kiehl's Since 1851, the venerable New York-based purveyor of fine quality skin and hair care, is pleased to announce a continued partnership with amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.

30 Jul 2010

Researchers discover three disease-causing genes in Salmonella

Researchers have discovered a novel mechanism in Salmonella that affects its virulence and its susceptibility to antibiotics by changing its production of proteins in a previously unheard of manner. This allows Salmonella to selectively change its levels of certain proteins to respond to inhospitable conditions.

30 Jul 2010

AdvanDx's 90 minutes protocol for Yeast Traffic Light PNA FISH test receives FDA 510(k) clearance

AdvanDx today announced that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for a fast, 90 minutes protocol for its Yeast Traffic Light® PNA FISH® test. The faster protocol reduces the PNA FISH turn-around time from the original 2.5 hours to 90 minutes by reducing PNA probe hybridization from 90 minutes to 30 minutes.

30 Jul 2010

AIDS 2010 follow-up coverage: Global HIV/AIDS funding; HIV/AIDS studies, releases

Media outlets continued to reflect on news from the International AIDS Conference-AIDS 2010, which attracted over 19,000 participants from 197 countries to Vienna last week, according to the conference blog.

30 Jul 2010

Anthera initiates PEARL-SC Phase 2b study of A-623 for lupus

Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company developing drugs to treat serious diseases associated with inflammation, today announced it has initiated PEARL-SC, the Phase 2b study of A-623, a novel inhibitor of B-Cell Activating Factor, or BAFF, for the treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (lupus). Lupus patients suffer from a chronic autoimmune disease, which often leads to severe skin rash, fatigue, joint pain, major organ complications, and cardiovascular disease.

30 Jul 2010