Disease/Infection News

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Elsevier releases 'Infectious Diseases,' 3rd edition

Elsevier, the world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, proudly announces the release of Infectious Diseases, 3rd Edition.

6 Jul 2010

Breathing system filters used in anaesthesia allow passage of bacterial, yeast infections

Doctors have highlighted potential problems with the breathing system filters used in anaesthesia, including intensive care units, after demonstrating that they don't provide protection from harmful bacteria and yeast when they become wet.

6 Jul 2010

Protagen, Mikrogen collaborate to identify typical autoantibody signatures in infectious diseases

Protagen AG, Dortmund, and the Neuried, Germany, based diagnostics company Mikrogen GmbH, announced today the closing of a collaboration agreement for the identification of typical autoantibody signatures in infectious diseases.

6 Jul 2010

Update on suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in Republic of the Congo

Blood samples taken from one of the suspected cases in Sangha Region, Republic of Congo, tested negative for several viral haemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, Marburg, CCHF, Arenavirus).

5 Jul 2010

Pet reptiles can pose health risks in the young: Report

A four month old girl, the report says, contracted salmonella infection after coming in contact with an eastern bearded dragon. She was taken to an ACT hospital emergency department last year suffering from fever, vomiting and bloody diarrhea. She had to be subsequently hospitalized for four days. The infection did not spread to any other family member the doctors wrote.

4 Jul 2010

GeoVax releases two articles on Historic HIV Vaccine Trial

GeoVax Labs, Inc., a biotechnology company that creates, develops and tests innovative HIV/AIDS vaccines, is mentioned in two recent articles covering a historic HIV vaccine trial currently being conducted by the AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta using a vaccine supplied by GeoVax.

3 Jul 2010

Shire presents positive data from TKT-025 EXT Phase I/II study for VPRIV in type 1 Gaucher disease patients

Shire plc, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced positive data from its long-term extension to its open label Phase I/II study (TKT-025 EXT) for VPRIV® (velaglucerase alfa), the company's enzyme replacement therapy for patients with type 1 Gaucher disease. The data were presented at the 9th Annual European Working Group on Gaucher Disease (EWGGD) in Cologne, Germany, and add to the growing body of clinical evidence which supports the safety and sustained efficacy of VPRIV.

2 Jul 2010

Clemizole can yield high-level synergy with protease inhibitor class: Research

Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company developing antiviral therapies, announced today the publication of research from the lab of Stanford scientist and Eiger Founder, Dr. Jeffrey Glenn, M.D., Ph.D. and colleagues entitled, "The Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) NS4B RNA Binding Inhibitor Clemizole is Highly Synergistic with HCV Protease Inhibitors".

2 Jul 2010

Virus related to hepatitis C discovered in Asian bats

Viral hepatitis affects more than 500 million people worldwide and is a cause of liver failure and liver cancer. While vaccines are available for hepatitis A and B, this is not the case for hepatitis C, which affects as much as two percent of the population in the U.S. Scientists today are reporting discovery of a virus related to hepatitis C in Asian bats, which may provide insights into the origins of the hepatitis C virus and into the mechanisms by which infectious diseases move from other species to humans.

2 Jul 2010

ORS, zinc supplements and rotavirus vaccine can reduce diarrheal disease

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health urge wider use of oral rehydration solution (ORS), zinc supplementation and rotavirus vaccine to reduce the deaths from diarrheal disease worldwide.

2 Jul 2010

House Subcommittee approves $52.7B FY11 Foreign Ops appropriations bill

The Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs approved a $52.7 billion FY 2011 spending bill on Wednesday that withheld $3.9 billion in aid for Afghanistan over concerns about corruption in the country, CongressDaily reports. The bill "already cut $4 billion from President Obama's request to fund the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and dozens of foreign assistance and cooperation programs," the publication writes.

2 Jul 2010

Adding nutrients could improve efficiency of deep sea biological pump

Adding nutrients to the sea could decrease viral infection rates among phytoplankton and enhance the efficiency of the biological pump, a means by which carbon is transferred from the atmosphere to the deep ocean, according to a new mathematical modelling study. The findings, published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology, have implications for ocean geo-engineering schemes proposed for tackling global warming.

2 Jul 2010

AP reports on how newly approved meningitis vaccine could 'revolutionalize' prevention of disease in Africa

The WHO's recent prequalification approval of a low-cost meningitis vaccine could "help prevent epidemics in Africa for the first time, revolutionizing how doctors fight outbreaks of the deadly disease," the Associated Press reports.

2 Jul 2010

Book on governance, social justice and epidemic diseases

Recent disease events such as SARS, H1N1 and avian influenza, and haemorrhagic fevers have focussed policy and public concern as never before on epidemics and so-called 'emerging infectious diseases'. Understanding and responding to these often unpredictable events have become major challenges for local, national and international bodies.

2 Jul 2010

American Abroad Media examines intersection of religion and public health in Africa

American Abroad Media examines how religious groups and leaders are dealing with public health issues in Africa. The program consists of five segments.

2 Jul 2010

New York Times: AIDS drug program has growing waiting list

The New York Times: "The weak economy is crippling the government program that provides life-sustaining antiretroviral drugs to people with H.I.V. or AIDS who cannot afford them. Nearly 1,800 have been relegated to rapidly expanding waiting lists that less than three years ago had dwindled to zero. ...

2 Jul 2010

AHF members urge Congress to honor AIDS funding commitment

Five AIDS treatment clients and medical care providers from Uganda are visiting Washington, DC for a series of over 50 meetings this week on Capitol Hill with Senate and Congressional leaders to lobby Congress to honor the US' landmark commitment to PEPFAR (the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), the successful US global AIDS program.

2 Jul 2010

Diagnostic Hybrids receives Chinese SFDA approval for D3 Ultra DFA Respiratory Virus Screening and ID Kit

Diagnostic Hybrids, a Quidel Company, received approval from the People's Republic of China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) for its D3 Ultra DFA Respiratory Virus Screening and ID Kit. The D3 Ultra DFA Respiratory Virus Screening and ID Kit is a direct fluorescence assay (DFA) that provides rapid, sensitive and specific screening and identification of Influenza A, Influenza B, Parainfluenza 1, 2, & 3, Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Adenovirus.

1 Jul 2010

FIOCRUZ receives Brazil's Anvisa regulatory approval to market Chembio's Dual Path Platform HIV 1/2 rapid test

Chembio Diagnostics, Inc., which develops, manufactures, markets and licenses point-of-care diagnostic tests, has been notified that Bio-Manguinhos, a division of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation of Brazil ("FIOCRUZ"), has received regulatory approval from Brazil's National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) to market Chembio's Dual Path Platform (DPP®) HIV 1/2 rapid test for use with oral fluid, blood, serum or plasma samples. The approval triggers $400,000 in license revenues payable to Chembio within 120 days of the date of approval.

1 Jul 2010

Fecal contamination on hands linked to bacterial contamination in stored water

Scientists are reporting dramatic new real-world evidence supporting the idea that hand washing can prevent the spread of water-borne disease. It appears in a new study showing a connection between fecal bacteria contamination on hands, fecal contamination of stored drinking water, and health in households in a developing country in Africa. The study is in ACS' Environmental Science & Technology, a semi-monthly journal.

1 Jul 2010