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SMARTube technology helps physicians create index to get accurate picture of HIV infection

New data presented at the Center for Disease Control -sponsored 2010 HIV Diagnostics Conference suggests that an assay based on SMARTube™ technology may prove useful in developing a standardized measure for estimating what proportion of those infected with HIV have become recently infected.

29 Mar 2010

Bonis project develops multimedia system to identify dengue plague and febrile illnesses in Paraguay

Xabier Basogain Olabe (Donostia-San Sebasti-n, 1962), lecturer at the Higher Technical School of Engineering in Bilbao, is leading this project, known as Bonis. It involves developing a multimedia system in order to undertake visual monitoring of epidemiology in isolated areas of Paraguay and thus avoid the dengue plague and other febrile illnesses.

29 Mar 2010

TB-causing bacteria can hijack fat metabolism to drive progression of the disease

The factors instrumental in triggering latent tuberculosis infection to progress into active disease have long remained elusive to researchers. New insight into the mystery is provided by Professor David Russell, speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting in Edinburgh today. His work could help develop innovative strategies for treating the disease.

29 Mar 2010

Backpacker problem in Australia - binge drinking and unprotected sex

The tourist season may not be quite as healthy for the locals as it was before. In an eight year old study conducted by the Sydney Sexual Health Care Centre some scary facts have come to light. The study was based on about 5,700 backpackers who belonged mostly to the UK or Ireland and were in their mid twenties.

28 Mar 2010

Norovirus outbreak associated with oysters: FDA and Mississippi, Louisiana public health agencies issue warning

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is working with state health officials from Mississippi and Louisiana to notify consumers, food service operators and retailers nationwide about an outbreak of norovirus associated with oysters recently harvested from an area near Port Sulphur, La. known as Area 7. The oysters were sold or distributed nationwide.

27 Mar 2010

Role Tregs play in therapeutic HIV vaccines

Like a skittish driver slamming the brakes, a special class of T cells may be limiting the effectiveness of therapeutic vaccines for HIV by slowing the immune system response too soon, report University of Pittsburgh health science researchers in the current issue of PLoS ONE. Their study, the first to look at the role of regulatory T cells in therapeutic HIV vaccines, may help researchers improve the efficacy of such vaccines by devising methods to circumvent the braking mechanism of these cells.

27 Mar 2010

Antiviral treatment may lead to drug-resistant H1N1 virus: NIAID

Two people with compromised immune systems who became ill with 2009 H1N1 influenza developed drug-resistant strains of virus after less than two weeks on therapy, report doctors from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

27 Mar 2010

ThisCaringHome.org: Interactive web site for caregivers of Alzheimer's

It is estimated that Alzheimer's disease affects 5.3 million Americans and that number is expected to double by 2050. Caregivers shoulder a particularly heavy burden as the illness alters the dementia patient's behavior, mood and judgment, impeding his or her ability to engage in normal, everyday activities.

27 Mar 2010

New ways to halt the rise of antimicrobial-resistant infections

Preventing, controlling and treating drug-resistant infections is one of the major challenges in modern medicine. Antimicrobial Resistance goes beyond simple definitions and microbiological data to fully explore this rapidly changing area, describing evidence for effective interventions, costs, treatment strategies and directions for future research.

27 Mar 2010

FDA: Outbreak of campylobacteriosis linked to drinking raw milk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with several state agencies, is alerting consumers to an outbreak of campylobacteriosis associated with drinking raw milk. At least 12 confirmed illnesses have been recently reported in Michigan. Symptoms of campylobacteriosis include diarrhea, abdominal pain and fever.

27 Mar 2010

Agent Orange exposure: VA adds three new illnesses to list of health problems

Well over 100,000 Veterans exposed to herbicides while serving in Vietnam and other areas will have an easier path to qualify for disability pay under a proposed regulation published by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) that adds three new illnesses to the list of health problems found to be related to Agent Orange and other herbicide exposures.

27 Mar 2010

Increasing spread of HIV/STD disease among MSM in Africa and Asia

Increasing rate of HIV/STD disease is being reported among 'men who have sex with men' with high risk behaviors in Africa and Asia, according to a groundbreaking paper in the April issue of Sexually Transmitted Diseases, official journal of the American Sexually Transmitted Diseases Association.

27 Mar 2010

Event addresses how TV can raise awareness of global health issues

At an event in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday sponsored by the Hollywood, Health & Society program of the University of Southern California, panelists discussed how television storylines can raise the American public's awareness of global health issues, the Washington Examiner's blog, "Yeas & Nays," reports (Schwab/Palmeri, 3/25).

27 Mar 2010

READ 3 study for DME begins enrolling participants

A Phase II clinical trial for a promising treatment for diabetic eye disease has begun enrolling participants.

27 Mar 2010

State HIV programs face cuts, CDC notes high prevalence in young African-Americans, gay men

NPR's Shots blog: "As states struggle with budget shortfalls, many are looking to trim costs by chopping health spending. And funding for HIV/AIDS programs has been a prime target. A proposed budget in South Carolina would eliminate funding for HIV/AIDS prevention and for help with buying drugs to treat the disease. 'South Carolina is thought to be the first state in the nation to propose the elimination of its entire HIV/AIDS budget,' the newspaper The State reported. Elsewhere, HIV/AIDS funding has been under pressure for a while.

27 Mar 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

"Sub-Saharan Africa is affected by a disproportionately high prevalence of both HIV infection and food scarcity," write the authors of an American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article on the relationship between malnutrition and the progression of HIV/AIDS. "Underweight individuals will continue to represent a significant proportion of patients who present for HIV care in sub-Saharan Africa.

27 Mar 2010

CA-MRSA becoming common among children admitted to PICU's

Once considered a hospital anomaly, community-acquired infections with drug-resistant strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus now turn up regularly among children hospitalized in the intensive-care unit, according to research from the Johns Hopkins Children's Center.

26 Mar 2010

Inverness Medical Deutschland to distribute MDI's Detect-Ready MRSA assay in key European markets

Molecular Detection Inc. (MDI), a company developing Detect-Ready™ assays designed to increase the speed and accuracy of infectious disease diagnosis, and Inverness Medical Deutschland GmbH today announced that they have entered into an exclusive distribution agreement for MDI's Detect-Ready MRSA assay in the key European markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

26 Mar 2010

Substance abuse treatment services: Routine on-site infectious disease screening necessary

Fewer than half of all substance abuse treatment facilities surveyed nationwide reported that they conduct on-site infectious disease screening, according to a new study sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

26 Mar 2010

Researchers made vital discovery in the development of new drug to cure TB

This World TB Day (March 24), researchers at Sydney's Centenary Institute announce they have made an exciting discovery that could lead to the first new drug for Tuberculosis (TB) in almost fifty years.

26 Mar 2010