Disease/Infection News

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Leprosy: Man's persistent companion

For thousands of years an undesirable and persistent companion has been travelling with man wherever he goes. Mycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy, has only one known natural host - mankind.

4 Nov 2009

Scientists identify compounds that hold promise for treating parasitic infection

Using an unconventional approach that they designed, University of Pittsburgh drug discoverers and their collaborators at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research have identified compounds that hold promise for treating leishmaniasis, a parasitic infection that many consider one of the world's most overlooked diseases.

4 Nov 2009

Five-year old Pennsylvanian boy dies of H1N1 flu complications

The Department of Health today confirmed that a five-year old Adams County boy died on Oct. 31 as a result of complications from H1N1 flu. This is Pennsylvania's first pediatric death associated with H1N1.

4 Nov 2009

Fear of flu pandemic triggers fear of unrelated health hazards: Study

The swine flu (H1N1) pandemic has received extensive media coverage this year. The World Health Organization, in addition to providing frequent updates about cases of infection and death tolls, recommends hyper vigilance in daily hygiene such as frequent hand washing or sneezing into the crook of our arms. News reports at all levels, from local school closures to airport screenings and global disease surveillance, continue to remind us of the high risk.

4 Nov 2009

New strategy to eliminate and eradicate malaria unveiled

Marking its tenth anniversary year, the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI) today unveiled a new strategy that sets the stage for an aggressive push targeting the long-term goal of eliminating and eradicating malaria

4 Nov 2009

Report: Pandemic flu threat influences vaccine market to expand rapidly

MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of Datamonitor's new report "Seasonal Influenza Vaccines Market Forecast," to their collection of Healthcare market reports.

4 Nov 2009

H1N1 has increased focus on effect of hygiene on health

H1N1 has led to increased focus on how everyday hygiene affects our health. Not only is more attention given to managing personal hygiene, but a new cleaning logic is emerging, where wiping the door knob an extra time1 each day is considered more important than picking up the dust in the corner.

4 Nov 2009

Experts team up to measure the hearing of people with AIDS

Specialists in HIV and in hearing at the University of Rochester Medical Center are teaming up to measure the hearing of people with AIDS.

4 Nov 2009

R&D of HIV treatments at crossroads

IP Overview HIV Therapy 2009” ( www.frinnov.fr/en/ip-overview/sciences-de-la-vie/hiv-therapy-2.html ) establishes a panorama of the patents claiming “HIV and AIDS treatments” and analyses the key and emerging thematic and the strategic positions of the actors involved in this sector. In order to fully analyze this field, the information coming from 6800 published patents and patent applications was aggregated.

4 Nov 2009

Colorful fruits and vegetables help boost immunity system

Hoping to keep the flu at bay? A strong immune system helps. Enjoying the bounty of colorful fruits and vegetables available right now can be an important step toward supporting your family's immune system this cold/flu season.

4 Nov 2009

Specimen Collection Kit to help medical personnel combat H1N1 and RSV

As the outbreak of H1N1 (Swine Flu) intensifies, there is a growing need for greater speed and accuracy in collecting specimens from patients for testing to determine with what they've been infected.

4 Nov 2009

News outlets examine first World Pneumonia Day

To mark the first World Pneumonia Day, Inter Press Service examines how vaccines and other strategies can be used to combat the disease, which kills more children under age 5 each year "than measles, malaria, and AIDS combined, according to the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia."

4 Nov 2009

Malaria Conference addresses RTS,S vaccine, tools, treatment

On Tuesday at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan-African Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, scientists and global health experts focused on malaria eradication, Agence France-Presse reports. "Key among the strategies ... is the development of an effective anti-malaria vaccine, a project scientists have been researching since the late 80s. ... RTS,S is the most clinically advanced malaria vaccine so far, according to the Malaria Vaccine Initiative," the news service writes (11/3).

3 Nov 2009

GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer formally launch company to develop new HIV treatments

Pharmaceutical companies GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Pfizer on Tuesday formally launched ViiV Healthcare, a company focused on the development of new HIV treatments, Dow Jones Newswires/SmartMoney.com reports (11/3).

3 Nov 2009

Health affairs issue focuses on HIV/AIDS, NTDs

By 2031 developing countries could need an estimated $35 billion to fight HIV/AIDS - three times the amount currently spent, according to a Health Affairs study published Tuesday, the New York Times reports.

3 Nov 2009

Also in Global Health News: Breast cancer in developing world; Burkina Faso ITN distribution; diarrhea in people over age five; Gates Q&A

"International cancer specialists meet this week to plan an assault on a troubling increase of breast cancer in developing countries, where nearly two-thirds of women aren't diagnosed until it has spread through their bodies," the Associated Press reports. Researchers will also look at "some worrisome data" that suggests breast cancer affects "women, on average, about 10 years" earlier in developing countries than it does in the U.S. (Neergaard, 11/3).

3 Nov 2009

Vaccinating mothers against influeza during pregnancy prevents hospitalization in their infants

Infants born to women who received influenza vaccine during pregnancy were hospitalized at a lower rate than infants born to unvaccinated mothers, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine. The team presented the study October 29 at the 47th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Philadelphia.

3 Nov 2009

Raycop's anti-bacterial vacuum cleaning system with UVC technology kills the H1N1 virus

Raycop, the first handheld anti-bacterial vacuum cleaning system and part of the Earlex® brands, offers a proven way to fight the H1N1 virus in the home with its UVC technology. The vac's effects against the virus have been independently tested by a leading international laboratory in August.

3 Nov 2009

Smokers with systemic lupus erythematosus at greater risk of skin damage and rashes

As if there weren't enough reasons to stop smoking, a team of researchers at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have just found another. A study led by Dr. Christian A Pineau, Co-Director of the Lupus and Vasculitis clinic at the MUHC, has clearly linked skin damage and rashes to smoking in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Rheumatology.

3 Nov 2009

Schering-Plough to donate $200,000 and vaccine for rabies-control projects in India

Schering-Plough Corporation today announced it has initiated sponsorship of two projects in India to reduce the incidence of human and animal rabies through improved educational awareness and mass vaccination of dogs. The company will donate $200,000 and rabies vaccine from Intervet/Schering-Plough as well as share expertise with partners to support successful implementation of the projects in ten villages surrounding Bangalore and Pune, India.

3 Nov 2009