Disease/Infection News

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Researchers hunt for new drugs for Leishmaniasis

Hundreds of millions of people, mainly in developing countries, are disabled by infectious diseases, according to the World Health Organization.

16 Dec 2008

Discovery of new way a man can transmit the HIV virus to a woman

Scientists had long believed that the normal lining of the female vaginal tract was an effective barrier to invasion of the HIV virus during sexual intercourse. They thought the large HIV virus couldn't penetrate the tissue.

16 Dec 2008

Mucosal lining of the female genital tract no barrier to HIV sexual transmission

Contrary to a widely-held assumption about heterosexual transmission of HIV, the normal mucosal lining of the female genital tract is not a foolproof barrier to viral penetration, scientists at the Northwestern University School of Medicine in Chicago report at the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) 48th Annual Meeting, Dec. 13-17, 2008 in San Francisco.

16 Dec 2008

NACCHO to donate up to one million doses of FluMist

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) has announced a donation of up to one million doses of FluMist (Influenza Virus Vaccine Live, Intranasal) by MedImmune in a partnership aimed at increasing influenza awareness and vaccinations in underserved communities and populations.

14 Dec 2008

Researchers develop universal influenza vaccine for animals

A University of Maryland-led science team has developed a universal influenza vaccine for animals that may help prevent or delay another human flu pandemic.

14 Dec 2008

Australians warned of rabies outbreak in Bali

The warning comes from the head of the Northern Territory's Centre for Disease Control, Dr. Peter Markey, who says anyone bitten or scratched on the island by an animal should seek medical advice; the warning also applies to people who have been to Bali recently.

14 Dec 2008

Inexperienced sex workers most at risk of sexual infections

Less experienced prostitutes are more likely to have sexually transmitted infections (STIs).

12 Dec 2008

Entomologists look for Lyme disease answers in tick saliva

In research that could mitigate the spread of Lyme disease, Kansas State University entomologists are looking for answers in tick saliva.

12 Dec 2008

Scientists show that HIV's evolution in the body does not occur at a constant rate

HIV is so deadly largely because it evolves so rapidly. With a single virus as the origin of an infection, most patients will quickly come to harbor thousands of different versions of HIV, all a little bit different and all competing with one another to most efficiently infect that person's cells. Its rapid and unique evolution in every patient is what allows HIV to evade the body's defenses and gives the virus great skill at developing resistance to a pantheon of antiviral drugs.

12 Dec 2008

New therapeutic targets for malaria

Scientists working on a common antimicrobial compound with antimalarial activity have discovered a range of new therapeutic strategies to combat malaria.

10 Dec 2008

Blocking immune receptor molecule improves response to HIV-like virus, prolongs survival in monkeys

By blocking PD-1 (programmed death-1), an immune receptor molecule known to inhibit the immune response to chronic viral infections, scientists have safely and significantly reduced the plasma viral load and also prolonged survival of rhesus macaque monkeys severely infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), the nonhuman primate version of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

10 Dec 2008

Hong Kong on high alert over bird flu outbreak

Concerns that an outbreak of what is suspected to be the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus in a wholesale market in Hong Kong, has prompted the culling of tens of thousands of chickens.

10 Dec 2008

Accelerating progress in the development of vaccines

This week the Elsevier Journal Vaccine, the most comprehensive and pre-eminent journal for those interested in vaccines and vaccination, organized the 2nd Vaccine Global Congress in Boston MA, USA.

10 Dec 2008

Drug-resistant tuberculosis rife in China

Levels of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) in China are nearly twice the global average. Nationwide research published in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases has shown that almost 10% of Chinese TB cases are resistant to the most effective first-line drugs.

10 Dec 2008

Broken health system aggravates cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe

A widespread cholera outbreak, under-resourced and under-staffed health system, and inadequate access to safe drinking water and hygiene are threatening the wellbeing of thousands of Zimbabweans. As of 9 December, 16,141 suspected cases of cholera and 775 resultant deaths (case fatality rate of 4.8%) had been recorded since August in two-thirds of the country's 62 districts.

10 Dec 2008