Disease/Infection News

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New insights into Legionella pneumophila

A study published online in Genome Research (www.genome.org) describes new insights into Legionella pneumophila, the bacteria responsible for most cases of Legionnaires' disease.

7 Feb 2008

Australian researchers cracking the code of bird flu time bomb

Researchers at Griffith University Institute for Glycomics, Queensland led by Professor Mark von Itzstein have developed a technique to 'crack-the-code' of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus.

5 Feb 2008

U.S. efforts to eliminate tuberculosis fall short

The U.S. is likely to fall far short of its benchmark goals toward eliminating tuberculosis as a public health problem, according to data from a nationwide survey.

5 Feb 2008

Risk factors for severe RSV infection in immunocompromised children

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital investigators and collaborators have shown how to predict if a child who is infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) while being treated for cancer or another catastrophic disease is at high risk for developing severe infection. The finding will help clinicians improve guidelines for managing these infected children.

4 Feb 2008

Breastfeeding now safer for infants of HIV-infected mothers

An antiretroviral drug already in widespread use in the developing world to prevent the transmission of HIV from infected mothers to their newborns during childbirth has also been found to substantially cut the risk of subsequent HIV transmission during breast-feeding.

4 Feb 2008

Researchers examine immune cells where HIV can lie dormant, possible treatments

Researchers have determined how HIV is able to lie dormant in certain immune system cells and prevent the cells from self-destructing, according to a study published Thursday online in the journal Retrovirology, the AP/Google.com reports.

4 Feb 2008

Democrats to seek changes, boosted funding during PEPFAR reauthorization debate

Some Congressional Democrats have proposed removing abstinence program spending requirements and a mandatory pledge against commercial sex work in the upcoming reauthorization of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the AP/Yahoo! News reports (Abrams, AP/Yahoo! News, 2/2). The lawmakers also are hoping to allow "reproductive health groups to have broader access to U.S. money," according to CQ Today.

4 Feb 2008

PNG Coalition Against HIV/AIDS to implement programs in businesses nationwide

The Papua New Guinea Business Coalition Against HIV/AIDS plans to work with businesses in the country to implement the coalition's policy on HIV/AIDS in the workplace, Rod Mitchell, CEO of the coalition, said recently, the Papua New Guinea Post-Courier reports.

4 Feb 2008

A possible H5N1 vaccine

A vaccine against the most common and deadliest strain of avian flu, H5N1, has been engineered and tested by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh's Center for Vaccine Research and Novavax Inc.

4 Feb 2008

Number of HIV cases among seniors in Puerto Rico increasing

The number of new HIV cases recorded among people ages 60 and older in Puerto Rico is increasing, the Miami Herald reports.

30 Jan 2008

Bush in State of the Union address calls on Congress to allocate $30 billion for PEPFAR

President Bush on Monday during his last State of the Union address urged Congress to authorize a $30 billion, five-year extension of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, the New York Times reports (Stolberg, New York Times, 1/29).

30 Jan 2008

Texas officials studying needle-exchange program

Health officials in Bexar County, Texas, are considering if they should launch the state's first needle-exchange program in an effort to reduce the spread of HIV and other bloodborne diseases, but Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed has said that she will not hesitate to prosecute anyone who distributes needles before the program is approved, the Los Angeles Times reports (Bustillo, Los Angeles Times, 1/28).

30 Jan 2008