Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Abacus Diagnostica’s GenomEra C. difficile assay receives CE mark

Abacus Diagnostica Ltd announced that it has received the CE mark for the GenomEra C. difficile assay for the detection of toxin-producing Clostridium difficile directly from stool samples. C. difficile is the leading cause of infectious nosocomial diarrhea in Europe and North America.

19 Nov 2012

Scientists discover new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes

Johns Hopkins scientists have discovered a new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes. Their experiments suggest that instead of recognizing and clipping proteins based on sequences of amino acids, these proteases' location within membranes gives them the unique ability to recognize and cut proteins with unstable structures.

17 Nov 2012

Study reveals significant regional variation and trends in antibiotic use between 1999-2010

Research revealed during "Get Smart Week" shows that California joined Alaska, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington as the five states with the lowest antibiotic use in the nation in 2010.

17 Nov 2012

'Extended-skill' nurses, physiotherapists are as effective as the ER doc

Patients with peripheral soft tissue injuries achieve similar clinical outcomes when treated by emergency nurse practitioners and extended-scope physiotherapists in the emergency department, as when they are treated by doctors, show UK study results.

16 Nov 2012

New pneumococcal vaccine highly effective in infants

A new conjugate vaccine is highly effective (93–100%) at preventing invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD; meningitis, sepsis, bacteremic pneumonia, and other blood-borne infections) in infants younger than 2 years who are the most vulnerable to infection, according to new research published Online First in The Lancet.

16 Nov 2012

Examining private sector, foreign government involvement in Haiti's health system

With recent suggestions "of privatizing the [U.S.] government's emergency response capability for natural and human-caused disasters and infectious diseases," Henry (Chip) Carey, an associate professor of political science at Georgia State University in Atlanta, writes in the World Policy Blog, "One might want to look at Haiti for a case study in the effects of bypassing the government health sector for private organizations."

16 Nov 2012

Researchers discover unlikely recipe to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria

Washington State University researchers have found an unlikely recipe for antibiotic resistant bacteria: Mix cow dung and soil, and add urine infused with metabolized antibiotic. The urine will kill off normal E. coli in the dung-soil mixture. But antibiotic-resistant E. coli will survive in the soil to recolonize in a cow's gut through pasture, forage or bedding.

16 Nov 2012

Number of polio cases worldwide reaches record low, but experts say challenges remain

"The number of polio cases worldwide reached a record low in 2012, giving experts confidence that the disease can finally be eradicated, according to presentations made at" the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) in Atlanta on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports (11/13).

15 Nov 2012

Simple iron control mechanism can prevent development of severe forms of malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening condition that exposes approximately half of the world's population to the risk of developing a severe and often lethal form of disease. In a study published in the latest issue of the journal Cell Host & Microbe*, Miguel Soares and his team at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ci-ncia (IGC), Portugal, discovered that the development of severe forms of malaria can be prevented by a simple mechanism that controls the accumulation of iron in tissues of the infected host.

15 Nov 2012

Flu virus suppresses body's ability to defend against bacteria

When infected with influenza, the body becomes an easy target for bacteria. The flu virus alters the host's immune system and compromises its capacity to effectively fight off bacterial infections. Now, a team of immunologists at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and cooperation partners has discovered that an immune system molecule called TLR7 is partly to blame. The molecule recognizes the viral genome - and then signals scavenger cells of the immune system to ingest fewer bacteria.

15 Nov 2012

Paxvax PXVX0200 cholera vaccine demonstrates safety and immunogenicity in Phase 1 clinical trial

PaxVax Inc, which develops and commercializes innovative vaccines against infectious diseases in a socially responsible manner today announced results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of PaxVax's single-dose oral cholera vaccine candidate at the 2012 American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH) Annual Meeting in Atlanta.

15 Nov 2012

Potential diagnostic method to identify subset of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

For the first time, researchers have landed on a potential diagnostic method to identify at least a subset of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a complex disorder with no known definitive cause or cure.

15 Nov 2012

MRSA outbreak tracked and contained using DNA sequencing

Scientists have used DNA sequencing for the first time to effectively track the spread of, and ultimately contain, an outbreak of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), according to new research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

14 Nov 2012

DNA sequencing helps detect MRSA outbreaks in hospitals

This study used DNA sequencing to examine an outbreak of MRSA in a hospital, to uncover new cases and, as the study developed, to intervene in the outbreak to end it more quickly. Sequencing illuminated each person infected and described the transmission of MRSA between people coming to the hospital and within the hospital.

14 Nov 2012

Obesity and dental cavities increase and become epidemic as homeless children age

Obesity and dental cavities increase and become epidemic as children living below the poverty level age, according to nurse researchers from the Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron.

14 Nov 2012

New investments, innovative strategies needed to train health professionals for developing world

Noting "the WHO has estimated that there is a global shortage of more than four million trained health care workers," Robert Bollinger, professor of infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, writes in the Huffington Post "Impact" blog, "It is very clear that new and innovative strategies are needed to train the large number of health professionals needed for Africa, Asia, and Latin America."

14 Nov 2012

Abbott releases details on phase 3 hepatitis C registrational program

Abbott today released details on its phase 3 hepatitis C registrational program following promising results from its phase 2b clinical trial, known as Aviator, presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease (AASLD) in Boston.

13 Nov 2012

Psychiatric patients not ‘down-triaged’ in the ED

Study findings refute the belief that patients with psychiatric illness may wait longer than is appropriate to see a doctor in the emergency department.

13 Nov 2012

New intervention strategies needed to reach HIV-infected youth at birth

As youth infected at birth with HIV reach adolescence and young adulthood, a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases underscores the need to promote healthy behaviors as some of these young people become sexually active.

9 Nov 2012

Immunomic Therapeutics initiates JRC-LAMP-vax vaccine Phase I trial in Sugi allergy

Immunomic Therapeutics, Inc., a leader in developing novel allergy immunotherapies, announced today that it has dosed the first patient in a Phase I clinical trial of its lead candidate, JRC-LAMP-vax vaccine, at its clinical site in Honolulu, Hawaii. Initial subjects include Japanese ex-patriates previously exposed to Japanese red cedar, or "Sugi," as it is known in Japan.

9 Nov 2012

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Abacus Diagnostica’s GenomEra C. difficile assay receives CE mark

Scientists discover new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes

Study reveals significant regional variation and trends in antibiotic use between 1999-2010

'Extended-skill' nurses, physiotherapists are as effective as the ER doc

New pneumococcal vaccine highly effective in infants

Examining private sector, foreign government involvement in Haiti's health system

Researchers discover unlikely recipe to kill antibiotic resistant bacteria

Number of polio cases worldwide reaches record low, but experts say challenges remain

Simple iron control mechanism can prevent development of severe forms of malaria

Flu virus suppresses body's ability to defend against bacteria

Paxvax PXVX0200 cholera vaccine demonstrates safety and immunogenicity in Phase 1 clinical trial

Potential diagnostic method to identify subset of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome

MRSA outbreak tracked and contained using DNA sequencing

DNA sequencing helps detect MRSA outbreaks in hospitals

Obesity and dental cavities increase and become epidemic as homeless children age

New investments, innovative strategies needed to train health professionals for developing world

Abbott releases details on phase 3 hepatitis C registrational program

Psychiatric patients not ‘down-triaged’ in the ED

New intervention strategies needed to reach HIV-infected youth at birth

Immunomic Therapeutics initiates JRC-LAMP-vax vaccine Phase I trial in Sugi allergy

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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