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Preventing zoonotic diseases from pets to people: an interview with Dr Monique Éloit, OIE Director General

Zoonotic diseases are diseases or infections which are naturally transmissible from animals to humans, as defined in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code.

13 Jul 2016

Researchers make successful vaccine formulation that targets proteins linked to Alzheimer’s disease

With more than 7.5 million new cases of Alzheimer’s disease a year, the race to find a vaccine and effective treatment for dementia is growing by the day.

12 Jul 2016

Microbes detected in Boston subway system have low pathogenic potential, study shows

Boston's subway system, known as the T, might be just as bacteria-laden as you'd expect but organisms found there are largely from normal human skin and incapable of causing disease, according to a study published June 28 in mSystems, an open access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

8 Jul 2016

NPS MedicineWise urges child care centres to increase awareness around misuse of antibiotics in young children

NPS MedicineWise has written to child care centres across Australia to enlist their support in responding to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Child care staff are well placed to help with education and increase awareness around the misuse of antibiotics in young children.

7 Jul 2016

Researchers identify exact origin of 2009 swine H1N1 flu pandemic

The 2009 swine H1N1 flu pandemic — responsible for more than 17,000 deaths worldwide — originated in pigs from a very small region in central Mexico, a research team headed by investigators at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is reporting.

28 Jun 2016

MAIT cells of immune system can fight all sorts of bacterial and viral infections

Oxford University research has found that a little-studied and relatively unknown part of the human immune system could be twice as important as previously thought.

23 Jun 2016

E-cigarette use modifies gene expression important for upper airway immune defense

When we smoke cigarettes, dozens of genes important for immune defense are altered in the epithelial cells that line the respiratory tract. Several of these changes likely increase the risk of bacterial infections, viruses, and inflammation.

21 Jun 2016

NPS MedicineWise urges Australians to stop expecting antibiotics for colds and flu

With new findings launched today showing that antimicrobial use in the community in Australia is higher than in England, Canada, Norway, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands—and that the number of antimicrobials being prescribed in Australia continues to grow—NPS MedicineWise is again urging Australians to stop expecting antibiotics for viruses such as colds and flu.

17 Jun 2016

Comprehensive workplace hand hygiene program helps reduce medical insurance claims for illnesses

A workplace outcome study published in The Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine found that offices equipped with alcohol-based hand sanitizers and hand sanitizing wipes throughout the building and at employees' desks resulted in 24.3 percent fewer healthcare claims for hand hygiene preventable illnesses -- such as cold, flu and respiratory illnesses -- than the office and employees in the control group without these products.

13 Jun 2016

Study provides insights into new pathways to generate universal vaccine against influenza viruses

Diverse antibodies induced in humans by vaccination with an avian influenza virus vaccine may offer broader, more durable protection against multiple strains of influenza than today's vaccines typically provide, according to a study led by Florian Krammer, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Microbiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Patrick Wilson, PhD, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago.

9 Jun 2016

Improved research tool may open door to effective HIV vaccine designs

Vaccines are usually medicine's best defense against the world's deadliest microbes. However, HIV is so mutable that it has so far effectively evaded both the human immune system and scientists' attempts to make an effective vaccine to protect against it.

6 Jun 2016

Maternal vaccination against influenza can reduce flu risk in newborns

Each year, influenza causes between 250,000 and half a million deaths around the world. Pregnant women and young infants have a higher risk of complications related to influenza; these complications can easily lead to death.

3 Jun 2016

New myGP smartphone app can help improve access to care

A revolutionary new smartphone app - myGP™ - developed by London based Health Tech specialist iPLATO has launched for GP practices, to help speed up access to care by allowing patients to securely book and/or cancel appointments remotely on their ‘smartphone’ phone.

2 Jun 2016

Prenatal mild viral assault may cause central nervous system malfunctions in children

Babies born to mothers whose immune systems had to grapple with a viral assault -- even a mild one -- have increased risk of brain and central nervous system abnormalities, according to a new study.

2 Jun 2016

Discrimination linked to lower vaccination rates among racial/ethnic minorities

Yearly flu shots are strongly recommended for adults with certain chronic illnesses, but patients of racial/ethnic minority groups are less likely to receive them.

25 May 2016

Novel strategy to predict antigenic evolution of circulating influenza viruses

During the 2014-15 flu season, the poor match between the virus used to make the world's vaccine stocks and the circulating seasonal virus yielded a vaccine that was less than 20 percent effective.

24 May 2016

Heart failure patients who receive influenza vaccine less likely to develop dementia

Influenza vaccination is associated with a lower risk of dementia in patients with heart failure, according to a study in more than 20 000 patients presented today at Heart Failure 2016 and the 3rd World Congress on Acute Heart Failure by Dr Ju-Chi Liu, director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Taipei Medical University - Shuang Ho Hospital, in New Taipei City, Taiwan.