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Emerging tick-borne disease reaches USA

A new tick-borne infection caused by the spirochete bacteria Borrelia miyamotoi that produces similar symptoms to Lyme disease has been confirmed in a small number of patients in the USA.

25 Jan 2013

Gastrointestinal, liver effects common after doxycycline in cats

Doxycycline, an antibiotic derivative of tetracycline, commonly results in adverse gastrointestinal side effects and increased liver enzyme activity in cats, report German researchers.

25 Jan 2013

Subsidised antimalarial drugs: an interview with Kara Hanson

Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) are the currently recommended drugs for treating malaria. However, they are expensive, which limits their affordability. This means that people with malaria are likely to buy cheaper, less effective antimalarials such as chloroquine and sulphadoxine-pyrimethamine; or to simply buy painkillers and antipyretics.

25 Jan 2013

Ibuprofen and naproxen can cause kidney damage in children

Sick children, especially those with some dehydration from flu or other illnesses, risk significant kidney injury if given drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen, Indiana University School of Medicine researchers said Friday.

25 Jan 2013

NSAIDs cause acute kidney injury in some children

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, are commonly used to treat pain and reduce fever in children. However, the use of NSAIDs has been shown to cause acute kidney injury (AKI) in some children

25 Jan 2013

Brazilian city declares health emergency due to dengue fever outbreak

"Municipal authorities in Campo Grande, the capital of the southwestern Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, on Monday declared a health emergency due to a serious outbreak of dengue fever," Fox News Latino reports.

24 Jan 2013

NIH's candidate vaccine safe in treating dengue

A candidate dengue vaccine developed by scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has been found to be safe and to stimulate a strong immune response in most vaccine recipients, according to results from an early-stage clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the NIH. The trial results were published online on January 17 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

23 Jan 2013

Twitter posts could help health officials track disease outbreaks

This flu season you've probably seen a number of friends on social media talking about symptoms. New research from Brigham Young University says such posts on Twitter could actually be helpful to health officials looking for a head start on outbreaks.

23 Jan 2013

Mass poultry vaccination programmes lead to dramatic decline in Salmonella infections

Mass poultry vaccination programmes introduced to combat Salmonella infections have led to a dramatic fall in the number of cases since the late 1990s, according to a researcher at the University of Liverpool.

17 Jan 2013

Five flu-prevention tips from Kimberly-Clark Professional

This year's flu season has now been declared an epidemic, with a particularly dangerous strain that has hospitalized more than 3,700 people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

17 Jan 2013

Many people still affected with asthma after exposure to chemicals at work

Despite known risks and recommendations for protective equipment, many people are still affected with asthma after exposure to chemicals at work. This is the finding of an international study of 13,000 people carried out at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden.

17 Jan 2013

Research shows genetic factors increase risk of visceral leishmaniasis

A new study published in Nature Genetics last week shows that genetics likely influence whether an individual develops visceral leishmaniasis, a lethal form of the parasitic disease transmitted by sandflies, the New York Times reports.

16 Jan 2013

Experimental vaccine elicits antibodies that can protect against Ebola virus infection

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) have found that an experimental vaccine elicits antibodies that can protect nonhuman primates from Ebola virus infection.

16 Jan 2013

Less than 45% of children are vaccinated against flu: Study

This year's flu season is in full swing with 41 states now reporting widespread illness. Unfortunately, not enough children are getting the flu shot even though health officials recommend that all children 6 months and older get the vaccine. According to a new study by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, less than 45 percent of children were vaccinated against the flu during a five-year study period.

11 Jan 2013

Co-infection itself a very important risk factor among school-aged children in Tanzania

The new study analyses data from school aged children in Tanzania infected with the most common forms of worms. It was found that infection by one parasitic species actually changes the risk of catching another, over and above other risk factors.

11 Jan 2013

Flusurvey: an interview with Dr Alma Adler

Flusurvey is an online system of tracking influenza across the UK. We are linked to other flu surveys across Europe, so there are about 12 flu surveys across Europe in total.

9 Jan 2013

Links between rodents' environment, climate and leptospirosis infection

Leptospirosis is a water-related bacterial disease with a high incidence in Southeast Asia. People usually become infected through exposure to water contaminated by the urine of infected animals, mainly rats and mice. In the framework of the CERoPath program, IRD researchers and their partners have revealed the relationship between rodents' environment and infection by leptospirosis bacteria.

9 Jan 2013

SNSF-funded professor to receive 2012 National Latsis Prize

On 10 January 2013, Jacques Fellay will receive the National Latsis Prize 2012 at the Rathaus in Berne. The Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) is awarding the Prize to the SNSF-funded professor at EPF Lausanne in recognition of his work on the human genome and its defence mechanisms against viral diseases such as AIDS.

8 Jan 2013

CXCR5 molecule effectively polices lung tuberculosis and prevents deadly infection

The presence of a certain molecule allows the immune system to effectively police tuberculosis (TB) of the lungs and prevent it from turning into an active and deadly infection, according to a new study led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

3 Jan 2013

Use of CT scans for children suspected of having appendicitis varies among hospitals

Children suspected of having appendicitis are more likely to receive CT scans, which involve radiation, if they are evaluated at a general hospital, a new study by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has shown.

25 Dec 2012