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Scientists discover new virus responsible for deaths of 3 transplant recipients

Scientists in the Greene Infectious Disease Laboratory of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and colleagues in the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia and 454 Life Sciences have discovered a new virus that was responsible for the deaths of three transplant recipients who received organs from a single donor in Victoria, Australia.

24 Apr 2007

Discovery of new virus

24 Apr 2007

Study links Helicobacter pylori to asthma prevention

The stomach bacterium Helicobacter pylori, which causes stomach cancer and peptic ulcers, may not be all bad.

24 Apr 2007

Bacteria barge inside guard cells and initiate a powerful immune response

Immune cells that are the body's front-line defense don't necessarily rest quietly until invading bacteria lock onto receptors on their outside skins and rouse them to action, as previously thought.

18 Apr 2007

H5N1 western genomes sequenced

In a paper in the May issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases , an international team of researchers report the first ever large-scale sequencing of western genomes of the deadly avian influenza virus, H5N1.

17 Apr 2007

LaeA gene shown to be an ideal prospect for new ways to fight infection

For the growing number of people with diminished immune systems - cancer patients, transplant recipients, those with HIV/AIDS - infection by a ubiquitous mold known as Aspergillus fumigatus can be a death sentence.

15 Apr 2007

Bacteria can barge inside immune cells

Immune cells that are the body's front-line defense don't necessarily rest quietly until invading bacteria lock onto receptors on their outside skins and rouse them to action, as previously thought. In a new paper, University of Michigan scientists describe their findings that bacteria can barge inside these guard cells and independently initiate a powerful immune response.

14 Apr 2007

New CDC data show increases in E.coli, salmonella and vibrio

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's latest report shows that infections from E. coli O157:H7, Salmonella, and Vibrio are all on the rise. E. coli cases reported to CDC's FoodNet rose 50 percent since 2004, and Vibrio, another potentially deadly pathogen in shellfish, rose a whopping 78 percent since FoodNet began (1996-1998).

12 Apr 2007

Study provides first direct link between plants and humans

The study was published in an advance online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of April 9, 2007.

10 Apr 2007

Scientists decode genome of Streptococcus sanguinis

Virginia Commonwealth University researchers have decoded the genome of a bacteria normally present in the healthy human mouth that can cause a deadly heart infection if it enters the bloodstream.

7 Apr 2007

Scientists take a close look at early events in immune response

A Sandia National Laboratories research team led by Anup Singh is taking a new approach to studying how immune cells respond to pathogens in the first few minutes and hours of exposure.

4 Apr 2007

Researchers document rare case of hepatitis B virus transmission

Researchers have documented a case of hepatitis B virus (HBV) transmission between two patients at a dentist's office in the United States.

4 Apr 2007

How does the highly pathogenic bird flu virus spread to new countries?

Might the domestic bird trade be responsible? Or is it wildfowl? Since last year, a team from CIRAD has been working on wildfowl. To date, the virus has not been detected in healthy wild birds, but many dead or dying birds have been found near infection foci.

2 Apr 2007

Successful tuberculosis treatment depends upon patient adherence

Nearly 2 million people die from tuberculosis each year, mainly in the poorest countries.

31 Mar 2007

Natural mechanism for immune suppression may lead to new cancer drugs

A natural mechanism pirated by tumors and HIV to evade the immune response is opening the door to better treatment for these conditions, researchers say.

31 Mar 2007

Patient adherence an essential factor for successful tuberculosis treatment

Nearly 2 million people die from tuberculosis each year, mainly in the poorest countries. The pathogen, Koch's bacillus, can pass easily by aerial infection from one individual to another. The spread of the disease, favoured by the Aids epidemic and the appearance of multi-resistant strains, has led WHO to make tuberculosis control one of the world's main health priorities.

27 Mar 2007