Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island to participate in Best Fed Beginnings

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island has been selected to participate in Best Fed Beginnings, a first-of-its-kind national effort to significantly improve breastfeeding rates in states where rates are currently the lowest. Rhode Island ranks 35th in the nation for breastfeeding initiation. Women & Infants is the only hospital in New England to be selected for this collaborative.

27 Jun 2012

New York Times examines bird flu studies, history of controversy

The New York Times examines several studies published in the journals Nature and Science looking at how the H5N1 bird flu virus could mutate to become more virulent among humans and outlines the history of controversy surrounding the studies.

27 Jun 2012

Number of fatalities from 2009 swine flu pandemic might have been 15 times higher than reported deaths, study says

In a study published on Monday in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic likely killed about 284,500 people worldwide between August 2009 and August 2010, a number 15 times higher than the 18,500 deaths reported to the WHO, Bloomberg News reports.

27 Jun 2012

Majority of rhinovirus infections are asymptomatic

Asymptomatic human rhinovirus infections outnumber symptomatic infections by a factor of four to one, Canadian researchers report.

26 Jun 2012

Having antibodies for cutaneous HPV and sun exposure can act synergistically in BCC, SCC

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida and the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg have found that having antibodies for cutaneous types of human papillomavirus (HPV), coupled with sun exposure (ultraviolet radiation) or poor tanning ability, can act "synergistically" in the development of non-melanoma skin cancers such as basal cell carcinoma (BCC) and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

26 Jun 2012

Swine flu vaccination programme a success in Scotland

The H1N1 (“Swine flu”) vaccination programme introduced in Scotland in October 2009 had a positive effect in reducing the number of hospital admissions and deaths as a result of H1N1 infection, according to an Article published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) programme.

26 Jun 2012

“Swine flu” deaths may be fifteen times higher than previously reported

The number of deaths from the 2009 H1N1 (“swine flu”) pandemic may be fifteen times higher than the number of laboratory-confirmed deaths previously reported by countries to the World Health Organization (WHO), according to an Article published Online First in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. While estimates of 2009 H1N1-associated deaths have been derived for some countries such as the United States, these are the first estimates of the worldwide number of deaths caused by the pandemic.

26 Jun 2012

Some caregivers unsure about when to give epinephrine for children with food allergies

Young children with allergies to milk and egg experience reactions to these and other foods more often than researchers had expected, a study reports. The study also found that severe and potentially life-threatening reactions in a significant number of these children occur and that some caregivers are hesitant to give such children epinephrine, a medication that reverses the symptoms of such reactions and can save lives.

26 Jun 2012

Sinovac provides update on EV71 vaccine Phase III trial on HFMD

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, today provided an update on its Phase III clinical trial progress and commercialization preparation for its proprietary inactivated Enterovirus 71 (EV71) vaccine against hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD).

26 Jun 2012

Combination regimens trump monotherapy in fight against HIV transmission

A two- or three-drug combination is more effective at reducing intrapartum HIV acquisition than zidovudine monotherapy in babies who are at high risk for transmission, a study in The New England Journal of Medicine shows.

25 Jun 2012

HIV therapy affects bone mass within 2 years

Young men receiving antiretroviral therapy for recently diagnosed HIV are more likely to have low bone mineral density than are other men of a similar age, US researchers report.

25 Jun 2012

Comprehensive, automated infection outbreak detection system for the Olympics

The world's first comprehensive, automated outbreak detection system which will monitor over 3,000 infections and is ready to run during Olympics 2012, was developed by a researcher at The Open University.

25 Jun 2012

FDA approves Baxter's GAMMAGARD LIQUID for multifocal motor neuropathy

Baxter International Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved GAMMAGARD LIQUID 10% [Immune Globulin Infusion (Human)] as a treatment for multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN). This is the first immunoglobulin treatment approved for MMN patients in the United States, and it was approved for use with MMN patients in Europe in 2011.

From Baxter International Inc. 25 Jun 2012

BD Biosciences launches new cell sorting system

BD Biosciences, a segment of BD, today announced the launch of the BD FACSJazz™ Cell Sorting System, a next-generation flow cytometer that simplifies cellular isolation and analysis for researchers requiring high sample integrity. Occupying 20" x 20" (51 cm x 51 cm) of benchtop space, the new sorter features high sensitivity to identify and isolate target cells for up to eight parameters.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 25 Jun 2012

Study reinforces importance of educating parents and other caregivers of children with food allergy

A team of researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine and four other institutions have found that young children with documented or likely allergies to milk and/or eggs, whose families were instructed on how to avoid these and other foods, still experienced allergic reactions at a rate of almost once per year. Of severe cases, less than a third received epinephrine, a medication used to counter anaphylaxis, a life-threatening allergic condition.

25 Jun 2012

Oxytocin hormone plays an important role in Williams syndrome

The hormone oxytocin - often referred to as the "trust" hormone or "love hormone" for its role in stimulating emotional responses - plays an important role in Williams syndrome (WS), according to a study published June 12, 2012, in PLoS One.

23 Jun 2012

CARHY announces comprehensive hematopoietic stem cell transplant service

Adding an impetus to the already existing image of Bangalore being a healthcare destination of India, Columbia Asia Referral Hospital, Yeshwanthpur (CARHY), announced comprehensive bone marrow transplant (stem cell transplant) service on Thursday.

23 Jun 2012

Skin infections in AD patients linked to PMN impairment

Impairment of polymorphonuclear granulocytes among patients with atopic dermatitis may represent an additional cause of skin infections, suggest study findings.

22 Jun 2012

U.S. journal Science publishes controversial H5N1 research

The U.S. journal Science on Thursday published the results of a controversial study in which researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands "identified five mutations apparently necessary to make the [H5N1] bird flu virus spread easily among ferrets, which catch the same flus that humans do," the New York Times reports (McNeil, 6/21).

22 Jun 2012

UC3M joins European research project on tuberculosis treatments

Scientists at the Carlos III University in Madrid (UC3M) are participating in a European research project designed to study tuberculosis treatments. The objective of the study is to improve diagnostic imaging technology in order to help develop new drugs to treat the disease.

22 Jun 2012