Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Bacteria tweak their genes and proteins to gain strength

Scientists have discovered that bacteria like E. coli and Salmonella have a sneaky way of making minor alterations to their genes to boost their chances for infection.

24 Aug 2011

Study finds children's hospitals underequipped to handle H1N1 pandemics

A new study of children's hospitals nationwide has found them underequipped to handle a major surge of patients in the event of a pandemic, and urges health care institutions and government agencies to immediately review emergency preparedness plans as flu season approaches.

24 Aug 2011

Polio eradication 'at risk' as Chad and Pakistan face continued outbreaks, GPEI report says

"According to the latest report from the Independent Monitoring Board of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, continued transmission of polio is a 'global health emergency,' and plans to interrupt transmission by the end of 2012 are 'at risk,'" the Lancet Infectious Diseases reports, adding, "With a US$590 million funding gap and weak political leadership in some countries, the engagement of communities to plan and implement local approaches is paramount."

24 Aug 2011

DTU, TGen researchers pinpoint source of cholera outbreak in Haiti

Employing technology that reads the entire DNA code, researchers led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) have pinpointed the source of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that killed more than 6,000 people and sickened 300,000.

24 Aug 2011

Fla., CMS discuss Medicaid managed care options; Calif. may shrink healthy families enrollment

A Florida proposal to shift nearly all of its 3 million Medicaid patients into managed care is emerging as a national test case for how lenient CMS will be as cash-strapped states look for savings in their most expensive health program. CMS and Florida officials met this week to address concerns about a five-county managed care pilot program that Florida is seeking to expand statewide.

23 Aug 2011

Isconova expands Matrix M collaboration with Genocea to treat infectious diseases

Isconova AB, a leading international vaccine adjuvant company and Genocea Biosciences, Inc., a vaccine discovery and development company pioneering a new class of T cell‐based vaccines, today announced the expansion of their collaboration granting Genocea the right to use Isconova's Matrix M in vaccines targeting two additional diseases.

23 Aug 2011

New report on adverse effects of vaccines

Vaccines have dramatically reduced illnesses and deaths due to infectious diseases over the past century. However, no pharmaceutical product is completely without risk and some people have experienced health problems associated with immunization.

22 Aug 2011

Hospital roundup: Catholic facilities losing nuns' leadership; Georgia infection rates; new VA system for Louisiana

In 1968, nuns or priests served as chief executives of 770 of the country's 796 Catholic hospitals, according to the Catholic Health Association. Today, they preside over 8 of 636 hospitals. ... The leadership shift has stirred angst in many Catholic hospitals about whether the values imparted by the nuns, concerning the treatment of both patients and employees, can withstand bottom-line forces without their day-to-day vigilance.

22 Aug 2011

Cerus to support ongoing development of INTERCEPT red cell system

Cerus Corporation announced today that it has received a $2.1 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense to support the advanced development of the company's technology for inactivating pathogens and leukocytes in red blood cells.

19 Aug 2011

Temple University, URMC partner to translate novel medical research into new drugs

The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and Temple University School of Pharmacy have announced a partnership that will help translate novel medical research into new drugs for treating diseases.

19 Aug 2011

Medical research funding boost in UK

Health researchers in Cambridge have been awarded £114.5m to develop and translate new scientific discoveries into medicines and treatments. The funds come as a part of a five-year £800m investment by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR).

18 Aug 2011

Mosquitoes fast to develop resistance against insecticide-treated bed nets

According to a study from Senegal mosquitoes are quick to develop resistance to insecticide-treated nets. This has raised concerns that a leading method of preventing the disease may be less effective than previously thought.

18 Aug 2011

AHRQ awards Johns Hopkins Evidence-based Practice Center $475,000 for study on effective wound care

An estimated $25 billion is spent annually on treating chronic wounds on patients in the United States. These chronic wounds deeply affect the quality of life of more than six million people who have them. The most common types of chronic skin wounds and skin ulcers are related to venous disease (conditions related to or caused by veins that become diseased or abnormal).

18 Aug 2011

Insight into how HIV reservoirs may form

Much like cities organize contingency plans and supplies for emergencies, chronic infectious diseases like HIV form reservoirs that ensure their survival in adverse conditions. But these reservoirs-small populations of viruses or bacteria of a specific type that persist despite attack by the immune system or drug treatment-are not always well understood.

18 Aug 2011

New collaboration for development of new malaria vaccine

"The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) today announced a new Memorandum of Understanding with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), focused on support of a collaboration with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR) for the development of a new vaccine against malaria," an IDRI press release states.

18 Aug 2011

Researchers isolate 17 novel antibodies against HIV

A team of researchers at and associated with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), The Scripps Research Institute, the biotechnology company Theraclone Sciences and Monogram Biosciences Inc., a LabCorp company, report in the current issue of Nature the isolation of 17 novel antibodies capable of neutralizing a broad spectrum of variants of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

18 Aug 2011

GeoVax receives NIH-NIAID grant for HIV/AIDS vaccine program

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical firm developing vaccines to prevent and fight Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infections, today announced receipt of a $3.6 million annual notice of award for the Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development (IPCAVD) Grant supporting GeoVax's HIV/AIDS vaccine program.

17 Aug 2011

Methodist, Philips partner to develop new imaging technology for infectious diseases

The Methodist Hospital Research Institute and Philips Healthcare are collaborating to develop new imaging technology that could be used to help identify the start -- and cause -- of an infectious disease epidemic.

From Philips Healthcare 17 Aug 2011

FDA clears Inhibikase IkT-001 Phase II trial to treat JCV infection in multiple sclerosis patients

Inhibikase Therapeutics, Inc., an emerging leader in infectious disease, announced today that it has received FDA clearance to commence a Phase II proof-of-concept trial for its lead compound IkT-001. IkT-001, a host-directed kinase inhibitor, is intended to clear JC polyomavirus (JCV) infection, the causative agent of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML).

17 Aug 2011

Study finds broadest immune response from LAIV nasal spray vaccines for children

Children younger than 3 years old receive the same protective antibody response from the recommended two doses of licensed seasonal influenza vaccines regardless of whether the two doses are injected by needle, inhaled through a nasal spray or provided through one dose of each in any order, according to researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health.

17 Aug 2011

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Bacteria tweak their genes and proteins to gain strength

Study finds children's hospitals underequipped to handle H1N1 pandemics

Polio eradication 'at risk' as Chad and Pakistan face continued outbreaks, GPEI report says

DTU, TGen researchers pinpoint source of cholera outbreak in Haiti

Fla., CMS discuss Medicaid managed care options; Calif. may shrink healthy families enrollment

Isconova expands Matrix M collaboration with Genocea to treat infectious diseases

New report on adverse effects of vaccines

Hospital roundup: Catholic facilities losing nuns' leadership; Georgia infection rates; new VA system for Louisiana

Cerus to support ongoing development of INTERCEPT red cell system

Temple University, URMC partner to translate novel medical research into new drugs

Medical research funding boost in UK

Mosquitoes fast to develop resistance against insecticide-treated bed nets

AHRQ awards Johns Hopkins Evidence-based Practice Center $475,000 for study on effective wound care

Insight into how HIV reservoirs may form

New collaboration for development of new malaria vaccine

Researchers isolate 17 novel antibodies against HIV

GeoVax receives NIH-NIAID grant for HIV/AIDS vaccine program

Methodist, Philips partner to develop new imaging technology for infectious diseases

FDA clears Inhibikase IkT-001 Phase II trial to treat JCV infection in multiple sclerosis patients

Study finds broadest immune response from LAIV nasal spray vaccines for children

Industry Focus: Infectious Diseases eBook

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

Advancing Intracellular Delivery with LumiPore®

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