Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Flu vaccine against all strains of virus coming soon

A universal flu vaccine, capable of working against all strains, would save lives and money by eliminating the need for the annual jab say experts. Researchers in California and the Netherlands believe they are now a “step closer” to meeting this objective.

10 Jul 2011

U.S. leading fight against NTDs

Bernard Pecoul, executive director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, and Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and editor-in-chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, write in this PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog post that the first-ever neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) meeting of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, which is taking place this weekend in Boston, "offers an opportunity for U.S. policy-makers...

8 Jul 2011

EU countries should pool funding to create 'prize' for bringing new antibiotics to market, report says

"European policy makers were urged Wednesday to find viable financial incentives to get drug companies to discover new antibiotics, because the lack of fresh supplies poses acute dangers to health care and efforts against infectious diseases," according to a report by the Office of Health Economics and funded by GlaxoSmithKline, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports.

8 Jul 2011

First dog enters ADXS-HER2 dose-ranging study in canine osteosarcoma

Advaxis, Inc., a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, announces that the first dog has entered a dose-ranging in canine osteosarcoma at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.

8 Jul 2011

Solution for treating obesity-related diseases may reside in fat tissue

Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have shown that the quality – not just the quantity – of adipose, or fat, tissue is a significant contributing factor in the development of inflammation and vascular disease in obese individuals. The study, which is a special feature on the iPAD version of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, provides compelling evidence that the answer to treating cardiovascular disease and other obesity-related disorders, such as type 2 diabetes and cancer, might be found in the adipose tissue itself.

7 Jul 2011

Final Atlantis space trip may open new era of research into infectious diseases

On July 8, at approximately 11:26 a.m. EDT, the space shuttle Atlantis will streak skyward from the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, for one last mission. While the STS-135 flight marks the end of the space shuttle's glory days, its final trip may open a new era of research into infectious diseases, thanks to space bound experiments conducted by Dr's. Cheryl Nickerson, and Roy Curtiss III, along with their colleagues at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.

7 Jul 2011

Antibiotic resistance is not a priority in the U.S.

Author and journalist Maryn McKenna in her "Superbug" blog on Wired.com examines U.S. spending on drug-resistant pathogens, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

7 Jul 2011

Study finds top grand challenges in global mental health

A Toronto-based researcher is at the helm of a massive, worldwide study that identifies the top global challenges in mental health. The paper resulting from the study appears in Nature today.

7 Jul 2011

Simpler antibiotic combination could help prevent TB in patients with and without HIV

Johns Hopkins and South African scientists have further compelling evidence that new, simpler and shorter treatments with antibiotic drugs could dramatically help prevent tens of millions of people worldwide already infected with the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, and especially those co-infected with HIV, from developing full-blown TB.

7 Jul 2011

Global research initiative to improve health care for people with MNS disorders

Mental health experts are calling for a greater world focus on improving access to care and treatment for mental, neurological, and substance use (MNS) disorders, as well as increasing discoveries in research that will enable this goal to be met.

7 Jul 2011

Long-range forecasting model makes health predictions for 2060

According to research published Friday in the July 2011 issue of the WHO Bulletin, a new long-range forecasting model suggests global deaths from infectious diseases will decrease by 70 percent by 2060, despite significant growth in population worldwide, CTV.ca reports.

6 Jul 2011

Patients with ESBL-producing bacteria need better health care

Fear and confusion surrounding the diagnosis is often the result of suffering of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Accurate information is crucial for these patients in order for them to handle their situation, yet that is the area where health care is lacking.

5 Jul 2011

New GHI research examines conflicts between donor and recipient countries

In the early 2000s, the international aid community started to fund health programs through Global Health Initiatives (GHIs) which provide aid and support for tackling infectious diseases, and for implementing immunization programs against childhood diseases. However priorities set by GHIs and by governments are not always the same.

4 Jul 2011

Science should inform global AIDS policy

Thirty years have passed since the first reported case of AIDS, and "we now have an unprecedented opportunity, based on solid scientific data, to control and ultimately end the AIDS pandemic," after decades of the idea being "a distant aspiration because we lacked sufficient evidence-based tools to convert the hope to reality," Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, writes in a Science editorial.

2 Jul 2011

Checklist to stay healthy and active in summer

The summer is a great season for getting in shape. Whether by playing a sport, doing an aerobic exercise routine, or just returning to that familiar running path -- this is the time for activity.

2 Jul 2011

'Exact correlation' between peacekeeper arrival and cholera outbreak in Haiti, study says

"Evidence 'strongly suggests' that a United Nations peacekeeping mission brought a cholera strain to Haiti that has killed thousands of people," according to a study conducted by a team of epidemiologists and physicians and published in the July issue of the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Associated Press reports.

1 Jul 2011

Vitamin D-deficiency linked to deaths of famous musicians

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 - 5 December 1791), suffered from many infectious illnesses including catarrh, fever, sore throat, and bad colds from 1762 to 1791, the year of his death at 35 years of age.

1 Jul 2011

FDA grants Advaxis pre-IND meeting for Advaxis-PSA immunotherapy for prostate cancer

Advaxis, Inc.,, a leader in developing the next generation of immunotherapies for cancer and infectious diseases, has been granted a pre-Investigational New Drug meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on August 10, 2011 to discuss the CMC, pharmacology, toxicology, and clinical plans for Advaxis PSA, its construct to fight prostate cancer.

1 Jul 2011

Recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines hold promise against infectious diseases

A powerful new class of therapeutics, known as recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccines (RASV), holds great potential in the fight against fatal diseases including hepatitis B, tuberculosis, cholera, typhoid fever, AIDS and pneumonia.

30 Jun 2011

S. aureus pneumonia rates in children have doubled over past decade

The rate of pneumonia in children caused by infection with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria has doubled over the past decade, according to a paper in the July issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

30 Jun 2011