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Mandatory influenza vaccination policy improves immunization rates among health care workers

A mandatory influenza vaccination policy improves immunization rates among health care workers, according to a recent study of a large health care organization.

29 Jan 2010

National contest invites teens and teachers to participate in flu prevention campaign

Former American Idol finalist Danny Gokey and The Clorox Company have teamed up to launch I Don't Want to Miss…, a national contest designed to get teens and their teachers involved in flu prevention.

28 Jan 2010

BD announces first-quarter fiscal 2010 results

BD today reported quarterly revenues of $1.917 billion for the first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2009, representing an increase of 12 percent from the prior-year period, or 9 percent on a foreign currency-neutral basis.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 28 Jan 2010

Special issue explores how evolution can help doctors understand and treat diseases

What does evolution - a field that often deals with changes over many generations - have to do with preventing and treating disease in our lifetime?

28 Jan 2010

Inovio Biomedical unveils new clinical-grade, miniaturized electroporation device

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, today unveiled its new clinical-grade, miniaturized electroporation device designed to be an easy-to-use, portable delivery product for DNA vaccines.

28 Jan 2010

NIH to perform exploratory studies on ImmuneRegen BioSciences' Homspera

ImmuneRegen BioSciences Inc.®, a wholly owned subsidiary of IR Biosciences Holdings Inc. (OTCBB: IRBS), today announced the execution of an agreement with the National Institute of Health (NIH) / National Cancer Institute (NCI) to commence studies utilizing ImmuneRegen's Homspera.

28 Jan 2010

Juvaris BioTherapeutics completes second close on its Series B equity financing

Juvaris BioTherapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing adjuvanted vaccines for infectious diseases, announced that it has completed a second close on its Series B equity financing of up to $25 million. The additional equity investment came from an undisclosed strategic corporate investor who joins SV Life Sciences and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers in the round.

27 Jan 2010

Treating septic shock patients with intensive insulin therapy does not reduce risk of in-hospital death

Treating adults with septic shock with intensive insulin therapy to counter elevated blood glucose levels associated with corticosteroid therapy did not result in a reduced risk of in-hospital death, compared to patients who received conventional insulin therapy, according to a study in the January 27 issue of JAMA.

27 Jan 2010

Researchers use high resolution genome sequencing to track virulent strain of MRSA

An international team of researchers has used high resolution genome sequencing to track a particularly virulent strain of MRSA as it traveled between South America, Europe and Southeast Asia.

27 Jan 2010

Acyclovir reduces occurrence of HSV-2 genital ulcers but does not affect HIV transmission

Research from a five-year international clinical study shows that acyclovir, a commonly prescribed drug used to suppress symptoms of the herpes virus, does not affect HIV transmission by people with both viruses.

27 Jan 2010

Genome study could help prevent devastating epidemics in the future

A team of collaborating scientists at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston, the Broad Institute in Boston, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP) have sequenced almost 100 full genomes from three successive epidemics of flesh-eating bacteria.

27 Jan 2010

Oxford Journals, IDSA sign new publishing partnership

Oxford Journals, a division of Oxford University Press, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), a leading professional society, have announced a new publishing partnership for IDSA's highly cited and internationally prestigious journals: Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) and The Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID).

27 Jan 2010

Twenty nations meet in Montreal to discuss Haiti recovery; Haitian officials increase Port-Au-Prince death toll estimate

Officials from 20 countries are meeting in Montreal, Canada, Monday "to discuss long-term reconstruction and arrangements for a donor conference to be held in March," the U.N. said, Bloomberg reports (Gaouette/Craze, 1/25). "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and others will examine eventual debt forgiveness and" a strategy for rebuilding Haiti at the one-day gathering, according to Reuters (Palmer, 1/25).

27 Jan 2010

HSV-2 can reactivate throughout the genital tract

Genital herpes caused by a reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is generally treated as a lesion in one specific area of the genital region. A new study, however, finds that the virus can frequently reactivate throughout the genital tract, an important new concept that could help guide both HSV-2 treatment and prevention.

23 Jan 2010

Recent releases in global health

"Picture the situation in Haiti: families living on top of sewage-contaminated rubbish dumps, with no reliable sources of food and water and virtually no access to health care. This scenario depicts the situation in Haiti before the earthquake that catapulted this impoverished and conflict-ridden country into the international headlines,"

23 Jan 2010

Opinion: Haiti relief; WHO response to H1N1

An Economist editorial examines the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti and the "vital" importance of planning for rebuilding the country "before the world's generosity turns to cynicism. Fortunately there is a blueprint, drawn up by Haiti's government and presented to donors last year. It calls for investment to be targeted on infrastructure, basic services and combating soil erosion to make farmers more productive and the country less vulnerable to hurricanes. The pressing question is who should do it and how."

23 Jan 2010

Controversy around Merck's pricing for its AIDS drug Isentress

The controversy around Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals’ pricing for its key AIDS drug Isentress — at nearly $13,000 per patient yearly, the most expensive first line AIDS therapy on the US market today — continued this week following Merck’s reaction to recent public criticism of its AIDS drug pricing. Merck ramped up its damage control PR efforts, issuing a press release that sought to rewrite the history of Isentress and deflect attention by claiming AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been unfairly attacking them.

22 Jan 2010

Ordinary face masks and hand hygiene can reduce transmission of influenza-like illness

Ordinary face masks and hand hygiene can effectively reduce the transmission of influenza-like illness during flu season. The finding comes from a new study, now available online (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/650396), published in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

22 Jan 2010

HIV infection causes premature aging of the brain

HIV infection or the treatments used to control it are prematurely aging the brain, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California-San Diego have found.

22 Jan 2010

Reuters examines chronic disease in developing countries, future of drug prices

"Global health projections leave little doubt that chronic diseases are rapidly overtaking infectious diseases, such as malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis (TB), as the world's biggest killers - a shift emphasized by a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report on global health risks," Reuters writes in a story analyzing the future of drug pricing in the developing world. Longer life-spans in developing countries "and changing patterns of food, alcohol and tobacco consumption are creating a 'double burden' for poor nations, piling chronic diseases on top of infectious diseases," the news service writes.

21 Jan 2010

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Mandatory influenza vaccination policy improves immunization rates among health care workers

National contest invites teens and teachers to participate in flu prevention campaign

BD announces first-quarter fiscal 2010 results

Special issue explores how evolution can help doctors understand and treat diseases

Inovio Biomedical unveils new clinical-grade, miniaturized electroporation device

NIH to perform exploratory studies on ImmuneRegen BioSciences' Homspera

Juvaris BioTherapeutics completes second close on its Series B equity financing

Treating septic shock patients with intensive insulin therapy does not reduce risk of in-hospital death

Researchers use high resolution genome sequencing to track virulent strain of MRSA

Acyclovir reduces occurrence of HSV-2 genital ulcers but does not affect HIV transmission

Genome study could help prevent devastating epidemics in the future

Oxford Journals, IDSA sign new publishing partnership

Twenty nations meet in Montreal to discuss Haiti recovery; Haitian officials increase Port-Au-Prince death toll estimate

HSV-2 can reactivate throughout the genital tract

Recent releases in global health

Opinion: Haiti relief; WHO response to H1N1

Controversy around Merck's pricing for its AIDS drug Isentress

Ordinary face masks and hand hygiene can reduce transmission of influenza-like illness

HIV infection causes premature aging of the brain

Reuters examines chronic disease in developing countries, future of drug prices

NGS for Infectious Disease Surveillance eBook

Revolutionizing Life Science: An Interview with SCIEX on ASMS, the SCIEX 7500+ System, and AI-Driven Quantitation

From Discovery Biology to ELRIG Chair

Breathing New Life into Diagnostics: Plasmion's SICRIT Technology

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