Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Risks of 'imported' measles

An outbreak of measles at an international youth soccer event illustrates the risks of with "imported" measles, according to a study in the September issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal. The journal is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading provider of information and business intelligence for students, professionals, and institutions in medicine, nursing, allied health, and pharmacy.

8 Sep 2010

Personalized reminders effective in encouraging seniors to get annual flu shots

Personalized post cards or phone calls can be effective in encouraging more seniors to get their annual flu shots, according to a new review of evidence. Professional facilitators are also successful at urging providers to perform a suite of preventive services, including flu shots for seniors.

8 Sep 2010

NIH announces award to improve human microbiome research

The National Institutes of Health today announced it has awarded approximately $42 million to expand the scope of eight demonstration projects designed to link changes in the human microbiome to health and disease.

8 Sep 2010

Positive immune responses elicited from Scancell's DNA vaccine in combination with ImmuneRegen's Homspera

Scancell Holdings Plc, the developer of therapeutic cancer vaccines, announces that a treatment utilising a DNA vaccine based on its ImmunoBody® technology, in combination with ImmuneRegen BioSciences, Inc.®'s lead compound, Homspera®, has significantly improved the immune response of the vaccine in an animal model. Follow-up studies are currently being performed to optimize the effects of Homspera in enhancing the next generation of Scancell's cancer vaccines.

7 Sep 2010

miacom diagnostics presents rapid detection method for pneumonia causing pathogens

miacom diagnostics specializes on the development and production of medical tests for the detection of acute infectious diseases. In addition to its existing sepsis kits miacom, diagnostics is now presenting a further CE-marked product based on the same proprietary technology. It is targeted at the rapid detection of clinically most relevant pneumonia causing pathogens.

7 Sep 2010

Subset of gay community continues to contribute to HIV spread: Research

Risky sexual behavior among members of a subset of the gay community is still adding to the spread of HIV. Research published in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases has found that young white homosexual men have an important contribution in the local spread of HIV.

7 Sep 2010

Human endogenous retroviruses may provide insight evidence to HIV diagnosis

Why is it so hard to isolate and purify human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Why has no one been able to see, by electron microscopy, a single HIV particle in the blood of AIDS patients, even those who have a "high viral load" Why does HIV seem to mutate with startling rapidity. AIDS researchers have not been able to come up with answers to these questions.

4 Sep 2010

Single-dose of experimental malaria drug clears parasites in mice, represents potential new class of drugs to treat malaria in humans

An experimental malaria drug was shown to effectively treat the disease in mice with only a single dose, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science, Reuters reports (Kelland, 9/2). The new drug, known as NITD609, "represents an entirely new class of medicines to treat malaria ... Human trials, backed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG, could begin later this year," the Wall Street Journal writes (Naik, 9/3).

4 Sep 2010

VOA News examines U.S. Global Health Initiative

VOA News examines President Barack Obama's $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI), noting the initiative's emphasis on cost-effective strategies to improve child- and maternal-health as well as programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. The article includes recent comments by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the role the GHI will play in strengthening health systems and the administration's on-going commitment to global HIV/AIDS programs.

4 Sep 2010

NEJM publishes study on Xpert MTB/RIF test for rapid molecular detection of TB and rifampin resistance

Cepheid today announced that its Xpert® MTB/RIF test was the subject of a study published in the latest edition of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), "Rapid Molecular Detection of Tuberculosis and Rifampin Resistance." The complete study is now available online (http://www.nejm.org) and will appear in the September 9 print edition.

3 Sep 2010

New TB diagnostic test effective in first large-scale field trial

Research assessing the effectiveness of a new diagnostic test for the detection of tuberculosis (TB) is featured in the Sept. 1 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 Sep 2010

New test detects TB faster, with more accuracy than current diagnostics, study says

A new molecular test for tuberculosis can diagnose the disease and detect a drug-resistant form of it in less than two hours and more accurately than current tests, according to the findings of a study published online in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, Reuters reports (Kelland, 9/1).

3 Sep 2010

Emergent BioSolutions signs contract with NIAID to develop third generation anthrax vaccine candidate

Emergent BioSolutions Inc. announced today that it has signed a contract valued at up to $28.7 million with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an institute within the National Institutes of Health, for advanced development of the company's third generation anthrax vaccine candidate.

2 Sep 2010

Lytix Biopharma granted Hungarian approval for Lytixar Phase IIa clinical trial in Gram positive skin infections

The Norwegian pharmaceutical company Lytix Biopharma AS today announces the approval in Hungary to commence a Phase IIa clinical trial with Lytixar (LTX-109) treatment of skin infections caused by Gram positive bacteria.

2 Sep 2010

HIV-infected children who receive HAART require revaccination: Researchers

HIV-infected children receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy may require revaccination to maintain immunity against preventable diseases. There remains no standard or official recommendation on revaccination of children receiving HAART, an effective intervention in reducing morbidity and mortality in HIV-infected children.

2 Sep 2010

WHO proposes creation of African Public Health Emergency Fund, strategy to reduce alcohol use in Africa

During the 60th session of the Africa Committee of the WHO on Monday, Luis Sambo, regional director of the WHO for Africa, proposed the creation of a public health emergency fund to provide financial support to African countries in emergency situations, Agencia AngolaPress reports (8/30).

2 Sep 2010

Abbott RealTime HBV assay receives marketing approval from FDA

Abbott announced today it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market the Abbott RealTime HBV assay for measuring viral load or the amount of hepatitis B virus in a patient's blood. It is the first and only approved test capable of automating HBV viral load testing from sample extraction to final results.

2 Sep 2010

Neutralizing key toxin associated with Staph aureus bacteria reduces severity of skin and soft-tissue damage

Scientists from the National Institutes of Health and University of Chicago have found a promising treatment method that in laboratory mice reduces the severity of skin and soft-tissue damage caused by USA300, the leading cause of community-associated Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States.

2 Sep 2010

Researchers find new fusion protein for E.coli bacterium vaccine development

South Dakota State University research is exploring a "fusion strategy" for making improved vaccines to protect pigs and humans against some strains of E. coli.

2 Sep 2010

High vitamin D level improves survival rate in heart failure patients: Study

Survival rates in heart failure patients with reduced levels of vitamin D are lower than in patients with normal levels. This is the finding of a major study carried out at University Medical Center, Groningen, Netherlands. Results also suggest that low levels of vitamin D are associated with activation of the Renin Angiotensin System (RAS - a pivotal regulatory system in heart failure) and an altered cytokine profile.

2 Sep 2010

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Risks of 'imported' measles

Personalized reminders effective in encouraging seniors to get annual flu shots

NIH announces award to improve human microbiome research

Positive immune responses elicited from Scancell's DNA vaccine in combination with ImmuneRegen's Homspera

miacom diagnostics presents rapid detection method for pneumonia causing pathogens

Subset of gay community continues to contribute to HIV spread: Research

Human endogenous retroviruses may provide insight evidence to HIV diagnosis

Single-dose of experimental malaria drug clears parasites in mice, represents potential new class of drugs to treat malaria in humans

VOA News examines U.S. Global Health Initiative

NEJM publishes study on Xpert MTB/RIF test for rapid molecular detection of TB and rifampin resistance

New TB diagnostic test effective in first large-scale field trial

New test detects TB faster, with more accuracy than current diagnostics, study says

Emergent BioSolutions signs contract with NIAID to develop third generation anthrax vaccine candidate

Lytix Biopharma granted Hungarian approval for Lytixar Phase IIa clinical trial in Gram positive skin infections

HIV-infected children who receive HAART require revaccination: Researchers

WHO proposes creation of African Public Health Emergency Fund, strategy to reduce alcohol use in Africa

Abbott RealTime HBV assay receives marketing approval from FDA

Neutralizing key toxin associated with Staph aureus bacteria reduces severity of skin and soft-tissue damage

Researchers find new fusion protein for E.coli bacterium vaccine development

High vitamin D level improves survival rate in heart failure patients: Study

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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