Infectious Diseases News and Research

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New tactics for repelling, controlling disease-carrying insects

In the battle between insect predators and their prey, chemical signals called kairomones serve as an early-warning system. Pervasively emitted by the predators, the compounds are detected by their prey, and can even trigger adaptations, such a change in body size or armor, that help protect the prey. But as widespread as kairomones are in the insect world, their chemical identity has remained largely unknown. New research by Rockefeller University's Joel E. Cohen and colleagues at the University of Haifa in Israel has identified two compounds emitted by mosquito predators that make the mosquitoes less inclined to lay eggs in pools of water.

17 Jul 2010

Study examines HIV-positive patients' death risk at CD4 counts above 350

"Having HIV appears to be associated with a greater risk of death, even when the immune system is relatively robust and patients have not started treatment," according to a study published Friday in the Lancet, MedPage Today reports (Smith, 7/15).

17 Jul 2010

Also in Global Health News: WHO reacts to Amnesty's N. Korea report; Universal flu vaccine; Malaria-resistant mosquitoes

The WHO is questioning the validity of the findings of a recent Amnesty International report which highlighted the dire needs of North Korea's health system, "contradict[ing] the rosier picture given by WHO chief Margaret Chan after her April trip there," the Associated Press reports. Although WHO spokesman Paul Garwood "insisted he wasn't criticizing Amnesty's work … he said Thursday's report was anecdotal, with stories dating back to 2001," which "[h]e contrasted … with WHO's science-based approach" (7/16).

17 Jul 2010

Recent releases in Global Health

As part of a series in advance of AIDS 2010, the "Science Speaks" blog features an interview with U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator Eric Goosby "about his expectations for the conference, what was behind the Uganda problem with shortages of AIDS medicine, and whether The New York Times was right when it reported in May that the Ugandan drug shortfall was 'the first example … of how the war on AIDS is falling apart.'"

16 Jul 2010

Studying retrovirus assembly can help new drug development for infection control

How a retrovirus, like HIV, reproduces and assembles new viruses is different than previously thought, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. Understanding the steps a virus takes for assembly could allow development of a way to prevent the spread of retroviral diseases. The team studied a chicken virus called Rous sarcoma virus that causes cancer in chickens and is similar to HIV.

16 Jul 2010

Lyophilized rPA anthrax vaccine more immunogenic than liquid formulation: Study

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, today announced results from a New Zealand White Rabbit study showing that its lyophilized recombinant Protective Antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine was more immunogenic than a liquid formulation of rPA vaccine and produced a robust response with only 2 doses.

16 Jul 2010

Hemispherx publishes report of Japanese government funded program to develop nasally delivered H5N1 vaccine

Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc. announced that it was publicizing the full technical (unedited) report in Japanese, prepared by Hideki Hasegawa, M.D. Ph.D., Director, Laboratory of Infectious Disease Pathology, National Institute of Infectious Disease (NIID, formerly Japan's National Institute of Health) and the certified English translation.

16 Jul 2010

Early HIV treatment reduces death, likelihood of TB, study finds

"Early treatment for HIV cuts patients' risk of death by about 75 percent," according to a study conducted in Haiti and published Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. The study also demonstrated that "early antiretroviral treatment reduces the likelihood of tuberculosis, a leading cause of death among HIV patients, by 50 percent," the news service writes (Aquino, 7/14).

16 Jul 2010

NIH awards MacroGenics $9.8 million grant for three projects

MacroGenics, Inc, a privately held biotechnology company that develops immunotherapeutics to treat autoimmune disorders, cancer and infectious diseases, today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the company three new grants representing total funding of $9.8 million.

15 Jul 2010

First 1M doses of smallpox vaccine for immune-compromised populations delivered

Delivery to the Strategic National Stockpile of the first 1 million doses of the nation's first smallpox vaccine for certain immune-compromised populations is now complete, the result of a Project BioShield contract.

15 Jul 2010

NIH announces 5 more years of funding for Consortium of Food Allergy Research

Today, the National Institutes of Health announce that the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR), established in 2005, will be funded for five more years. CoFAR will continue to foster new approaches to prevent and treat food allergies and also expand in scope to include research on the genetic causes underlying food allergy and studies of food allergy-associated eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs).

15 Jul 2010

UNC research to be presented at International AIDS Society conference

Dozens of UNC researchers are heading to Vienna, Austria to participate in the world's preeminent AIDS conference this week. The International AIDS Society conference brings together top scientists, advocates and government officials to discuss progress and chart a course for stemming the spread and impact of AIDS. Speakers including President Bill Clinton will address an estimated 25,000 attendees at this year's event.

15 Jul 2010

NIH awards $20M grant to support Institute for Clinical & Translational Science efforts

The Institute for Clinical & Translational Science at UC Irvine will get $20 million over five years from the National Institutes of Health to speed the transformation of scientific discoveries into medical advances for patients.

15 Jul 2010

NIAID awards ATCC multimillion dollar MID-BRR contract

ATCC, the premier biological materials resource, services, and standards organization, has been awarded the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases Biological Resource Repository ("MID-BRR") contract, ATCC announced today. The current value of the contract is $14,615,598 with the ultimate value of $115,733,409 over 7 years with an annual renewal.

14 Jul 2010

ZyGEM launches new microbial fingerprinting diagnostic technology

ZyGEM Corp. Ltd., has introduced its new microbial fingerprinting diagnostic technology that is expected to dramatically reduce the complexity and time needed to identify unknown infectious agents in mixed population samples. The approach is designed to run on the company's new MicroLab platform and has the potential to accurately identify up to 30 types of microbes simultaneously from a single sample in less than an hour.

14 Jul 2010

Scientists discover three human antibodies that neutralize HIV

Scientists have discovered three previously unknown human antibodies that neutralize HIV, two of which target a broad range of HIV strains. The findings, reported online July 8 in two Science papers, add a level of encouragement to the AIDS vaccine research field.

14 Jul 2010

Researcher to lead $14.5M project to fight malaria in Southeast Asia

A researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will lead a seven-year, $14.5 million project to fight malaria in Southeast Asia. Liwang Cui, professor of entomology, is the principal investigator for the Southeast Asia Malaria Research Center, one of 10 International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research announced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

14 Jul 2010

Researchers awarded $3M grant to establish DC D-CFAR

Researchers from institutions across Washington, DC, led by Alan E. Greenberg, M.D., M.P.H., of The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, have been awarded an approximately $3M grant over five years from the National Institutes of Health to establish the District of Columbia Developmental Center for AIDS Research.

14 Jul 2010

HIVMA, RWMPC support National HIV/AIDS Strategy

The HIV Medicine Association applauds the Obama administration's release of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy that signals a strengthened national commitment to real and sustained success in the battle against HIV/AIDS. As clinicians and researchers on the frontline of this pandemic, we welcome this new comprehensive roadmap and look forward to working with diverse stakeholders at all levels of government and within the private sector to implement it.

14 Jul 2010

Administration to unveil first national HIV/AIDS strategy today

The White House will unveil the first formal national HIV/AIDS strategy on Tuesday, a plan that aims to reduce the number of new cases by 25 percent in the next five years, officials said. Noting that the number of new infections in the United States has been static -- and that the number of people living with HIV is growing -- the new policy would direct more resources toward African Americans and gay and bisexual men. Latinos and substance abusers should also be a priority, the report says.

14 Jul 2010