Infectious Diseases News and Research

RSS

New Stanford list of HIV mutations vital to tracking AIDS epidemic

In a collaborative study with the World Health Organization and seven other laboratories, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have compiled a list of 93 common mutations of the AIDS virus associated with drug resistance that will be used to track future resistance trends throughout the world.

5 Mar 2009

Pharmacies offering no-cost antibiotics should promote responsible use, CDC says

CDC last week sent out letters to several chain pharmacies that offer no-cost prescription antibiotics to low-income consumers urging them to promote responsible use of antibiotics, the New York Times reports.

5 Mar 2009

Texas bill to make HIV screening part of routine care would help efforts to curb virus

"More than two years after" CDC "recommended routine HIV screening, two state lawmakers" in Texas have proposed a bill to align the state with the federal recommendations, a Lubbock Avalanche-Journal editorial says.

5 Mar 2009

Experimental microbicide containing natural compound provides protection in monkeys against simian version of HIV

An experimental microbicide containing a naturally occurring compound provides protection in monkeys against the simian version of HIV by diminishing immune responses to the virus, according to a study published Wednesday in the journal Nature, the Los Angeles Times reports.

5 Mar 2009

Hazardous conditions found in home healthcare may put frail and seniors at risk

A large-scale study conducted at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health has identified the type and frequency of hazardous conditions found in the home healthcare (HHC) setting.

4 Mar 2009

Zambia launches effort to improve tuberculosis diagnosis

Zambia recently launched a four-year project to improve tuberculosis diagnosis and ensure early treatment for the disease, the Daily Mail reports.

4 Mar 2009

Advocates in Mexico call for greater effort against HIV/AIDS

AIDS-related mortality rates in Mexico have remained somewhat steady over the past 12 years, despite increased access to antiretroviral drugs in the country, officials at the National Institute of Public Health, or INSP, said recently, The News/Individual.com reports.

4 Mar 2009

Universal vaccination associated with decreased Canadian cases of most deadly strain of meningitis

Universal childhood vaccination against meningococcal C appears to reduce Canadian incidence of the most deadly strain of bacterial meningitis, reports new research published in the March issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

2 Mar 2009

Instant immunity through chemically programmable vaccination and covalent self-assembly

The experiments, thus far performed only in mice, appear to overcome a major drawback of vaccinations - the lag time of days, or even weeks, that it normally takes for immunity to build against a pathogen.

2 Mar 2009

Doctors call for change in how non-active tuberculosis in immigrant children treated

New guidelines proposed in the March 2009 issue of the journal Pediatrics by researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children may have a major impact on how pediatricians and family physicians treat non-active tuberculosis (TB) in children who are immigrants, internationally adopted or refugees.

2 Mar 2009

Wyeth's Prevenar vaccine for pneumococcal disease registered in Russia

Wyeth announced today that its 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, Prevenar (Pneumococcal saccharide conjugated vaccine, Adsorbed), has been registered by the Russian Ministry of Health and Social Development (Roszdravnadzor) and is expected to be commercially available later this year.

2 Mar 2009

Bacteria-killing enzyme cures mice with fatal pneumonia

Before the advent of antibiotics, pneumonia claimed so many lives - and was so feared - that it was called the "captain of the ship of death."

1 Mar 2009

Lab tests show meropenem and clavulanate combination effective against drug-resistant TB bacteria

WHAT: In a finding that could soon help people infected with untreatable, highly drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), scientists have shown that two FDA-approved drugs work in tandem to kill laboratory-grown strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), the bacterium that causes TB.

26 Feb 2009

Experimental animal vaccine may protect humans from Ebola

Protection against Ebola, one of the world's deadliest viruses, can be achieved by a vaccine produced in insect cells, raising prospects for developing an effective vaccine for humans, say scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio.

26 Feb 2009

Drug combo shows potential for treating extensively drug resistant tuberculosis

A combination of two FDA-approved drugs, already approved for fighting other bacterial infections, shows potential for treating extensively drug resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB), the most deadly form of the infection.

26 Feb 2009

Immune system found to be more versatile than previously thought

By studying how mice fight off infection by intestinal worms - a condition that affects more than 1 billion people worldwide - scientists have discovered that the immune system is more versatile than has long been thought.

26 Feb 2009

Supermarkets should offer free flu shots rather than free antibiotics

As influenza season shifts into high gear, with 24 states now reporting widespread activity, the nation's infectious diseases experts are urging supermarket pharmacies with free-antibiotics promotions to educate their customers on when antibiotics are the right prescription-and when they can do more harm than good.

25 Feb 2009

Emergence of parasites resistant to artemisinin could set back malaria control success

WHO today said that the emergence of parasites resistant to artemisinin at the Thai-Cambodia border could seriously undermine the success of the global malaria control efforts.

25 Feb 2009

Xencor and CSL Limited establish antibody optimization collaboration

Xencor, Inc., an antibody discovery and development company, announced today that it has entered into an antibody optimization collaboration with CSL, Ltd. The collaboration will provide CSL with access to Xencor's XmAb technology platform to enhance the ADCC effector function of its therapeutic antibodies.

23 Feb 2009

Scientists identify lab-made proteins that neutralize a broad range of influenza A viruses

Scientists have identified a small family of lab-made proteins that neutralize a broad range of influenza A viruses, including the H5N1 avian virus, the 1918 pandemic influenza virus and seasonal H1N1 flu viruses.

23 Feb 2009

Infectious Diseases News and Research

New Stanford list of HIV mutations vital to tracking AIDS epidemic

Pharmacies offering no-cost antibiotics should promote responsible use, CDC says

Texas bill to make HIV screening part of routine care would help efforts to curb virus

Experimental microbicide containing natural compound provides protection in monkeys against simian version of HIV

Hazardous conditions found in home healthcare may put frail and seniors at risk

Zambia launches effort to improve tuberculosis diagnosis

Advocates in Mexico call for greater effort against HIV/AIDS

Universal vaccination associated with decreased Canadian cases of most deadly strain of meningitis

Instant immunity through chemically programmable vaccination and covalent self-assembly

Doctors call for change in how non-active tuberculosis in immigrant children treated

Wyeth's Prevenar vaccine for pneumococcal disease registered in Russia

Bacteria-killing enzyme cures mice with fatal pneumonia

Lab tests show meropenem and clavulanate combination effective against drug-resistant TB bacteria

Experimental animal vaccine may protect humans from Ebola

Drug combo shows potential for treating extensively drug resistant tuberculosis

Immune system found to be more versatile than previously thought

Supermarkets should offer free flu shots rather than free antibiotics

Emergence of parasites resistant to artemisinin could set back malaria control success

Xencor and CSL Limited establish antibody optimization collaboration

Scientists identify lab-made proteins that neutralize a broad range of influenza A viruses

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

Latest News