Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Novel breakthrough may lead to new methods for sterilizing food and medical equipment

Got food poisoning? The cause might be bacterial spores, en extremely hardy survival form of bacteria, a nightmare for health care and the food industry and an enigma for scientists. Spore-forming bacteria, present almost everywhere in our environment, can also cause serious infectious diseases, such as tetanus, anthrax, and botulism.

12 Nov 2009

Today's opinions and editorials

"Traditional" infectious diseases — those, like flu and tuberculosis, that are caused by viruses or bacteria — are not the only aspects of health that can spread from one person to another. Taking up smoking is contagious; so is quitting. Obesity is contagious. So is happiness (Olivia Judson, 11/10).

12 Nov 2009

Academic Health Center receives 128 grants totaling nearly $35 million in federal stimulus money

Academic Health Center scientists, physicians, and research centers have attracted 128 grants totaling nearly $35 million in federal stimulus money (as of Nov. 10) since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was approved in February 2009. This will result in a total economic impact of more than $105 million; according to the National Institutes of Health, $1 of research funding multiplies to more than $2 of goods and services in the economy.

11 Nov 2009

Science-based health policies could prevent nearly 4m maternal, child deaths in Africa, report says

Nearly 4 million deaths among women and children in sub-Saharan Africa could be prevented annually if relatively inexpensive, "science-based health policies" reached 90 percent of families, according to an African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI) report (.pdf) published Monday, Nature News reports.

10 Nov 2009

Aduro BioTech raises funds through its Series A-1 financing

Aduro BioTech, a privately held biotechnology company focused on the development of therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines based on proprietary recombinant strains of the bacterium Listeria monocytogenes, today announced completion of its Series A-1 financing.

10 Nov 2009

BioVex completes $70M financing to complete OncoVEX Phase III study

BioVex Inc, a company developing new generation biologics for the treatment and prevention of cancer and infectious disease, announced today that it has concluded a $70 million private financing, raising $30 million in addition to the $40 million announced in March. The proceeds of the financing will primarily be used to complete the ongoing Phase III pivotal study of OncoVEX (GM-CSF) for the treatment of recurrent and metastatic melanoma and to fund pre-commercialization activities.

10 Nov 2009

NIH awards $6.8 million subcontract to Kineta to develop vaccine immune boosters

Kineta, Inc. announced today it has been awarded a $6.8 million subcontract from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to develop novel vaccine adjuvants (agents that help boost the immune system). The Kineta subcontract is part of a larger $13 million award to the University of Washington.

10 Nov 2009

"Point of Care Diagnostics 2010 and Beyond: Rapid Testing at a Crossroads" report from MarketResearch.com

MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of Kalorama Information's new report "Point of Care Diagnostics 2010 and Beyond: Rapid Testing at a Crossroads," to their collection of In Vitro Diagnostics market reports.

10 Nov 2009

Experts gather to outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding

The scientific ability to quickly and accurately identify species through DNA "barcoding" is being embraced and applied by a growing legion of global authorities - from medical and agricultural researchers to police and customs authorities to palaeontologists and others.

7 Nov 2009

Transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance established, experts welcome initiative

Experts on both sides of the Atlantic applaud President Barack Obama and Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, representing the European Union (EU) Presidency, for establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance, an urgent and growing problem that threatens patient safety and public health worldwide.

7 Nov 2009

Experts applaud the EU Presidency for establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance

7 Nov 2009

2009 H1N1 influenza PPE federal guidance for healthcare workers causes concern among prevention experts

Three leading scientific organizations specializing in infectious diseases prevention issued a letter to President Obama today expressing their significant concern with current federal guidance concerning the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by healthcare workers in treating suspected or confirmed cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza.

7 Nov 2009

GeoVax Labs announces financial results and operational update for the third quarter of 2009

GeoVax Labs, Inc., an Atlanta-based, biopharmaceutical company developing human vaccines for diseases caused by HIV-1 (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) and other infectious agents, today announced its third quarter 2009 financial results and provided an operational update.

6 Nov 2009

H1N1 is now most dominant flu strain worldwide, WHO says

The H1N1 (swine flu) virus is now the dominant flu strain worldwide, the WHO reported Thursday, with the virus accounting for up to 70 percent of the flu viruses sampled in some countries, the Associated Press reports.

6 Nov 2009

UTSA releases its newest research numbers

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) released its newest research numbers today, reporting a 34% increase to $46,521,487 in total research spending for the Sept. 1, 2008 – Aug. 31, 2009 fiscal year (FY 09) over the previous fiscal year, when research spending totaled $34,601,444. The statistic is up 97% from just five years ago, when UTSA’s total research expenditures were $23,605,844.

6 Nov 2009

Journal of Public Health Management presents new ideas for building better public health workforce

A recent special supplement to the Journal of Public Health Management calls attention to the country's pressing need for a larger and fully capable public health workforce. The supplement, written by the leading academic voices in public health and published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), also sheds light on the challenges the U.S. faces in adequately meeting public health needs.

6 Nov 2009

Eggs sensitivity and flu shot: Doctors' dilemma

"My three year old had a skin breakout we think was due to eggs - is it safe to do a flu shot?" It's a question being asked to every doctor who takes care of kids during flu season. "On the one hand we are concerned about the devastating effects of the new strain of flu, and on the other we aren't sure if a history of eggs sensitivity is enough to hold the shot or spray," said Bobby Q. Lanier, M.D., clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of North Texas HSC in Fort Worth, Texas, and executive medical director of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI).

6 Nov 2009

Journal of Infectious Diseases' special edition on rotavirus

The Journal of Infectious Diseases has released a special edition, Global Rotavirus Surveillance: Preparing for the Introduction of Rotavirus Vaccines. This special edition provides a significant contribution to the understanding of rotavirus disease burden and the impact of rotavirus vaccines, which have the potential to save an estimated 228,000 lives annually.

6 Nov 2009

Grant awarded for research into a new treatment for methamphetamine addiction

Dr. Keith Flower - a research physician at the Addiction Pharmacology & Research Laboratory in San Francisco, CA - has been awarded a grant to investigate a new medication treatment for methamphetamine addiction. This grant has been awarded to California Pacific Medical Center's Research Institute through President Obama's AMERICAN RECOVERY AND REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2009.

6 Nov 2009

Malaria experts discuss eradication at MIM conference

In a session at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan-African Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, experts discussed the tools required to eradicate the disease and highlighted insecticide and drug resistance in some parts of the world, Xinhua reports. Researchers noted that resistance to artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) has been documented in western Cambodia and "has now also been reported in the west of Thailand and in eastern Myanmar," the news service writes (Ooko/Zhuoyun, 11/5).

6 Nov 2009

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Novel breakthrough may lead to new methods for sterilizing food and medical equipment

Today's opinions and editorials

Academic Health Center receives 128 grants totaling nearly $35 million in federal stimulus money

Science-based health policies could prevent nearly 4m maternal, child deaths in Africa, report says

Aduro BioTech raises funds through its Series A-1 financing

BioVex completes $70M financing to complete OncoVEX Phase III study

NIH awards $6.8 million subcontract to Kineta to develop vaccine immune boosters

"Point of Care Diagnostics 2010 and Beyond: Rapid Testing at a Crossroads" report from MarketResearch.com

Experts gather to outline the latest creative applications of DNA barcoding

Transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance established, experts welcome initiative

Experts applaud the EU Presidency for establishing a transatlantic task force to address antibiotic resistance

2009 H1N1 influenza PPE federal guidance for healthcare workers causes concern among prevention experts

GeoVax Labs announces financial results and operational update for the third quarter of 2009

H1N1 is now most dominant flu strain worldwide, WHO says

UTSA releases its newest research numbers

Journal of Public Health Management presents new ideas for building better public health workforce

Eggs sensitivity and flu shot: Doctors' dilemma

Journal of Infectious Diseases' special edition on rotavirus

Grant awarded for research into a new treatment for methamphetamine addiction

Malaria experts discuss eradication at MIM conference

eBook: Advancing infectious disease vaccine development 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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