Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Researchers uncover attack mechanism of illness-inducing bacterium found in shellfish

An infectious ocean-dwelling bacterium found in oysters and other shellfish kills its host's cells by causing them to burst, providing the invader with a nutrient-rich meal, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

18 Aug 2008

Researchers find Leishmaniasis parasites evade death by exploiting the immune response to sand fly bites

Cutaneous leishmaniasis, a disease characterized by painful skin ulcers, occurs when the parasite Leishmania major, or a related species, is transmitted to a mammalian host by the bite of an infected sand fly.

14 Aug 2008

18 cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis found in California

In the first statewide study of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR TB) in the United States, California officials have identified 18 cases of the dangerous and difficult-to-treat disease between 1993 and 2006, and 77 cases that were one step away from XDR TB. The study appears in the August 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

13 Aug 2008

Poverty, population movement contributing to spread of HIV in Sudan

Poverty and the movement of people displaced by war have contributed to an increase in the number of HIV/AIDS cases in Sudan, United Nations and Sudanese health officials said on Sunday, adding that a lack of data is hindering efforts to get an accurate picture of the disease in the country, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.

13 Aug 2008

Adverse events from antibiotics cause 142,000 emergency department visits per year in U.S.

Adverse events from antibiotics cause an estimated 142,000 emergency department visits per year in the United States, according to a study published in the September 15, 2008 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

12 Aug 2008

Rare case explains why some infected with HIV remain symptom free without antiretroviral drugs

AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins say they have compelling evidence that some people with HIV who for years and even decades show extremely low levels of the virus in their blood never progress to full-blown AIDS and remain symptom free even without treatment, probably do so because of the strength of their immune systems, not any defects in the strain of HIV that infected them in the first place.

12 Aug 2008

In-depth review of current research on the health effects of vitamin D

Despite considerable progress in research to understand the health effects of vitamin D, experts convened by the NIH to review the available data found major gaps in the evidence. The data are strongest in the area of bone health among elderly men and post-menopausal women, suggesting that increased vitamin D intake can improve bone health and prevent falls. For other age groups and health issues, though, it is too early to say conclusively whether more vitamin D might be beneficial.

12 Aug 2008

Prions can survive in the ground for several years

Prions, the pathogens that cause scrapie in sheep, can survive in the ground for several years, as researchers have discovered. Animals can become infected via contaminated pastures. It is not yet known whether the pathogens that cause BSE and CWD are equally resistant.

11 Aug 2008

NanoViricides reports HIVCide-I significantly superior to current anti-HIV three drug cocktail standard

NanoViricides, Inc. said that additional biological tests and data analysis have shown that animals treated with its lead anti-HIV drug candidate, HIVCide-I, demonstrated a substantially greater reduction in viral load -- number of infectious virus particles per milliliter of blood -- when compared to the animals given the anti-HIV "combo cocktail" in a preliminary animal study. An important objective of anti-HIV treatment is to minimize the viral load.

11 Aug 2008

Children with HIV in poor countries more adherent to treatment than children in rich countries

Researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Regenstrief Institute and Moi University School of Medicine are the first to report that adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) to fight human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in children who live in low income countries is as high as or higher than adherence by children living in high income countries.

11 Aug 2008

Students with food allergies often not prepared

College students with food allergies aren't avoiding the foods they know they shouldn't eat. Students of all ages are not treated with potentially life-saving epinephrine as often as they should be. And instructors, roommates and friends often are not aware of what to do if a food-allergic student has a reaction.

6 Aug 2008

Bionor Immuno trials new innovative therapeutic immunization designed to help existing HIV and AIDS patients

Bionor Immuno today announced that it has advanced its efforts to develop the first HIV therapeutic immunization with the dosing of patients in a global Phase 2b clinical trial of the company's lead candidate (Vacc-4x).

4 Aug 2008

Suspect in U.S. anthrax case commits suicide

Authorities in the United States say a suspect in the 2001 anthrax mailings case has committed suicide.

3 Aug 2008

Travel industry should inform travelers about malaria, say doctors

Tour operators and airlines are wasting an ideal opportunity to warn travellers about the risk of contracting malaria in specific countries, say infectious disease experts on BMJ.com.

31 Jul 2008

Monkey virus found in people living and working with monkeys

A research team led by University of Washington scientists has found that several people in South and Southeast Asian countries working and living around monkeys have been infected with simian foamy virus (SFV), a primate virus that, to date, has not been shown to cause human disease.

31 Jul 2008

New oral vaccine combats various versions of the plague

A University of Central Florida researcher may have found a defense against the Black Plague, a disease that wiped out a third of Europe's population in the Middle Ages and which government agencies perceive as a terrorist threat today.

31 Jul 2008

Top Doc slams cancer treatment in Australia

One of Australia's top cancer specialists says the standard of treatment for cancer victims in the country leaves a lot to be desired.

30 Jul 2008

ISU researchers find possible alternative adjuvant for alum to boost the effectiveness of vaccines

On the rocky road of cancer research, Indiana State University scientists have made important discoveries.

29 Jul 2008

Canadian pandemic research receives funding boost

Densely populated cities and increased air travel can be factors which create and spread pandemic disease. But a McMaster University researcher is working with isolated Hutterite communities to understand the transmission of pandemic diseases like influenza.

29 Jul 2008

HIV vaccine research needs new ideas more funding

New researchers and innovative ideas are needed to further research on developing an HIV/AIDS vaccine, U.S. scientists wrote in Friday's edition of Science magazine, the AP/Google.com reports.

29 Jul 2008

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Researchers uncover attack mechanism of illness-inducing bacterium found in shellfish

Researchers find Leishmaniasis parasites evade death by exploiting the immune response to sand fly bites

18 cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis found in California

Poverty, population movement contributing to spread of HIV in Sudan

Adverse events from antibiotics cause 142,000 emergency department visits per year in U.S.

Rare case explains why some infected with HIV remain symptom free without antiretroviral drugs

In-depth review of current research on the health effects of vitamin D

Prions can survive in the ground for several years

NanoViricides reports HIVCide-I significantly superior to current anti-HIV three drug cocktail standard

Children with HIV in poor countries more adherent to treatment than children in rich countries

Students with food allergies often not prepared

Bionor Immuno trials new innovative therapeutic immunization designed to help existing HIV and AIDS patients

Suspect in U.S. anthrax case commits suicide

Travel industry should inform travelers about malaria, say doctors

Monkey virus found in people living and working with monkeys

New oral vaccine combats various versions of the plague

Top Doc slams cancer treatment in Australia

ISU researchers find possible alternative adjuvant for alum to boost the effectiveness of vaccines

Canadian pandemic research receives funding boost

HIV vaccine research needs new ideas more funding

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