Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Misoprostol off-label use may have led to deaths

Preliminary U-M studies indicate that oral use of RU-486's companion drug misoprostol is safe, but vaginal use may undermine body's immune responses

16 Jun 2008

Patch protects travellers from holiday diarrhoea

Scientists in the U.S. have developed a patch which protects people from stomach bugs picked up during foreign travel.

16 Jun 2008

AHF to Dr. Fauci and the CDC: "show us the AIDS numbers"

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is calling for the immediate release of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) latest HIV incidence numbers, after Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) referred to them while in attendance at the United Nations' 2008 High Level Meeting on AIDS in New York this week. The US largest AIDS organization and operator of free AIDS treatment clinics in the U.S., Africa, Latin America/Caribbean and Asia, also called for massive scale-up of HIV testing throughout the nation.

11 Jun 2008

Simple steps can help reduce your risk of contracting potentially deadly superbug

With beach-season looming, the fitness bug is motivating Chicagoans to fill area gyms in droves, all hoping to buff up before the warm-weather season of fun gets into full swing.

11 Jun 2008

U.N. Secretary-General calls for end of discrimination against, travel restrictions on people living with HIV/AIDS

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the opening of the U.N. 2008 High Level Meeting on AIDS on Tuesday called on the international community to end discrimination against HIV-positive people, including travel restrictions, describing such practices as "an affront to our common humanity," Xinhuanet reports.

11 Jun 2008

Without increased funding, California's dominance and public health are threatened, according to new report

The California Healthcare Institute (CHI) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) today released a report, "The National Institutes of Health: Fueling Healthcare Innovation in California," urging legislators to support increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) - the backbone of the biomedical industry in California, which employs more than 267,000 people in high wage jobs.

11 Jun 2008

Quick responses to influenza outbreaks reduces illness and death

Influenza outbreaks were shorter and resulted in fewer cases and fewer deaths at long-term care facilities that started residents on preventive antiviral medications within five days of the first case, compared to those that started later, according to a new study in the July 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online.

11 Jun 2008

U.N. high level meeting on AIDS to review progress in fighting disease

World leaders are expected to review progress in the fight against HIV/AIDS worldwide during the United Nations 2008 High Level Meeting on AIDS, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in New York, the Washington Post reports (Lynch, Washington Post, 6/10).

11 Jun 2008

When it comes to catching an infection, planes no riskier than airports

A study carried out by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau has found there is no greater risk of catching an infection on a plane than in any other crowded and confined space.

10 Jun 2008

Longer treatment with antiretroviral Nevirapine reduces risk of HIV among infants

Extended treatment with the antiretroviral drug nevirapine in conjunction with the standard therapy might reduce the risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission, according to a study published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, Reuters reports (Emery, Reuters, 6/4).

8 Jun 2008

New grant to enable University of Rochester to increase HIV research by 25 percent

The University of Rochester today announced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a team of more than 50 researchers a five-year, $3.2 million grant.

4 Jun 2008

BN ImmunoTherapeutics starts clinical trials with prostate cancer vaccine

BN ImmunoTherapeutics, Inc. has initiated Phase I/II clinical studies with its therapeutic vaccine candidate against prostate cancer.

4 Jun 2008

Medarex announces preliminary data for investigational anti-PD-1 antibody

Medarex, Inc. has announced preliminary data from an ongoing Phase 1 study of MDX-1106 (ONO-4538: development code of Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.), a fully human anti-PD-1 antibody.

2 Jun 2008

Simple infection control intervention in elementary schools reduces student absenteeism

A study from researchers at Children's Hospital Boston published in Pediatrics found that a simple infection control intervention in elementary schools - disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers - helped reduce illness-related student absenteeism.

2 Jun 2008

Protective effects of breast milk are higher in girls than in boys

Challenging the long-standing belief that breast-feeding equally protects all babies against disease, research led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center investigators suggests that when it comes to respiratory infections, the protective effects of breast milk are higher in girls than in boys.

2 Jun 2008

Study identifies most costly adverse events in children's hospitals

A large study of health records from 38 American children's hospitals has measured adverse events that most increase length of stay and overall cost. The researchers say their findings provide useful targets for hospital programs aimed at preventing harm to young patients.

2 Jun 2008

More attention to neglected tropical diseases

An opportunity to contribute to a major initiative to alleviate poverty in the world's poorest populations.

28 May 2008

Avoiding spleen removal for Cooley's anemia sufferers

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College may have discovered the precise role of a gene in one of the world's most common blood disorders, beta-thalassemia, commonly known as Cooley's anemia. Along with sickle-cell anemia, Cooley's anemia is the most commonly inherited disease in the world, affecting many people of Mediterranean descent, and 20 out of every 100,000 African-Americans. The World Health Organization estimates that between 50,000-100,000 children are born with the disease each year.

27 May 2008

Breakthrough by WHO will give poor countries better access to drugs

An agreement has been reached by world health leaders regarding approaches to drug research and development and improving access to medicines.

27 May 2008

Japan pledges $560 million to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

Japan on Friday announced that it had pledged $560 million to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, AFP/Google.com reports.

25 May 2008

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Misoprostol off-label use may have led to deaths

Patch protects travellers from holiday diarrhoea

AHF to Dr. Fauci and the CDC: "show us the AIDS numbers"

Simple steps can help reduce your risk of contracting potentially deadly superbug

U.N. Secretary-General calls for end of discrimination against, travel restrictions on people living with HIV/AIDS

Without increased funding, California's dominance and public health are threatened, according to new report

Quick responses to influenza outbreaks reduces illness and death

U.N. high level meeting on AIDS to review progress in fighting disease

When it comes to catching an infection, planes no riskier than airports

Longer treatment with antiretroviral Nevirapine reduces risk of HIV among infants

New grant to enable University of Rochester to increase HIV research by 25 percent

BN ImmunoTherapeutics starts clinical trials with prostate cancer vaccine

Medarex announces preliminary data for investigational anti-PD-1 antibody

Simple infection control intervention in elementary schools reduces student absenteeism

Protective effects of breast milk are higher in girls than in boys

Study identifies most costly adverse events in children's hospitals

More attention to neglected tropical diseases

Avoiding spleen removal for Cooley's anemia sufferers

Breakthrough by WHO will give poor countries better access to drugs

Japan pledges $560 million to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

NGS for Infectious Disease Surveillance eBook

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How Omics Technologies Are Transforming Biological Research and Drug Discovery

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