Infectious Diseases News and Research

RSS

Asia needs cheap and affordable drugs to fight disease

The World Health Organisation (WHO) regional conference on August 22-25 will meet to discuss health strategies, including the fight against bird flu.

21 Aug 2006

Simpler and less expensive method of controlling the progression of HIV

There might be a simpler and less expensive method of controlling the progression of HIV, according to several preliminary studies presented last Thursday at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, the Los Angeles Times reports (Chong, Los Angeles Times, 8/18).

20 Aug 2006

Antibiotic-resistant MRSA all too common

Researchers in the U.S. say that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus or MRSA is the most common cause of skin and soft-tissue infections among patients presenting in emergency rooms across the country.

20 Aug 2006

Anthrax kills man in the UK

Health officials in the UK say a man who died from an infection is believed to have been killed by the rare anthrax bug.

20 Aug 2006

Chagas' disease needs more research attention

The international research community needs to focus more attention on Chagas' disease - an infectious disease that kills 50,000 people a year, states an Editorial in this week's special cardiology issue of The Lancet.

17 Aug 2006

What we have learnt from SARS epidemics in China?

Lessons learnt from SARS epidemics in China may help us prepare for new epidemics, such as human avian flu, say experts in this week's British Medical Journal.

17 Aug 2006

Significant increases in the number of HIV-positive people with access to antiretroviral drugs

Achieving universal access to HIV/AIDS treatment was a major focus Wednesday at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, and World Health Organization HIV/AIDS Director Kevin De Cock reported significant increases in the number of HIV-positive people with access to antiretroviral drugs.

17 Aug 2006

Long-term health effects from West Nile illnesses

More than a year after being diagnosed with a West Nile virus infection, half of the patients have ongoing health complaints including fatigue, memory problems, headaches, depression, and tremors, according to an article in the Sept. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

16 Aug 2006

Genotoxic bacteria in the digestive tract

Escherichia coli is a commensal bacterium, which lives peacefully in our digestive tract. However, certain strains are pathogenic and are frequently incriminated in a broad spectrum of infections, affecting both farmed animals and humans (diarrhoea, urinary tract infections, food poisoning, septicaemia, neonatal meningitis, etc.).

16 Aug 2006

AIDS vaccine still long way off

Researchers are optimistic about a potential HIV/AIDS vaccine, even though none of the vaccines in development is likely to completely protect people from HIV transmission, participants at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto said at a news conference Tuesday, Reuters reports.

16 Aug 2006

Serious gaps in Indian public knowledge about HIV

As India gears up implementation of national plans to fight HIV, infectious diseases experts at Johns Hopkins and elsewhere are pointing out serious gaps in public knowledge about the disease and identifying early problems in private clinics, where 70 percent of HIV-infected Indians receive their everyday medical care.

15 Aug 2006

Antioxidants may protect against Rocky Mountain spotted fever and other tick-borne illness

For hikers, campers and others who enjoy the outdoors, summer can bring concerns about tick bites and related illnesses such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

9 Aug 2006

Effects of sleep deprivation on the brain

Everyone needs sleep, but temporary periods with no sleep can be a reality of military operations.

7 Aug 2006

HIV virus can survive efforts to destroy it by hiding in the mucosal tissues of the intestine

UC Davis researchers have discovered that the human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes AIDS, is able to survive efforts to destroy it by hiding out in the mucosal tissues of the intestine.

6 Aug 2006

Turning the immune system against cancer

Medicine can now prevent a host of diseases with a mere shot of vaccine. Polio and smallpox are almost non-existent, and mumps and chicken pox are rarely seen nowadays.

4 Aug 2006

Researchers determine structure of an important smallpox virus enzyme and how it binds to DNA

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have determined the structure of an important smallpox virus enzyme and how it binds to DNA.

4 Aug 2006

Toxoplasma may be affecting human behavior on a mass scale

A common parasite found in cats may be affecting human behavior on a mass scale, according to a scientist based at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

3 Aug 2006

Global sharing of avian influenza virus samples

OFFLU, the OIE/FAO joint network of expertise on avian influenza, will systematically make avian influenza virus sequences accessible to the entire scientific community.

2 Aug 2006

Practical advice and individualized attention can help people with HIV stick to a consistent drug regimen

The studies were too different to combine results, but the review team found that the most successful programs emphasized "practical medicine management," one-on-one attention or a 12-week or longer duration.

2 Aug 2006

Polio making a comeback

The World Health Organization (WHO) says increasing numbers of people around the world are vulnerable to polio because they have not been previously exposed to the disease.

30 Jul 2006