Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Scientists renew warnings over a bird flu pandemic

Scientists have again renewed their warnings about the potential global effect of a flu pandemic on health and economy.

26 May 2005

Scientists watch agents of brain-wasting diseases invade and move within brain cells

Scientists for the first time have watched agents of brain-wasting diseases, called transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), as they invade a nerve cell and then travel along wire-like circuits to points of contact with other cells.

25 May 2005

Six deaths in transplant patients now linked to rodent virus

In the latest news on the subject, experts now believe they can link at least six deaths of organ transplant patients to a rodent virus, which raises questions about whether others may have gone undetected and whether the germ also could spread through blood transfusions.

24 May 2005

New regulations to tackle disease outbreaks given the red light by the WHO

The recent outbreaks of communicable diseases such as SARS and avian flu in particular, have prompted the United Nations health agency’s policy-making body to adopt a new set of regulations concerning responses from Governments and international bodies when new diseases emerge and old ones reappear.

23 May 2005

New set of International Health Regulations to manage public health emergencies of international concern

Today, the World Health Assembly approved a new set of International Health Regulations to manage public health emergencies of international concern. The new rules will "prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease."

23 May 2005

WHO says world must prepare for bird flu pandemic

Reports of disturbing changes to the H5N1 virus circulating in Asia is causing great concern and has prompted the World Health Organization (WHO) to urge countries to prepare for a influenza pandemic.

22 May 2005

Human cells can silence an essential part of HIV's genetic make-up

For the first time, scientists have shown that humans use an immune defense process common in plants and invertebrates to battle a virus.

19 May 2005

Rifaximin is effective in preventing attacks of diarrhea

An antibiotic can be safely used to prevent attacks of diarrhea that plague millions of globe-trotting vacationers and business travelers, a Houston research team reports this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

17 May 2005

Association between maternal exposure to toxoplasmosis and increased risk for developing schizophrenia

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic infection that can develop from eating undercooked meat and unwashed fruits and vegetables, drinking contaminated water, or not washing one's hands after gardening or changing cat litter boxes. Researchers found a potential link between high maternal toxoplasmosis gondii antibody titers and development of schizophrenia spectrum disorders in the adult offspring.

16 May 2005

Two new retroviruses among central Africans who hunt nonhuman primates

A team of researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Army Health Research Center (CRESAR) in Cameroon have discovered two new retroviruses among central Africans who hunt nonhuman primates.

16 May 2005

Fertility clinics across the United States already ensure that donated sperm is safe, regardless of the sexual orientation of the donor

The American Fertility Association (AFA) disagrees with the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) sperm donation guidelines, which take effect on May 25, 2005.

12 May 2005

NIAID has awarded 10 grants and 2 contracts totaling approximately $27 million to fund development of new therapeutics and vaccines against bioterrorism

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded 10 grants and 2 contracts totaling approximately $27 million to fund development of new therapeutics and vaccines against some of the most deadly agents of bioterrorism including anthrax, botulinum toxin, Ebola virus, pneumonic plague, smallpox and tularemia.

11 May 2005

Hong Kong looks at relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases

The relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases is being studied by the Hong Kong Government to see whether there is a major or direct link, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow says.

11 May 2005

Global research network needed if scientists are ever going to understand and prevent cleft palate

Professor Bill Shaw, of The University of Manchester, says the complexity of craniofacial anomalies, like cleft lip and palate, means no one country, let alone institution, has the necessary expertise and resources to find all the answers to these distressing conditions.

From The University of Manchester 11 May 2005

Asymptomatic HIV-infected newborns may benefit from early drug treatment

Identifying and treating HIV-infected newborns is a race against the clock, according to a study from the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

10 May 2005

Fragile US vaccine system needs improvement

A comprehensive system of vaccine development in the U.S. resulted in a reduction of 87 to more than 99 percent in illness from ten vaccine-preventable diseases during the twentieth century. These dramatic successes should not be taken for granted, however, as the vaccine system now faces numerous challenges in manufacturing and development, according to a review article in the May/June issue of Health Affairs.

10 May 2005

Expert analyzes why manufacturers have gradually abandoned vaccines

Recent shortages of vaccines, most recently the flu vaccine during the past winter, are not short-term glitches--they reflect long-term problems in the vaccine industry. A variety of social, legal and economic forces have caused pharmaceutical companies to withdraw their commitment to vaccines, according to pediatrician and vaccine expert Paul A. Offit, M.D., chief of Infectious Diseases at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

10 May 2005

Researchers test vaccine to prevent dangerous Staphylococcal infections

Vanderbilt University Medical Center infectious diseases researchers are launching a trial for a new vaccine against Staphylococcus aureus. The vaccine, if proven effective, could help curb the growing threat of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), an emerging organism rapidly spreading through close personal contact.

10 May 2005

As science gets wiser, so do the bugs

As science gets wiser, so do the bugs. The rates of drug-resistant bacteria infecting patients in the community and in the hospital have been increasing steadily in recent years, according to two new studies in the June 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

9 May 2005

FDA seeks to ban gay men from donating sperm

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to the dismay of gay-rights activists, is recommending that any man who has had sex with another man in the previous five years be barred from serving as an anonymous sperm donor.

8 May 2005

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Scientists renew warnings over a bird flu pandemic

Scientists watch agents of brain-wasting diseases invade and move within brain cells

Six deaths in transplant patients now linked to rodent virus

New regulations to tackle disease outbreaks given the red light by the WHO

New set of International Health Regulations to manage public health emergencies of international concern

WHO says world must prepare for bird flu pandemic

Human cells can silence an essential part of HIV's genetic make-up

Rifaximin is effective in preventing attacks of diarrhea

Association between maternal exposure to toxoplasmosis and increased risk for developing schizophrenia

Two new retroviruses among central Africans who hunt nonhuman primates

Fertility clinics across the United States already ensure that donated sperm is safe, regardless of the sexual orientation of the donor

NIAID has awarded 10 grants and 2 contracts totaling approximately $27 million to fund development of new therapeutics and vaccines against bioterrorism

Hong Kong looks at relationship between climatic factors and infectious diseases

Global research network needed if scientists are ever going to understand and prevent cleft palate

Asymptomatic HIV-infected newborns may benefit from early drug treatment

Fragile US vaccine system needs improvement

Expert analyzes why manufacturers have gradually abandoned vaccines

Researchers test vaccine to prevent dangerous Staphylococcal infections

As science gets wiser, so do the bugs

FDA seeks to ban gay men from donating sperm

eBook: Advancing infectious disease vaccine development eBook

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