Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Neutrophils dictate whether our immune system will permit or prevent bacterial infections

New research on a bacterium that can survive encounters with specific immune system cells has strengthened scientists' belief that these plentiful white blood cells, known as neutrophils, dictate whether our immune system will permit or prevent bacterial infections.

5 May 2005

Vaccine developed at Rockefeller University boosts natural killer T cells in patients with cancer

A new vaccine designed at The Rockefeller University boosted a type of fast-responding immune system cell called the natural killer T (NKT) cell in patients with advanced cancer. The study surprised researchers by revealing the ability of these NKT cells to spur other, slower-responding immune cells to go to work.

4 May 2005

Polio alert after Indonesian child is stricken

After an 18-month-old boy was diagnosed with polio, Australian parents planning holidays in Indonesia have been warned to ensure babies and toddlers have been vaccinated for polio.

3 May 2005

Too early to say if Roll Back Malaria initiative is working

Experts say it is too early to assess if an international initiative, Roll Back Malaria (RBM), has had any impact on combating malaria.

3 May 2005

Burden of cardiovascular disease will shift to the developing world

In a paper published this week in the premier open-access global health journal PLoS Medicine, Majid Ezzati and colleagues from Harvard School of Public Health conclude that a large proportion of the world's population who live in low-income and middle-income countries should be the focus for intervention against risk factors for cardiovascular disease because major cardiovascular risk factors will increasingly be concentrated in these populations.

3 May 2005

Intriguing new data on the spread of the Lyme disease bacteria through the blood stream

The ability to find the Lyme spirochete--the tick-borne agent responsible--in the blood is itself an achievement because existing methods of culturing blood were not sensitive enough to detect its presence until College researchers developed a new technique, which they used in the study.

2 May 2005

E. coli poses significant public health threat to seniors in the U.S.

A new study finds that E. coli bacteremia - a potentially life-threatening bloodstream infection caused by a common bacteria also associated with less dangerous urinary tract infections - poses a significant public health threat in the United States, especially among seniors.

2 May 2005

HIV treatment not affected by hormonal birth control

Estrogen and progesterone hormones in birth control do not influence the effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), which is used to treat HIV infection, according to researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other institutions. The study is published in the May 1, 2005, issue of the American Journal of Epidemiology.

2 May 2005

19 primary schoolchildren on HIV drugs after prank with needle

After an 8-year-old girl pricked her schoolmates with her mother's diabetes-testing needle nineteen primary school students have had to be been placed on drugs to fight HIV because one child in a group of nineteen was discovered to be HIV positive.

1 May 2005

Researchers show protein's role in stopping bacterial-induced inflammation

In findings that could have implications for autoimmune disorders and drug-resistant bacterial infections, researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine have identified a key protein involved in the appropriate shut-down of inflammation following an immune response to invading pathogens.

28 Apr 2005

New guidelines for managing chronic kidney disease in patients living with HIV infection

The HIV Medicine Association has released guidelines for managing chronic kidney disease in patients living with HIV infection. They are published in the June 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

27 Apr 2005

Denmark becomes first European country to support Aeras Foundation's TB vaccine development efforts

Denmark today became the first European country to support the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation's efforts to develop a safe, effective tuberculosis vaccine with announcements of new financial commitments and scientific partnerships.

27 Apr 2005

Promising new West Nile therapy cures disease in mice

West Nile virus alarmed Americans when it made its first U.S. appearance in New York City in 1999. It has since spread from coast to coast, sickened more than 16,000 Americans and killed more than 600.

27 Apr 2005

Generex Biotechnology receives Australian patent for vaccine technology to fight cancer and pandemic influenza

Generex Biotechnology announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, Antigen Express, has received Australian Patent No. 778115 titled "Hybrid Peptides Modulate the Immune Response." Antigen Express is designing and testing such vaccine peptides for the control of cancer and infectious diseases with a particular focus on the pandemic H5N1 influenza, which has been reported in South East Asia.

26 Apr 2005

Antibody for West Nile virus shows promise

Researchers have developed an antibody that can cure mice of West Nile virus (WNV) infection, a disease for which no specific treatment exists, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has announced.

25 Apr 2005

How Ebola virus infects cells - discovery

Ebola virus reproduction in laboratory-grown cells is severely hampered by enzyme-inhibiting chemicals, and these chemicals deserve further study as possible treatments for Ebola virus infections in humans, report scientists supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

23 Apr 2005

Wide variation in access to HIV medications across states

Twenty-one State AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAPs) report limiting access to their programs in some way, including 11 with waiting lists, despite an increase in the national ADAP budget, according to the ninth annual National ADAP Monitoring Project Report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the National Alliance of State AIDS Directors (NASTAD).

23 Apr 2005

Aging population correlates with a switch from acute infectious diseases to chronic diseases as the major cause of morbidity and mortality

Some diseases like ulcers and certain types of cancer, once thought to be primarily related to lifestyle factors, are now known to be caused by microorganisms, and many more syndromes, including some psychiatric conditions, may have a connection to infection, according to a report released today by the American Academy of Microbiology.

22 Apr 2005

Almost all killer flu bug kits destroyed

99 percent of the kits containing a killer flu bug that mistakenly ended up in thousands of laboratories around the world, sparking fears of a pandemic, have been destroyed, according to top U.S. health official Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

22 Apr 2005

Experimental vaccine targeting West Nile virus

A small trial testing the safety of an experimental vaccine targeting West Nile virus (WNV) opened today at the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD.

19 Apr 2005

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Neutrophils dictate whether our immune system will permit or prevent bacterial infections

Vaccine developed at Rockefeller University boosts natural killer T cells in patients with cancer

Polio alert after Indonesian child is stricken

Too early to say if Roll Back Malaria initiative is working

Burden of cardiovascular disease will shift to the developing world

Intriguing new data on the spread of the Lyme disease bacteria through the blood stream

E. coli poses significant public health threat to seniors in the U.S.

HIV treatment not affected by hormonal birth control

19 primary schoolchildren on HIV drugs after prank with needle

Researchers show protein's role in stopping bacterial-induced inflammation

New guidelines for managing chronic kidney disease in patients living with HIV infection

Denmark becomes first European country to support Aeras Foundation's TB vaccine development efforts

Promising new West Nile therapy cures disease in mice

Generex Biotechnology receives Australian patent for vaccine technology to fight cancer and pandemic influenza

Antibody for West Nile virus shows promise

How Ebola virus infects cells - discovery

Wide variation in access to HIV medications across states

Aging population correlates with a switch from acute infectious diseases to chronic diseases as the major cause of morbidity and mortality

Almost all killer flu bug kits destroyed

Experimental vaccine targeting West Nile virus

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