Mosquito News and Research

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Some fat is essential for body function

It's common knowledge that too much cholesterol and other fats can lead to disease, and that a healthy diet involves watching how much fatty food we eat. However, our bodies need a certain amount of fat to function—and we can't make it from scratch.

14 Feb 2011

New study on mosquito genome sequences to identify 'transposable elements'

A team of scientists at the University of California, Riverside has begun working on a mosquito research project that, if successful, will provide valuable genetic resources capable of transforming the way mosquito research is conducted around the world.

14 Feb 2011

Janssen, Medivir collaborate to discover and develop drugs against dengue virus

Medivir AB, the emerging research-based specialty pharmaceutical company focused on infectious diseases, announces today that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V. for the discovery and development of drugs for the prophylaxis and treatment of dengue virus infection.

14 Feb 2011

Advocates call for follow-through on decade-old pledge to remove tariffs on malaria treatments, prophylactics in Africa

"Malaria prevention advocates say many lives can be saved by removing taxes and tariffs from essential commodities used to fight the disease," VOA News reports. A decade ago, African leaders promised to remove tariffs on products used to fight malaria, but only six countries have actually done so, according to the Malaria Taxes and Tariffs Advocacy Project, which held a meeting in Geneva on Wednesday, Reuters reports.

14 Feb 2011

Gene-transfer system may control mosquito-borne diseases without pesticides

Scientists have modeled a system that may be used to control mosquitoes and the diseases they transmit, without the use of pesticides. In the proposed system, mosquitoes are engineered to carry two genes. The first gene causes males to transmit a toxin to females through their semen. The second gene, when expressed in females, makes them immune to this toxin.

14 Feb 2011

New York Times examines factors contributing to presence of 'exotic' infectious diseases in New York City

"When New York City's health department revealed last weekend that three people had contracted cholera, it was a reminder that the city is not just a world capital of arts, business and the like - but also of exotic diseases," the New York Times writes in an article that explores how diseases from around the world often make their way to the city through its diverse population of travelers.

14 Feb 2011

Global Health Consortium to support development of vaccines to control dengue fever

The International Vaccine Institute today announced the launch of the Dengue Vaccine Initiative, in collaboration with the Sabin Vaccine Institute, the Johns Hopkins University, and the World Health Organization, to support development of vaccines to control dengue fever, a widespread and expanding hemorrhagic fever that is endemic in most tropical and subtropical regions of the world.

10 Feb 2011

Gates Foundation awards USF $5.45M for malaria research

The University of South Florida received $5.45 million in grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The first grant is to create advanced devices that mimic the human liver to better study the life cycle of the malaria parasite - particularly the elusive liver stage where the disease may be most vulnerable to attack.

9 Feb 2011

New study shows economic burden of dengue in Western Hemisphere is $2.1 billion per year

Dengue illness, the most common mosquito-borne viral disease in the world, has expanded from its Southeast Asian origins and is resurgent in countries such as Argentina, Chile and the continental United States.

8 Feb 2011

Tips for women to ensure a healthy heart and a healthy vacation

Henrico County based Mondial Assistance, the largest travel insurance provider in the world, and the American Heart Association's (AHA) Mid-Atlantic chapter are teaming up for the 2011 Go Red for Women campaign and as part of the effort are offering these tips for women to ensure a healthy heart and a healthy vacation in 2011. Mondial Assistance is a "Healthy Lifestyle" Partner for this year's campaign.

5 Feb 2011

Newly identified mosquito subspecies highly susceptible to malaria parasite, prefers outdoors

"Researchers have discovered a previously unknown subspecies of mosquito in West Africa that is highly susceptible to the malaria parasite and whose existence may stymie efforts to eradicate the deadly disease," the Los Angeles Times reports (Khan, 2/4).

5 Feb 2011

Study finds total cost of dengue illness in Americans to be $2.1 billion per annum

The first assessment of the total cost of dengue illness in the Americas reveals the economic burden to be approximately $2.1 billion per year, exceeding that from other viral illnesses including human papillomavirus and rotavirus.

4 Feb 2011

Malaria transmission to decline in Burundi because of global warming

Malaria transmission will not increase because of global warming in the African nation of Burundi according to a statistical analysis by researchers in Austria and Burundi. Writing in the International Journal of Global Warming, the team explains that rising temperatures will lead to lower humidity and rainfall which will shorten the lifespan of mosquitoes carrying malaria.

3 Feb 2011

Surge of mosquito borne disease in South Australia following wet weather

Rising water in the Murray River has caused a surge in mosquito-borne infections in South Australia. The water is rising in the Murray in SA as floodwaters move downstream from the eastern states.

2 Feb 2011

Exposure to infections in early childhood can protect child from eczema later in life: Study

Exposure to worm infections in the womb may protect a newborn infant from developing eczema, a study funded by the Wellcome Trust suggests. A large trial in Uganda showed that treating a pregnant woman for worm infections increased her child's chances of developing the allergic skin disease.

29 Jan 2011

Opinions: Global poverty; Global Fund corruption; Tackling poverty, environmental issues

Ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Laurence Chandy and Geoffrey Gert, both of the Brookings Institution's Global Economy and Development program, reflect on "Poverty's Success Story," a Washington Post opinion piece. They note that the last time the World Bank issued global poverty statistics (the number of people in the world living on less than $1.25 each day) was 2005.

28 Jan 2011

Vaccination campaigns to stop yellow fever spread get underway in E. Africa

Individuals traveling across East Africa on Friday were ordered to begin receiving mandatory yellow fever vaccines in an effort "to contain an outbreak of the disease in Uganda," which has sickened an estimated 190 people, resulting in 48 deaths as of Dec. 30, 2010, the Citizen reports (Ubwani, 1/22).

25 Jan 2011

Dr. Kathleen receives NSF grant to measure how climate change will impact risk of malaria, dengue fever

Thanks to a $250,000 National Science Foundation grant we may soon know how climate change will impact our risk of malaria and dengue fever. Dr. Kathleen Schreiber, professor of geography at Millersville University of Pennsylvania, received the grant from the NSF sponsored Vector-Borne Disease Project to measure how environmental temperature change influences the transmission and disease risk of the two diseases.

19 Jan 2011

RTS,S offers 46 percent protection against malaria for at least 15 months after vaccination, Study finds

A Phase II trial published Friday in Lancet Infectious Diseases has shown that RTS,S, the "experimental malaria vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline provides African children with long-lasting protection" against malaria, Reuters reports.

18 Jan 2011

News outlets examine reaction to WHO plan to contain drug-resistant malaria

In follow-up coverage of the WHO's announcement Wednesday of a plan to contain the spread of artemisinin-resistant malaria, news outlets examined the scope of the problem, reactions to the plan and speculations of how the anticipated $175 million annual cost would be funded.

14 Jan 2011

Mosquito News and Research

Some fat is essential for body function

New study on mosquito genome sequences to identify 'transposable elements'

Janssen, Medivir collaborate to discover and develop drugs against dengue virus

Advocates call for follow-through on decade-old pledge to remove tariffs on malaria treatments, prophylactics in Africa

Gene-transfer system may control mosquito-borne diseases without pesticides

New York Times examines factors contributing to presence of 'exotic' infectious diseases in New York City

Global Health Consortium to support development of vaccines to control dengue fever

Gates Foundation awards USF $5.45M for malaria research

New study shows economic burden of dengue in Western Hemisphere is $2.1 billion per year

Tips for women to ensure a healthy heart and a healthy vacation

Newly identified mosquito subspecies highly susceptible to malaria parasite, prefers outdoors

Study finds total cost of dengue illness in Americans to be $2.1 billion per annum

Malaria transmission to decline in Burundi because of global warming

Surge of mosquito borne disease in South Australia following wet weather

Exposure to infections in early childhood can protect child from eczema later in life: Study

Opinions: Global poverty; Global Fund corruption; Tackling poverty, environmental issues

Vaccination campaigns to stop yellow fever spread get underway in E. Africa

Dr. Kathleen receives NSF grant to measure how climate change will impact risk of malaria, dengue fever

RTS,S offers 46 percent protection against malaria for at least 15 months after vaccination, Study finds

News outlets examine reaction to WHO plan to contain drug-resistant malaria

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