Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Special feature of Science journal highlights protein array technology

A special feature in this week's issue of the journal Science highlights protein array technology, touching on research conducted by Joshua LaBaer, director of the Biodesign Institute's Virginia G. Piper Center for Personalized Diagnostics.

23 May 2012

Mexico and HHS Secretary announce series of new steps to strengthen health security cooperation

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Mexico Secretary of Health Salomón Chertorivski today announced a series of new steps to strengthen health security cooperation between the two countries.

22 May 2012

Auranofin effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies

A team of researchers from UCSF and UC San Diego has identified an approved arthritis drug that is effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies, suggesting it could offer a low-dose, low cost treatment for the amoebic infections that cause human dysentery throughout the world.

21 May 2012

New study to find best way to give blood transfusions for severely injured patients

Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) are launching a new research study to find the best way to give blood transfusions for severely injured patients predicted to require massive blood transfusions upon arrival to the Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center emergency department. Bryan Cotton, M.D., of UTHealth is principal investigator for this clinical study.

19 May 2012

IAS’ XIX International AIDS Conference to take place in Washington D.C.

This summer, more than 25,000 leading scientists, public health experts, policy-makers, community members, and experts in the HIV/AIDS field from around the world will gather in our nation's capital for the International AIDS Society's XIX International AIDS Conference.

19 May 2012

Tiny filter could fight against tuberculosis

A tiny filter could have a big impact around the world in the fight against tuberculosis. Using the traditional microscope-based diagnosis method as a starting point, a University of Florida lung disease specialist and colleagues in Brazil have devised a way to detect more cases of the bacterial infection.

18 May 2012

Researchers sequence genomes of 21 breast cancers

In two back-to-back reports published online on 17 May in Cell, researchers have sequenced the genomes of 21 breast cancers and analysed the mutations that emerged during the tumours' development. The individual results are described below.

18 May 2012

High-throughput sequencing can detect early signs of leukemia relapse

A study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that a next-generation, high-speed DNA-decoding technology called high-throughput sequencing can detect the earliest signs of potential relapse in nearly twice the number of leukemia patients as compared to flow cytometry, the current gold standard for detecting minimal residual disease.

17 May 2012

WHO releases World Health Statistics 2012 with first-time data on blood pressure, diabetes

The WHO on Wednesday released its World Health Statistics 2012 report, which "for the first time includes a look at blood pressure and glucose levels, two of the risk factors for diabetes and cardiovascular disease," according to the Associated Press/Washington Post.

17 May 2012

Biologists engineer algae to produce potential candidates for malarial vaccine

Biologists at the University of California, San Diego have succeeded in engineering algae to produce potential candidates for a vaccine that would prevent transmission of the parasite that causes malaria, an achievement that could pave the way for the development of an inexpensive way to protect billions of people from one of the world's most prevalent and debilitating diseases. Initial proof-of-principle experiments suggest that such a vaccine could prevent malaria transmission.

17 May 2012

Social networks influence beliefs regarding safety of influenza vaccines

College students' social networks influence their beliefs regarding the safety of influenza vaccines and decisions about vaccination, according to a new study in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

16 May 2012

Combination of vaccine and letrozole effectively improves survival from breast cancer

A vaccine that targets cancer cells in combination with the drug letrozole, a standard hormonal therapy against breast cancer, significantly increased survival when tested in mice, a team of UC Davis investigators has found.

16 May 2012

Lab21’s HCV drug resistance genotyping receives new patents in the U.S., Europe

Lab21 Limited, the Cambridge, UK-based specialist in personalised medicine has secured new patents in Europe and the USA relating to Hepatitis C (HCV) drug resistance as it continues to expand its intellectual property portfolio in infectious disease testing.

15 May 2012

State roundup: Health jobs brightening local economies but workers paying more for care

About 1 in 5 private-sector employees works in health services, which has replaced manufacturing as the region's powerhouse. It's a transformation happening across the U.S., but many worry about long-term side effects.

15 May 2012

Crothall releases new white paper on infection prevention

Leading environmental services provider Crothall Healthcare recently announced the release of its Infection Prevention White Paper, a comprehensive and exhaustively researched document summarizing both the importance of environmental hygiene to a hospital's infection prevention and control (IPC) program and Crothall's integrated environmental services approach to patient safety through reduced transmission of healthcare-associated infections.

15 May 2012

New Jefferson Hepatitis C Center

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital recently opened its new Jefferson Hepatitis C Center, one of only a few comprehensive, multidisciplinary centers dedicated to the study of hepatitis C virus and hepatic disease in the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware tri-state area.

14 May 2012

JHSPH wins GCE grant for global health and development research project

The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Alain Labrique, PhD, director of the Johns Hopkins University Global mHealth Initiative, will pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled "mTIKKA - Harnessing a Mobile - Cloud System to Achieve Universal Vaccination."

14 May 2012

New insights into how body's innate immunity is triggered to create effective immune response

Singapore scientists from Bioprocessing Technology Institute (BTI) under the Agency of Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) have for the first time, identified the molecular 'switch' that directly triggers the body's first line of defence against pathogens, more accurately known as the body's "innate immunity".

11 May 2012

Bacteria in digestive tracts compete against invading bacteria

From tiny villages in developing nations to suburban kitchens in the United States, dangerous strains of E. coli bacteria sicken millions of people each year - and kill untold numbers of children.

11 May 2012

Hospital midwife inadvertently spreads whooping cough to up to 170 people

A Middlemore Hospital midwife could have infected up to 170 people with whooping cough. If passed onto babies or women in the last three months of pregnancy, the disease can lead to severe illness or even death. Whooping cough is a highly infectious disease caused by bacteria which is easily spread through coughing and sneezing, much like the common cold. Also known as pertussis, it is distinguishable by a “whooping” sound at the end of coughing attacks.

10 May 2012