Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Treating septic shock patients with intensive insulin therapy does not reduce risk of in-hospital death

Treating adults with septic shock with intensive insulin therapy to counter elevated blood glucose levels associated with corticosteroid therapy did not result in a reduced risk of in-hospital death, compared to patients who received conventional insulin therapy, according to a study in the January 27 issue of JAMA.

27 Jan 2010

Researchers use high resolution genome sequencing to track virulent strain of MRSA

An international team of researchers has used high resolution genome sequencing to track a particularly virulent strain of MRSA as it traveled between South America, Europe and Southeast Asia.

27 Jan 2010

Acyclovir reduces occurrence of HSV-2 genital ulcers but does not affect HIV transmission

Research from a five-year international clinical study shows that acyclovir, a commonly prescribed drug used to suppress symptoms of the herpes virus, does not affect HIV transmission by people with both viruses.

27 Jan 2010

Genome study could help prevent devastating epidemics in the future

A team of collaborating scientists at The Methodist Hospital Research Institute in Houston, the Broad Institute in Boston, Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, and the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion (OAHPP) have sequenced almost 100 full genomes from three successive epidemics of flesh-eating bacteria.

27 Jan 2010

Oxford Journals, IDSA sign new publishing partnership

Oxford Journals, a division of Oxford University Press, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), a leading professional society, have announced a new publishing partnership for IDSA's highly cited and internationally prestigious journals: Clinical Infectious Diseases (CID) and The Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID).

27 Jan 2010

Twenty nations meet in Montreal to discuss Haiti recovery; Haitian officials increase Port-Au-Prince death toll estimate

Officials from 20 countries are meeting in Montreal, Canada, Monday "to discuss long-term reconstruction and arrangements for a donor conference to be held in March," the U.N. said, Bloomberg reports (Gaouette/Craze, 1/25). "U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and others will examine eventual debt forgiveness and" a strategy for rebuilding Haiti at the one-day gathering, according to Reuters (Palmer, 1/25).

27 Jan 2010

HSV-2 can reactivate throughout the genital tract

Genital herpes caused by a reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is generally treated as a lesion in one specific area of the genital region. A new study, however, finds that the virus can frequently reactivate throughout the genital tract, an important new concept that could help guide both HSV-2 treatment and prevention.

23 Jan 2010

Recent releases in global health

"Picture the situation in Haiti: families living on top of sewage-contaminated rubbish dumps, with no reliable sources of food and water and virtually no access to health care. This scenario depicts the situation in Haiti before the earthquake that catapulted this impoverished and conflict-ridden country into the international headlines,"

23 Jan 2010

Opinion: Haiti relief; WHO response to H1N1

An Economist editorial examines the relief and recovery efforts in Haiti and the "vital" importance of planning for rebuilding the country "before the world's generosity turns to cynicism. Fortunately there is a blueprint, drawn up by Haiti's government and presented to donors last year. It calls for investment to be targeted on infrastructure, basic services and combating soil erosion to make farmers more productive and the country less vulnerable to hurricanes. The pressing question is who should do it and how."

23 Jan 2010

Controversy around Merck's pricing for its AIDS drug Isentress

The controversy around Merck and Co. Pharmaceuticals’ pricing for its key AIDS drug Isentress — at nearly $13,000 per patient yearly, the most expensive first line AIDS therapy on the US market today — continued this week following Merck’s reaction to recent public criticism of its AIDS drug pricing. Merck ramped up its damage control PR efforts, issuing a press release that sought to rewrite the history of Isentress and deflect attention by claiming AIDS Healthcare Foundation has been unfairly attacking them.

22 Jan 2010

Ordinary face masks and hand hygiene can reduce transmission of influenza-like illness

Ordinary face masks and hand hygiene can effectively reduce the transmission of influenza-like illness during flu season. The finding comes from a new study, now available online (http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/650396), published in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

22 Jan 2010

HIV infection causes premature aging of the brain

HIV infection or the treatments used to control it are prematurely aging the brain, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California-San Diego have found.

22 Jan 2010

Reuters examines chronic disease in developing countries, future of drug prices

"Global health projections leave little doubt that chronic diseases are rapidly overtaking infectious diseases, such as malaria, AIDS and tuberculosis (TB), as the world's biggest killers - a shift emphasized by a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report on global health risks," Reuters writes in a story analyzing the future of drug pricing in the developing world. Longer life-spans in developing countries "and changing patterns of food, alcohol and tobacco consumption are creating a 'double burden' for poor nations, piling chronic diseases on top of infectious diseases," the news service writes.

21 Jan 2010

U.S. Navy hospital ship reaches Haiti

Even before the U.S. Navy's hospital ship, Comfort, anchored off the coast of Haiti on Wednesday, patients who were injured in last week's earthquake were airlifted onto the ship to receive care, the Miami Herald reports (Clark, 1/21). According to the Baltimore Sun, "patients were flown in by the Navy, Coast Guard or Air Force in one of the 30 helicopters available within the ship's range. Plans for a boat-based shuttle were foiled by an earthquake aftershock that flattened the pier the Comfort had expected to use and that jolted the ship as if it had hit ground. Ship officials identified an alternate boat-landing site by midafternoon" (Little, 1/21).

21 Jan 2010

New research suggests prolong breastfeeding is critical for reducing risk of gastroenteritis in infants

For African infants with HIV-positive mothers, reducing exposure to breast milk can lower the rate of HIV transmission. But new research suggests that longer periods of breastfeeding—at least 6 months—are critical for reducing the risk of potentially fatal gastroenteritis.

21 Jan 2010

Getting vaccinated within five days after exposing to chickenpox prevents chickenpox

For people who haven't had chickenpox and are exposed to an ill family member, getting vaccinated within five days can reduce the risk of developing chickenpox—or at least reduce the severity of disease, reports a study in the January issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

21 Jan 2010

Medizone International files second patent application for AsepticSure

Following the recently announced success achieved during the third round of trials at its research facility at Queen's University (Kingston Ontario, Canada) Medizone International, Inc. announces that a second patent application has been filed which in combination with its previous patent application for AsepticSure™ filed in July of 2009, affords the Company greatly enhanced protection for both the hospital version of AsepticSure™ and the government variant intended for bio-terrorism countermeasures.

21 Jan 2010

BARDA awards Duke University $3.7M to develop diagnostic test for detecting radiation exposure

Duke University has received a $3.7 million contract from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) to develop a rapid and accurate genomic-based diagnostic test that can determine if a person has been exposed to radiation from a dirty bomb or nuclear attack. In the event that all option years are exercised by the government, Duke University could receive up to $43.6 million from the contract.

21 Jan 2010

Study identifies new mechanism that causes allergic response in people

WHAT: A new study in human cells has singled out a molecule that specifically directs immune cells to develop the capability to produce an allergic response. The signaling molecule, called thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), is key to the development of allergic diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis (eczema) and food allergy.

21 Jan 2010

Acyclovir does not reduce risk of HIV transmission for people infected with both HIV and HSV-2

A five-year international multi-center clinical trial has found that acyclovir, a drug widely used as a safe and effective treatment taken twice daily to suppress herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), which is the most common cause of genital herpes, does not reduce the risk of HIV transmission when taken by people infected with both HIV and HSV-2.

21 Jan 2010

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Treating septic shock patients with intensive insulin therapy does not reduce risk of in-hospital death

Researchers use high resolution genome sequencing to track virulent strain of MRSA

Acyclovir reduces occurrence of HSV-2 genital ulcers but does not affect HIV transmission

Genome study could help prevent devastating epidemics in the future

Oxford Journals, IDSA sign new publishing partnership

Twenty nations meet in Montreal to discuss Haiti recovery; Haitian officials increase Port-Au-Prince death toll estimate

HSV-2 can reactivate throughout the genital tract

Recent releases in global health

Opinion: Haiti relief; WHO response to H1N1

Controversy around Merck's pricing for its AIDS drug Isentress

Ordinary face masks and hand hygiene can reduce transmission of influenza-like illness

HIV infection causes premature aging of the brain

Reuters examines chronic disease in developing countries, future of drug prices

U.S. Navy hospital ship reaches Haiti

New research suggests prolong breastfeeding is critical for reducing risk of gastroenteritis in infants

Getting vaccinated within five days after exposing to chickenpox prevents chickenpox

Medizone International files second patent application for AsepticSure

BARDA awards Duke University $3.7M to develop diagnostic test for detecting radiation exposure

Study identifies new mechanism that causes allergic response in people

Acyclovir does not reduce risk of HIV transmission for people infected with both HIV and HSV-2

Achieving and maintaining ISO/IEC 27001 and BS 10012 certifications

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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