Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices supports the permissive use of GARDASIL

Merck & Co., Inc. announced today that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) supports the permissive use of GARDASIL® [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16 and 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] for boys and young men ages 9 to 26, which means that GARDASIL may be given to males ages 9 to 26 to reduce the likelihood of acquiring genital warts at the discretion of the patient's health care provider.

22 Oct 2009

Awareness campaign to educate families on H1N1 flu virus, seasonal flu and common cold

Dial Complete Antibacterial Foaming Hand Wash, the #1 doctor-recommended brand, today announced it is working together with other leading brands to raise awareness and educate families to ‘Plan, Prepare and Defend’ against the H1N1 flu virus, seasonal flu and the common cold.

22 Oct 2009

Emerging Pandemic Threats program to combat newly emerging diseases of animal origin

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is launching an Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program that builds on the successes of the Agency's long-standing programs in disease surveillance, training, and outbreak response, particularly those addressing avian and pandemic influenza.

22 Oct 2009

Media outlets examine how AIDS vaccine trial results will shape future studies

As the AIDS vaccine conference continues in Paris this week, Reuters examines how recent trials are helping researchers better understand ways to develop a vaccine that offers people protection from HIV.

22 Oct 2009

U.S. Congress extends Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, HIV care providers applaud move

Medical providers on the front lines of HIV care applaud the U.S. Congress for extending the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, helping to ensure that more than half a million low-income, uninsured, or underinsured people living with HIV/AIDS have access to lifesaving care.

22 Oct 2009

Study reveals a dramatic increase in TTB cases

Babesiosis is a potentially dangerous parasitic disease transmitted by ticks and is common in the Northeast and the upper Midwest. Babesia lives inside of red blood cells, meaning it can also be transmitted through a blood transfusion from an infected but otherwise asymptomatic blood donor.

21 Oct 2009

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's initiative to transform health in developing countries

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced 76 grants of US$100,000 each to pursue bold ideas for transforming health in developing countries. The grants support researchers across 16 countries, including nine in Europe and Africa with ideas as diverse as using the power of sunlight to kill malaria-causing mosquito larvae and developing a device that repels mosquitoes without insecticides.

21 Oct 2009

As HIV vaccine conference opens, experts appeal for sustained commitment to global fight against disease

Experts, gathered for the start of a four-day conference on HIV vaccines in Paris, called upon donors to maintain their funding support for the fight against HIV/AIDS despite the global economy, Agence France-Presse reports.

20 Oct 2009

Biomagnetics Diagnostics to raise $1 million

Biomagnetics Diagnostics Corp. (Pink Sheets:BMGP), a producer of revolutionary diagnostic systems and technology for malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and hepatitis testing today announced the completion of its equity financing designed to fund entry into the Integrated Optical Biosensor Systems (IOBS) market.

20 Oct 2009

Novel H1N1 influenza raises parents' awareness and concern about seasonal influenza

Novel H1N1 influenza has raised parents' awareness and concern about seasonal influenza, increasing the likelihood that they will get their children vaccinated compared to past years, according to a recent national survey commissioned by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID).

20 Oct 2009

Optimer Pharmaceuticals to present additional data on fidaxomicin at the 47th IDSA meeting

Optimer Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that additional data related to fidaxomicin, the Company's lead developmental product candidate for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infection, will be presented at the 47th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) to be held at The Philadelphia Convention Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania October 29 through November 1, 2009.

20 Oct 2009

Opinions: HIV vaccine; HIV resources help promote global disease control; U.S. fight against world hunger

Seth Berkley, president and chief executive of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, in a New York Times opinion piece examines how the "pessimism" over the recent controversy surrounding the results of an experimental HIV vaccine tested in Thailand "may ultimately thwart other efforts to develop an AIDS vaccine.

20 Oct 2009

Study on the economic impact of antibiotic overuse and antibiotic-resistant infections

The Alliance for the Prudent Use of Antibiotics (APUA) and Cook County Hospital (currently John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County), today announced the release of an eye-opening study on the economic impact of antibiotic overuse and antibiotic-resistant infections (ARIs) sponsored by an unrestricted educational grant from bioMerieux and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

19 Oct 2009

Yashoda Cancer Institute in India to expand use of Varian Medical Systems' RapidArc radiotherapy

A hospital that is using RapidArc radiotherapy to treat cancers of the head & neck and cervix is announcing it will be expanding its use for treatment of other cancers. Yashoda Cancer Institute in Hyderabad has found it can deliver image-guided, intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) faster and more precisely using the RapidArc technology from Varian Medical Systems.

19 Oct 2009

Chinese SFDA approves China Medical Technologies' SPR System

China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based medical device company that develops, manufactures and markets advanced in-vitro diagnostic products, today announced that the Company has received approval for its SPR- based analysis system (the "SPR System") from the State Food and Drug Administration of China (the "SFDA").

19 Oct 2009

IL-2 compound ineffective against HIV-AIDS

An international research team has demonstrated that treating HIV-AIDS with interleukin-2 (IL-2) is ineffective. As a result, the researchers recommend that clinical trials on this compound be stopped.

19 Oct 2009

TheraDoc commences beta testing of new computerized patient surveillance tool

TheraDoc®, the leading provider of clinical decision support technology in healthcare, today announced that it has started beta testing of a new computerized patient surveillance tool that will help hospitals monitor and manage screening programs for multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs), such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which every year kills more people in the United States than AIDS.

19 Oct 2009

Focus Diagnostics' 2009 H1N1 influenza virus test granted FDA emergency use authorization

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today issued a second emergency use authorization (EUA) to Focus Diagnostics, the infectious disease diagnostics business of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, for its 2009 H1N1 influenza virus test. With the EUA, Focus Diagnostics is the only company in the U.S. to offer test kits for detecting the pandemic 2009 H1N1 virus that the FDA has authorized for emergency use by CLIA high-complexity labs, which include certain hospital and regional labs.

19 Oct 2009

New scientific journal from Elsevier

Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services announced today the launch of a new peer-reviewed scientific journal, Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/sste).

19 Oct 2009

Research study on cowpox virus

In the annals of medicine, Edward Jenner's 1796 vaccination of a young boy against smallpox, using fluid from cowpox blisters, remains a landmark case. In a new study, Kathryn Sykes, a researcher at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute and her colleagues have taken a fresh look at cowpox.

19 Oct 2009

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices supports the permissive use of GARDASIL

Awareness campaign to educate families on H1N1 flu virus, seasonal flu and common cold

Emerging Pandemic Threats program to combat newly emerging diseases of animal origin

Media outlets examine how AIDS vaccine trial results will shape future studies

U.S. Congress extends Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, HIV care providers applaud move

Study reveals a dramatic increase in TTB cases

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's initiative to transform health in developing countries

As HIV vaccine conference opens, experts appeal for sustained commitment to global fight against disease

Biomagnetics Diagnostics to raise $1 million

Novel H1N1 influenza raises parents' awareness and concern about seasonal influenza

Optimer Pharmaceuticals to present additional data on fidaxomicin at the 47th IDSA meeting

Opinions: HIV vaccine; HIV resources help promote global disease control; U.S. fight against world hunger

Study on the economic impact of antibiotic overuse and antibiotic-resistant infections

Yashoda Cancer Institute in India to expand use of Varian Medical Systems' RapidArc radiotherapy

Chinese SFDA approves China Medical Technologies' SPR System

IL-2 compound ineffective against HIV-AIDS

TheraDoc commences beta testing of new computerized patient surveillance tool

Focus Diagnostics' 2009 H1N1 influenza virus test granted FDA emergency use authorization

New scientific journal from Elsevier

Research study on cowpox virus

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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