Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Experts ponder why so many children have food allergies

Experts say the number of people, especially young children with food allergies in the United States is on the increase and specialists are seeing more and more children with multiple allergies.

31 Oct 2007

Children would need different medical care in wake of dirty bomb

If terrorists were to attack with a dirty bomb, medical authorities should be prepared to treat children differently than adults because their developing bodies would absorb and respond to the radiation exposure in distinct ways, according to a new study from the University of Rochester Medical Center.

31 Oct 2007

Some HIV-positive people taking longer to initiate treatment

Some HIV-positive people in key demographic groups do not seek treatment any sooner than they did in the past, and some people now take longer to initiate treatment, according to a study published in the Nov. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, United Press International reports (United Press International, 10/27).

30 Oct 2007

Guyana launches project aimed at reducing spread of HIV, improving treatment, prevention among prison inmates

Guyana's Ministry of Home Affairs recently launched a new project aimed at decreasing the spread of HIV among prison inmates and reintegrating HIV-positive inmates into society at the end of their sentences, the Stabroek News reports.

30 Oct 2007

Saint Louis University scientists identify chemical that triggers Parkinson's disease

Researchers at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine have discovered the key brain chemical that causes Parkinson's disease - a breakthrough finding that could pave the way for new, far more effective therapies to treat one of the most common and debilitating neurological disorders.

30 Oct 2007

New guideline recommends when to use CT scans in ER for seizures

A guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology recommends immediate brain CT scans to screen certain emergency room patients with seizures.

29 Oct 2007

Lessons learned from Marburg and Ebola outbreaks

Outbreaks of filovirus haemorrhagic fevers (FHFs) such as those caused by the Ebola and Marburg viruses can only be controlled if agencies have the support and trust of local communities, according to two papers just published in the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases as part of a special supplement on filovirusues.

29 Oct 2007

HIV vaccine trial volunteers asked to undergo testing to determine whether they are at increased risk of HIV

Researchers have asked more than 3,000 people who participated in a trial of Merck's experimental HIV vaccine that was halted last month to undergo additional testing to determine if they are at an increased risk of HIV, Reuters reports (Fox, Reuters, 10/25).

29 Oct 2007

Early autism detection

In an attempt to spot autism earlier, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently recommended that all children be screened for autism twice by age 2 - advice that many St. Louis families already heed thanks to a partnership between Saint Louis University and Parents as Teachers.

29 Oct 2007

Whole parasite malaria vaccine to be manufactured for clinical trials

Sanaria Inc. and the PATH Malaria Vaccine Initiative has officially opened a one-of-a-kind clinical manufacturing facility to produce a vaccine that uses a weakened form of the malaria parasite to fight a disease that annually kills more than one million people, most of them African children.

29 Oct 2007

Ten tips to help asthma-proof your home

The onset of winter cold and flu season combined with colder, short days unfortunately all contribute to increased asthma symptoms for many children.

28 Oct 2007

Promising new tuberculosis drug given special status

Approximately one-third of the world's population is infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes TB, and an estimated 1.6 million people died of the disease in 2005.

25 Oct 2007

HIV patients are actually sicker when they begin therapy

It was hoped that as HIV treatment improved and as HIV-related public health initiatives encouraged people to be tested for the disease and seek care, that HIV-infected patients would seek care quickly.

25 Oct 2007

Specialists in infectious disease and global health convene at Philadelphia meeting

Nearly 2,500 physicians and scientists from institutions around the world such as the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health will meet at the 56th American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene's Annual Meeting on Nov. 4-8, in Philadelphia to discuss the latest research on infectious diseases and bioterrorist and global health threats.

24 Oct 2007

HIV combination antiretroviral drug therapy key to saving the lives of African children

Letting nurses and other trained health care workers deliver that therapy and monitor patients, especially when doctors are in short supply, is just as important to saving lives, according to a new study by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

24 Oct 2007

Protecting health from climate change

As momentum for action on climate change continues to grow, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today that it will focus its World Health Day 2008 theme on “protecting health from climate change.”

24 Oct 2007

Novel strategy to inactivate Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus

A collaborative team of scientists from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) have developed a novel strategy to inactivate highly virulent Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) that can infect and kill both animals and humans.

24 Oct 2007

Anti-tuberculosis program in South Africa may have inadvertently helped create new strain of XDR TB

In a new study published in the December 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online, researchers tracked the developing drug resistance of one particular strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis over 12 years.

22 Oct 2007

Stanford seeks volunteers for flu vaccine study

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital are looking for adults and children to participate in three studies that will help them better understand how the flu vaccine works in people of different ages.

22 Oct 2007

Genetic influence on HIV/AIDS progression

Viral load - the amount of virus in the blood of an HIV-infected person - has long been viewed as the chief indicator of how quickly someone infected with HIV infection progresses to AIDS.

22 Oct 2007