Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Effective gene suppression using small interfering RNA in hard-to-transfect human T cells

A technical advance in laboratory techniques may provide biology researchers broader access to RNA interference, a process of blocking the activity of targeted genes. RNA interference has recently emerged as an important tool in studying how genes function in normal biological processes and in disease.

9 May 2006

Chancroid vaccine may help control HIV in Africa

HIV plagues more than 25 million people in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organization, and efforts to develop a vaccine against the virus have achieved limited success.

8 May 2006

Trial of hepatitis C vaccine underway

Human clinical trials involving investigational vaccines to prevent Hepatitis C are rare. In the fall of 2003 there was a first-ever study at Saint Louis University Center for Vaccine Development, and an earlier small study at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

8 May 2006

Saint Louis University hunt for a Hepatitis C vaccine

3 May 2006

New vaccine against lethal avian influenza virus shows promise

A commercially developed vaccine has successfully protected mice and ferrets against a highly lethal avian influenza virus, according to the investigator who led the study at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

3 May 2006

Epstein-Barr virus may trigger multiple sclerosis

Researchers have found that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) carry a population of immune cells that overreact to Epstein-Barr virus.

3 May 2006

Short-course postexposure antibiotic prophylaxis combined with vaccination protects against experimental inhalational anthrax

Anthrax vaccine administered in combination with a short course of antibiotics completely protected nonhuman primates from inhalational anthrax, the most lethal form of the disease, according to scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

3 May 2006

Study investigates early biology of HIV infection

In July 2005, the race to find a vaccine that would stem the worldwide rate of 13,000 new cases of HIV infection each day moved from competition among research institutions to a strategy of cooperation.

2 May 2006

'Resonance' may be the reason for virologic failure in STI drug therapy

Researchers have been puzzled over why HIV-positive patients who have periodic, built in interruptions in their drug therapy reach a point where the therapy no longer reduces their viral loads, even in the absence of any evidence of acquired drug resistance.

25 Apr 2006

Poor health related to inadequate housing for immigrant farmworkers in the USA

Many Hispanic farmworker families in North Carolina live in inadequate housing that puts them at higher risk of exposure to disease, toxins and overcrowding that can affect their psychological well-being, according to new research by Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

23 Apr 2006

Novel approach used to neutralize anthrax toxin

Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the University of Toronto have designed a nanoscale assembly of molecules that successfully counteracts and inhibits anthrax toxin in animal and laboratory experiments.

23 Apr 2006

Australian scientists tackle deadly Q fever

Scientists at James Cook University have taken the lead in developing a new vaccine against a highly infectious cattleyard disease caused by a bacteria which has the potential to be developed as a bioterrorist weapon.

20 Apr 2006

New finding provides researchers with renewable source for macrophages and neutrophils

A new approach to generating large quantities of two types of white blood cells that are critical for destroying invading bacteria, viruses and other pathogens in humans has been developed by researchers at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine.

19 Apr 2006

Western Australia measles warning

The West Australian Department of Health has issued an alert following notification of five cases of measles in Western Australia over the Easter period.

19 Apr 2006

Less antibiotic use in food animals leads to less drug resistance in people

Australia's policy of restricting antibiotic use in food-producing animals may be linked with lower levels of drug-resistant bacteria found in its citizens, according to an article in the May 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

18 Apr 2006

Concern over spread of Mumps in the U.S.

Health officials in the United States have voiced concern about an outbreak of mumps in the Midwest and say they believe some people may have become infected on airline flights.

16 Apr 2006

U.S. expert says one wild bird does not make a pandemic, while Egypt finds bird flu case # 12

Egyptian health officials have reported another case of human bird flu in the country bringing the total there to date to 12.

13 Apr 2006

Researchers identify critical human cell surface molecule involved in infection by Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus

Researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) have identified a critical human cell surface molecule involved in infection by Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus (KSHV), the virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma and certain forms of lymphoma.

11 Apr 2006

Evaluation of an inactivated subunit H5N1 influenza virus vaccine in humans

Results from a clinical trial demonstrate that high doses of an experimental H5N1 avian influenza vaccine can induce immune responses in healthy adults.

11 Apr 2006

Discovery of virus implicated in genetics of prostate cancer

The Open Access journal PLoS Pathogens has published an article detailing research that identifies a new retrovirus in the tissue of human prostate tumors.

10 Apr 2006