Pathogen News and Research

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Warning about lack of attention given to hepatitis

A report by the World Hepatitis Alliance has called for an increased focus on hepatitis and says the disease should be given the same attention as AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

20 May 2008

Ashwell receptor plays key role in reducing coagulation abnormalities during infection and sepsis

In research that solves the longest-standing mystery in glycobiology - a field that studies complex sugar chains called glycans - researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have discovered that a molecule in the liver of all animals, called the Ashwell receptor, is critical in helping the body fight off the abnormal and lethal blood clotting caused by bacterial infection.

19 May 2008

Bacterial slime helps cause Leptospirosis

Leptospirosis is a serious but neglected emerging disease that infects humans through contaminated water. Now research published in the May issue of the journal Microbiology shows for the first time how bacteria that cause the disease survive in the environment.

19 May 2008

New theory suggests how hepatitis C may cause rare immune disease

Of the hepatitis alphabet, the C variant may be the nastiest. In 1990, researchers observed that most patients with hepatitis C also develop a rare autoimmune disease called mixed cryoglobulinemia, a condition that frequently leads to cancer, arthritis or both.

10 May 2008

Better understanding of immune response to HIV infection

The "exhaustion" of immune cells that target HIV appears to result from chronic exposure to the virus, specifically exposure to the particular protein segments targeted by the pathogen-killing HIV-specific CD8 T cells.

6 May 2008

Newly identified protein called BILBO1 fatal to Trypanosoma brucei

Trypanosoma brucei is a pathogen that causes epidemics of human and animal sleeping sickness in central and Southern Africa, a disease that is fatal if untreated. A new paper published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Biology investigates the formation of a trypanosome structure called the Flagellar Pocket (FP).

6 May 2008

Study explains why steroid therapy for sinusitis and asthma loses its punch over time

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have outlined a new path for potential therapies to combat inflammation associated with sinusitis and asthma based on a new understanding of the body's earliest immune response in the nose and sinus cavities.

29 Apr 2008

Researchers identify Heme detoxification protein - potential target for developing new malaria drugs

Researchers at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have identified Heme Detoxification Protein (HDP), a unique protein encoded in the malaria genome that represents a potential target for developing new malaria drugs.

24 Apr 2008

Protein HtpG signals healthier teeth and gums

Antibodies present in people with good oral health could become the first tool for dental professionals to assess a patient's probable response to periodontal disease treatments, say researchers at the University of Michigan.

23 Apr 2008

Red colobus monkeys in Uganda found to harbor antibodies to an unknown orthopoxvirus

Researchers report this month that red colobus monkeys in a park in western Uganda have been exposed to an unknown orthopoxvirus, a pathogen related to the viruses that cause smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox. Most of the monkeys screened harbor antibodies to a virus that is similar - but not identical - to known orthopoxviruses.

22 Apr 2008

Monkey malaria - the next bird flu?

An expert at the NIH has highlighted the threat of an emergent highly virulent form of malaria, questioning whether the disease has made the jump from animal to man.

22 Apr 2008

New mucosal vaccine against anthrax effective in early tests

Early studies show that a new mucosal vaccine against anthrax has the potential to provide military personnel with more effective and efficient protection against a "popular" bioweapon, according to a study published in the journal Clinical and Vaccine Immunology (CVI).

13 Apr 2008

New strategy rapidly describes outbreak strains with next-generation DNA sequencing

In the event of an outbreak or a bioterrorist attack, rapid identification of the genetic changes responsible for virulence or drug resistance is essential to mounting an effective response.

11 Apr 2008

Leptospira licerasiae, a new species of infectious disease found in Amazon

While investigating the tropical disease leptospirosis in the Peruvian Amazon, an infectious disease specialist from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has uncovered new, emerging bacteria that may be responsible for up to 40 percent of cases of the disease.

3 Apr 2008

New breakthrough discovery on TB

Medical scientists from the University of Leicester, together with colleagues from St Georges, University of London, funded principally by the Medical Research Council (MRC) and The Wellcome Trust, have published details of a new breakthrough discovery on TB.

1 Apr 2008

Human vaccine for Ebola in the pipeline

The deadly Ebola virus is in the news again but this time there is the promise of a vaccine for the deadly disease.

1 Apr 2008

Researcher discovers pathway plants use to fight back against pathogens

Plants are not only smart, but they also wage a good fight, according to a University of Missouri biochemist. Previous studies have shown that plants can sense attacks by pathogens and activate their defenses.

1 Apr 2008

Scientists isolate, characterize the organism that causes Buruli ulcer

An international team of 17 researchers from four countries has for the first time isolated from the environment and fully characterized the organism that causes Buruli ulcer.

28 Mar 2008

New method for rapid screening large numbers of antigens

A team of Washington State University scientists has devised a method that could lead to the development of vaccines against some of the most troubling infectious diseases we face diseases that have so far been difficult or impossible to vaccinate against.

26 Mar 2008

How Staphylococcus aureus resists our natural defenses

Researchers at the University of Washington have uncovered how the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus, including the notorious MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staph aureus) "superbug" strains, resists our body's natural defenses against infection.

25 Mar 2008