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Key part of MRSA vaccine puzzle unearthed

Immunologists from Trinity College Dublin have unearthed a key piece of the MRSA vaccine puzzle by identifying specific ‘helper’ cells whose role in the immune response is critical in affecting infection outcomes.

9 Nov 2015

Combatting viral and bacterial lung infections with volatile anesthetics: an interview with Dr Chakravarthy

Inhaled anesthetics are fairly common all over the world for minor and extensive surgical procedures in patients of all age groups. In the olden days when anesthesia was first developed, ether was the first inhaled anesthetic. That has been replaced, with the more recent discoveries of sevoflurane, isoflurane, and desflurane.

9 Nov 2015

Isolation of infectious cases was key to eliminating Ebola in Sierra Leone

Tomorrow, Sierra Leone is expected to be declared Ebola-free by the World Health Organisation. But what was key to eliminating the disease? A mathematical model published in the Journal of Biological Dynamics describes the reasons as complex, but confirms that increased identification and isolation of infectious cases played the major role.

6 Nov 2015

MPP announces expansion of mandate to hepatitis C and TB medicines

The Medicines Patent Pool, the world's only voluntary licensing mechanism in public health, announced an expansion of its mandate today to hepatitis C and tuberculosis medicines. The UNITAID Executive Board, meeting November 4-5 in Geneva, approved the MPP's proposals to improve access to both life-saving direct acting antivirals (DAAs) to treat hepatitis C and new and re-purposed medicines for tuberculosis.

6 Nov 2015

Seven researchers win 2015 Early Career Researcher UK Awards

The UK is a world-leader in breakthrough scientific discoveries, and seven of the early career researchers leading this field have been recognised for their contributions to areas including malaria elimination, securing water supplies for future generations and empowering patients in the management of their own health care.

6 Nov 2015

Researchers successfully test new method for rapid diagnosis of Ebola in Guinea

An international team of researchers, including Ahmed Abd El Wahed, scientist at the University of Göttingen and the German Primate Center, has tested a new method for rapid diagnosis of Ebola in a field trial in Guinea. The test procedure was carried out using a portable suitcase laboratory. The mobile suitcase lab is operated with solar power and enables simple on-site diagnostics in remote areas without the need of an equipped laboratory.

6 Nov 2015

Loyola presents Scientist of the Year awards

Susan Baker, PhD, a leading researcher of a class of viruses that includes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), has been named Senior Scientist of the Year at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. Wei Qiu, PhD, who is researching the molecular mechanisms of liver cancer, has been named Junior Scientist of the Year.

6 Nov 2015

Genvoya approved as complete regimen for HIV treatment

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Genvoya (a fixed-dose combination tablet containing elvitegravir, cobicistat, emtricitabine, and tenofovir alafenamide) as a complete regimen for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older.

6 Nov 2015

Man dies after developing tapeworm tumors

A man has died as a result of tapeworm tumors growing inside his body, doctors report.

5 Nov 2015

Doctoral thesis explores issues related to dental Implants

Almost 8 percent of patients experience loss of at least one implant within ten years. Even more develop peri-implantitis. Patients with periodontitis run a greater risk of both implant loss and peri-implantitis. A doctoral thesis at Sahlgrenska Academy has explored the various issues.

5 Nov 2015

GHIT Fund invests $10.7 million to fight malaria, TB, leishmaniasis and dengue

The Global Health Innovative Technology Fund, which in the last two years has invested US$43 million to develop innovative tools for fighting diseases worldwide, today announced it is investing $10.7 million at multiple points in the product development pipeline to seek new interventions for malaria, tuberculosis (TB), leishmaniasis and dengue.

5 Nov 2015

New vaccine candidate shows great promise at fighting respiratory syncytial virus

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers say a new candidate vaccine against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) made with a weakened version of the virus shows great promise at fighting the disease, the leading cause of hospitalization for children under the age of one in the U.S.

5 Nov 2015

Malaria parasite hides undetected in the liver for long time before reawakening to cause disease

Eliminating malaria in the Asia-Pacific could prove more challenging than previously thought, with new research showing that most childhood malaria infections in endemic areas are the result of relapsed, not new, infections.

5 Nov 2015

ESCMID, ESWI call for increased flu vaccination coverage amongst healthcare professionals

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) – an organization that explores risk assessment, knowledge sharing and best practices in the fight against infectious disease – is calling on the healthcare industry to lead by example and implement universal flu vaccination for healthcare workers.

5 Nov 2015

Researchers track re-emergence of scarlet fever-causing bacteria

An international study led by University of Queensland researchers has tracked the re-emergence of a childhood disease which had largely disappeared over the past 100 years.

4 Nov 2015

Study evaluates effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment in HIV-infected children

A study led by Louise Kuhn, PhD, professor of Epidemiology at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, evaluated whether HIV-infected children in South Africa who had achieved viral suppression with one antiretroviral treatment could transition to efavirenz-based therapy, the recommended drug for children older than 3 years, without risk of viral failure.

4 Nov 2015

New DentaPlas coated implants help prevent infections caused by bacteria

One million dental implants are inserted every year in Germany, and often they need to be replaced due to issues such as tissue infections caused by bacteria. In the future, these infections will be prevented thanks to a new plasma implant coating that kills pathogens using silver ions.

4 Nov 2015

Millions more bird species killed by West Nile virus than previously thought

West Nile virus is killing millions more birds and affecting many more bird species than previously thought, according to new research from a multi-university team of researchers.

4 Nov 2015

New study finds how African immigrants stigmatized during recent Ebola crisis

The deadly Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa also took its toll socially on one of the fastest growing populations in the United States, African immigrants. Guy-Lucien Whembolua, a University of Cincinnati assistant professor of Africana studies, leads an analysis of national news coverage of the Ebola scare in a poster presentation on Nov. 2, at the 143rd American Public Health Association Annual Meeting and Expo, in Chicago.

4 Nov 2015

Study provides novel insight into the evolution of hepatitis A virus and how it spreads to humans

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are part of an international team led by the University of Bonn, Germany, who have found a link between the origin of hepatitis A virus (HAV) and small mammals.

4 Nov 2015