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ESCMID’s EUCAST plays key role in defining antimicrobial resistance in Europe and globally

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) – an organization that pursues science, explores risk assessment, knowledge sharing and best practices in the fight against infectious disease – is currently researching the new critical breakpoints for antimicrobial agents in clinical development through its European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST).

8 Dec 2015

Innovative DNA technology enables faster and more effective diagnosis of TB cases

Whole Genome Sequencing is a faster, cheaper and more effective way of diagnosing tuberculosis says a new study published in the journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

8 Dec 2015

Quest Diagnostics performs RNA testing on patient specimens to detect more cases of HCV

In its commitment to provide diagnostic insights that enhance patient care and outcomes, Quest Diagnostics will automatically perform molecular testing on all patient specimens whose antibody screening results indicate hepatitis C virus infection, and remove standalone positive antibody screening as a test option.

From Quest Diagnostics 8 Dec 2015

Scientists decipher details of cloaking proteins that protect the toxin that causes botulism

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at Stony Brook University and the Institute of Advanced Sciences in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, have discovered new details about how "cloaking" proteins protect the toxin that causes botulism, a fatal disease caused most commonly by consuming improperly canned foods.

7 Dec 2015

Reduced antibiotic prescribing associated with lower patient satisfaction

Reduced antibiotic prescribing is associated with lower patient satisfaction on the national General Practice Patient Survey, according to a new study by King's College London. The study found a 25 per cent lower rate of antibiotic prescribing by a GP practice corresponded to a 5-6 point reduction on GP satisfaction rankings.

7 Dec 2015

Yale researchers develop vaccine strategy that reduces risk of flu in cancer patients

Yale Cancer Center researchers have developed a vaccine strategy that reduces the risk of flu infections in cancer patients at highest risk for influenza. The findings were presented Dec. 6 at the 57th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Orlando, Florida.

7 Dec 2015

FIRS calls for continued international support to end AIDS epidemic by 2030

World AIDS Day, held annually on the first day of December each year since 1988, is an opportunity for people around the world to join in the fight, show their support for those living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and commemorate the lives of those who have died.

7 Dec 2015

Study reveals how MGCs dispose waste that obstructs normal physiological processes

If rubbish is too big and unwieldy for normal household waste, its removal becomes the job of specialized experts. Researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now discovered, in cooperation with colleagues from the UK, how large, fused cells help our body to deal with bulky items that may otherwise obstruct normal physiological processes.

7 Dec 2015

New GASMAS-based technique shows promise for non-invasive sinusitis diagnostics

A team of scientists from the South China Normal University (Guangzhou, China) and the Lund University (Sweden) led by Sune Svanberg now presents a new approach for a non-intrusive optical technique for human sinus realtime diagnostics that could be developed into a cost-effective, easy-to-use hand-held instrument.

7 Dec 2015

WHO highlights need to expand antiretroviral therapy, reverse HIV epidemic on World AIDS Day

On World AIDS Day the World Health Organization emphasizes that expanding antiretroviral therapy to all people living with HIV is key to ending the AIDS epidemic within a generation.

7 Dec 2015

WHO Prequalification of IVDs Programme accepts Beckman Coulter’s Aquios CL flow cytometer

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences announce that their Aquios CL flow cytometer has been accepted by the World Health Organization (WHO) Prequalification of In Vitro Diagnostics Programme. It can now be used specifically for the immunologic assessment of patients having, or suspected of having, immune deficiency.

7 Dec 2015

World Hepatitis Alliance highlights need to recognise impact of coinfection between HIV and viral hepatitis

Viral hepatitis is one of the leading causes of non-AIDS-related deaths among people living with HIV, yet often goes undiagnosed. Similar to HIV, the hepatitis B and hepatitis C viruses are blood-borne, having similar transmission routes like sexual contact for hepatitis B and injection drug use and sexual contact for hepatitis C.

7 Dec 2015

Bacteriophage therapy: an alternative to antibiotics? An interview Professor Clokie

A phage is a virus that infects a bacterium. People often get very confused about what the difference is between a virus and a bacterium. A virus, like a bacterium, is also a microorganism, but unlike bacteria, it needs to have a host to be able to replicate and propagate.

2 Dec 2015

Larger portion of Africa at high risk for malaria transmission

A larger portion of Africa is currently at high risk for malaria transmission than previously predicted, according to a new University of Florida mapping study.

1 Dec 2015

Synthetic Biologics announces positive results from first SYN-004 Phase 2a study for prevention of CDI, AAD

Synthetic Biologics, Inc.), a clinical stage company focused on developing therapeutics to protect the gut microbiome while targeting pathogen specific diseases, announced positive topline results from the first Phase 2a study of SYN-004, the Company's candidate designed to protect the gut microbiome from the unintended effects of certain commonly used intravenous (IV) beta-lactam antibiotics for the prevention C. difficile infection (CDI) and antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD).

1 Dec 2015

Novel class of antimicrobials could be effective in fighting drug-resistant MRSA infection

A novel class of antimicrobials that inhibits the function of a key disease-causing component of bacteria could be effective in fighting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), one of the major drug-resistant bacterial pathogens, according to researchers at Georgia State University.

1 Dec 2015

Researchers develop novel computational approach to accelerate search for hepatitis C vaccine

Borrowing from several statistical science models, an interdisciplinary team of researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has developed a novel computational approach for massively accelerating the search for a hepatitis C vaccine.

1 Dec 2015

Research highlights importance of controlling hospital and nursing home infection

A Rhode Island Hospital and The Miriam Hospital study found that a small percentage of nursing home patients carrying multi drug-resistant bacteria are admitted to hospitals without showing symptoms caused by the bacteria. The research, published in the American Journal of Infection Control, highlights the importance of hospital and nursing home infection control practices.

1 Dec 2015

Combination of antiviral medications can eradicate HCV infection in patients with advanced liver disease

A large multi-center clinical trial has found that a combination of antiviral medications can eradicate hepatitis C infection in more than 90 percent of patients with advanced liver disease. Known as the ASTRAL-4 trial, the study was co-led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Intermountain Medical Center and published online Nov. 17 in The New England Journal of Medicine.

1 Dec 2015

Innovative compound with anti-MRSA qualities may help develop new class of antibiotics

With global health services increasingly worried about the rise of antibiotic resistant diseases, researchers at Maynooth University have discovered a compound whose anti-MRSA qualities pave the way for the development of a new class of antibiotics.

1 Dec 2015

Disease/Infection News

ESCMID’s EUCAST plays key role in defining antimicrobial resistance in Europe and globally

Innovative DNA technology enables faster and more effective diagnosis of TB cases

Quest Diagnostics performs RNA testing on patient specimens to detect more cases of HCV

Scientists decipher details of cloaking proteins that protect the toxin that causes botulism

Reduced antibiotic prescribing associated with lower patient satisfaction

Yale researchers develop vaccine strategy that reduces risk of flu in cancer patients

FIRS calls for continued international support to end AIDS epidemic by 2030

Study reveals how MGCs dispose waste that obstructs normal physiological processes

New GASMAS-based technique shows promise for non-invasive sinusitis diagnostics

WHO highlights need to expand antiretroviral therapy, reverse HIV epidemic on World AIDS Day

WHO Prequalification of IVDs Programme accepts Beckman Coulter’s Aquios CL flow cytometer

World Hepatitis Alliance highlights need to recognise impact of coinfection between HIV and viral hepatitis

Bacteriophage therapy: an alternative to antibiotics? An interview Professor Clokie

Larger portion of Africa at high risk for malaria transmission

Synthetic Biologics announces positive results from first SYN-004 Phase 2a study for prevention of CDI, AAD

Novel class of antimicrobials could be effective in fighting drug-resistant MRSA infection

Researchers develop novel computational approach to accelerate search for hepatitis C vaccine

Research highlights importance of controlling hospital and nursing home infection

Combination of antiviral medications can eradicate HCV infection in patients with advanced liver disease

Innovative compound with anti-MRSA qualities may help develop new class of antibiotics

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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