Disease/Infection News

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QMUL, UCT researchers awarded £3.5m MRC grant to prevent TB in South African primary school children

The Medical Research Council has awarded a grant of £3.5m to researchers from Queen Mary University of London and University of Cape Town to carry out a trial to determine whether a weekly vitamin D supplement can prevent tuberculosis (TB) in South African primary school children.

12 Oct 2015

High dose flu vaccines significantly reduce hospitalization risk during influenza season

In the largest nursing home study to date on the effect of high dose flu vaccine, researchers found that shots with four times the strength of standard flu shots significantly reduced the risk of being hospitalized during the influenza season. There was a 1.2 percent difference (19.7 percent versus 20.9 percent) in admission for the group that received the high dose vaccine compared to the one that received the standard dose vaccine.

12 Oct 2015

People often end up in emergency room because of infection-related falls

People who end up in the emergency room because of a fall often are tripped up by an infection, rather than a loose throw rug or poor eyesight, suggests a study being presented at IDWeek 2015.

12 Oct 2015

Antiviral agent protects rhesus monkeys from deadly Ebola virus

Rhesus monkeys were completely protected from the deadly Ebola virus when treated three days after infection with a compound that blocks the virus's ability to replicate. These encouraging preclinical results suggest the compound, known as GS-5734, should be further developed as a potential treatment, according to research findings to be presented tomorrow at the IDWeek conference.

12 Oct 2015

UV robots help reduce rates of C. diff transmission among cancer inpatients

Robots are capable of all sorts of tasks to help better treat cancer: They connect oncologists to patients remotely, make incisions, staple them shut, deliver "nano" therapies--and they clean rooms. New research from Penn Medicine infection control specialists found that ultraviolet (UV) robots helped reduce the rates transmission of the common bacterial infection known as Clostridium difficile among cancer inpatients - mostly blood cancer patients, a group more vulnerable to hospital-acquired infections - by 25 percent. The interventions also saved about $150,000 in annual direct medical costs.

12 Oct 2015

Glycan binding proteins modify parasite infection in cells of the heart muscle

Chagas disease is the main cause of infectious heart disease in Latin America. Researchers from the INGEBI and IBYME Institutes in Argentina explored the effect of glycan binding protein interactions between the human host and Typanosoma cruzi parasite. They found that a glycan binding protein expressed in humans modified the infection in cells of the heart muscle, showing the importance of galectins in the response to parasite infection.

12 Oct 2015

Novel mathematical method may help reduce development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

It is estimated that each year in the United States 2 million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to one or more types of antibiotics, and at least 23,000 people will die because of these infections. This problem is being exacerbated by overuse of antibiotics for livestock and also in community clinical practice. This overuse, combined with the slow pace of novel drug discovery is a growing threat to public health.

12 Oct 2015

FDA permits marketing of first CSF nucleic acid-based test for detection of multiple pathogens

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today allowed marketing of the first cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) nucleic acid-based test for simultaneous detection of multiple pathogens that can cause central nervous system infections.

12 Oct 2015

Discovery may help scientists to better predict how quickly HIV virus returns after patients stop treatment

Scientists are now better able to predict how quickly the HIV virus will return after individuals stop treatment following a discovery by researchers at UNSW Australia and the University of Oxford.

12 Oct 2015

FDA takes major step to put greater emphasis on the prevention of foodborne illness

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today took one of the most significant steps in decades to prevent foodborne illness by finalizing the first two of seven major rules under the bipartisan FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

9 Oct 2015

Safety and immunogenicity clinical trial of Ebola vaccine regimen starts in Sierra Leone

Johnson & Johnson today announced the start of a safety and immunogenicity clinical trial in Sierra Leone of a preventive Ebola vaccine regimen in development at its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies.

9 Oct 2015

Volunteer nurse back in isolation with Ebola complications

This morning Pauline Cafferkey, the nurse who survived infection with the Ebola virus, was airlifted to an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London after the Ebola virus was detected in blood samples.

9 Oct 2015

New national report on use of antiviral drugs to treat, prevent influenza

A major new national report into the use of antiviral drugs (neuraminidase inhibitors) to treat and prevent influenza has drawn heavily on two pieces of research undertaken at The University of Nottingham.

9 Oct 2015

UNC researchers identify a type of vaginal bacteria that can protect women from HIV

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have identified a type of vaginal bacteria within the mucus of the female reproductive system that can protect women from HIV as well as other sexually transmitted infections.

9 Oct 2015

Allergan's anti-infective portfolio to be highlighted at IDWeek 2015

Allergan plc today announced that its infectious disease portfolio will be featured in 13 abstracts highlighting data at IDWeek 2015, which takes place from October 7-11, 2015, in San Diego.

8 Oct 2015

Invasive Salmonella infections revealed as major cause of child illness and deaths in Africa

Invasive Salmonella infections in sub-Saharan Africa are a major cause of child illness and deaths, a new body of research into this usually overlooked infectious disease has revealed.

8 Oct 2015

Bacteria does not develop antimicrobial resistance in wastewater treatment plants

New research challenges the common perception that bacteria develop antimicrobial resistance in wastewater treatment plants. The findings have recently been published in the recognized scientific journal Nature Communications.

8 Oct 2015

Cleaning patient rooms with combination of chemicals and UV light cuts transmission of superbugs

Healthcare facilities continue to battle drug-resistant organisms such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that loiter on surfaces even after patient rooms have been cleaned and can cause new, sometimes-deadly infections.

8 Oct 2015

Lonza, Benitec partner to develop scalable manufacturing process for AAV-based viral gene therapies

Lonza Houston, Inc., a global leader in biological, cell and viral gene therapy manufacturing, and Benitec Biopharma, a clinical stage biotechnology company commercializing a patented gene-silencing technology, DNA-directed RNA interference (ddRNAi), today announced that they have entered into a Manufacturing Services Agreement to develop a scalable manufacturing process for Benitec's ddRNAi-based, Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV)-delivered products intended for therapeutic use in humans.

7 Oct 2015

Luminex receives rapid clearance from FDA for ARIES System and ARIES HSV 1&2 Assay

Luminex Corporation today announced that it has received FDA clearance for the company's ARIES® System and ARIES HSV 1&2 Assay.

7 Oct 2015

Disease/Infection News

QMUL, UCT researchers awarded £3.5m MRC grant to prevent TB in South African primary school children

High dose flu vaccines significantly reduce hospitalization risk during influenza season

People often end up in emergency room because of infection-related falls

Antiviral agent protects rhesus monkeys from deadly Ebola virus

UV robots help reduce rates of C. diff transmission among cancer inpatients

Glycan binding proteins modify parasite infection in cells of the heart muscle

Novel mathematical method may help reduce development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

FDA permits marketing of first CSF nucleic acid-based test for detection of multiple pathogens

Discovery may help scientists to better predict how quickly HIV virus returns after patients stop treatment

FDA takes major step to put greater emphasis on the prevention of foodborne illness

Safety and immunogenicity clinical trial of Ebola vaccine regimen starts in Sierra Leone

Volunteer nurse back in isolation with Ebola complications

New national report on use of antiviral drugs to treat, prevent influenza

UNC researchers identify a type of vaginal bacteria that can protect women from HIV

Allergan's anti-infective portfolio to be highlighted at IDWeek 2015

Invasive Salmonella infections revealed as major cause of child illness and deaths in Africa

Bacteria does not develop antimicrobial resistance in wastewater treatment plants

Cleaning patient rooms with combination of chemicals and UV light cuts transmission of superbugs

Lonza, Benitec partner to develop scalable manufacturing process for AAV-based viral gene therapies

Luminex receives rapid clearance from FDA for ARIES System and ARIES HSV 1&2 Assay

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