Disease/Infection News

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Malaria parasite protein essential for parasite invasion into red blood cells

A new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds that a malaria parasite protein called calcineurin is essential for parasite invasion into red blood cells. Human calcineurin is already a proven target for drugs treating other illnesses including adult rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, and the new findings suggest that parasite calcineurin should be a focus for the development of new antimalarial drugs.

26 Jun 2015

New study reveals key part of Ebola virus life cycle at higher resolution than ever before

A new study led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) reveals a key part of the Ebola virus life cycle at a higher resolution than ever before. The research sheds light on how Ebola virus assembles—and how researchers might stop the often-fatal infection.

26 Jun 2015

Innovations in AIDS efforts should be leveraged to meet future global health challenges, says UNAIDS-Lancet Commission

Countries most affected by HIV must focus on stopping new HIV infections and expanding access to antiretroviral treatment or risk the epidemic rebounding, urges a major new report from the UNAIDS and Lancet Commission.

26 Jun 2015

Artificial blood technology may help fight disease-transmitting mosquitoes in resource-limited areas

A "nuisance" is probably one of the nicest things people call mosquitoes. Mosquitoes have been called the deadliest animal on the planet, because of the diseases they spread.

26 Jun 2015

Ebola diagnosis now possible within minutes

The Lancet has published details of a new point-of-care test for Ebola virus that is as sensitive as the conventional laboratory test, but provides results within minutes.

25 Jun 2015

World MRSA Day Kickoff Event and Global C. difficile Summit to be held on September 26, 2015 in Illinois

Methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus (MRSA), the antibiotic resistant form of Staphylococcus aureus is rampant in U.S. healthcare facilities, in the community, in livestock and in the environment.

25 Jun 2015

Basilea announces UK launch of broad-spectrum Cephalosporin Zevtera for first-line treatment of pneumonia

Basilea Pharmaceutica AG today announces the UK launch of its broad-spectrum Cephalosporin Zevtera (Ceftobiprole medocaril) for the first-line treatment of serious bacterial pneumonia.

25 Jun 2015

Study: Cellular respiration separates effects of bactericidal and bacteriostatic antibiotics

Antibiotics are the mainstay in the treatment of bacterial infections, and together with vaccines, have enabled the near eradication of infectious diseases like tuberculosis, at least in developed countries.

25 Jun 2015

Researchers develop protective vaccine against chlamydia infections

Chlamydiae are the most common, sexually transmitted, bacterial pathogens in the world. Every year around 100 million people contract Chlamydia infections, which are one of the main causes of female infertility and ectopic pregnancies and can also lead to blindness - especially in developing countries.

25 Jun 2015

Researchers identify fast and accurate approach to diagnose respiratory tract infection

Researchers from the University of Manchester are part of a team that has identified an important new approach to diagnose infections in critically ill patients rapidly and accurately.

25 Jun 2015

Rising number of malaria deaths likely to exceed total number of Ebola deaths

Around 74000 fewer malaria cases than expected were seen at health facilities in Guinea in 2014 compared with pre-Ebola years, new research published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal has found.

25 Jun 2015

GSK welcomes U.S. CDC's vote on use of meningococcal group B vaccines

GlaxoSmithKline announced today that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted for a Category B recommendation for meningococcal group B vaccination, including BEXSERO (Meningococcal Group B Vaccine), in individuals aged 16 to 23 (with a preferred age of 16-18).

25 Jun 2015

WHO prequalifies new male circumcision device to prevent HIV

The ShangRing, a novel medical device for voluntary medical male circumcision, has received prequalification from the World Health Organization (WHO) for use.

25 Jun 2015

Implementation of needle exchange programs can prevent HIV outbreaks in Indiana

Congress needs to immediately lift the ban on federal funding for needle exchange programs to counter the threat of HIV outbreaks among injection drug users like the one that has seen an alarming number of new cases erupt in a single rural Indiana county.

25 Jun 2015

Study: Acellular vaccines may have contributed to recent pertussis outbreak

Whooping cough has made an astonishing comeback, with 2012 seeing nearly 50,000 infections in the U.S. (the most since 1955), and a death rate in infants three times that of the rest of the population.

25 Jun 2015

Computational models can forecast outbreak and spread of Ebola

The 2014 outbreak of Ebola virus disease, the worst since the disease first appeared in 1976, has claimed more than 11,000 lives in the West African nations of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and a handful more in nearby Nigeria and Mali.

24 Jun 2015

Discovery provides basis for new pertussis treatments

The worldwide spreading of the whooping cough, also known as pertussis, has substantially increased since 2010. Researchers from the Biozentrum, University of Basel, have investigated structure and function of an important membrane protein of the bacterium causing pertussis. They discovered that the protein structure differs from a previously postulated model.

24 Jun 2015

Generic heart disease drugs show promise in patients affected by Ebola virus

Generic medications used frequently in the management of heart disease patients also have the potential to bolster the immune systems of patients with Ebola virus and some other life-threatening illnesses, researchers report this week in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

23 Jun 2015

Purdue University-led study could lead to better treatments for people infected with MERS virus

A Purdue University-led team of researchers studying the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS, have found molecules that shut down the activity of an essential enzyme in the virus and could lead the way to better treatments for those infected.

23 Jun 2015

Experimental vaccine candidate can stimulate immune system activity to prevent HIV infection

New research led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) and The Rockefeller University shows in mice that an experimental vaccine candidate designed at TSRI can stimulate the immune system activity necessary to stop HIV infection. The findings could provide key information for the development of an effective AIDS vaccine.

22 Jun 2015

Disease/Infection News

Malaria parasite protein essential for parasite invasion into red blood cells

New study reveals key part of Ebola virus life cycle at higher resolution than ever before

Innovations in AIDS efforts should be leveraged to meet future global health challenges, says UNAIDS-Lancet Commission

Artificial blood technology may help fight disease-transmitting mosquitoes in resource-limited areas

Ebola diagnosis now possible within minutes

World MRSA Day Kickoff Event and Global C. difficile Summit to be held on September 26, 2015 in Illinois

Basilea announces UK launch of broad-spectrum Cephalosporin Zevtera for first-line treatment of pneumonia

Study: Cellular respiration separates effects of bactericidal and bacteriostatic antibiotics

Researchers develop protective vaccine against chlamydia infections

Researchers identify fast and accurate approach to diagnose respiratory tract infection

Rising number of malaria deaths likely to exceed total number of Ebola deaths

GSK welcomes U.S. CDC's vote on use of meningococcal group B vaccines

WHO prequalifies new male circumcision device to prevent HIV

Implementation of needle exchange programs can prevent HIV outbreaks in Indiana

Study: Acellular vaccines may have contributed to recent pertussis outbreak

Computational models can forecast outbreak and spread of Ebola

Discovery provides basis for new pertussis treatments

Generic heart disease drugs show promise in patients affected by Ebola virus

Purdue University-led study could lead to better treatments for people infected with MERS virus

Experimental vaccine candidate can stimulate immune system activity to prevent HIV infection

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