Disease/Infection News

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Pathogen may cause high levels of virulence in closely-related hosts

When viruses such as influenza and Ebola jump from one species to another, their ability to cause harm can change dramatically, but research from the University of Cambridge shows that it may be possible to predict the virus's virulence by looking at how deadly it is in closely-related species.

23 Mar 2015

Climate change could accelerate emergence of vector-borne diseases in UK

Climate change could accelerate the emergence of vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue fever, and West Nile virus in the UK, warn leading public health experts Dr Jolyon Medlock and Professor Steve Leach from the Emergency Response Department at Public Health England, writing in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal.

23 Mar 2015

WHO calls for intensification of routine immunization services in all Ebola-affected areas

A growing risk of outbreaks of measles, pertussis, and other vaccine-preventable diseases in countries affected by Ebola must be countered by urgent scaling up of routine immunization activities, according to the World Health Organization.

21 Mar 2015

Case Western Reserve professor urges action to eliminate yaws

Half a century ago, a concentrated global effort nearly wiped a disfiguring tropical disease from the face of the earth. Now, says Case Western Reserve's James W. Kazura, MD, it's time to complete the work.

20 Mar 2015

New technology developed to determine resistance to rabies virus

Researchers at Texas A&M AgriLife Research have developed a new technology to determine sensitivity or resistance to rabies virus.

20 Mar 2015

Two common antibiotic treatments equally effective against MRSA skin infections

Researchers funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, have found that two common antibiotic treatments work equally well against bacterial skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) acquired outside of hospital settings.

20 Mar 2015

MSU researchers discover cause of death in children who get malaria

Researchers from Michigan State University have uncovered the cause of death in children who die from cerebral malaria.

19 Mar 2015

IU researchers reveal how Toxoplasma parasites modify brain cells

Rodents infected with a common parasite lose their fear of cats, resulting in easy meals for the felines. Now IU School of Medicine researchers have identified a new way the parasite may modify brain cells, possibly helping explain changes in the behavior of mice -- and humans.

19 Mar 2015

PaMZ drug regimen shows potential to improve treatment for MDR-TB

A new tuberculosis (TB) drug regimen designed to improve options for TB therapy eliminated more bacteria from sputum than standard therapy and did so at a faster rate, according to data from a phase 2b clinical trial published today in The Lancet. These results are published just as the global phase 3 clinical trial, designed to bring this regimen through the last stage of testing, has begun.

19 Mar 2015

New method of testing deadly pathogen could help combat cystic fibrosis

A new method of testing the most common cause of life-threatening infection in people with cystic fibrosis could improve efforts to study and combat the illness.

18 Mar 2015

Finding could improve global efforts to prevent HIV transmission, save lives

People who recently have been infected with HIV may not be as highly infectious as previously believed, a finding that could improve global efforts to prevent HIV transmission and save lives. In particular, the finding bolsters the strategy of treating patients with antiretroviral drugs before the onset of AIDS to prevent transmission.

18 Mar 2015

Virginia Tech researchers use genome-editing method to study lethal disease-carrying animal

Life science researchers at Virginia Tech have accelerated a game-changing technology that's being used to study one of the planet's most lethal disease-carrying animals.

18 Mar 2015

First clinical trial of new malaria vaccine held in Equatorial Guinea

Equatorial Guinea has held the first clinical trial of a new malaria vaccine known as PfSPZ. Three volunteers participated this month in the trial of the vaccine, which was developed by the American biotechnology company Sanaria. The trial took place at the La Paz Medical Center, the country's premier medical facility, located in Sipopo, just outside the capital.

18 Mar 2015

New UNICEF report highlights urgency of reducing Ebola cases

Ebola has had a devastating impact on children, who make up about 20 per cent of infections in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone. To protect them and their communities, it is critical to defeat this scourge, while working to restore basic services, UNICEF said in a report released today.

17 Mar 2015

Researchers team up to study stomach flu

Rice University bioengineers are teaming with colleagues from Baylor College of Medicine and MD Anderson Cancer Center to apply the latest techniques in tissue engineering toward the study of one of the most common and deadly human illnesses -- the stomach flu.

17 Mar 2015

Cyclone Pam: WHO coordinates response efforts to bring health support to cyclone-hit Vanuatu

The World Health Organization in the Western Pacific Region is coordinating response efforts with Vanuatu's Ministry of Health and other humanitarian partners to bring much-needed health support to the Pacific island country, following the devastation caused by Cyclone Pam.

17 Mar 2015

New hepatitis C drugs to place economic burden on health care system, predicts MD Anderson study

The cost of treating people infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) with newly approved therapies will likely place a tremendous economic burden on the country's health care system. The prediction comes from a cost-effectiveness analysis led by researchers at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

17 Mar 2015

Inadequate vaccine coverage drives Disneyland measles outbreak

Inadequate vaccine coverage is likely a driving force behind the ongoing Disneyland measles outbreak, according to calculations by a research team at Boston Children's Hospital.

16 Mar 2015

People’s health at the centre of new global blueprint to reduce disaster risks

Ten years since adopting the Hyogo Framework for Action shortly after the Indian Ocean Tsunami, government representatives have gathered in Sendai to negotiate a new framework for global action to reduce the risks of disasters. For the first time, protecting people's health is at the centre of such a framework.

16 Mar 2015

New vaccine for post exposure treatment of rabies infection enters human clinical trial

Yisheng Biopharma Co., Ltd., a biopharmaceutical company focusing on the research, development, manufacturing, sales and marketing of vaccine products, announced that a new vaccine for the post exposure treatment of the rabies infection was entering human clinical trial after a six-year long collaboration with a number of research institutes worldwide.

16 Mar 2015