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Screening tool can help identify nations' vulnerability to Ebola

Public health experts can identify nations that are vulnerable to the occurrence and impact of future outbreaks of Ebola or other emergencies by using a screening tool that evaluates a nation's strengths across a wide range of measures such as political strength and health care capabilities, according to a new analysis from the RAND Corporation.

4 Mar 2015

World first: Antimicrobial copper supermarket trolleys

In a world first, a Brazilian supermarket has introduced supermarket trolleys with antimicrobial copper handles to help reduce the spread of disease-causing pathogens.

3 Mar 2015

Health systems in developing world need to be strengthened to stop Ebola-style outbreak

Health systems throughout the developing world need to be strengthened to prevent another Ebola-style outbreak, or worse, warns Save the Children in its new report "A Wake Up Call: Lessons from Ebola for the World's Health Systems."

3 Mar 2015

Scientists find gorilla origins in two human AIDS virus lineages

Two of the four known groups of human AIDS viruses (HIV-1 groups O and P) have originated in western lowland gorillas, according to an international team of scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Montpellier, the University of Edinburgh, and others.

3 Mar 2015

Researchers reveal how bacterial molecule controls the body's response to TB infection

The cascade of events leading to bacterial infection and the immune response is mostly understood. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the immune response to the bacteria that causes tuberculosis have remained a mystery — until now. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have now uncovered how a bacterial molecule controls the body's response to TB infection and suggest that adjusting the level of this of this molecule may be a new way to treat the disease.

3 Mar 2015

Swiss teenager with classic sudden symptoms of stroke diagnosed with Lyme disease

A Swiss teenager, recently returned home from a discotheque, came to the emergency department with classic sudden symptoms of stroke, only to be diagnosed with Lyme disease.

3 Mar 2015

Dengue fever circulating in urban areas of West Africa

Misdiagnosis of febrile illnesses as malaria is a continuing problem in Africa. A new study shows that in Ghana, dengue fever is circulating in urban areas and going undiagnosed. The authors of the study hope to use the findings to launch a widespread initiative to better understand acute undifferentiated febrile illnesses in West Africa.

3 Mar 2015

Caltech researchers reveal new information that could help fight against hookworms

Tiny parasitic hookworms infect nearly half a billion people worldwide--almost exclusively in developing countries--causing health problems ranging from gastrointestinal issues to cognitive impairment and stunted growth in children. By sequencing and analyzing the genome of one particular hookworm species, Caltech researchers have uncovered new information that could aid the fight against these parasites.

3 Mar 2015

Scientists sequence genome of hookworm

In an advance that may potentially lead to new treatments for parasitic hookworms, scientists at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and Cornell University have sequenced the genome of the hookworm, Ancylostoma ceylanicum.

3 Mar 2015

Easy-to-obtain oral swab could be a game changer for TB control

Drawing inspiration from veterinary medicine, researchers at the University of Washington have helped developed a new prospective approach to diagnosing tuberculosis (TB) - easy-to-obtain oral swab samples, greatly improving on standard diagnostics.

3 Mar 2015

Anticholinergic medications associated with pneumonia risk in older people

Taking commonly used medications with anticholinergic effects is associated with a significantly higher risk for developing pneumonia in a study of more than 3,000 older Group Health patients living in the community--not in nursing homes.

3 Mar 2015

Modified measles vaccine effective against Chikungunya virus, study finds

A modified, conventional measles vaccine has the potential to act against the Chikungunya virus. This is the result of a study at the University Clinic for Clinical Pharmacology of the MedUni Wien (Medical University of Vienna), which has now been published in the top journal "The Lancet Infectious Diseases".

2 Mar 2015

Minihepcidin reverses iron overload of hemochromatosis, stops susceptibility to infections

Hemochromatosis (HH) is the most common genetic disorder in the western world, and yet is barely known. Only in the US 1 in 9 people carry the mutation (although not necessarily the disease).

2 Mar 2015

Findings may explain why HIV cure strategies have failed

A major hurdle to curing people of HIV infection is the way the virus hides in a reservoir composed primarily of dormant immune cells.

2 Mar 2015

CEGIR launches patient contact registry for people with eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases

To coincide with Rare Disease Day 2015, the Consortium of Eosinophilic Gastrointestinal Disease Researchers today launched a patient contact registry for individuals with eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGID), a group of rare diseases.

28 Feb 2015

WuXi applauds TaiMed for receiving FDA breakthrough therapy designation for ibalizumab

WuXi PharmaTech (Cayman) Inc., a leading open-access R&D capability and technology platform company serving the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industries with operations in China and the United States, congratulates our partner TaiMed Biologics for receiving breakthrough therapy designation from the U.S. FDA for ibalizumab (TMB355).

28 Feb 2015

Bioethics Commission makes recommendations on preparedness for public health emergencies

Today the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues (Bioethics Commission) reported that the federal government has both a prudential and a moral responsibility to actively participate in coordinated global responses to public health emergencies wherever they arise.

28 Feb 2015

New book provides in-depth, advanced understanding of Ebola and rabies viruses

Significant human and animal pathogens remain major scourges to human health. Recent devastating Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa underscores the importance of understanding the biology of replication and response of host cells to infection by these pathogens.

28 Feb 2015

Aggressive campaign to cut unnecessary use of antibiotics helps reduce drug-resistant bacteria

An aggressive campaign to reduce the unnecessary use of antibiotics has helped cut the rate of infection with a dangerous drug-resistant bacteria at The Valley Hospital by nearly 40 percent.

28 Feb 2015

NIAID partners with Liberian government to test ZMapp drug for Ebola virus disease

In partnership with the Liberian government, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases today launched a clinical trial to obtain safety and efficacy data on the investigational drug ZMapp as a treatment for Ebola virus disease. The study, which will be conducted in Liberia and the United States, is a randomized controlled trial enrolling adults and children with known Ebola virus infection.

27 Feb 2015

Disease/Infection News

Screening tool can help identify nations' vulnerability to Ebola

World first: Antimicrobial copper supermarket trolleys

Health systems in developing world need to be strengthened to stop Ebola-style outbreak

Scientists find gorilla origins in two human AIDS virus lineages

Researchers reveal how bacterial molecule controls the body's response to TB infection

Swiss teenager with classic sudden symptoms of stroke diagnosed with Lyme disease

Dengue fever circulating in urban areas of West Africa

Caltech researchers reveal new information that could help fight against hookworms

Scientists sequence genome of hookworm

Easy-to-obtain oral swab could be a game changer for TB control

Anticholinergic medications associated with pneumonia risk in older people

Modified measles vaccine effective against Chikungunya virus, study finds

Minihepcidin reverses iron overload of hemochromatosis, stops susceptibility to infections

Findings may explain why HIV cure strategies have failed

CEGIR launches patient contact registry for people with eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases

WuXi applauds TaiMed for receiving FDA breakthrough therapy designation for ibalizumab

Bioethics Commission makes recommendations on preparedness for public health emergencies

New book provides in-depth, advanced understanding of Ebola and rabies viruses

Aggressive campaign to cut unnecessary use of antibiotics helps reduce drug-resistant bacteria

NIAID partners with Liberian government to test ZMapp drug for Ebola virus disease

Redefining control and consistency in anaerobic microbiome workflows

AI in Healthcare: How generative tools are transforming clinical practice

The future of automation: Machine learning–driven hepatocyte and organoid counting

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