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Potential new active substances for treating dengue virus

Researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg are proposing potential new active substances for treating the dengue virus. Just like Ebola, dengue fever is also caused by a virus for which there is currently no cure and no vaccine and can be fatal.

11 Dec 2014

Added benefit of daclatasvir drug not proven for chronic hepatitis C infection

The drug daclatasvir (trade name Daklinza) has been available since August 2014 for the treatment of adults with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection. The German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care examined in a dossier assessment whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy.

11 Dec 2014

Simple tips to keep families safe from flu

The flu, or seasonal influenza virus, is extremely unpredictable. Its severity can vary widely from one season to the next depending on many things, including the strains of flu spreading, availability of vaccines, how many people get vaccinated and how well the flu vaccine is matched to the flu viruses circulating each season.

10 Dec 2014

Treatment guidelines lacking for Ebola patients, say infectious diseases experts

As the Ebola Virus Diseases (EVD) epidemic continues to rage in West Africa, infectious diseases experts call attention to the striking lack of treatment guidelines. With over 16,000 total cases and more than 500 new infections reported per week, and probable underreporting of both cases and fatalities, the medical community still does not have specific approved treatment in place for Ebola, according to an editorial published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.

10 Dec 2014

Bayer, DNDi sign first agreement to develop new oral treatment for onchocerciasis

Bayer HealthCare and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) have signed an agreement under which Bayer will provide the active ingredient emodepside to support DNDi in its effort to develop a new oral drug to treat river blindness (or onchocerciasis). The world's second leading infectious cause of blindness, river blindness is a neglected tropical disease caused by a filarial worm.

10 Dec 2014

Advances in fight against TB, sudden cardiac death

Research projects into two of the biggest killers in worldwide health, tuberculosis and sudden cardiac death, will be the subjects of the University of Leicester Graduate School Doctoral Inaugural Lectures, delivered by two of the winners of this year's PhD prizes in the College of Medicine, Biological Sciences and Engineering.

10 Dec 2014

Study: Simeprevir-based therapy proves effective in treating chronic HCV infection

Researchers at Penn Medicine, in collaboration with a multi-center international team, have shown that a protease inhibitor, simeprevir, a once a day pill, along with interferon and ribavirin has proven as effective in treating chronic Hepatitis C virus infection (HCV) as telaprevir with interferon and ribavirin, the standard of care in developing countries.

10 Dec 2014

Immunizing school-aged children from flu can protect others as well

Mathematical models predicted it, and now a University of Florida study confirms it: Immunizing school-aged children from flu can protect other segments of the population, as well.

10 Dec 2014

Drug proves effective at inhibiting growth of drug-resistant bacteria

A treatment pioneered at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research is far more effective than traditional antibiotics at inhibiting the growth of drug-resistant bacteria, including so-called "superbugs" resistant to almost all existing antibiotics, which plague hospitals and nursing homes.

10 Dec 2014

Bed nets alone are enough to protect against malaria, study suggests

The combined use of spraying insecticide inside homes and insecticide-treated bed nets is no better at protecting children against malaria than using bed nets alone, a study in The Gambia suggests. The findings, published in The Lancet, should encourage donors to invest their limited resources in additional bed nets, the more cost-effective solution to tackling malaria.

10 Dec 2014

Focus Diagnostics' Simplexa Flu A/B & RSV Direct Kit receive FDA clearance

As the 2014-2015 flu season begins, Focus Diagnostics, the products business of Quest Diagnostics, today announced that its Simplexa Flu A/B & RSV Direct Kit has received FDA clearance for eight additional influenza strains. These strains may pose significant potential health risks and may be circulating this winter.

From Quest Diagnostics 9 Dec 2014

Cannabis Science, CFA partner to improve health-related education infrastructure in Africa

Cannabis Science, Inc., a U.S. Company specializing in cannabis formulation-based drug development and related consulting, is pleased to announce its President & CEO, Mr. Raymond C. Dabney, along with CBIS's Senior Scientific Advisor, Dr. Roscoe M. Moore, Jr., have initiated a partnership between CBIS and the Constituency for Africa to help improve the healthcare and health-related education infrastructure in Africa.

9 Dec 2014

ContraVir begins pharmacokinetic study of FV-100 for treating shingles

ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of targeted antiviral therapies, announced today that it has initiated a pharmacokinetic (PK) study of FV-100, the Company's clinical-stage antiviral for treating shingles.

9 Dec 2014

Malaria deaths decline by 54% in Africa, 47% worldwide

The number of people dying from malaria has fallen dramatically since 2000 and malaria cases are also steadily declining, according to the World Malaria Report 2014. Between 2000 and 2013, the malaria mortality rate decreased by 47% worldwide and by 54% in the WHO African Region - where about 90% of malaria deaths occur.

9 Dec 2014

Researchers test new nanopore DNA sequencing technology to detect cause of antibiotic resistance

New nanopore DNA sequencing technology on a device the size of a USB stick could be used to diagnose infection - according to new research from the University of East Anglia and Public Health England.

From Oxford Nanopore Technologies 9 Dec 2014

Researchers develop nanomimics of host cell membranes that trick malaria parasites

Malaria parasites invade human red blood cells, they then disrupt them and infect others. Researchers at the University of Basel and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute have now developed so-called nanomimics of host cell membranes that trick the parasites. This could lead to novel treatment and vaccination strategies in the fight against malaria and other infectious diseases.

9 Dec 2014

Study shows seasonal flu vaccines may protect individuals against many different viruses

Seasonal flu vaccines may protect individuals not only against the strains of flu they contain but also against many additional types, according to a study published this week in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology.

9 Dec 2014

Simple rectal swab cultures can thwart drug-resistant E. coli in patients undergoing TRUSBx procedures

Some infections after prostate biopsy due to drug-resistant Escherichia coli can be thwarted by simple rectal swab cultures prior to the procedure. The cultures test for antibiotic-resistant E. coli, and the findings are used to direct the selection of antimicrobial prophylaxis used for the procedure, according to Rhode Island Hospital researchers.

9 Dec 2014

Rutgers researcher receives NIH grant to develop rapid test to diagnose Ebola

Rutgers researcher David Alland, working with the California biotechnology company Cepheid, has received a grant of nearly $640,000 from the National Institutes of Health to develop a rapid test to diagnose Ebola as well as other viruses that can cause symptoms similar to Ebola.

8 Dec 2014

Corrective information can successfully reduce false beliefs about flu vaccines

With health systems in the U.S., U.K., and around the world trying to increase vaccination levels, it is critical to understand how to address vaccine hesitancy and counter myths about vaccine safety. A new article in the journal "Vaccine" concludes, however, that correcting myths about vaccines may not be the most effective approach to promoting immunization among vaccine skeptics.

8 Dec 2014

Disease/Infection News

Potential new active substances for treating dengue virus

Added benefit of daclatasvir drug not proven for chronic hepatitis C infection

Simple tips to keep families safe from flu

Treatment guidelines lacking for Ebola patients, say infectious diseases experts

Bayer, DNDi sign first agreement to develop new oral treatment for onchocerciasis

Advances in fight against TB, sudden cardiac death

Study: Simeprevir-based therapy proves effective in treating chronic HCV infection

Immunizing school-aged children from flu can protect others as well

Drug proves effective at inhibiting growth of drug-resistant bacteria

Bed nets alone are enough to protect against malaria, study suggests

Focus Diagnostics' Simplexa Flu A/B & RSV Direct Kit receive FDA clearance

Cannabis Science, CFA partner to improve health-related education infrastructure in Africa

ContraVir begins pharmacokinetic study of FV-100 for treating shingles

Malaria deaths decline by 54% in Africa, 47% worldwide

Researchers test new nanopore DNA sequencing technology to detect cause of antibiotic resistance

Researchers develop nanomimics of host cell membranes that trick malaria parasites

Study shows seasonal flu vaccines may protect individuals against many different viruses

Simple rectal swab cultures can thwart drug-resistant E. coli in patients undergoing TRUSBx procedures

Rutgers researcher receives NIH grant to develop rapid test to diagnose Ebola

Corrective information can successfully reduce false beliefs about flu vaccines

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