Disease/Infection News

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New drug proves to be effective in preventing spread of different flu strains

The new drug has been proven to be effective in preventing the spread of different strains of influenza in laboratory models - including resistant strains of the virus.

24 Feb 2013

Schistosome stem cells could explain how the worms survive for so many years

The parasites that cause schistosomiasis, one of the most common parasitic infections in the world, are notoriously long-lived. Researchers have now found stem cells inside the parasite that can regenerate worn-down organs, which may help explain how they can live for years or even decades inside their host.

24 Feb 2013

UNAIDS launches online platform to highlight relevant research

"UNAIDS has launched an online platform, UNAIDS Science now, which highlights some of those papers that are particularly relevant to the United Nations high level targets," the agency reports in an article on its webpage.

24 Feb 2013

Stopping malaria transmission has long-lasting benefits, review shows

"A review of malaria elimination conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Malaria Research Institute and other institutions and published in Science suggests stopping malaria transmission completely has long-lasting benefits for many countries and that once eliminated, the disease is unlikely to reemerge over time," a Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health press release reports.

24 Feb 2013

Washington University creates new type of air-cleaning technology

Washington University engineering researchers have created a new type of air-cleaning technology that could better protect human lungs from allergens, airborne viruses and ultrafine particles in the air.

23 Feb 2013

U.S. health officials outline new policies for funding research on H5N1 avian flu, other potentially dangerous agents

"U.S. health authorities on Thursday outlined the conditions for funding research on the H5N1 bird flu virus a month after scientists lifted a yearlong pause on the work that was imposed amid concerns it could be used by terrorists," Bloomberg reports.

23 Feb 2013

Widespread ART coverage can reduce risk of HIV infection, increase life expectancy of general population, studies show

"An intensive campaign to combat HIV/AIDS with costly antiretroviral drugs in rural South Africa has increased life expectancy by more than 11 years and significantly reduced the risk of infection for healthy individuals, according to new research," the Los Angeles Times reports.

23 Feb 2013

U.N. claims 'legal immunity' in case seeking compensation for Haiti cholera outbreak; Ban reiterates commitment to eliminating the disease

"The U.N. has taken the rare step of invoking its legal immunity to rebuff claims for compensation from 5,000 victims of the Haiti cholera epidemic, the worst outbreak of the disease in modern times and widely believed to have been caused by U.N. peacekeepers importing the infection into the country," the Guardian reports.

23 Feb 2013

New drug to safeguard against epidemic and pandemic flu strains

CSIRO scientists have helped to design a new drug to safeguard against epidemic and pandemic flu strains – as published in Science today.

22 Feb 2013

Evolution of PEPFAR necessary for continued success

PEPFAR has "met or even surpassed most" of its "bold goals," including "saving the lives of millions of people; supporting the scale-up of HIV prevention, care, and treatment; and strengthening systems and policies for the HIV response," Robert Black of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health writes in a Lancet opinion piece, noting the release of the Institute of Medicine's (IOM) "Evaluation of PEPFAR" on Wednesday.

22 Feb 2013

New molecular compounds can kill the influenza virus

Simon Fraser University virologist Masahiro Niikura and his doctoral student Nicole Bance are among an international group of scientists that has discovered a new class of molecular compounds capable of killing the influenza virus.

22 Feb 2013

With financial commitment, Obama can add 'end of AIDS' to his legacy

"In his State of the Union address, President Obama stated with confidence that the promise of an AIDS-free generation is within our reach," Archbishop Emeritus of Capetown Desmond Tutu writes in a USA Today opinion piece, adding, "We currently possess the power to begin to end a global pandemic that has killed 25 million and infected another 34 million."

22 Feb 2013

New leprosy test, experimental vaccine might hasten disease elimination, Slate reports

Slate examines a new rapid diagnostic test and an experimental vaccine for leprosy, both developed by the Infectious Disease Research Institute in Seattle, writing, "The two tools together could finally free humans from the vicious cycle of a disease that has afflicted the population for at least 4,000 years."

22 Feb 2013

Janssen submits simeprevir regulatory application in Japan to treat HCV

Medivir AB today announced that its partner Janssen now has submitted a regulatory application to the Japanese Ministry of Health & Welfare authorities seeking approval for simeprevir, administered with pegylated interferon (Peg-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV) for the treatment of genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C patients who are treatment naïve, prior non responders or relapsed following treatment with Peg-IFN with or without RBV.

22 Feb 2013

Majority of businesses are not adequately prepared for many types of disasters

A recent study by Saint Louis University researchers found that majority of businesses are not adequately prepared for many types of disasters, especially biological events such as a pandemic.

22 Feb 2013

Oral polio vaccine cold chain disruption in Pakistan could compromise immunization effectiveness, health officials warn

Health officials in Pakistan have formally complained to the WHO concerning the quality of oral polio vaccine (OPV) doses distributed by the U.N. body," SciDev.Net reports, noting 58 children became infected with polio in 2012 despite having received the vaccine.

22 Feb 2013

Vanderbilt investigators report new insights into workings of calprotectin

On the front lines of our defenses against bacteria is the protein calprotectin, which "starves" invading pathogens of metal nutrients. Vanderbilt investigators now report new insights to the workings of calprotectin - including a detailed structural view of how it binds the metal manganese.

22 Feb 2013

EASL unveils new publication - The burden of liver disease in Europe

Major progress has been made in the past 30 years in the knowledge and management of liver disease, yet approximately 29 million Europeans still suffer from a chronic liver condition. The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) today unveiled its new publication The burden of liver disease in Europe: a review of available epidemiological data.

22 Feb 2013

Scientists uncover atomic structure of dermcidin

An international team of scientists has discovered how an important natural antibiotic called dermcidin, produced by our skin when we sweat, is a highly efficient tool to fight tuberculosis germs and other dangerous bugs.

22 Feb 2013

Craniofacial surgeons recommend steps to reduce risk of pneumonitis from povidone-iodine

A routine step in preparing for cleft palate surgery in a child led to an unusual-but not unprecedented-case of lung inflammation (pneumonitis), according to a report in the The Journal of Craniofacial Surgery. The journal, edited by Mutaz B. Habal, MD, FRCSC, is published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

22 Feb 2013