Disease/Infection News

RSS

Researchers figure out 3D shape of promising TB drug target

Researchers at Johns Hopkins have figured out the three-dimensional shape of the protein responsible for creating unique bonds within the cell wall of the bacteria that cause tuberculosis. The bonds make the bacteria resistant to currently available drug therapies, contributing to the alarming rise of these super-bacteria throughout the world.

26 Oct 2012

Contaminated drug passed lab test

Products from the Massachusetts pharmacy linked to the deadly meningitis outbreak passed a lab test in May, reports The Wall Street Journal. In addition, the pharmacy dodged a reprimand by Massachusetts regulators in 2004 after protesting it would be "fatal to the business." The company's founders come under scrutiny by media outlets as more people file lawsuits.

26 Oct 2012

Opinion pieces published in recognition of World Polio Day

The following opinion pieces were published on Wednesday in recognition of World Polio Day, observed annually on October 24.

26 Oct 2012

Malawi needs donor support to maintain HIV/AIDS treatment program

In the last of a series of posts on the U.K. Department for International Development's (DfID) blog examining the department's work in Malawi, Neil Squires, DfID head of profession for health, looks at the sustainability of the country's HIV/AIDS program.

26 Oct 2012

Associated Press examines access to antiretroviral treatment in Myanmar

The Associated Press examines access to antiretroviral treatment in Myanmar, which "ranks among the world's hardest places to get HIV care, and health experts warn it will take years to prop up a broken health system hobbled by decades of neglect."

26 Oct 2012

Study finds pollution as dangerous to health in developing world as malaria, TB

"Industrial pollution is putting the health of 125 million people at risk worldwide and is as dangerous in the developing world as malaria or tuberculosis, according to a new report," titled "2012 World's Worst Pollution Problems," Reuters/ABC Science reports.

26 Oct 2012

Differing opinions about AMFm 'unlikely to be resolved' after Global Fund decision on program's future

In her "Global Health Blog," Guardian health editor Sarah Boseley examines the Affordable Medicines Facility-malaria (AMFm), "which aims to enable countries to increase the provision of affordable artemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) through not only the public sector but also the private sector and [non-governmental organizations (NGOs)]."

26 Oct 2012

Researchers identify new means to eradicate malaria infections

Researchers have identified a new means to eradicate malaria infections by rapidly killing the blood-borne Plasmodium parasites that cause the disease.

26 Oct 2012

UNICEF calls for 'finishing' global polio eradication; Rotary International warns of funding shortfall in India

UNICEF on Wednesday "called for continued dedication in 'finishing the job' in eradicating polio, while also applauding India for being 'declared polio free' for the first time in history," Xinhua reports. "UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake said in a statement released … on World Polio Day, which falls on Oct. 24, that 'fewer children than ever before suffer the debilitating effects of this cruel disease,'" the news service writes.

26 Oct 2012

Central African Republic town struggling to provide health care since withdrawal of foreign companies, VOA reports

VOA News examines how the 2009 withdrawal of foreign diamond-mining companies from the small town of Carnot in the Central African Republic (CAR) affected the local economy and access to health care for residents.

26 Oct 2012

CUMC researchers develop first true mouse model of typhoid infection

Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) researchers have created the first true mouse model of typhoid infection. The development promises to advance the study of typhoid and the creation of new vaccines against the infection, which remains a major health threat in developing countries.

26 Oct 2012

Artificial CSP proteins reduce S. pneumoniae competence y more than 90%

The bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae - which can cause pneumonia, meningitis, bacteremia and sepsis - likes to share its antibiotic-defeating weaponry with its neighbors. Individual cells can pass resistance genes to one another through a process called horizontal gene transfer, or by "transformation," the uptake of DNA from the environment.

26 Oct 2012

Population Health Management discusses latest information on shingles and PHN

Shingles, a reactivation of the herpes zoster (chickenpox) virus affects nearly 1 in 3 Americans. About 1 million cases are diagnosed each year, with some patients suffering excruciating pain and itching due to post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), a complication of the viral infection that can last for years despite treatment.

26 Oct 2012

Simple approach results in low rates of MRSA infections

High compliance with hand hygiene and focusing on other simple infection control measures on medical, surgical and neuroscience intensive care units resulted in reduced rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection by 95 percent in a nine-year study, according to research findings by Virginia Commonwealth University physicians presented during IDWeek 2012.

26 Oct 2012

Guidelines to help protect vulnerable populations from flu

While it is important to get vaccinated against the flu virus as early as possible, it is never too late to reap the benefits of this vaccine. According to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the peak months for the spread of the flu virus are January and February and the season can last into mid-May.

26 Oct 2012

USPTO issues patent to Tobira’s cenicriviroc for treatment of HIV-1 infection

Tobira Therapeutics, Inc., developer of innovative antiretroviral therapies for HIV, today announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent 8,183,273, claiming compositions of matter of a broad family of compounds with activity against chemokine receptors CCR5 and CCR2.

26 Oct 2012

Durata completes target enrollment in dalbavancin Phase 3 trial for ABSSSI

Durata Therapeutics today announced that it has completed its target enrollment for DISCOVER 2 ("Dalbavancin for Infections of the Skin COmpared to Vancomycin at an Early Response"), the second global, Phase 3 clinical trial of Durata's lead product candidate, dalbavancin, under investigation for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections (ABSSSI) caused by susceptible gram-positive bacteria.

26 Oct 2012

UC Riverside entomologists reconstruct the evolutionary history of assassin bugs

Assassin bugs, so named because these insects lie in ambush for prey that they attack with speed and precision, are found all over the world. Nearly 140 species of these bugs are blood-sucking; because they can bite humans around the mouth, they are also called kissing bugs. All kissing bugs can spread Chagas disease, a neglected tropical disease that imposes an economic burden on society.

26 Oct 2012

Winter safety tips for older adults

Winter is a special time for celebration. It should also be a time for added caution if you or someone in your family is an older adult. It is the season for falls, slips on icy streets and other dangers that can be especially harmful for older adults.

25 Oct 2012

New York Times blog features interview with Indian polio expert

To mark World Polio Day, the New York Times' "India Ink" blog features an interview with Naveen Thacker, a member of the team that led India's polio eradication efforts. The country has not recorded a new case of polio since January 2011 and is in line to be declared polio-free in January 2014 if no new cases occur, according to the blog.

25 Oct 2012