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Older antibiotic shows success in treating drug-resistant TB in small study

"An antibiotic used to treat severe bacterial infections showed promise at treating a highly drug-resistant and deadly form of tuberculosis [TB]," according to a study conducted by U.S. government and South Korean researchers and published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday, Reuters reports (Steenhuysen, 10/17).

20 Oct 2012

Physician shares lessons learned from fungal meningitis outbreak

In a new perspective piece being published Online First tonight in Annals of Internal Medicine, a physician recalls lessons learned from treating patients affected by the 2002 outbreak of Exophiala (Wangiella) dermatitidis meningitis or arthritis related to contaminated, injectable coticosteroids prepared from a compounding pharmacy.

20 Oct 2012

Researchers identify crucial stage in the lifecycle of simple viruses

Researchers at the University of Leeds have identified a crucial stage in the lifecycle of simple viruses like polio and the common cold that could open a new front in the war on viral disease.

20 Oct 2012

Most compounding pharmacies are not accredited

News outlets, following the story about a deadly meningitis outbreak linked to drugs provided by a compounding pharmacy, explore the issue of accreditation, how many more people are at risk and what leads doctors to use these drugs.

20 Oct 2012

GAPA empowers grandmothers to care for their families affected by HIV/AIDS

New research presented today at the first Africa Regional Conference on Gerontology and Geriatrics concluded that Grandmothers Against Poverty & AIDS, a nonprofit grantee of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation's SECURE THE FUTURE- programme, has been a driving force in empowering grandmothers whose families have been affected by HIV/AIDS to cope with the emotional and economic demands of caring for their families.

20 Oct 2012

Researchers concerned over likely rise in older people living with HIV in sub-Saharan Africa

"Sub-Saharan Africa is likely to see a more than 200 percent increase in the number of older people living with HIV in the next 30 years, thanks to improvements in life-saving treatment, experts said Thursday," Agence France-Presse reports.

20 Oct 2012

NPR series on polio examines efforts to fight disease in India

In its ongoing series examining efforts to eradicate polio, NPR's "All Things Considered" on Thursday examined India's continuing efforts to stamp out the disease, noting the country "marked a milestone when the World Health Organization struck it from the list of polio-endemic countries in February after no new cases were reported for more than a year."

20 Oct 2012

Study finds dramatic increase in acute throat infection admissions in England

The number of children admitted to hospital in England for acute throat infections increased by 76 per cent between 1999 and 2010, according to new research published today in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

20 Oct 2012

Shingles vaccine reduces risk of herpes zoster disease in older patients

Older adults who get the shingles vaccine have a nearly 50 percent reduced risk of developing the often debilitating disease, finds a new evidence review from The Cochrane Library.

20 Oct 2012

New data shows influenza-associated deaths among children, effectiveness of school vaccinations

New data being presented at IDWeek 2012TM shows the fatal risk that influenza poses even for children without underlying health conditions and the effectiveness of school-based vaccination programs in protecting student populations.

20 Oct 2012

Canadian journal examines HIV in Swaziland

The Canadian Medical Association Journal reports on HIV in the Kingdom of Swaziland, writing the country "now has the dubious distinction of having the world's highest rate of both HIV and tuberculosis (TB)."

20 Oct 2012

New discovery could help revolutionize antibiotic treatment of bacteria

Three Simon Fraser University scientists are among six researchers who've made a discovery that could help revolutionize antibiotic treatment of deadly bacteria.

20 Oct 2012

Sanofi Pasteur files Fluzone sBLA with FDA for treatment of influenza

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today that it has filed a Supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a quadrivalent formulation of its Fluzone (Influenza Virus Vaccine).

20 Oct 2012

Novel therapy that uses human stool is safe and highly effective in treating C.diff infection

A novel therapy that uses donated human stool to treat the deadly and contagious C.diff infection is safe and highly effective, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study.

20 Oct 2012

Survey: Nearly 38% of lesbians less likely to have routine cervical cancer screening

Nearly 38 percent of lesbians polled in a national survey were not routinely screened for cervical cancer, putting them at risk of developing a highly preventable cancer, according to a University of Maryland School of Medicine study being presented at the 11th Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research.

19 Oct 2012

Carob extracts may combat listeriosis

Leaves of the plant that yields carob - the substitute for chocolate that some consider healthier than chocolate - are a rich source of antibacterial substances ideal for fighting the microbe responsible for listeriosis, a serious form of food poisoning, according to a report in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

19 Oct 2012

Babies born to HIV positive mothers more likely to acquire measles

Non-infected babies born to HIV positive mothers should be vaccinated early against measles, to avoid them acquiring the virus or passing it on to others.

19 Oct 2012

Link between norovirus outbreaks and excess hospitalization and mortality in nursing homes

In a study that included more than 300 Medicare-certified nursing homes, rates of hospitalization and death were substantially increased during outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis vs. non-outbreak periods, according to a study appearing in the October 24/31 issue of JAMA.

19 Oct 2012

NPR series on polio examines efforts to fight disease in Pakistan

In its ongoing series examining efforts to eradicate polio, NPR's "All Things Considered" aired a story on Wednesday looking at how health care workers in Pakistan are attempting to overcome challenges to immunizing the child population.

19 Oct 2012

Linezolid proves effective in treating drug-resistant TB

When tested in patients hospitalized with extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB) unresponsive to previous treatment, linezolid, an antibiotic used to treat severe bacterial infections, proved largely effective when added to the patients' ongoing TB treatment regimen.

19 Oct 2012