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Study finds decline in rates of community-onset MRSA infections

In analysis that included more than 9 million Department of Defense nonactive and active duty personnel, the rates of both community-onset and hospital-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia decreased from 2005 to 2010, while the proportion of community-onset skin and soft tissue infections due to MRSA has more recently declined, according to a study in the July 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Jul 2012

Polio elimination hindered by unvaccinated children in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Too few children have received sufficient doses of vaccine to wipe out polio in Pakistan and Afghanistan, two of only three countries in the world where endemic polio has yet to be eliminated, according to new research published Online First in The Lancet. The findings suggest that the newly introduced bivalent oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) has the potential to eliminate polio in these countries if sufficient numbers of children could be reached by vaccination programmes.

4 Jul 2012

Shingles vaccine may not increase risk of varicella in people with auto-immune diseases

New research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham casts doubt on the long-standing belief that the vaccine for shingles should not be given to patients taking biologics for auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

4 Jul 2012

Researcher discovers how West Nile virus breaks through the tough blood-brain barrier to CNS

Mosquitoes are buzzing once again, and with that comes the threat of West Nile virus. Tom Hobman, a researcher with the Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, is making every effort to put an end to this potentially serious infection.

4 Jul 2012

Raising vitamin D concentrations reduces risk of HAIs among hospital patients

A paper recently published in Dermato-Endocrinology indicates that raising vitamin D concentrations among hospital patients has the potential to greatly reduce the risk of hospital-acquired infections.

4 Jul 2012

Former President Bush in Zambia, Botswana to promote Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative to fight cervical cancer

Former President George W. Bush and former first lady Laura Bush are traveling in Zambia and Botswana this week to promote "the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative spearheaded by his foundation that seeks to expand cervical and breast cancer screening and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa," CNN reports.

4 Jul 2012

New World Bank president says institution open to assisting high-income countries but gives no indication of refocusing

On his first day on the job, the World Bank's new president, Jim Yong Kim, said Monday "that the institution would be open to offering technical assistance to crisis-plagued high-income countries like Greece," the New York Times reports.

4 Jul 2012

OraSure Technologies receives FDA approval for new in-home HIV test

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test, the first over-the-counter, self-administered HIV test kit to detect the presence of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and type 2 (HIV-2).

4 Jul 2012

Being a parent influences health in a positive way

There is no question that being a parent is, at times, challenging both physically and mentally. However knowledge of the actual affect parenthood has on health has been inconsistent at best, until now. New research led by Carnegie Mellon University's Sheldon Cohen and Rodlescia S. Sneed shows that being a parent influences health in a positive way. Published in Psychosomatic Medicine, the research provides the first evidence that, when exposed to a common cold virus, parents are 52 percent less likely to develop a cold than non-parents.

4 Jul 2012

Cuban company's sales of larvicides to fight malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa continue despite U.N. concern, Miami Herald reports

The Cuban state-owned company Labiofam "is increasing sales of its mosquito larvicides to fight malaria in Africa, despite cautions by U.N. experts that such products have limited use and are not the most cost-effective method of attacking the disease," the Miami Herald reports.

4 Jul 2012

Study to investigate costs and benefits of home-based HIV testing in Malawi

HIV remains a huge killer in Sub-Saharan Africa; especially in Malawi where up to 18% of the population is HIV positive. Early detection of the virus coupled with appropriate treatment can enormously improve both quality and length of life after diagnosis, which is why researchers at Warwick Medical School are embarking on a study to investigate the costs and benefits of home-based HIV testing in Malawi.

4 Jul 2012

WSU researcher looks for clues on link between H1N1 flu and obesity

The recent H1N1 flu pandemic was found to be particularly dangerous to obese people, and a Wayne State University researcher is looking for clues as to why.

3 Jul 2012

Being a parent protects against cold: Study

Being a parent reduces your risk of catching a cold—possibly because of unknown "psychological or behavioral differences between parents and nonparents," according to a study in the July issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society.

3 Jul 2012

Research highlights three factors that could determine outbreak of pandemic flu

A major collaboration between US research centers has highlighted three factors that could ultimately determine whether an outbreak of influenza becomes a serious epidemic that threatens national health. The research suggests that the numbers in current response plans could be out by a factor of two or more depending on the characteristics of the particular pandemic influenza.

3 Jul 2012

IRIN examines antibiotic resistance, efforts to discover new drugs

IRIN examines a global increase in resistance to antibiotics, writing, "Almost one in every five deaths worldwide occurs as a result of infection, but many bacterial illnesses will become incurable as the efficacy of current antibiotic drugs wanes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)."

3 Jul 2012

Study shows link between changing rates of antibiotic consumption and resistance

A new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online shows how seasonal changes in outpatient antibiotic use - retail sales of antibiotics typically get a boost during the winter - can significantly alter seasonal patterns of drug resistance. The findings suggest that hospital campaigns to reduce inappropriate antibiotic use should be coordinated with efforts in the broader community if they are to be most effective.

3 Jul 2012

Study identifies possible new approach to defeat bacterial infections

Research led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists has identified a possible new approach to defeating bacterial infections by targeting an innate immune system component in a bid to invigorate the immune response.

3 Jul 2012

Bacterial vaginosis associated with increased risk of HIV transmission from women to men, study shows

Bacterial vaginosis (BV), a condition characterized by a disruption in normal vaginal bacteria, is associated with a more than three-fold increased risk of HIV transmission from an infected woman with the condition to her uninfected male partner, according to a study published June 26 in PLoS Medicine, VOA News reports.

3 Jul 2012

Study examines prevalence of pain among HIV patients in two Ugandan outpatient sites

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 69 percent of HIV cases worldwide and 72 percent of AIDS deaths. A study published in The Journal of Pain showed that pain is highly prevalent among well functioning HIV patients in Africa, has a debilitating impact of quality of life, and there is a significant level of unmet need for pain relief.

3 Jul 2012

Study investigates association between SCC and cutaneous HPV types belonging to five different genera

Researchers at Moffitt Cancer Center and colleagues at the University of South Florida, the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, conducted a case control study and found associations between having antibodies to certain types of cutaneous human papillomavirus (HPV) and a kind of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma (SCC).

2 Jul 2012

Disease/Infection News

Study finds decline in rates of community-onset MRSA infections

Polio elimination hindered by unvaccinated children in Pakistan and Afghanistan

Shingles vaccine may not increase risk of varicella in people with auto-immune diseases

Researcher discovers how West Nile virus breaks through the tough blood-brain barrier to CNS

Raising vitamin D concentrations reduces risk of HAIs among hospital patients

Former President Bush in Zambia, Botswana to promote Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative to fight cervical cancer

New World Bank president says institution open to assisting high-income countries but gives no indication of refocusing

OraSure Technologies receives FDA approval for new in-home HIV test

Being a parent influences health in a positive way

Cuban company's sales of larvicides to fight malaria-carrying mosquitoes in Africa continue despite U.N. concern, Miami Herald reports

Study to investigate costs and benefits of home-based HIV testing in Malawi

WSU researcher looks for clues on link between H1N1 flu and obesity

Being a parent protects against cold: Study

Research highlights three factors that could determine outbreak of pandemic flu

IRIN examines antibiotic resistance, efforts to discover new drugs

Study shows link between changing rates of antibiotic consumption and resistance

Study identifies possible new approach to defeat bacterial infections

Bacterial vaginosis associated with increased risk of HIV transmission from women to men, study shows

Study examines prevalence of pain among HIV patients in two Ugandan outpatient sites

Study investigates association between SCC and cutaneous HPV types belonging to five different genera

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