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Family members of children with staph infections often harbor drug-resistant germs

Family members of children with a staph infection often harbor a drug-resistant form of the germ, although they don't show symptoms, a team of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis has found.

5 Jun 2012

Bangladesh may be facing HIV epidemic, Inter Press Service reports

"Bangladesh has shown low HIV prevalence rates so far but may be silently moving towards an epidemic, say experts pointing to underreporting and poor monitoring for the virus in the general population," Inter Press Service reports.

5 Jun 2012

USAID Administrator Shah addresses fight against HIV in children

In this post in the AIDS.gov blog, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah discusses global efforts to end HIV infections in children. "

5 Jun 2012

Experts respond to PLoS editorial comparing Chagas disease to HIV/AIDS

"Chagas disease, a parasitic infection spread to humans by insects, is not the new HIV/AIDS of the Americas, according to infectious disease experts who called the comparison," made in an editorial published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases last week, "'unrealistic' and 'unfortunate,'" ABC News' "Medical Unit" blog reports.

5 Jun 2012

Joint UNAIDS/UNDP briefing highlights potential impacts of free trade agreements on public health

"A new UNAIDS/UNDP joint issues brief highlights the potential impacts of free trade agreements on public health," UNAIDS reports in a feature story on its website. "The brief concludes that 'to retain the benefits of [flexibilities in the World Trade Organization Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)], countries at a minimum should avoid entering into free trade agreements that contain obligations that can impact on pharmaceutical price or availability,'" the article states.

5 Jun 2012

Risk of recurrent shingles episode is relatively low: Study

People who have had an episode of herpes zoster, also known as shingles, face a relatively low short-term risk of developing shingles, according to a Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published online in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. These findings suggest that among people with immune systems that have not been compromised, the risk of a second shingles episode is low.

5 Jun 2012

Zimbabwe's successful PMTCT efforts serve as a 'model' for other countries in drive to eliminate pediatric AIDS

"Zimbabwe is one of the key countries to watch in the drive to eliminate pediatric AIDS in Africa," Chip Lyons, president and CEO of the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, writes in this post in the Huffington Post's "Global Motherhood" blog.

5 Jun 2012

Australian medical researchers hope to block Hendra virus in humans

Australian medical researchers are on the brink of an effective human treatment for the deadly Hendra virus, and potentially the closely related Nipah virus, which has killed more than two hundred people in South East Asia.

5 Jun 2012

ViroPharma initiates maribavir Phase 2 program for CMV infections

ViroPharma Incorporated today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 program to evaluate maribavir for the treatment of cytomegalovirus infections in transplant recipients.

4 Jun 2012

Prisoners need education on the appropriate use of topical antibiotic products

Prisoners need education on the appropriate use of topical antibiotic products, according to a study released today at the 39th Annual Educational Conference and International Meeting of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

4 Jun 2012

New research: Foggers ineffective against bed bugs

Consumer products known as "bug bombs" or "foggers" have been sold for decades for use against many common household insects. However, recent research published in the Journal of Economic Entomology (JEE) shows these products to be ineffective against bed bugs.

4 Jun 2012

Engineered proteins demonstrate flu-fighting potency

Computer-designed proteins are under construction to fight the flu. Researchers are demonstrating that proteins found in nature, but that do not normally bind the flu, can be engineered to act as broad-spectrum antiviral agents against a variety of flu virus strains, including H1N1 pandemic influenza.

2 Jun 2012

Chagas disease could pose threat similar to other global pandemics, experts warn

"Researchers are warning that the little-known Chagas disease could pose a threat similar to other global pandemics," Fox News reports, noting Chagas disease "is a parasitic illness that is most commonly transmitted by the so-called 'kissing bugs,' a subfamily of blood-sucking insects, through the parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi" (5/31).

2 Jun 2012

UV disinfection may reduce CDI in hospitals and LTCFs

In a recently published article, "Decontamination with Ultraviolet Radiation to Prevent Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection in 2 Roommates in a Long-Term Care Facility" (Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, 05/2012), researchers shared the results of a trial that used Tru-D SmartUVC to prevent coincident recurrent CDI episodes in roommates in a Long-Term Care Facility (LTCF).

2 Jun 2012

Pakistan looks to India for guidance on polio eradication efforts

"Impressed with India's successful effort in polio eradication," a nine-member Pakistani delegation on Thursday met India's health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and senior officials of the Ministry to discuss the country's polio eradication program, the Press Trust of India/Business Standard reports, noting that India achieved a polio-free status as of January.

2 Jun 2012

HIV markets in rich, poor countries are two distinct markets

HIV drugs have not only "transformed a fatal disease into a chronic one," but "[t]hey have also made HIV a big business," this Economist editorial states.

2 Jun 2012

Smoke from cooking fires associated with cognitive deficits in children

Children exposed to open-fire cooking in developing countries experience difficulty with memory, problem-solving and social skills, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside and Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif.

2 Jun 2012

NYUCD receives NIH grant for ‘Biomarkers of Periodontal Disease Progression’ project

New York University College of Dentistry has been selected as one of five institutions that are sharing a $20.7 million grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH) to the Forsyth Institute to find new ways to diagnose and fight periodontal disease.

1 Jun 2012

WHO hopes to host second meeting on issues related to 'dual-use' research

"The World Health Organization (WHO) hopes to hold a meeting late this fall to discuss 'dual-use' research issues raised in the controversy over publication of two studies involving lab-modified H5N1 viruses with increased transmissibility, a WHO official said," CIDRAP News reports.

1 Jun 2012

Large-scale, coordinated effort needed to stop increase in HIV transmission among MSM in China

HIV transmission in China is increasing faster among men who have sex with men (MSM) than in any other population, a trend that "cannot continue," a group of researchers working in China write in a Nature commentary, adding, "Policymakers, public health researchers, clinicians, educators, community leaders and other stakeholders in China must come together to educate everyone, and gay men in particular, about HIV prevention and treatment -- before any more people become infected as a result of ignorance and fear."

1 Jun 2012