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Infection with dengue virus turns on feeding-related genes in mosquitoes

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have, for the first time, shown that infection with dengue virus turns on mosquito genes that makes them hungrier and better feeders, and therefore possibly more likely to spread the disease to humans.

30 Mar 2012

Basidiobolomycosis appears to be emerging in the Southwestern U.S.

An emerging fungal infection of the gastrointestinal tract that mimics cancer and inflammatory bowel disease appears to be emerging in the Southwestern United States and other desert regions, according to Mayo Clinic researchers in Arizona investigating the disease. The invasive fungus, Basidiobolus ranarum, is typically found in the soil, decaying organic matter and the gastrointestinal tracts of fish, reptiles, amphibians, and bats.

30 Mar 2012

Researchers, experts debate publication of H5N1 research amid updated studies

"As researchers from both sides of the debate over two controversial H5N1 studies weighed in Tuesday on full publication versus a more cautionary approach, two U.S. journals" -- the Journal of Infectious Diseases (JID) and its sister publication, Clinical Infectious Diseases -- "said they are developing policies to address any future such instances," CIDRAP News writes.

30 Mar 2012

Small electrical sensors can quickly detect MRSA infection

A simple test to identify MRSA in wounds could identify the superbug quickly and help prevent infection from spreading.

30 Mar 2012

Scientific research is crucial to preventing, controlling, eradicating infectious diseases

The debate about two studies showing that, with few genetic mutations, H5N1 bird flu strains could become more easily transmissible among ferrets, a laboratory model for humans, "has become a debate about the role of science in society.

30 Mar 2012

Health workers feeling effects of staff, supply shortages at clinics in southwestern Uganda

Health workers with Medical Teams International, a medical non-governmental organization, "say they are overwhelmed" by high demand at five health clinics in two southwestern Ugandan refugee centers, PlusNews reports.

30 Mar 2012

Treatment areas of ambulances fared well when tested for dangerous bacteria

Treatment areas of ambulances fared well when tested for dangerous bacteria, according to a new study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

30 Mar 2012

Women with HIV superinfection have more potent antibody responses

Women who have been infected by two different strains of HIV from two different sexual partners - a condition known as HIV superinfection - have more potent antibody responses that block the replication of the virus compared to women who've only been infected once. These findings, by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, are published online March 29 in PLoS Pathogens.

30 Mar 2012

NABJ convenes first day of annual Media Institute on Health conference

Today, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convened the first day of its annual Media Institute on Health: Health Policy and Health Inequities, March 29-31, at the Kaiser Family Foundation's Barbara Jordan Conference Center.

30 Mar 2012

HPV-related head and neck cancer on the rise among middle-aged white men

Research led by Lauren Cole, a public health graduate student, and Dr. Edward Peters, Associate Professor of Public Health and Director of the Epidemiology Program at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, reports that the incidence of head and neck cancer has risen at sites associated with Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection, with the greatest increase among middle-aged white men.

30 Mar 2012

Avian and swine flu viruses hijack genetic regulators during human infection

Researchers at the University of British Columbia have identified a number of tiny but powerful "genetic regulators" that are hijacked by avian and swine flu viruses during human infection.

29 Mar 2012

Nomir announces data from Noveon Laser pivotal trial on onychomycosis

Nomir Medical Technologies, Inc., a leader in novel photobiology and laser therapies, announced today that new data from its landmark pivotal onychomycosis trial first published in the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association (JAPMA) has once again been published in this prestigious journal. The new paper, which reports on a 270 day onychomycosis clinical trial, offers further scientific support for using the Noveon lasers as an effective therapeutic treatment.

29 Mar 2012

Ethiopia's workplace HIV/AIDS policy aims to help employers, employees nationwide

Ethiopia's new HIV/AIDS workplace policy, instituted in January by the government in cooperation with the country's main employees' and employers' associations, "is expected to protect job seekers from mandatory HIV tests, while facilitating voluntary counseling and testing and defending the right of employees living with HIV to medical leave or job re-allocation," PlusNews reports.

29 Mar 2012

Vaccination for HPV reduces risk of renewed disease

The vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) reduces the risk of a renewed HPV-associated illness in patients who have already had diseases as a consequence of an HPV infection.

29 Mar 2012

Global Fund's general manager discusses future direction, achievement of fund in interview

Gabriel Jaramillo, general manager of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, "has given an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, in which he outlines the direction and achievements to-date in making the Global Fund a more efficient and successful organization," according to a Global Fund press release.

29 Mar 2012

Broad-ranging CVBD prevention key element of animal health planning

As part of its ongoing commitment to the scientific community, Bayer Animal Health today marked their seventh year of support for the CVBD World Forum (CVBD7) in Berlin, Germany; and this year's meeting has again proven to be a landmark in the understanding of CVBDs.

29 Mar 2012

Lack of aid money in Haiti threatening health, human rights of displaced people, U.N. official warns

"The United Nations warned on Tuesday that a lack of aid money for Haiti was putting hundreds of thousands of displaced people at risk by forcing humanitarian agencies to cut services in one of the world's poorest countries," Reuters reports.

29 Mar 2012

Philippines health department reports 72% increase in number of HIV cases recorded in February 2012 versus 2011

"Philippine health authorities diagnosed 274 people with new cases of HIV/AIDS in February this year, the health department said, adding the new figure represented a 72 percent rise compared with 159 cases reported in February 2011," Gulf News reports.

29 Mar 2012

Mere presence in a room can add 37 million bacteria

A person's mere presence in a room can add 37 million bacteria to the air every hour - material largely left behind by previous occupants and stirred up from the floor - according to new research by Yale University engineers.

29 Mar 2012

P. falciparum colonizes America via two separate introduction routes: Study

The malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, originates from Africa, and is found on every continent. Over 200 million people are infected every year from Africa to Asia, as well as in America and the Middle East. How did it spread to the entire planet? It is not entirely clear how it conquered the New World. Scientists from the UMR Migevec and their partners have recently shown in the journal PNAS that the pathogen was introduced by ship during the slave trade.

29 Mar 2012