Disease/Infection News

RSS

HPV and smear tests offer more effective approach for cervical screening

Testing for the human papillomavirus (HPV) - a virus most women will encounter at some point in their lives - followed by a smear test if they are HPV positive, provides the most effective approach for cervical screening, new research shows today.

1 Mar 2012

Researchers observe how cholera decimates competing bacteria and human cells

Bacteria live in a state of perpetual warfare, with different species battling for dominion over their competitors and when pathogen, over their infected host. New research suggests that the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae, which causes the disease cholera, kills off its microbial rivals by jabbing them with a spring-loaded poison dagger.

1 Mar 2012

Ultrasound-based TE more accurate in detecting hepatic fibrosis

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic confirm that ultrasound-based transient elastography (TE) provides excellent diagnostic accuracy for detecting cirrhosis due to recurrent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection following liver transplantation.

1 Mar 2012

Group requests more research, better communication from WHO on use of hormonal contraceptives, HIV risk

"The International Community of Women Living with HIV (ICW) expressed concern Monday over the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Technical Statement on Hormonal Contraceptives and HIV and its accompanying press release," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog reports.

1 Mar 2012

First clinical assessment of how interferon fights infections in people

A drug once taken by people with HIV/AIDS but long ago shelved after newer, modern antiretroviral therapies became available has now shed light on how the human body uses its natural immunity to fight the virus—work that could help uncover new targets for drugs.

1 Mar 2012

FDA approves MedImmune's FluMist Quadrivalent vaccine

MedImmune today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved FluMist Quadrivalent (Influenza Vaccine Live, Intranasal) for prevention of influenza.

29 Feb 2012

iBio receives U.S. patent for fusion-protein vaccine technology

iBio, Inc. today announced issuance of a US patent covering the use of iBio's proprietary fusion-protein technology in combination with influenza virus antigens for vaccine product applications.

29 Feb 2012

HIV treatment to be extended to asylum seekers in UK

Now foreign nationals are to be offered free treatment for HIV under the NHS under plans backed by the government. Campaigners say the move in England will reduce the risk of Britons being infected and cut the costs of more expensive later treatment. Currently only British residents are eligible, which excludes migrants.

29 Feb 2012

Simple and accurate device to study malaria

University of British Columbia researcher Hongshen Ma has developed a simple and accurate device to study malaria, a disease that currently affects 500 million people per year worldwide and claims a million lives.

29 Feb 2012

Women use condoms less frequently during first year of college

Women gradually use condoms less frequently during their first year of college, according to a new study by researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine. This was particularly true for women who binge drink, have lower grade point averages or come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

29 Feb 2012

HPV vaccine recommended for boys

The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended boys - not just girls - be vaccinated against HPV, though questions about its cost-effectiveness remain.

29 Feb 2012

Coloplast's InterDry textile receives Most Innovative New Product award from NAFC

The National Association For Continence (NAFC) presented the Most Innovative New Product award to Coloplast for its new product, InterDry Ag, a textile that helps reduce the risk of moisture-associated skin damage, most often diagnosed as intertriginous dermatitis (intertrigo).

29 Feb 2012

IRIN examines potential strategies to fight sleeping sickness in Tanzania's rural communities

"Tackling land-use conflicts around game parks must form part of the national strategy to stop the spread of Trypanosomiasis, or sleeping sickness, warn doctors fighting the disease in Tanzania," IRIN reports.

29 Feb 2012

Breakthrough discovery about Rhizobium radiobacter

A new discovery involving two Simon Fraser University scientists could lead to a little known and benign bacterium becoming a vital new tool in the development of a vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus.

29 Feb 2012

CSIS report recounts adversities faced by Global Fund in 2011, suggests strategies for moving forward

This report, published by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) on Monday and titled "Righting the Global Fund," recounts the adversity faced by the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria over the course of 2011 and suggests potential strategies for addressing these challenges going forward.

29 Feb 2012

Examining link between 'power structures,' disease spread through study of incarceration, HIV treatment

In this Open Society Foundations (OSF) blog post, Daniel Wolfe, director of the International Harm Reduction Development Program at OSF, examines "the ways that power structures, rather than individuals, contribute to disease rebound and spread," citing a recent study by MJ Milloy and colleagues, published in the journal JAIDS, "which shows the link between incarceration and the failure of HIV treatment."

29 Feb 2012

Health indicator reports show more HIV-positive South Africans receiving care but costs increasing

Two new reports from southern Africa's Health Systems Trust show that pregnant women, infants, and people newly diagnosed with HIV infection are receiving more services, but the costs of care are increasing, PlusNews reports.

29 Feb 2012

TMED7 protein can shut down immune system after infection has been cleared

Scientists from Trinity College Dublin have discovered a new 'off switch' in our immune response which could be boosted in diseases caused by over-activation of our immune system, or blocked to improve vaccines.

29 Feb 2012

WUSM to study children with weakened immune systems

Not all viruses make us sick. But which ones are friends and which ones are foes? Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have received a five-year, $3.3 million grant to study children with weakened immune systems to identify the viruses that make children sick.

29 Feb 2012

Genome sequencing helps characterize S. aureus ST398-NM strain

Using genome sequencing and household surveillance, National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and their colleagues from Columbia University Medical Center and St. George's University of London have pieced together how a newly emerging type of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria has adapted to transmit more easily among humans.

29 Feb 2012