Disease/Infection News

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Bats may be a common source of many viral diseases

Where do viruses dangerous to humans come from, and how have they evolved? Scientists working with Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten, Head of the In-stitute for Virology at the Universit-tsklinikum Bonn, have made significant progress in answering this question. "We already knew from prior studies that bats and rodents play a role as carriers of paramyxoviruses," said Prof. Drosten.

25 Apr 2012

Crucell, ARTES enter research collaboration to develop two vaccines

ARTES Biotechnology, specialized in recombinant protein production and process development in microbial expression systems, started a development collaboration for two vaccines together with global biopharmaceutical company Crucell. Crucell is focused on the research & development, production and marketing of vaccines and antibodies against infectious disease worldwide.

25 Apr 2012

Despite progress in reducing measles deaths, international community falls short of 90% reduction target, study says

The number of deaths from measles fell about 74 percent between 2000 and 2010, from slightly more than 535,000 in 2000 to an estimated 139,200 people worldwide in 2010, "missing an internationally agreed target for a 90 percent fall mainly because of low vaccine coverage in India and Africa where the virus kills tens of thousands a year," Reuters reports.

25 Apr 2012

Nigeria's first-ever national Vaccine Summit addresses child mortality burden

Nigeria's top government officials, civil society leaders and leaders of private industry resolved today to join forces to expand vaccine access nationwide, a major step in the fight to reduce child mortality in a country with the world's second highest number of child deaths.

24 Apr 2012

CDC Director calls for 'final push' to eradicate polio

"A 'final push' is needed toward eradication of polio worldwide, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said" in an online update on the agency's polio eradication efforts, United Press International reports. "Polio incidence dropped more than 99 percent since the launch of global polio eradication efforts in 1988 and no polio cases have been reported since January 2011 in India, one of the four remaining endemic countries, a CDC report said," UPI writes.

24 Apr 2012

USAID's Shah urges cooperation to improve child health, survival

"Seeing a child die from pneumonia, diarrhea or a mosquito bite is simply unimaginable to most parents. But that is the sad reality for many families each day," USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah writes in a Huffington Post Blog opinion piece, noting, "Last year over seven million children under five died of largely preventable causes."

24 Apr 2012

Researchers describe novel mechanism of HIV-1 spread by dendritic cells

A new understanding of the initial interactions of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and dendritic cells is described by Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) researchers in a study currently featured in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

24 Apr 2012

Text messaging increases flu vaccination coverage in low-income children

A text messaging intervention with education-related messages sent to parents increased influenza vaccination coverage compared with usual care in a traditionally hard-to-reach, low-income, urban, minority population of children and adolescents, although coverage overall remained low, according to a study in the April 25 issue of JAMA.

24 Apr 2012

U.S. gives go-ahead on publication of H5N1 research; Dutch regulators continue to debate

The U.S. government on Friday formally accepted a recommendation from the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) "to publish two controversial studies of the H5N1 avian influenza virus, moving the pair of papers another step closer to publication," ScienceInsider reports.

24 Apr 2012

Women & Infants named lead center in 14-site study of cytomegalovirus

Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island, through its participation in the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network, has been named the lead center in a 14-site, $25 million study of cytomegalovirus (CMV), the most common infection during pregnancy.

24 Apr 2012

Strategic innovations will help prevent HIV transmission from mothers to children, high-level meeting attendees state

At a High-Level Meeting on Innovation for Elimination of Mother to Child Transmission (EMTCT) on Friday in Washington, D.C., "HIV experts, business leaders, aid agencies and ambassadors of 22 priority countries -- home to 90 percent of new HIV infections among children --" agreed that strategic innovations are necessary to curb the spread of the virus from women to their children, PANA/Afrique en Linge reports.

24 Apr 2012

Measles deaths down by 74% worldwide over last decade: Study

According to a new study by the World Health Organization (WHO) the number of measles deaths worldwide has apparently dropped by about three-quarters over a decade. However most of these deaths were in India and Africa, where not enough children are being immunized the report said.

24 Apr 2012

ICDs may increase risk of complications in patients with infective endocarditis

Patients with infective endocarditis involving implanted cardiac devices experience a high rate of complications such as valve infections, heart failure, and persistent bacteremia, and high in-hospital and 1-year mortality rates, particularly if there is valve involvement, according to a study in the April 25 issue of JAMA.

24 Apr 2012

Bartonella bacterium may also play a role in human arthritis

A bacterium historically associated with cat scratch fever and transmitted predominately by fleas may also play a role in human rheumatoid illnesses such as arthritis, according to new research from North Carolina State University.

24 Apr 2012

Vietnam asks for international help to tackle mystery skin disease

Vietnam has asked for international aid to get to the bottom of a mystery skin infection that has already killed 19 people. More than 170 people in the country's central province of Quang Ngai have reported symptoms reports say.

23 Apr 2012

Medgenics seeks FDA Orphan Drug Designation for INFRADURE to treat hepatitis D

Medgenics, Inc., the developer of a novel technology for the sustained production and delivery of therapeutic proteins in patients using their own tissue, today announced that it has filed for Orphan Drug Designation with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for INFRADURE for the treatment of hepatitis D.

23 Apr 2012

Kenyan government must review law on counterfeit drugs, High Court rules

"Kenya's High Court ruled on Friday that lawmakers must review legislation that could threaten the import of generic drugs, allowing Kenyans to continue accessing affordable medicine," Reuters reports.

23 Apr 2012

Herpes zoster vaccine safe and well tolerated: Study

The herpes zoster vaccine, also known as the shingles vaccine, is generally safe and well tolerated according to a Vaccine Safety Datalink study of 193,083 adults published online in the Journal of Internal Medicine.

23 Apr 2012

MicuRx completes MRX-I Phase 1 trial on MRSA and VRE infection

MicuRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately-held biopharmaceutical company developing next-generation antibiotics, today announced the completion of its Phase 1 clinical trial for MRX-I, its first development-stage antibiotic drug candidate.

23 Apr 2012

BAMC/SAMMC researcher develops microemulsion vaccine carrier

A researcher at the Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC)/San Antonio Military Medical Center (SAMMC) will present findings this week on a new potential vaccine carrier that he hopes will extend the shelf life of and aid in the stockpiling of critical vaccines.

23 Apr 2012