Disease/Infection News

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FDA approves BOOSTRIX to prevent tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis in older people

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved BOOSTRIX for use in adults 65 years of age and older for active booster immunization against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis.

11 Jul 2011

Arizona E. coli related death triggers warning

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Arizona Department of Health announced last Friday that a man who recently traveled to Germany was infected by the German E. coli outbreak. The man died from kidney complications. This death was the first U.S. fatality of the relentless epidemic. According to the World Health Organization, 52 have been killed in the outbreak.

10 Jul 2011

Flu vaccine against all strains of virus coming soon

A universal flu vaccine, capable of working against all strains, would save lives and money by eliminating the need for the annual jab say experts. Researchers in California and the Netherlands believe they are now a “step closer” to meeting this objective.

10 Jul 2011

Belly button full of bugs: Study

Researchers have found nearly 1,400 strains of bacteria in the human navel. The North Carolina State University's ‘Belly Button Biodiversity Study’ found 662 unrecognized strains - which could be unique new species.

10 Jul 2011

Congress should take the lead in foreign aid reform

Citing PEPFAR, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the President's Malaria Initiative as pieces of the "remarkable success story" of U.S. foreign aid over the past decade, former Congress member and Ambassador to Tanzania Mark Green writes in a post on the Modernizing Foreign Assistance Network's "ModernizeAid" blog.

8 Jul 2011

U.S. leading fight against NTDs

Bernard Pecoul, executive director of the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, and Peter Hotez, president of the Sabin Vaccine Institute and editor-in-chief of PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, write in this PLoS "Speaking of Medicine" blog post that the first-ever neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) meeting of the International Society for Infectious Diseases, which is taking place this weekend in Boston, "offers an opportunity for U.S. policy-makers...

8 Jul 2011

Mass administration of common anti-parasitic is possible new tool in fight against malaria

Ivermectin - an inexpensive, common medication already being used in Africa to treat roundworms that cause river blindness and parasites that cause elephantitis - could also be used to kill mosquitoes carrying malaria parasites, potentially "provid[ing] another useful weapon in the armory against a disease that kills around 800,000 a year, most of them small children and pregnant women," the Guardian's "Global Health Blog" reports (Boseley, 7/6).

8 Jul 2011

India will continue to produce generic HIV drugs, Commerce and Industry Minister says

"India will not compromise on drug licensing norms and [will] continue to produce generic drugs for free treatment to HIV-positive patients, Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said" on Wednesday, the IANS/Times of India reports.

8 Jul 2011

Next phase of HIV programming must focus on sustainable health systems response

"Now, we are in the Third-Generation of AIDS programming, in which the focus must be on a sustainable, health systems response, especially in the countries most affected by HIV & AIDS," Jonathan Quick, president and CEO of Management Sciences for Health, writes on the organization's "Global Health Impact" blog.

8 Jul 2011

Infectious adenoviruses and noroviruses in bathing water could pose a risk to health

European researchers have found viruses in nearly 40% of more than 1,400 bathing water samples gathered from coastal and inland areas in nine countries, including Spain. The concentrations found are low, but the scientists are calling for these microorganisms to be monitored in recreational waters, above all at times when their populations skyrocket, as is the case after heavy rains.

8 Jul 2011

Mesenchymal stem cells protect and heal

A stem cell that can morph into a number of different tissues is proving a natural protector, healer and antibiotic maker, researchers at Case Western Reserve University and their peers have found.

8 Jul 2011

New technique shields patients from toxic parts of antibiotic drug

A new technique which targets antibiotic-resistant bacteria and shields patients from the toxic parts of an antibiotic drug has been developed by Cardiff University scientists.

8 Jul 2011

Collaborative research discovers broadly acting antibody against influenza viruses

Annually changing flu vaccines with their hit-and-miss effectiveness may soon give way to a single, near-universal flu vaccine, according to a new report from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell. They describe an antibody that, in animal tests, can prevent or cure infections with a broad variety of influenza viruses, including seasonal and potentially pandemic strains.

8 Jul 2011

Longer looks: Shortage of HIV doctors; Oregon program builds on British model

Of the 3,155 U.S.-based members of the HIV Medicine Assn., 45% are older than 50, according to a March 17 Institute of Medicine report on HIV screening and access to care.

8 Jul 2011

Hendra virus outbreak suspected after second horse death

After the second horse death on the north coast, fifteen people are being monitored for any signs of the Hendra virus. The horse died at Macksville south of Coffs Harbour on Sunday and another horse was put down near Wollongbar, Alstonville last Friday.

7 Jul 2011

Heartworm medication Ivermectin prevents malaria transmission in Africa

A cheap, common heartworm medication that is already being used to fight other parasites in Africa could also dramatically interrupt transmission of malaria, potentially providing an inexpensive tool to fight a disease that kills almost 800,000 people each year, according to a new study published in the July edition of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

7 Jul 2011

Final Atlantis space trip may open new era of research into infectious diseases

On July 8, at approximately 11:26 a.m. EDT, the space shuttle Atlantis will streak skyward from the Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A, for one last mission. While the STS-135 flight marks the end of the space shuttle's glory days, its final trip may open a new era of research into infectious diseases, thanks to space bound experiments conducted by Dr's. Cheryl Nickerson, and Roy Curtiss III, along with their colleagues at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.

7 Jul 2011

Sen. Rubio defends foreign aid in video response to constituent letter

"Freshman Sen. Marco Rubio is becoming an increasingly critical and hawkish voice on the Obama administration's foreign policy, but he is actually a supporter of U.S. foreign assistance programs and made the case for maintaining this funding to his constituents last week," Foreign Policy's "The Cable" blog writes.

7 Jul 2011

British company designing genetically modified mosquito to fight dengue

NPR's All Things Considered on Tuesday examined the efforts of the British company Oxitec to develop a genetically modified mosquito meant to wipe out wild populations of the insects, which carry potentially lethal diseases such as dengue.

7 Jul 2011

Puerto Rico reports first cholera case linked to outbreak in Dominican Republic

Puerto Rico has reported its first case of cholera imported by a recent traveler to the island of Hispaniola, where a cholera outbreak began in October, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

7 Jul 2011