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HPV vaccination does not affect rate of disease flares in patients with SLE, study finds

Results of a Chinese study showed that the HPV vaccine did not have significant effects on the number of disease flares or antibody measures in patients with inactive SLE receiving stable doses of medications after administration, and therefore was determined safe to use to prevent HPV in this group of patients.

26 May 2011

Pharmasset, Bristol-Myers Squibb initiate PSI-7977 plus BMS-790052 combination Phase 2a trial in HCV

Pharmasset, Inc. announced today the initiation of a Phase 2a trial investigating the combination of Pharmasset's PSI-7977, a nucleotide polymerase inhibitor, and BMS-790052, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company's NS5A replication complex inhibitor, for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C.

26 May 2011

PBS' NewHour examines health insurance for 'urban poor' in Pakistan

PBS' NewsHour special correspondent Saima Mohsin on Monday reported from Pakistan on "an innovative health insurance plan for the urban poor." In Pakistan, 99 percent of the country's low-income population does not have health insurance, and this plan, called Naya Jeevan, "hopes to change that.

26 May 2011

Vatican newspaper article addresses condom use among married couples

Three days before the start of a Vatican conference focusing on "the centrality of care" in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, the Vatican's official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, on Tuesday printed a piece by Spanish theologian Juan Jose Perez-Soba arguing that married couples with one HIV-positive partner "should abstain from sex, because intercourse performed with a condom is, 'from the moral point of view, not a fully conjugal act,'" RNS/Beliefnet News reports.

26 May 2011

Lytix Biopharma completes two LTX-109 Phase I/IIa studies in MRSA, Gram+ skin infections

The Norwegian pharmaceutical company Lytix Biopharma today announces the successful completion of two Phase I/IIa studies with the topical antimicrobial drug Lytixar - one for nasal decolonisation of MRSA / MSSA bacteria and one for treatment of Gram+ skin infections.

26 May 2011

CDC reports 118 measles cases in 23 states, issues travel alert highlighting vaccination recommendations

CDC officials on Tuesday released a report stating that 118 measles cases in 23 states have been identified in the U.S. so far this year, more than double the average number of cases reported annually, the Associated Press/Seattle Times reports. While no one has died so far, 40 percent of cases required hospitalization, USA Today notes.

26 May 2011

Recent advances in vaccine development for malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS

Collectively, malaria, TB & HIV/AIDS cause more than five million deaths per year - nearly the entire population of the state of Washington - and represent one of the world's major public health challenges as we move into the second decade of the 21st century.

26 May 2011

Scarcity of resources calls for equitable distribution system for novel HCV treatment

For many patients with the hepatitis C virus, direct antiviral agents (DAA) offer a potential cure for the disease. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently approved two new DAAs, telaprevir and boceprevir, and with that clinicians must now decide who should be the first to receive this treatment.

25 May 2011

PolyMedix presents new pre-clinical data on antimicrobial compounds at two scientific meetings

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat life-threatening infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, announced today that new pre-clinical data for its novel, defensin-mimetic antimicrobial compounds was recently presented at two prestigious scientific meetings, including the American Society of Microbiology.

25 May 2011

PET scans can help determine patients' response to treatment for HIV-MDR tuberculosis

With the deficiencies in knowledge of tuberculosis-as well as in the practices, programs and strategies used to combat the disease and co-infection with human immunodeficiency virus-the spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis poses a major problem for the health care community.

25 May 2011

Doctors report hundreds of new cholera cases in Dominican Republic

A cholera outbreak in the Dominican Republic appears to be spreading, and health officials are reporting hundreds of new cases, the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

25 May 2011

Global Fund freezes grants to China over suspected misuse of funds

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has frozen "payments of grants to China worth hundreds of millions of dollars over suspected misuse of the money and the government's reluctance to involve community groups in the projects," the Associated Press reports.

25 May 2011

U Should Know to launch new online sexually transmitted disease status-sharing service

U Should Know is a confidential, on-line STD Status-Sharing Service that allows college students and others to share results of their sexually transmitted disease testing with their partners.

25 May 2011

Ahead of U.N. General Assembly meeting next month, IPS examines global funding shortfall for HIV/AIDS treatment

Inter Press Service examines the global funding shortfall for antiretroviral treatment programs for people living with HIV/AIDS, noting that the U.N. General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS next month in New York "will shape the direction of the global response to HIV and AIDS for the next decade and beyond."

25 May 2011

Recent ACS podcast focuses on new rapid blood test that can detect MRSA infections

The latest episode in the American Chemical Society's award-winning podcast series, "Global Challenges/Chemistry Solutions," focuses on new blood test that can quickly tell whether patients are infected with an antibiotic-resistant bacterium that's become a global threat, significantly improving treatment.

25 May 2011

Diabetics have higher risk of contracting tuberculosis

People with diabetes have a three to five times higher risk of contracting tuberculosis (TB) than non-diabetics, according to researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

25 May 2011

MRSA, VRE traces found in bed bugs

Reports of bed bug infestations are on the rise worldwide. Recently, scientists in Canada studying five bed bugs found on patients at St. Paul's Hospital, found traces of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, or VRE. However as of yet, no evidence indicating that bed bugs can transmit disease to humans has been found.

25 May 2011

Proteros, IP-K partner for structure-based drug discovery services in the field of infectious diseases

Proteros Biostructures GmbH announced today that it has entered into a service agreement with Institut Pasteur Korea (IP-K) under which Proteros will provide structure-based drug discovery services to IP-K.

25 May 2011

Vuvuzela unhealthy in more ways than one: Study

According to health experts, Vuvuzelas - the horns used by football fans celebrating last year's World Cup - not only cause noise pollution but may also spread diseases. According to a new study published in PLoS One journal it is seen that a short burst on the instrument creates a spittle shower similar to a sneeze, travelling at a four million droplets a second. Authors write that in crowded venues one person blowing a Vuvuzela could infect many others with airborne illness like the flu or TB.

24 May 2011

Whooping cough on the rise mandates continuation of vaccine drive

A sharp rise in the number of whooping cough (Pertussis) cases has prompted the New South Wales Government to extend a free vaccine program until at least the end of the year. The health authorities say it is extremely important for infants and older children to be vaccinated on time.

24 May 2011

Disease/Infection News

HPV vaccination does not affect rate of disease flares in patients with SLE, study finds

Pharmasset, Bristol-Myers Squibb initiate PSI-7977 plus BMS-790052 combination Phase 2a trial in HCV

PBS' NewHour examines health insurance for 'urban poor' in Pakistan

Vatican newspaper article addresses condom use among married couples

Lytix Biopharma completes two LTX-109 Phase I/IIa studies in MRSA, Gram+ skin infections

CDC reports 118 measles cases in 23 states, issues travel alert highlighting vaccination recommendations

Recent advances in vaccine development for malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS

Scarcity of resources calls for equitable distribution system for novel HCV treatment

PolyMedix presents new pre-clinical data on antimicrobial compounds at two scientific meetings

PET scans can help determine patients' response to treatment for HIV-MDR tuberculosis

Doctors report hundreds of new cholera cases in Dominican Republic

Global Fund freezes grants to China over suspected misuse of funds

U Should Know to launch new online sexually transmitted disease status-sharing service

Ahead of U.N. General Assembly meeting next month, IPS examines global funding shortfall for HIV/AIDS treatment

Recent ACS podcast focuses on new rapid blood test that can detect MRSA infections

Diabetics have higher risk of contracting tuberculosis

MRSA, VRE traces found in bed bugs

Proteros, IP-K partner for structure-based drug discovery services in the field of infectious diseases

Vuvuzela unhealthy in more ways than one: Study

Whooping cough on the rise mandates continuation of vaccine drive

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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