Disease/Infection News

RSS

Targeting mosquito larvae and not adults could worsen dengue epidemics, study says

Targeting only mosquito larvae and not adult insects in insecticide-based dengue control programs could increase mosquito resistance and decrease human immunity to the disease, particularly in urban areas, according to a study published online in the Lancet on Tuesday, Agence France-Presse reports.

5 May 2011

Durata receives positive EMA Scientific Advice on dalbavancin clinical development plan

Durata Therapeutics today announced the Company has received positive Scientific Advice from the European Medicines Agency on the pivotal clinical development plan for dalbavancin, Durata's long-acting, intravenous lipoglycopeptide for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections.

4 May 2011

Study: 15% of U.S. nursing homes receive infection control deficiency citation per year

Fifteen percent of U.S. nursing homes receive deficiency citations for infection control per year, according to a new study published in the May issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of APIC - the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.

4 May 2011

New research sheds light on origins of cryptococcal fungal infection

New research has shed light on the origins of a fungal infection which is one of the major causes of death from AIDS-related illnesses. The study, published today in the journal PLoS Pathogens, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the BBSRC, shows how the more virulent forms of Cryptococcus neoformans evolved and spread out of Africa and into Asia.

4 May 2011

FTC, FDA take action on unproven STD drug products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission today announced a joint effort to remove products from the market that make unproven claims to treat, cure, and prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

4 May 2011

Peripheral venous catheters cause over 10% of catheter-related bloodstream infections

A new study from Rhode Island Hospital has found that more than one in 10 catheter-related bloodstream infections due to Staph aureus in hospitalized adults are caused by infected peripheral venous catheters (PVC). The study points out the substantial medical burden that arises from complications from these infections due to the large number of such catheters used in hospitalized patients.

4 May 2011

Immunetics receives NIH grant for new confirmatory test trial in Chagas' disease

Immunetics, Inc. today announced it has been awarded a $2.4 million, 3-year Phase II SBIR grant by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institutes of Health, to support clinical trials of the company's new confirmatory test for Chagas' disease, a serious and potentially fatal parasitic infection.

4 May 2011

AHF cautions against fast track FDA-approval for expanded use of Gilead’s Truvada

During its quarterly meeting over the weekend, The Board of Directors of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) adopted a resolution cautioning Gilead Sciences against seeking fast track FDA-approval for the expanded use of its best selling AIDS treatment, Truvada, as a possible form of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent the transmission of HIV.

4 May 2011

SBS explores ‘superbugs’ on Insight Tuesday 10th May

Since the discovery of penicillin in the early twentieth century, antibiotics have fought infections and diseases that were once life threatening. But over time, many bacteria have become resistant to these drugs and patients are increasingly at risk.

3 May 2011

Merial, GenVec extend deal to develop and commercialize foot-and-mouth disease vaccine

GenVec, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a second agreement with Merial, the animal health division of sanofi-aventis.

3 May 2011

NanoViricides' FluCide drug candidate greatly reduces lung viral load in animals

NanoViricides, Inc. reports that post-infection treatment with its optimized FluCide drug candidates achieved 1,000-fold reduction in the levels of infectious virus in the lungs of animals with a lethal level of influenza virus infection.

3 May 2011

Lopinavir can combat HPV-related cervical cancer

A widely used HIV drug could be used to prevent cervical cancer caused by infection with the human papilloma virus, say scientists.

3 May 2011

Germ Genie is also effective against C.difficile infection

Scientists at the University of Hertfordshire, who proved the effectiveness of Germ Genie, a tool to prevent infections from keyboards, have now found that it can kill C.difficile.

3 May 2011

Leeds hospitals fined over levels of superbug related cases

According to latest figures the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) superbug cases are again above allowed levels at Leeds hospitals and the hospitals are now facing a fine of £500,000 over failure to tackle the bug. As reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post earlier this year, every month that the number of MRSA cases exceeds a target agreed by health bosses, a fine of £100,000 is levied. Between April last year and the end of January, the target was breached four times.

3 May 2011

South Australian man succumbs to Murray Valley Encephalitis

A 27-year-old South Australian Riverland man has succumbed to Murray Valley Encephalitis (MVE) – a viral disease that is carried by mosquitoes. According to SA Health's chief medical officer Paddy Phillips, the man had been receiving hospital care for MVE since March.

3 May 2011

Affinium announces AFN-1252 Phase I study results in staphylococcal infections

Affinium Pharmaceuticals announced today the results of a new multiple ascending dose Phase I study of its novel, selective-spectrum, anti-staphylococcal agent, AFN-1252 in a novel oral formulation.

3 May 2011

HIV drugs may also combat parasitic diseases: Study

Scientists have discovered that drugs used to treat HIV may also one day become lifesaving drugs targeted at parasitic diseases such as leishmaniasis and malaria.

3 May 2011

More HIV infections linked to injection drug use in East Africa, report finds

Smoking-related illnesses could kill up to 1b people this century, U.N. official says

As many as one billion people could die of smoking-related illnesses this century if efforts to curb the practice are not implemented, a senior U.N. health official warned on Friday, the U.N. News Centre reports.

3 May 2011

Washing hands with contaminated soap can increase bacterial infection

People who wash their hands with contaminated soap from bulk-soap-refillable dispensers can increase the number of disease-causing microbes on their hands and may play a role in transmission of bacteria in public settings according to research published in the May issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

3 May 2011

Disease/Infection News

Targeting mosquito larvae and not adults could worsen dengue epidemics, study says

Durata receives positive EMA Scientific Advice on dalbavancin clinical development plan

Study: 15% of U.S. nursing homes receive infection control deficiency citation per year

New research sheds light on origins of cryptococcal fungal infection

FTC, FDA take action on unproven STD drug products

Peripheral venous catheters cause over 10% of catheter-related bloodstream infections

Immunetics receives NIH grant for new confirmatory test trial in Chagas' disease

AHF cautions against fast track FDA-approval for expanded use of Gilead’s Truvada

SBS explores ‘superbugs’ on Insight Tuesday 10th May

Merial, GenVec extend deal to develop and commercialize foot-and-mouth disease vaccine

NanoViricides' FluCide drug candidate greatly reduces lung viral load in animals

Lopinavir can combat HPV-related cervical cancer

Germ Genie is also effective against C.difficile infection

Leeds hospitals fined over levels of superbug related cases

South Australian man succumbs to Murray Valley Encephalitis

Affinium announces AFN-1252 Phase I study results in staphylococcal infections

HIV drugs may also combat parasitic diseases: Study

More HIV infections linked to injection drug use in East Africa, report finds

Smoking-related illnesses could kill up to 1b people this century, U.N. official says

Washing hands with contaminated soap can increase bacterial infection

How can super-resolution technology help study neurotransmission?

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

Synthetic Biology and the Pursuit of Living Diagnostics

Latest News