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New study identifies recurrent wound botulism among injection drug users

Botulism is a rare disease and recurrent botulism even more rare. However, in California, recurrent wound botulism among injection drug users has been on the rise and makes up three-quarters of reported cases in the United States.

28 Feb 2011

STD testing for elderly may be covered by Medicare

According to a new report testing for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) may soon be covered by Medicare plans for the elderly. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced that they are considering adding these tests as part of standard Medicare health insurance plans. At present the national health insurance program already pays for HIV tests. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) officials are expected to announce a draft decision by August 24.

28 Feb 2011

Authorities work to contain measles scare

Health authorities are trying to prevent an outbreak of measles after a woman carrying the transmissible infection travelled widely throughout the United States. The lady in question, 27, allegedly contracted the airborne virus in the United Kingdom and arrived in the United States last week, passing through three U.S. airports on her way to New Mexico, where she is believed to reside. She arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport on Tuesday, February 22, from London.

28 Feb 2011

Scripps Health offers genetic testing to patients with Hepatitis C

Scripps Health is one of the first health systems in the United States to offer genetic testing as part of its care for hepatitis C patients planning to undergo drug treatment.

28 Feb 2011

Acute viral infection does not appear to cause exacerbation of IPF

Acute viral infection does not appear to be a primary cause of acute exacerbation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a progressive, deadly disease resulting in thickening and scarring of the lungs, according to a study conducted by researchers from the U.S., Korea and Japan.

28 Feb 2011

NIH-funded study finds way to reduce transmission of malaria to humans

Spraying malaria-transmitting mosquitoes with a genetically modified fungus can kill the malaria parasite without harming the mosquito, potentially reducing malaria transmission to humans, according to a new study published in the journal Science. Funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, the study was led by Raymond J. St. Leger, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland, College Park.

25 Feb 2011

Targets against MRSA in microgravity

NASA astronauts onboard Space Shuttle Discovery's final mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will carry out the eleventh scientific payload for Astrogenetix, a commercial biotech company based out of Austin, Texas. The research on STS-133 will focus on changes that occur to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in microgravity, which can be targeted to create new vaccines and therapeutics.

25 Feb 2011

Researchers explain genetic differences that distinguish early-transmitting HIVs-viruses

A new finding from scientists at the National Institutes of Health could help efforts to design vaccines and other prevention tools to block HIV in the early stages of sexual transmission, before infection takes hold. Researchers at the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases have helped explain genetic differences that can distinguish some early-transmitting HIVs-viruses found in an infected individual within the first month after infection-from forms of HIV isolated later in infection.

25 Feb 2011

Journal of Clinical Virology publishes positive outcome from CMX001 treatment against AdV infection

Chimerix, Inc., a pharmaceutical company developing orally-available antiviral therapeutics, today announced the publication of the first reported case in which adenovirus infection was successfully eradicated following treatment with its broad-spectrum antiviral drug, CMX001.

25 Feb 2011

Study demonstrates ability of cobas HPV Test to detect HPV-16, HPV-18 genotypes linked to cervical cancer

Roche announced that a study published online today in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology demonstrated the ability of the cobas HPV Test to individually detect HPV-16 and HPV-18, two of the highest risk HPV genotypes causing 70 percent of cervical cancer cases.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 25 Feb 2011

Nearly 60,000 newly acquired infections per year in Germany's intensive care units

Infections are among the most frequent complications of a stay in hospital and raise the complication and mortality rates. Calculations based on data from the Hospital Infection Surveillance System (Krankenhaus-Infektions-Surveillance-System, KISS) showed an incidence of almost 60 000 newly acquired infections per year in intensive care units in Germany.

25 Feb 2011

Bristol-Myers Squibb awards $1 million grant to reduce hepatitis-related health disparities in Asia

The Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation has awarded four new grants to help improve awareness, prevention and care of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in China and India.

25 Feb 2011

Next-generation sequencing provides important clues to traceback foodborne illness outbreak

FDA scientists successfully used a new genome sequencing test to retrospectively examine a 2009-10 foodborne illness outbreak to help trace the source of the infection.

25 Feb 2011

BioCryst receives HHS contract to complete peramivir Phase 3 study in patients with influenza

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that it has been awarded a $55.0 million contract modification by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services intended to fund to completion the Phase 3 development of its neuraminidase inhibitor, intravenous peramivir, for the treatment of patients hospitalized with influenza.

25 Feb 2011

Researchers identify probiotic bacterial strain that may treat ulcers caused by H. pylori

Researchers from Spain have identified a strain of probiotic bacteria that may be useful in treating ulcers caused by Helicobacter pylori. They report their findings in the February 2011 issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

25 Feb 2011

Transgenic fungal approach can fight against malaria and bug-borne diseases

New findings by a University of Maryland-led team of scientists indicate that a genetically engineered fungus carrying genes for a human anti-malarial antibody or a scorpion anti-malarial toxin could be a highly effective, specific and environmentally friendly tool for combating malaria, at a time when the effectiveness of current pesticides against malaria mosquitoes is declining.

24 Feb 2011

New research: Significant number of HCV patients in the U.S. does not have health insurance coverage

New research has determined that patients in the U.S. with hepatitis C virus are twice as likely to not have health insurance coverage compared with those without the disease.

24 Feb 2011

PolyMedix completes PMX-30063 Phase 1 exposure-escalation clinical study to treat Staph infections

PolyMedix, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company focused on developing new therapeutic drugs to treat infectious diseases and acute cardiovascular disorders, today announced the successful completion of a Phase 1 exposure-escalation clinical study with its synthetic defensin-mimetic antibiotic, PMX-30063.

24 Feb 2011

PhRMA: 460 medicines in development for rare diseases

America's biopharmaceutical research companies are intensifying research into rare diseases, which often are among the most devastating to patients and complex for researchers. A record 460 medicines for rare diseases are in late stages of the pipeline, either in clinical trials or awaiting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review, according to a report released today by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

24 Feb 2011

Scientists confirm presence of infectious life forms in waste, drinking water treatment plants

"The presence of two resistent forms of protozoons, the oocysts from the Cryptosporidium genus and cysts of the Giardia genus, is one of the greatest public health problems in water supply, because these parasites can easily survive our water treatment systems", Jos- Antonio Castro Hermida, a scientist at the Galician Institute for Food Quality in the Xunta de Galicia, tells SINC.

24 Feb 2011

Disease/Infection News

New study identifies recurrent wound botulism among injection drug users

STD testing for elderly may be covered by Medicare

Authorities work to contain measles scare

Scripps Health offers genetic testing to patients with Hepatitis C

Acute viral infection does not appear to cause exacerbation of IPF

NIH-funded study finds way to reduce transmission of malaria to humans

Targets against MRSA in microgravity

Researchers explain genetic differences that distinguish early-transmitting HIVs-viruses

Journal of Clinical Virology publishes positive outcome from CMX001 treatment against AdV infection

Study demonstrates ability of cobas HPV Test to detect HPV-16, HPV-18 genotypes linked to cervical cancer

Nearly 60,000 newly acquired infections per year in Germany's intensive care units

Bristol-Myers Squibb awards $1 million grant to reduce hepatitis-related health disparities in Asia

Next-generation sequencing provides important clues to traceback foodborne illness outbreak

BioCryst receives HHS contract to complete peramivir Phase 3 study in patients with influenza

Researchers identify probiotic bacterial strain that may treat ulcers caused by H. pylori

Transgenic fungal approach can fight against malaria and bug-borne diseases

New research: Significant number of HCV patients in the U.S. does not have health insurance coverage

PolyMedix completes PMX-30063 Phase 1 exposure-escalation clinical study to treat Staph infections

PhRMA: 460 medicines in development for rare diseases

Scientists confirm presence of infectious life forms in waste, drinking water treatment plants

Unlocking drug amorphization: Continuous, solvent-free twin screw granulation

How can super-resolution technology help study neurotransmission?

The Proteoform Puzzle: Unlocking the Next Frontier

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