Disease/Infection News

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C. difficile infection has become common among hospitalized children in the US

Hospitalized children in the United States are more frequently becoming infected with the bacteria Clostridium difficile, according to a report posted online today that will appear in the May print issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

3 Jan 2011

Flu worries continue

The flu season continues to affect more people. Experts have warned the Britons are still at risk as the surge in flu cases has still not yet peaked. The cases would increase they warn, over the next two to four weeks. World Health Organization released figures that show the rate of influenza-like illnesses is still low across continental Europe but has risen dramatically in Britain since the flu season began in October.

3 Jan 2011

Bacteria from cat fleas: 1st Australian case

Australia’s fist case of a human infected with bacteria from cat fleas has been reported by a Newcastle doctor who says the disease may be more common than the GPs thought. The case study appeared in the Medical Journal of Australia that documents a Victorian family infected with Rickettsia felis after exposure to a kitten infested with fleas. Murdoch University scientists confirmed the presence of R. felis in cat fleas on cats and dogs in WA for the first time in 2006.

3 Jan 2011

FDA approves 200 mg formulation of INTELENCE for HIV-1

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a label update to include a 200 mg formulation of INTELENCE® (etravirine), a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) indicated for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) in treatment-experienced adults with resistance to an NNRTI and other antiretroviral (ARV) agents.

3 Jan 2011

Quantum mechanics technique against flu

With the current outbreak of the flu season in Israel, hospitals are reporting overcrowding, and doctors are advising people who have not yet been vaccinated against flu to get their shots.

3 Jan 2011

Hydrocephalus in Ugandan children linked to farm animals, previous bacterial infection

Hydrocephalus in Ugandan children and other developing countries is seasonal, linked to farm animals and in part, caused by previous bacterial infection, according to an international team of researchers from Uganda and the United States, who believe that the best approach to this problem is prevention.

3 Jan 2011

New guideline provides evidence-based recommendation for children undergoing tonsillectomy

A multidisciplinary clinical practice guideline, "Tonsillectomy in Children" will be published in the January issue of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

3 Jan 2011

Flu worries continue

As number of cases of flu rise in the UK, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is under pressure to strengthen the flu vaccination campaign. He reinstated a public health “Catch It, Bin It, Kill It” advertising campaign after he was warned by government advisers of the need to improve immunization rates which are at their lowest this winter for many years. It had been discontinued despite helping educate the public to adopt good hygiene habits during last year’s H1N1 swine flu epidemic at a cost of just £609,000. There were 12 more deaths in the last week from flu, bringing the total this winter to 39, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said today. Thirty-six were killed by H1N1 swine flu, which is the most virulent of the two main flu strains currently circulating. The others died after contracting Influenza B, the other strain. All except one of the 39 were under 65 and four were under five.

2 Jan 2011

Immunitor reports positive safety imm01 clinical trial against tuberculosis

Immune Network Ltd., advises that Immunitor has published data from the first half of the 120-patient imm01 clinical trial of its V5 immunomodulator product against tuberculosis, including difficult-to-treat forms of the disease.

30 Dec 2010

New food safety standards for manufacturers, processors

The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, expected to be signed into law shortly by President Barack Obama, will set the bar higher for food manufacturers, processors and importers, as well as retailers of private label products, according to attorney Janice Lai, a partner in LeClairRyan's Hartford office.

30 Dec 2010

Low levels of microbe-killing molecules improve survival rate of people with CGD

Investigators at the National Institutes of Health have observed that the survival rate of people with a rare immunodeficiency disease called chronic granulomatous disease is greatly improved when even very low levels of microbe-killing molecules are present.

30 Dec 2010

Researchers study molecular mechanisms in early stages of IPN virus infection

Infectious pancreatic necrosis is a serious disease that leads to enormous losses in the salmon industry each year. The virus that causes the disease, IPN, is very prevalent in farmed salmon and trout in Norway. The virus attacks a wide diversity of hosts and has been found to occur in many different fish species, in addition to shellfish and molluscs.

30 Dec 2010

New study confirms pancreas disease infects horizontally from population to population in seawater phase

Researchers and the salmon industry have been debating whether fingerling from freshwater farms can be a source of the virus that causes pancreas disease: salmonid alfavirus. The results of a new doctoral study show that this is not the case: pancreas disease transmits horizontally in the seawater phase and infection in fresh water has little bearing on how the disease spreads.

29 Dec 2010

FDA approves Impax's ANDA for generic Doryx 75 and 100mg tablets

Impax Laboratories, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted final approval of the Company's Abbreviated New Drug Application for the generic version of Doryx® (doxycyline hyclate delayed-release) 75 and 100mg tablets. The Company is preparing for product launch through Global Pharmaceuticals, Impax's generic division.

29 Dec 2010

Crothall partners with 3M to implement effective infection control

Crothall Healthcare, a premier provider of support services to healthcare clients, announced its Preferred Partnership arrangement with 3M to kick-off its powerfully enhanced approach to infection control.

29 Dec 2010

Molecular interaction between structural HCV protein and protein critical to viral replication identified

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have identified a molecular interaction between a structural hepatitis C virus protein (HCV) and a protein critical to viral replication. This new finding strongly suggests a novel method of inhibiting the production of the virus and a potential new therapeutic target for hepatitis C drug development.

29 Dec 2010

NEI awards Case Western Reserve $10M for study of retinal diseases

The Departments of Pharmacology and Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have been awarded a $10.1 million grant from the National Eye Institute (NEI) to research and develop new treatments for diseases of the retina, a leading cause of blindness.

29 Dec 2010

Sinovac's inactivated EV71 vaccine clinical trial against HFMD receives Chinese SFDA approval

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that it received approval from the China State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) to commence clinical trials for its proprietary inactivated EV71 vaccine against Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).

28 Dec 2010

Study reports ROP18 protein protects parasite in host cell

Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have learned why changes in a single gene, ROP18, contribute substantially to dangerous forms of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii. The answer has likely moved science a step closer to new ways to beat Toxoplasma and many other parasites.

28 Dec 2010

Foot and mouth disease outbreak in South Korea

South Korea is facing an outbreak of foot and mouth disease reported Seoul’s Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Foot and Mouth Disease is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease that can affect cloven-hoofed animals including pigs, sheep, cattle, deer and goats. Humans are usually not affected. The three most recent cases take the total number reported in South Korea to 56 with more than 400,000 animals destroyed since November 29.

28 Dec 2010