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Airborne prions can induce mad cow disease: Research

Airborne prions are also infectious and can induce mad cow disease or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disorder. This is the surprising conclusion of researchers at the University of Zurich, the University Hospital Zurich and the University of Tübingen. They recommend precautionary measures for scientific labs, slaughterhouses and animal feed plants.

14 Jan 2011

Study reports long-term complications in childhood survivors of bacterial meningitis

Nearly half of children who survive an episode of bacterial meningitis experience persistent behavioral, intellectual, or other complications, reports a study in the January issue of The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

14 Jan 2011

IDRI receives Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation multi-million dollar grant to identify new leads in TB

The Infectious Disease Research Institute today announced it has received a multi-million dollar grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for "Chemical genomics for the identification of targets and leads in tuberculosis."

14 Jan 2011

ITM scientists to combat tapeworm infection using drugs

The Institute of Tropical Medicine Antwerp increases its fight in Congo against the pork tapeworm, in spite of its name also a human parasite, causing epilepsy.

14 Jan 2011

FDA clears Nanosphere's RV+ test for detection of respiratory viruses

Nanosphere, a leader in the development and commercialization of advanced molecular diagnostics systems, announced today FDA 510(k) clearance for the Verigene Respiratory Virus Plus Nucleic Acid Test on the Verigene System.

14 Jan 2011

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grants $1.5million to Liverpool University for bacterial study

A University of Liverpool-led consortium has received $1.5million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study a bacterium that causes serious disease and epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa.

14 Jan 2011

Chicks that don’t pass on bird flu

Influenza from birds, commonly known as H5N1 avian flu, has killed at least 306 people during the past seven years and innumerable birds and poultry. Now a team of scientists in Britain have developed a way to breed poultry that are genetically resistant to H5N1 or any other avian flu virus. The study by Scientists from Cambridge and Edinburgh universities was reported in the Jan. 13 issue of Science.

13 Jan 2011

BioCryst reports positive results from peramivir Phase 3 study in influenza

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced top-line results from one of its two Phase 3 studies of intravenous (i.v.) peramivir for the treatment of patients hospitalized with influenza, and provided an update regarding its peramivir program.

13 Jan 2011

WHO, Roll Back Malaria partnership launch initiative to contain artemisinin-resistant malaria

The WHO and Roll Back Malaria partnership (RBM) on Wednesday launched an initiative to "stop a form of drug-resistant malaria from spreading from Southeast Asia to Africa, where millions of lives could be at risk," Reuters reports. "It would cost about $175 million a year to contain and prevent the global spread of the artemisinin-resistant parasite which first emerged along the Thai-Cambodian border in 2007, the United Nations agency said," according to the news agency (Nebehay, 1/12).

13 Jan 2011

SDIX receives FDA method equivalency and AOAC-RI certification for Salmonella Enteritidis test system

SDIX, a leading supplier of rapid detection solutions to the $1 billion food pathogen testing market, today announced that its RapidChek® SELECT™ Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) test system has been reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and determined to be equivalent in accuracy, precision and sensitivity to their current standard methods for poultry house environmental drag swabs and pooled egg testing.

13 Jan 2011

Antibiotic treatment may be sufficient to overcome River Blindness

The team found that a bacterium inside the worm acts as a 'disguise' for the parasite, resulting in the immune system reacting to it in an ineffective way. The bacteria protect the worm from the body's natural defences, but once the bacteria are removed with antibiotics, the immune system responds appropriately, releasing cells, called eosinophils, that kill the worm.

13 Jan 2011

Washington Post examines theories on climate change's potential impact on disease spread

The Washington Post examines the debate among scientists over the impact climate change might have on the spread of infectious diseases, and the potential for a rise in the number of tropical diseases in the U.S. The article describes how extreme weather conditions, such as flooding and drought - "thought to be linked to the warming of the oceans and to changes in the precipitation cycle" - can create ideal conditions for waterborne disease.

13 Jan 2011

New discovery has brought dream of transforming measles virus against cancer

When most people in the developed world think of measles, what comes to mind is only a dim memory of a vaccination at a pediatrician's office. But while childhood vaccination has virtually eliminated measles from North America and much of Europe, researchers remain interested in the virus.

13 Jan 2011

FDA's determination of equivalency validates Neogen's rapid test for Salmonella enteritidis

Neogen Corporation today announced that its rapid test for Salmonella enteritidis (SE) has been determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be equivalent to the FDA's traditional testing method in accuracy, precision, and sensitivity for detecting SE.

13 Jan 2011

New research paper reveals key lessons about origins of 2009 H1N1 pandemic

How Swine Flu Overturned the Understanding of Pandemic Outbreaks. As H1N1 'Swine Flu' returns to the national headlines a new research paper reveals the key lessons about the origins of the 2009 pandemic. The paper, published today in BioEssays, reveals how the pandemic challenges the traditional understanding of 'antigenic shift', given that the virus emerged from an existing influenza subtype.

13 Jan 2011

Drug resistant malaria on the prowl

Experts have warned that drug-resistant malaria could spread from Southeast Asia to Africa within months, putting millions of children’s lives at risk. Nicholas White, professor of tropical medicine at Mahidol University in Bangkok warned that a malaria strain resistant to the drug artemisinin that first emerged along the Thai-Cambodian border in 2007.

12 Jan 2011

Americans taking bed bug resurgence seriously

One out of five Americans has had a bed bug infestation in their home or knows someone who has encountered bed bugs at home or in a hotel according to a new survey released by the National Pest Management Association (NPMA).

12 Jan 2011

Offensive protein generated by HPV handicaps defensive protein made by the human body

An international team of researchers is reporting that it has uncovered new information about human papillomavirus that one day may aid in the development of drugs to eliminate the cervical-cancer-causing infection.

12 Jan 2011

Study highlights importance of independent evaluation of Tamiflu drug

Tom Jefferson and colleagues from the Cochrane Group argue that the current system for assessing the safety and effectiveness of drugs, based on published trial data only, is "wholly inadequate" and "ethically dubious."

12 Jan 2011

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases features Inovio’s Chikungunya DNA vaccine

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of novel therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today the publication of a scientific paper highlighting positive results from Inovio's multi-antigen Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) DNA vaccine in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

12 Jan 2011

Disease/Infection News

Airborne prions can induce mad cow disease: Research

Study reports long-term complications in childhood survivors of bacterial meningitis

IDRI receives Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation multi-million dollar grant to identify new leads in TB

ITM scientists to combat tapeworm infection using drugs

FDA clears Nanosphere's RV+ test for detection of respiratory viruses

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grants $1.5million to Liverpool University for bacterial study

Chicks that don’t pass on bird flu

BioCryst reports positive results from peramivir Phase 3 study in influenza

WHO, Roll Back Malaria partnership launch initiative to contain artemisinin-resistant malaria

SDIX receives FDA method equivalency and AOAC-RI certification for Salmonella Enteritidis test system

Antibiotic treatment may be sufficient to overcome River Blindness

Washington Post examines theories on climate change's potential impact on disease spread

New discovery has brought dream of transforming measles virus against cancer

FDA's determination of equivalency validates Neogen's rapid test for Salmonella enteritidis

New research paper reveals key lessons about origins of 2009 H1N1 pandemic

Drug resistant malaria on the prowl

Americans taking bed bug resurgence seriously

Offensive protein generated by HPV handicaps defensive protein made by the human body

Study highlights importance of independent evaluation of Tamiflu drug

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases features Inovio’s Chikungunya DNA vaccine

Digital pathology and the PathoVerse: A conversation with Dr. Singh

Bioprocess Efficiency with Cell Density Monitoring

Exploring electron microscopy for plant and microbial imaging at the John Innes Centre

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