Disease/Infection News

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Subset of gay community continues to contribute to HIV spread: Research

Risky sexual behavior among members of a subset of the gay community is still adding to the spread of HIV. Research published in the open access journal BMC Infectious Diseases has found that young white homosexual men have an important contribution in the local spread of HIV.

7 Sep 2010

Researchers discover new antibiotics in insect's brain

Cockroaches could be more of a health benefit than a health hazard according to scientists from the University of Nottingham, who have discovered powerful antibiotic properties in the brains of cockroaches and locusts.

7 Sep 2010

Scientists urge government to set target effectiveness for newly approved antibiotics

The United States must focus on conserving the use of antibacterial drugs, or face a public health crisis from rapidly rising rates of antibiotic-resistant infections, according to an analysis out today.

7 Sep 2010

Study on bacteria may help to develop treatment method for osteomyelitis

A surface molecule on bacteria that instructs bone cells to die could be the target for new treatments for bone disease, says a scientist speaking at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting today.

7 Sep 2010

Research on bacterial cells may offer new hope for MRSA infection treatment

Selfish bacterial cells that act in their own interests and do not cooperate with their infection-causing colleagues can actually reduce the severity of infection.

7 Sep 2010

Myconostica's MycAssay Aspergillus for serum granted CE marking

Myconostica Ltd, the UK-based medical diagnostic company developing and commercialising rapid and highly specific tests for life-threatening fungal infections, today announces the CE marking of its lead product MycAssay™ Aspergillus for detection of Aspergillus DNA in serum.

6 Sep 2010

Unpredictable food poisoning

While we are often exposed to bacteria in our food which could cause food poisoning, we don't always become ill - why should this be so?

6 Sep 2010

Plaque-causing bacteria increases risk of heart attack

Plaque-causing bacteria can jailbreak from the mouth into the bloodstream and increase your risk of heart attack says a scientist at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn meeting in Nottingham.

6 Sep 2010

Cairns forum to discuss PNG issues

James Cook University's (JCU) Papua New Guinea and Pacific Research Forum from the Pacific Island Nations will be discussing the issues affecting the region at Cairns in far north Queensland today. Academics as well as policy makers are likely to convene at the forum.

5 Sep 2010

Human endogenous retroviruses may provide insight evidence to HIV diagnosis

Why is it so hard to isolate and purify human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Why has no one been able to see, by electron microscopy, a single HIV particle in the blood of AIDS patients, even those who have a "high viral load" Why does HIV seem to mutate with startling rapidity. AIDS researchers have not been able to come up with answers to these questions.

4 Sep 2010

Single-dose of experimental malaria drug clears parasites in mice, represents potential new class of drugs to treat malaria in humans

An experimental malaria drug was shown to effectively treat the disease in mice with only a single dose, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Science, Reuters reports (Kelland, 9/2). The new drug, known as NITD609, "represents an entirely new class of medicines to treat malaria ... Human trials, backed by Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG, could begin later this year," the Wall Street Journal writes (Naik, 9/3).

4 Sep 2010

Research provides new framework for quantifying risk of avian-borne diseases

In 2005 an outbreak of the H5N1 'bird flu' virus in South East Asia led to widespread fear with predictions that the intercontinental migration of wild birds could lead to global pandemic.

4 Sep 2010

IAS urges to review guidelines for implementing HIV prevention and care

Following the imprisonment of Maxim Popov in April 2010, sentenced to 7 years jail primarily for the promotion of HIV prevention efforts in Uzbekistan, the International AIDS Society (IAS) notes with alarm the detention of a medial practitioner working in HIV prevention in Ukraine.

4 Sep 2010

VOA News examines U.S. Global Health Initiative

VOA News examines President Barack Obama's $63 billion Global Health Initiative (GHI), noting the initiative's emphasis on cost-effective strategies to improve child- and maternal-health as well as programs to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. The article includes recent comments by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on the role the GHI will play in strengthening health systems and the administration's on-going commitment to global HIV/AIDS programs.

4 Sep 2010

IMF, World Bank announce increased aid measures for flood relief in Pakistan

"The IMF and the World Bank have stepped up aid to flood-hit Pakistan to help the country cope with its worst-ever humanitarian disaster," Agence France-Presse reports.

4 Sep 2010

Researchers reveal new details on bacterial cannibalism

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have revealed new details about how cannibalistic bacteria identify peers suitable for consumption. The work, which employed imaging mass spectrometry, is a first step toward a broader effort to map all signaling molecules between organisms.

4 Sep 2010

Food industry, USDA criticized for recent salmonella outbreak, egg recall

USA Today reports that food safety groups are slamming how well U.S. Department of Agriculture regulated the farms implicated in the salmonella outbreak.

4 Sep 2010

Researchers complete INX-189 clinical trials for Hepatitis C virus

The first clinical trials on a new investigational drug being developed to treat infections caused by Hepatitis C virus have been successfully completed.

3 Sep 2010

Tibotec submits MAA for investigational HIV drug TMC278 to European Medicines Agency

Tibotec Pharmaceuticals today announced its submission of a Marketing Authorisation Application (MAA) to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for TMC278 (rilpivirine, as hydrochloride), an investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) for the treatment of HIV. The proposed indication would make TMC278 available for once-daily use with other antiretroviral agents in treatment-naive HIV-1-infected adults.

3 Sep 2010

Results of PHLawFlu conference to be presented at the European Parliament in Brussels

The results of a three-year research project into pandemic flu preparedness in Europe will be launched at a meeting in Brussels in September. The results of the PHLawFlu (Public Health Law Flu) conference, Pandemic Influenza Preparedness in Europe: Are National Public Health Laws Fit for Purpose? will be presented by Professor Richard Coker, Professor of Public Health at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine on 23 September at the European Parliament in Brussels.

3 Sep 2010