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Study quantifies risk for gastrointestinal illness due to E. coli bacteria at inland beach

New research shows a clear link between increasing levels of E. coli bacteria in an inland Ohio lake and a greater risk that swimmers in the water will suffer a gastrointestinal illness.

19 Aug 2010

Innovative approach to eliminate HIV in host by targeted killing of only HIV infected cells

Current HIV treatments do not eradicate HIV from host cells but rather inhibit virus replication and delay the onset of AIDS. However, a new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal, AIDS Research & Therapy describes an innovative approach to eliminate HIV in host by targeted killing of only HIV infected cells. This approach if successful could lead into an anti-HIV therapy that will eradicate the virus.

19 Aug 2010

Montana State University offers new biomedical technologies for prevention, treatment of viral infections

Researchers at Montana State University have developed six new biomedical technologies that could have applications for treating antibiotic resistant infections, fungal infections and viral infections; boosting humans' innate immunity and improving scientists' ability to study such compounds. The technologies are available for licensing to interested companies and entrepreneurs.

19 Aug 2010

Study outlines recommendations for prevention, management of health epidemics

A new study reveals that the oil and gas industry supply chain which includes oil companies, contractors and sub-contractors does not perceive the full extent of the risks that HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria pose to its workforce, productivity and profitability. The study conducted by management consulting firm Booz & Company in partnership the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC) outlines why the oil and gas industry should improve its understanding of the hazards posed by these three epidemics and makes ten recommendations for how to make health a priority.

19 Aug 2010

World MRSA Day kick-off event in Chicago on October 1, 2010

MRSA Survivors Network, the Chicago-based nonprofit organization, launches their second annual World MRSA Day kick-off event at Loyola University Chicago on October 1, 2010. The 2010 global theme for World MRSA Day is: 'The MRSA Epidemic – A Call to Action.' Other events are planned in the United States, U.K. and Canada throughout the month of October, World MRSA Awareness Month.

19 Aug 2010

Scientists suggest immunization against oncogenic herpesviruses can prevent cancer

Viruses that can invade host cells, initiate cancer and then flee fromb their own trail of destruction could be stopped in their tracks, say researchers writing in the September issue of the Journal of General Virology.

19 Aug 2010

ACAAI's survival tips for ragweed allergy

August marks the start of misery for as many as one in five Americans who suffer from hay fever, also called seasonal allergic rhinitis. That's because ragweed, the main cause of hay fever, begins blooming around mid-August and in one day each plant can produce a million pollen grains that can travel for miles from its source.

19 Aug 2010

24% more children with progeria discovered

Spectrum, a health and science communications firm, announced the results of a global awareness campaign that "found" 24 percent more children identified with a rare, fatal, and rapid aging disease called Progeria. The findings are being shared at a Centers for Disease Control national conference on health communications.

19 Aug 2010

New 'Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database' tracks published epidemiologic and real world exposure studies

Links to pesticide exposure are being found in a growing number of studies that evaluate the causes of preventable diseases -- including asthma, autism and learning disabilities, birth defects and reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and several types of cancer. A new database, released today, tracks published epidemiologic and real world exposure studies.

19 Aug 2010

Fralin Life Science Institute professor receives grant from NSF to elucidate research on fungi

Pablo Sobrado, assistant professor of biochemistry with the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech, has received a $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance his research on the mechanism of iron acquisition in fungi and mycobacteria.

19 Aug 2010

Reuters examines measles outbreaks in Africa

Reuters reports on how some health experts worry that growing complacency about the threat of measles in Africa is contributing to "some of the largest and most deadly outbreaks in years." Worldwide, "[a]bout 164,000 people died from measles in 2008, down 78 percent from 733,000 in 2000, according to the Measles Initiative," Reuters reports, adding that "UNICEF fears the combined effect of decreased political and financial commitment to measles could reverse the gains, resulting in an estimated 1.7 million measles-related deaths globally between 2010 and 2013."

19 Aug 2010

FDA grants 510(k) clearance to Aesculap's A-Fix Spinal System

The Aesculap Implant Systems A-Fix Spinal System received 510(k) clearance under K100802 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on July 20, 2010.

18 Aug 2010

Also in Global Health News: Global Fund in El Salvador; World Bank investment in Nepal; Bed nets in Africa; Ukraine caps grain exports

Global Post examines how the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is impacting HIV/AIDS care and human rights in El Salvador. The article profiles Carla, a Salvadorian transvestite who tested positive for HIV in jail and was able to receive anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment through a program supported by the Global Fund, which the article calls a "revolutionary model."

18 Aug 2010

Rush University Medical Center tests new drug therapy for West Nile fever

Neurological and infectious disease experts at Rush University Medical Center are testing a new drug therapy for the treatment of individuals with West Nile fever or suspected central nervous system infection due to the West Nile virus. Rush is the only site in the Midwest enrolling patients into the $50 million dollar, NIH-funded, Phase II clinical trial called PARADIGM.

18 Aug 2010

NASN encourages parents to vaccinate their children against meningococcal disease

More than half of adolescents 13 to 17 years of age have not been vaccinated against meningococcal disease, a rare but serious disease that can cause meningitis and take the life of a child in just a single day. In a recent Ipsos national survey, the majority of mothers with children in this age group had not vaccinated their children because they were not fully aware of the need for vaccination.

18 Aug 2010

Serious funding shortfalls jeopardize UNICEF's humanitarian operation in Pakistan

UNICEF warned today that serious funding shortfalls are jeopardizing its humanitarian operation in Pakistan. UNICEF is extremely concerned at the lack of funds for its water and sanitation operation, with millions of children at risk from water-borne diseases.

18 Aug 2010

World Bank to provide $900M in emergency funding for Pakistan floods, country's High Commissioner provides rough damage estimate

The World Bank on Monday "pledged to reroute money from other projects to provide $900 million in emergency funding to help Pakistan" with its flood recovery efforts, the New York Times reports (Ellick, 8/17).

18 Aug 2010

Policies, practices concerning MRSA differ among acute-care hospitals in the U.S.: Researchers

Hospitals vary in how they detect and treat drug-resistant staph infections, but most follow national guideline recommendations, according to researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

18 Aug 2010

MDA awards $14.1 million in new grants to advance treatments and cures for muscle diseases

The Muscular Dystrophy Association, which has invested almost $39 million in 2010 in worldwide research seeking treatments and cures for muscle diseases, today announced that it has awarded $14.1 million in new grants.

18 Aug 2010

ASEAN representatives participate in week-long exercise aimed at improving region's pandemic response

A group of experts from Southeast Asia gathered in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Monday for the start of a four-day exercise to help bolster "the capabilities of [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] ASEAN member states, both individually and collectively, to prepare for and respond to a severe pandemic with potentially devastating effects on the region," Agence France-Presse/The Independent reports (8/17).

18 Aug 2010

Disease/Infection News

Study quantifies risk for gastrointestinal illness due to E. coli bacteria at inland beach

Innovative approach to eliminate HIV in host by targeted killing of only HIV infected cells

Montana State University offers new biomedical technologies for prevention, treatment of viral infections

Study outlines recommendations for prevention, management of health epidemics

World MRSA Day kick-off event in Chicago on October 1, 2010

Scientists suggest immunization against oncogenic herpesviruses can prevent cancer

ACAAI's survival tips for ragweed allergy

24% more children with progeria discovered

New 'Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database' tracks published epidemiologic and real world exposure studies

Fralin Life Science Institute professor receives grant from NSF to elucidate research on fungi

Reuters examines measles outbreaks in Africa

FDA grants 510(k) clearance to Aesculap's A-Fix Spinal System

Also in Global Health News: Global Fund in El Salvador; World Bank investment in Nepal; Bed nets in Africa; Ukraine caps grain exports

Rush University Medical Center tests new drug therapy for West Nile fever

NASN encourages parents to vaccinate their children against meningococcal disease

Serious funding shortfalls jeopardize UNICEF's humanitarian operation in Pakistan

World Bank to provide $900M in emergency funding for Pakistan floods, country's High Commissioner provides rough damage estimate

Policies, practices concerning MRSA differ among acute-care hospitals in the U.S.: Researchers

MDA awards $14.1 million in new grants to advance treatments and cures for muscle diseases

ASEAN representatives participate in week-long exercise aimed at improving region's pandemic response

Exploring the nanoscale: How AFM is transforming cosmetic science

Innovating Texture and Culture in Plant-Based Foods

Advancing brain microphysiological systems (bMPS)

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