Disease/Infection News

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CPL Biologicals completes construction of vaccine facility in Dholka, India

CPL Biologicals (CPLB), a joint venture of Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. and Novavax, Inc., today announced that it has completed construction of its vaccine facility in Dholka, India and will commence equipment and installation validation this month so that the facility conforms to global standards for production of vaccines for human use.

10 Jun 2010

Idenix initiates IDX320 proof-of-concept study for HCV infection

Idenix Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of drugs for the treatment of human viral diseases, today announced that it has initiated a 3-day proof-of-concept study of IDX320, a protease inhibitor for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, under a Clinical Trial Application (CTA). The study is evaluating IDX320 in treatment-naive hepatitis C genotype 1-infected patients.

10 Jun 2010

Gamma interferon wakes-up sleeping stem cells to produce immune system cells to fight invading bacteria

Most of the time, the body's blood-forming (hematopoietic) stem cells remain dormant, with just a few producing blood cells and maintaining a balance among the different types.

10 Jun 2010

Misinterpretation of genetic information may undermine efforts to promote behavioral changes for disease prevention

Does knowing that genes are partly responsible for your health condition mean you are less likely to be motivated to find out about the benefits of behavioral changes? According to Dr. Suzanne O'Neill from the National Human Genome Research Institute/National Institutes of Health, and her colleagues, people on the whole are still interested in how health habits affect disease risk.

10 Jun 2010

Extensive usage of antibiotic linezolid associated with ICU outbreak of LRSA

An outbreak of infection due to linezolid and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LRSA) in 12 intensive care unit patients in Spain was associated with transmission within the hospital and extensive usage of the antibiotic linezolid, often used for the treatment of serious infections, with reductions in linezolid use and infection-control measures associated with resolution of the outbreak, according to a study in the June 9 issue of JAMA.

10 Jun 2010

Baylor Institute of Immunology Research receives nearly $35M as grants in 2009

Even in an economy that's proved devastating to charitable giving and government grants, the Baylor Institute of Immunology Research (BIIR), a component of Baylor Research Institute (BRI), has managed to buck the trend: BIIR received grants totaling nearly $35 million in 2009.

10 Jun 2010

Differences in immune systems of men and women can impact diseases: Research

In the book Sex Hormones and Immunity to Infection, Sabra Klein, PhD, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, explores the differences in the immune systems of men and women and how these differences can impact disease.

10 Jun 2010

New findings may help researchers design drugs that can prevent HIV

Researchers at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and University of Nebraska Medical Center have created a three-dimensional picture of an important protein that is involved in how HIV -- the virus responsible for AIDS -- is produced inside human cells. The picture may help researchers design drugs that can prevent HIV from reproducing.

10 Jun 2010

2010 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases at Atlanta, Georgia

Journalists are invited to attend and cover the 2010 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases (ICEID), to be held July 11-14, 2010, at the Hyatt Regency, Atlanta, Georgia. The meeting is being organized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Society for Microbiology, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, the Association of Public Health Laboratories and the World Health Organization.

10 Jun 2010

World Bank, partner programs 'not achieving intended outcomes' for TB in Africa, report says

A report, released Wednesday by the group ACTION (Advocacy to Control TB Internationally), finds that the World Bank and its partners' programs to fight tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa are "not achieving intended outcomes" and have been mostly ineffective, Agence France-Presse reports.

10 Jun 2010

FDA approves Roxane Laboratories' Valacyclovir Hydrochloride Tablets ANDA

Roxane Laboratories, Inc. announced today the Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approval of Valacyclovir Hydrochloride Tablets 500mg and

10 Jun 2010

SFDA approves China Medical Technologies' SPR-based HPV-DNA chip

China Medical Technologies, Inc., a leading China-based advanced in-vitro diagnostic company, today announced that it has received approval for its SPR-based HPV-DNA chip from the State Food and Drug Administration of China (the "SFDA").

10 Jun 2010

Global Fund releases mid-year results for HIV, TB, malaria

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced mid-year results for HIV and TB treatment as well as for insecticide-treated net distribution, Sify News reports.

10 Jun 2010

First clinical trial among African women to test vaginal ring that prevents HIV transmission

The nonprofit International Partnership for Microbicides today announced the initiation of the first trial among women in Africa testing a vaginal ring containing an antiretroviral drug that could one day be used to prevent HIV transmission during sex. The clinical trial, known as IPM 015, tests the safety and acceptability of an innovative approach that adapts a successful technology from the reproductive health field to give women around the world a tool to protect themselves from HIV infection.

9 Jun 2010

Faith-based HIV-prevention program for African-American women and girls

Developing and evaluating a faith-based, HIV-prevention program for African-American mothers and their daughters is the focus of Dr. Chisina Kapungu's $795,000 career development grant from the National Institute of Mental Health.

9 Jun 2010

Lapses in infection control common in ambulatory surgical centers

An assessment of nearly 70 ambulatory surgical centers in three states found that lapses in infection control were common, including for practices such as hand hygiene, injection and medication safety and equipment reprocessing, according to a study in the June 9 issue of JAMA.

9 Jun 2010

FDA should implement risk-based approach to tackle food safety problems: Report

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's abilities to discover potential threats to food safety and prevent outbreaks of foodborne illness are hampered by impediments to efficient use of its limited resources and a piecemeal approach to gathering and using information on risks, says a new report by the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council.

9 Jun 2010

Helix BioPharma reports Phase II clinical results of Topical Interferon Alpha-2b for ano-genital warts

Helix BioPharma Corp. today announced results from the Phase II clinical trial assessing the efficacy and safety of Topical Interferon Alpha-2b cream for the treatment of ano-genital warts (AGW).

9 Jun 2010

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria demonstrates strong progress in prevention, treatment

Today the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria announced its latest prevention and treatment numbers, noting in particular that Global Fund-financed programs have put 2.8 million people on treatment for HIV/AIDS, 7 million people have been treated for tuberculosis and 122 million insecticide-treated nets have been distributed to prevent malaria infection.

9 Jun 2010

Inquiry into the hospital acquired killer bug starts

A Second World War veteran John Boyle died of Clostridium difficile infection after being admitted to hospital for the first time at the age of 90. He was diagnosed with the infection on January 25 this year and succumbed to it two weeks later. He was one of 18 patients to die at a Scottish hospital when the outbreak of this hospital-acquired infection was reported.

8 Jun 2010