Disease/Infection News

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Findings may lead to drugs that destroy TB in dormant stage of lifecycle

Attempts to eradicate tuberculosis (TB) are stymied by the fact that the disease-causing bacteria have a sophisticated mechanism for surviving dormant in infected cells. Now, a team of scientists led by researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College has identified compounds that inhibit that mechanism -- without damaging human cells.

17 Sep 2009

Fully-insured members of Capital BlueCross to receive coverage for administration fee for H1N1 Flu vaccine

Capital BlueCross announced today that it will cover an administration fee for the H1N1 Flu vaccine for fully-insured members and those with individual coverage during the upcoming 2009-2010 flu season. Self-funded groups may opt to have their coverage customized to include this benefit.

17 Sep 2009

Researchers investigate individual's ability to get rid of Hepatitis C

More than seventy percent of people who contract Hepatitis C will live with the virus that causes it for the rest of their lives and some will develop serious liver disease including cancer. However, 30 to 40 percent of those infected somehow defeat the infection and get rid of the virus with no treatment. In this week's Advanced Online Publication at Nature, Johns Hopkins researchers working as part of an international team report the discovery of the strongest genetic alteration associated with the ability to get rid of the infection.

17 Sep 2009

Study: Antiretroviral drugs may prevent HIV infection in women

Hopeful that some of the same antiretroviral (ARV) drugs used to treat HIV infection can also prevent it, researchers from the Microbicide Trials Network have enrolled the first participants into a new, large-scale clinical trial testing two approaches of the strategy in women.

17 Sep 2009

FDA approves H1N1 vaccine, paves way for large-scale U.S. vaccination campaign

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Tuesday during a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing that H1N1 (swine flu) vaccines produced by four manufacturers — CSL Ltd., Novartis, Sanofi-Pasteur and Medimmune — had won FDA approval, paving the way for a U.S. large-scale vaccination campaign, The Wall Street Journal reports. The application for GlaxoSmithKline PLC's vaccine is still being considered (Dooren/Favole, 9/15).

17 Sep 2009

HIRC investigates the impact of infrastructure on pathogens and micro-organisms

The spread of swine flu and other infectious diseases could be dramatically reduced by revolutionising the way that the places we live in are designed and built.

17 Sep 2009

Administrative cost of H1N1 vaccine to be covered for CIGNA's customers

The spread of the H1N1 influenza virus has the potential to make this year’s flu season more severe than usual. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has designated vaccination as the most powerful public health tool to control influenza.

17 Sep 2009

Researchers discover HIV Nef protein's role in cell mobility inhibition

In order to be able to ward off disease pathogens, immune cells must be mobile and be able to establish contact with each other. The working group around Professor Dr. Oliver Fackler in the Virology Department of the Hygiene Institute of the Heidelberg University Hospital has discovered a mechanism in an animal model revealing how HIV, the AIDS pathogen, cripples immune cells: Cell mobility is inhibited by the HIV Nef protein.

17 Sep 2009

H1N1 influenza prevention campaign launched

Children's Hospital of Wisconsin today announced the launch of an H1N1 influenza prevention campaign geared toward informing educators, parents, caregivers and children of all ages on the importance of practicing healthy habits this cold and flu season.

17 Sep 2009

CEL-SCI to commence its LEAPS-H1N1 clinical trial following FDA approval

CEL-SCI Corporation (NYSE Amex: CVM), a developer of vaccines and therapeutics for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and a late-stage oncology company, announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has indicated that the Company can proceed with its first clinical trial to evaluate the effect of its investigational LEAPS-H1N1 treatment on the white blood cells of hospitalized H1N1 patients.

16 Sep 2009

Understanding Mexico's management of the A(H1N1) outbreak

When the hitherto undetected A(H1N1) influenza attacked Mexico explosively in late April 2009, the world watched with critical attention as that country's leaders scrambled to manage the emerging public health crisis.

16 Sep 2009

MDVIP's medical director suggests preventive measures for flu

Dr. Bernard Kaminetsky, the medical director of MDVIP, a national network of affiliated primary care doctors focused on preventive care, recommends, “Talk to your primary care physician now about the flu, both seasonal and H1N1 flu. Your primary care doctor is the one who can best prepare you for the upcoming season with vaccinations as well as information specific to you.”

16 Sep 2009

Urgent vaccine requirements for treating epidemic diseases voiced at ECI 2009

As a result of dominant media coverage of new epidemic threats such as swine influenza, other infection risks receive less public attention than they deserve. "We would like to bring to everybody's attention that the infectious diseases with the most severe consequences continue to be old acquaintances such as tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, malaria and hepatitis C. About six million people worldwide die of these diseases every year," says Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. Stefan H. E. Kaufmann, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin, at the 2nd European Congress of Immunology ECI 2009.

16 Sep 2009

CIDRAP summit to address employee protection measures during H1N1 pandemic

Business and healthcare leaders looking to fast-track preparedness for the H1N1 pandemic are gathering with infectious disease experts and Fortune 500 planners this month to determine how best to protect their employees and preserve their operations.

16 Sep 2009

NIAID awards Sanaria an SBIR Grant for expediting its malaria vaccine manufacturing process

Sanaria Inc. has received additional support from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health in the form of a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Grant. The award for two years is $1.99 million. Subject to satisfactory progress by Sanaria, continued funding for a third year will bring the total to nearly $3 million.

16 Sep 2009

Also in Global Health News: PNG, Nepal outbreaks; Taliban Oks polio vaccination; Technology helps in developing countries; Satellite images for malaria control

VOA News examines the ongoing struggle for Papua New Guinea's health system to treat thousands of people infected by the "simultaneous outbreaks of influenza, dysentery and cholera that have killed about 120 people." The article includes information about the difficulties heath officials are having in assessing the various outbreaks and concerns of medical workers that conditions may soon worsen (Mercer, 9/14).

16 Sep 2009

FDA grants orphan drug status to Advanced Life Sciences' Restanza

Advanced Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: ADLS) today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Orphan Drug Designation to Restanza(TM) (cethromycin), its novel, once daily oral antibiotic, for the prophylactic treatment of plague and tularemia. Both tularemia and plague are classified by the Centers for Disease Control as Category A Bioterrorism Agents, which is the highest priority classification.

16 Sep 2009

American Lung Association urges families to get immunized against seasonal influenza

The American Lung Association is intensifying its seasonal influenza public education initiative to urge families to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The Faces of Influenza campaign aims to ensure Americans get immunized against seasonal influenza, which each year causes an estimated 36,000 deaths and over 226,000 hospitalizations from the virus and its related complications.

15 Sep 2009

Andersonville Arts Weekend art sales proceeds to support HIV-affected families

During the Arts weekend, over 25 of Olmetti's works and installations will be featured at SIR Spa. Proceeds from art sales will benefit the Chicago House, in support pf the mission of Chicago House and Social Service Agency to provide housing and supportive services to HIV-affected families and individuals who may also be impacted by poverty, homelessness, substance abuse, and mental illness.

15 Sep 2009

NMQF launches the P.A.D. Atlas database that maps peripheral arterial disease prevalence by zip code

The National Minority Quality Forum (NMQF), one of the nation's leading voices in the health disparities discussion, is launching the P.A.D. Atlas, a database that maps by zip code peripheral arterial disease (P.A.D.) prevalence down to the street level, with the P.A.D. Coalition and support from the Bristol-Myers Squibb/Sanofi Pharmaceuticals Partnership.

15 Sep 2009