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Military to fight Dengue fever in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Since the beginning of the year across the state of Rio, 49 people have died from the potentially deadly fever, the vast majority of victims have been in the city itself, with hospitals struggling to cope.

24 Mar 2008

Hard to treat TB case diagnosed in Britain

Health officials in Britain say they are dealing with the country's first case of a rare strain of tuberculosis (TB) which is almost untreatable.

24 Mar 2008

Typhoid no longer an enemy of the past as study highlights risk for travellers to indian sub-continent

UK travellers visiting friends and relatives on the Indian sub-continent are carrying an unnecessary burden of typhoid and paratyphoid (also called enteric fevers), according to researchers at the Health Protection Agency.

24 Mar 2008

Call to step up the fight against tuberculosis

In honor of World TB Day 2008 (March 24), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIVMA Medicine Association (HIVMA) urged U.S. policymakers to step up the fight against tuberculosis by committing substantial resources against the disease both at home and abroad.

24 Mar 2008

Fewer TB cases recorded but numbers still too high

A small decrease in UK Tuberculosis (TB) cases in 2007, compared with 2006, was reported by the Health Protection Agency today when provisional UK figures were released for World TB Day, but experts warn the number is still too high.

24 Mar 2008

WHO warns Aussies to prepare for deadly flu

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is warning Australians to prepare for a potentially deadly flu season.

23 Mar 2008

Skin patch gives bird flu vaccine a big boost

Researchers testing an experimental skin patch designed to boost an H5N1 vaccine say preliminary results have been promising.

21 Mar 2008

New understanding of Norwalk virus

Using the Canadian Light Source synchrotron, an international team led by University of Calgary researcher Ken Ng has determined the detailed structure of the enzyme the Norwalk virus uses to make copies of its genetic code in order to replicate itself.

20 Mar 2008

Parasitic worm Schistosoma mekongi more widespread than previously thought

A new genetic analysis, published March 19th in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, suggests that the parasitic worm Schistosoma mekongi is more widespread than previously thought.

20 Mar 2008

Single dose of doxycycline protects from Lyme disease

Lyme disease is the blight of countryside users but it may be prevented with a single injection, according to research published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology.

20 Mar 2008

Community-acquired staph pneumonia appears more common, including MRSA

Preliminary research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests that community acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium may be more common than originally suspected, including that caused by antibiotic resistant strains.

20 Mar 2008

Dengue fever warnings for WA and far north Queensland

The Health Department in West Australia say there is a sharp increase in the mosquito-borne viral infection Dengue fever in people returning from Indonesia.

19 Mar 2008

Illicit drug use and risky sex fueling rise in syphilis

According to researchers in the U.S. syphilis which was almost eradicated a decade ago in the developed world, is making a comeback.

19 Mar 2008

UN gives stark warning about bird flu threat from Indonesia

Any danger that the world has become bored or complacent regarding the threat of bird flu will be dispelled by a stark warning from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

19 Mar 2008

Pneumococcal disease rates down since approval of a vaccine in 2000

Since the approval of a vaccine against pneumococcal bacteria for young children in 2000, rates of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) are down significantly in all age groups, while rates of IPD caused by non-vaccine strains are modestly on the rise.

19 Mar 2008

WHO warns the fight against TB has slowed down

A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on tuberculosis (TB) has revealed that the pace of the progress to control the TB epidemic has slowed down.

18 Mar 2008

New information on HIV genetic switch

If the battle against HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is a chess match, then new research published today gives new insight into one of the virus' most important moves.

18 Mar 2008

Severe West Nile infection could lead to lifetime of symptoms

Most people who suffer severe infection with West Nile virus still experience symptoms years after infection and many may continue to experience these symptoms for the rest of their lives according to research presented (March 17) at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases in Atlanta, Georgia.

18 Mar 2008

Scientists identify potential therapy targets for schistosomiasis

A research team supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Roadmap and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has identified chemical compounds that hold promise as potential therapies for schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that afflicts more than 200 million people worldwide.

18 Mar 2008

Global tuberculosis control 2008

The Global tuberculosis control 2008 , released today by WHO, finds that the pace of the progress to control the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic slowed slightly in 2006, the most recent year for which data were available.

18 Mar 2008