Meningitis News and Research

Latest Meningitis News and Research

Ceftriaxone may help fight dementia in HIV patients

An antibiotic commonly used to treat a variety of serious infections may also help prevent dementia in HIV patients, according to a test-tube study of human brain cells by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine neurologist Jeffrey Rumbaugh, M.D., Ph.D.

7 Apr 2006

High prevalence of mumps in Iowa

The Department of Public Health in Iowa says 245 confirmed, probable or suspected cases of mumps have been reported there since mid-January.

3 Apr 2006

Health experts meet in Asia to discuss preventing deadly childhood diseases

The deadly diseases pneumonia and meningitis kill an estimated 1.8 million children under the age of 5 years across the globe every year. Of these, more than 700,000 occur in the countries in the South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions of the World Health Organization (WHO).

30 Mar 2006

New tools in the fight against pneumococci

New tools in the fight against pneumococci - the bugs targeted by vaccines recently announced by the Department of Health - are described by a team led by scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute.

13 Mar 2006

Link between childhood exposure to tobacco smoke and Streptococcus pneumoniae

Many of the medical risks associated with smoking, such as cancer, emphysema and heart attacks, are well-known to physicians and the general public.

13 Mar 2006

University of Michigan researchers target stubborn gram-negative bacteria

Ronald Woodard's team set out looking for a way to kill a stubborn type of bacteria and they succeeded - but not in the way he expected.

9 Mar 2006

Is persistent bacterial infection good for your health?

Bacteria are bad. Mothers and doctors, not to mention the cleaning product industry, repeatedly warn of their dangers. But a Stanford University School of Medicine microbiologist is raising the intriguing idea that persistent bacterial and viral infections have benefits.

27 Feb 2006

Snogging quadruples risk of meningitis in teenagers

Intimate kissing with multiple partners almost quadruples a teenager's risk of meningococcal disease, finds a study published online by the British Medical Journal.

19 Feb 2006

Scientists investigate sugar coating that surrounds bacteria

Scientists at The University of Texas at Austin have developed a quick and simple way to investigate the sugar coating that surrounds bacteria and plays a role in infection and immunity.

16 Feb 2006

Lab-on-chip can detect bird flu in humans

European microchip maker STMicroelectronics is planning to market a disposable laboratory microchip that can confirm within about an hour a human case of bird flu.

18 Jan 2006

New treatment for brucellosis

Concepcion Lecaroz, a researcher from the University of Navarra, has developed a new therapy against brucellosis. This zoonosis - a disease or infection of animals which can be transmitted to humans under natural conditions - annually affects 500,000 people worldwide.

18 Jan 2006

Lives will be saved as early signs of meningitis now identified

Scientists in the UK say they have identified the early signs of meningitis and blood poisoning which should improve detection of the disease and save lives.

11 Jan 2006

Carbonic anhydrase and CO2 sensing during Cryptococcus neoformans growth, differentiation, and virulence

By using pathogenic fungi as model systems for understanding fungal diseases, two groups of researchers are reporting new work that offers insight into how carbon dioxide (CO2) governs the morphogenic changes that allow pathogenic fungi to survive in different environments and invade the human body

21 Nov 2005

Accurate and rapid method of diagnosing bacterial meningitis

Several hundred serious cases of bacterial meningitis are diagnosed in Australians every year. Bacterial meningitis is a medical emergency that requires immediate diagnosis and treatment, however doctors have always faced difficulty in diagnosis, both in children and adults.

21 Nov 2005

New findings on bacterial vaginosis

Despite being one of the most common infections among women, scientists and doctors know little about the causes of bacterial vaginosis (BV), a usually benign disease that is also linked to serious health problems including pelvic inflammatory disease

3 Nov 2005