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Infectious Diseases/Bacteria/Viruses News
European Antibiotic Awareness Day
Yesterday (18th November 2009) marks the second annual European Antibiotic Awareness Day, established to highlight the problem of increasing antibiotic resistance and the need for prudent use of antibiotics. Figures from the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption project, which monitors antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance in countries across Europe, suggest that antibiotic use in many countries remains too high. ...more
20 Nov 2009
Yale Researchers Target Tick Saliva In Their Search For Lyme Disease
A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites. Traditionally, vaccines have directly targeted specific pathogens. ...more
20 Nov 2009
Inovio Biomedical Universal DNA Vaccine For Chikungunya Virus Demonstrates Protective Antibody Responses In Monkey Model
Inovio Biomedical Corporation (NYSE Amex: INO), a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced that the company's SynCon™ Chikungunya virus DNA vaccine induced protective neutralizing antibody responses in a preclinical non-human primate model. Dr. David B. ...more
20 Nov 2009
How Viruses Destroy Bacteria
Viruses are well known for attacking humans and animals, but some viruses instead attack bacteria. Texas A&M University researchers are exploring how hungry viruses, armed with transformer-like weapons, attack bacteria, which may aid in the treatment of bacterial infections. The Texas A&M researchers' work is published in the renowned journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. The attackers are called phages, or bacteriophages, meaning eaters of bacteria. ...more
20 Nov 2009
Pew Health Group Statement On Senate Mark Up Of The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510)
Sandra Eskin, director of the Pew Health Group's Food Safety Campaign, has issued the following statement regarding the markup of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act by the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions Committee: "The Pew Health Group applauds the members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions (HELP) Committee for approving the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) today. ...more
20 Nov 2009
New Chemical May Play Key Role In Hospital Superbugs' Battle, UK
A new chemical compound that mimics the body's ability to fight bacteria could help target hospital-acquired infections such as MRSA and C.difficile. The compound, which could be added to detergents or used as a coating for hospital equipment, is able to trap and release the gas nitric oxide - which is also produced by our own immune systems to kill bugs. ...more
20 Nov 2009
FDA Approves New Drug For Pain That Persists After Shingles
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday that it has approved Qutenza (capsaicin) 8% patch for the treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), an often excruciating pain that can persist for weeks, months and even years in 10 to 15 per cent of people who get shingles. The medicated skin patch, which is made by Lohmann Therapie-Systems AD of Andernach, Germany and distributed in the US by NeurogesX Inc. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Also In Global Health News: Sleeping Sickness; Aid For Philippines; U.S., China In Africa; Polio Eradication In Afghanistan; Ethiopia Famine
Lancet Infectious Diseases Examines Hold-Ups In Implementation Of Sleeping Sickness Therapy ...more
19 Nov 2009
WHO To Launch Yellow Fever Vaccination Campaign In West Africa
The WHO on Tuesday announced it would lead a week-long, multi-country vaccination campaign in Africa next week to protect those "deemed at highest risk from yellow fever," Reuters reports. The vaccination drive will target nearly 12 million Africans living in Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone - all countries at high risk of yellow fever outbreaks (Nebehay/MacInnis, 11/17). ...more
19 Nov 2009
An Overactive Immune Response Linked To Viral Infections Among Elderly
Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that exaggerated responses of the immune system explain why the elderly succumb to viral infections more readily than younger people. Published in the November 19 Cell Host & Microbe, the study bucks the general belief that declining immune responses are to blame for susceptibility to viral infections. ...more
19 Nov 2009
GAVI Alliance Drives Down Pentavalent Vaccine Costs, Data Shows
The "co-ordinated buying policy" of the GAVI Alliance has driven down "[t]he price of a vaccine that helps babies fight off killer diseases," according to data released by the group, Reuters reports. In 2010, the price of pentavalent vaccine, which protects against Hib (Haemophilus influenzae type b), diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and hepatitis B, will fall "below $3.0 - a drop of almost $0. ...more
19 Nov 2009
BVA'S 8-point Plan For Responsible Use Of Antimicrobials, UK
The British Veterinary Association (BVA) has launched a simple and effective 8-point plan for the responsible use of antimicrobials in veterinary practice. Antimicrobials are essential for the treatment and prevention of diseases in animals, but every use increases both the risk that resistance will develop and the potential for its transfer to man via food-borne pathogens. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Epiphany Announces Positive Results From Its Phase 2b Trial In Shingles
Epiphany Biosciences announced results from its Phase 2b dose-ranging study of EPB-348 (valomaciclovir) in patients with shingles (herpes zoster) infection. The study's primary endpoint was non-inferiority of once-daily valomaciclovir compared to thrice-daily valacyclovir in terms of time to complete crusting of the shingles rash. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Don't Let The Flu Ruin Your Holiday
With H1N1 flu causing illness all across the country, the American Red Cross has some steps to take that will lessen the chances of getting sick over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. "Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy being with family, not to be in bed with the flu," said Sharon Stanley, chief nurse of the American Red Cross. "You can follow easy tips to try and avoid becoming ill over the upcoming holiday. ...more
19 Nov 2009
School-based H1N1 Influenza Clinics To Begin For K-3 Students, Alabama
The Alabama Department of Public Health will begin offering nasal mist flu vaccine to kindergarten through third grade students in Alabama schools at voluntary H1N1 influenza vaccination clinics. A few clinics will begin the week of Nov. 23, but the majority will be held beginning the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 5. "Vaccination is the best way to protect your children from this potentially serious disease," said State Health Officer Dr. Donald Williamson. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Groups At High Risk Of H1N1 Influenza A Should Avoid Travelling To 2009 HAJJ
Some 2.5 million pilgrims are expected at holy sites in Saudi Arabia for the 2009 Hajj, expected to begin around November 25. To combat the threat posed by H1N1 influenza A, the Saudi Arabian Health Ministry has issued public health recommendations, including recommending groups at highest risk of contracting H1N1 postpone their pilgrimage to a later year when the threat is reduced. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Anacor Initiates Phase I Clinical Development For AN3365 - A Novel Antibiotic For The Treatment Of Gram-Negative Infections
Anacor Pharmaceuticals announced that it has dosed the first patient in a Phase I clinical study for AN3365, a novel boron-based, small-molecule drug candidate in development for the treatment of hospital infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria. The study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of AN3365 in healthy volunteers. AN3365 targets the bacterial enzyme leucyl tRNA synthetase. ...more
19 Nov 2009
Scientist Begins To Unravel What Makes Pandemic H1N1 Tick
As the number of deaths related to the pandemic H1N1 virus, commonly known as "swine flu," continues to rise, researchers have been scrambling to decipher its inner workings and explain why the incidence is lower than expected in older adults. ...more
18 Nov 2009
TAU Develops Dissolving Dressing For Wounds Packed With Infection-Fighting Antibiotics
Despite advances in treatment regimens and the best efforts of nurses and doctors, about 70% of all people with severe burns die from related infections. But a revolutionary new wound dressing developed at Tel Aviv University could cut that number dramatically. Prof. ...more
18 Nov 2009
25-Year Review Shows Last-Resort Lower-Body Amputation Effective In Extreme Cases
A landmark, 25-year review of cases in which surgeons had to remove the lower portion of the body from the waist down for severe pelvic bone infections shows the therapy can add years and quality of life to survivors, say researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center. The rarely performed surgery is called a hemicorporectomy or translumbar amputation, and involves removing the entire body below the waist, including legs, pelvic bone and urinary system. ...more
18 Nov 2009

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