TB & Outbreaks Week articles from February 2002

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from February 2002

Low Cefotaxime Doses Produce Hypermutable Streptococcus Strains.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Minute doses of the antibiotic cefotaxime can produce Streptococcus pneumoniae strains with augmented mutation capacities, researchers in Spain report. ...

Lung Resection Can Benefit Patients With Mycobacteria xenopi Infection.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Lung surgery is often beneficial for patients with drug-resistant Mycobacteria xenopi infections, researchers in France report. "Results of medical therapy...

Study Links El Nino To Deadly South American Disease.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a groundbreaking collaborative study, NASA climatologists and U.S. military health specialists may have discovered a way to predict outbreaks of a deadly South American disease by observing sea...

Rubella Almost Eradicated In The United States.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study of the incidence and characteristics of rubella (also known as German measles) cases reported in the United States from 1990 through 1999 shows record low levels of the disease. However, the...

Many Neonatal Intensive Care Workers Carry Candida On Their Hands.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Health care workers may be partly to blame for rising rates of Candida infections in intensive care units for newborns, researchers in the United States have...

Quantitative PCR Testing Enables Rapid Screening For Rift Valley Fever Virus.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in France have developed a novel technique for detecting Rift Valley fever virus in patients living in underdeveloped areas. "The Rift Valley...

Diverse Set Of TB Drug-Resistance Mutations Found In India.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in India say that tuberculosis strains in that country have developed a variety of ways to protect themselves from antibacterial drugs. "The...

Three Poisonous Proteins Identified.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Three poisonous proteins make the anthrax bacteria, Bacillus anthracis, deadly. One shields the other two from the body's immune system, and another destroys immune-system cells. The third anthrax...

CDC Releases New Web Resources For Clinicians, Lab Professionals, Public.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) unveiled a redesigned website offering both new and updated bioterrorism resources for health professionals and the public, January 18, 2002....

Results From Phase III Daptomycin Trial Show Geographic Differences.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cubist Pharmaceuticals, Inc., announced preliminary results from the first of two pivotal, Phase III trials investigating the safety and efficacy of its investigational antibiotic Cidecin (daptomycin...

Biodefense Mobilization Conference Scheduled For April 2002.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Genelex Corporation announced in January, that the Biodefense Mobilization Conference 2002 will be held in Seattle, Washington, April 9-11, 2002. The event, cosponsored by the University of...

Inbuilt Antibiotics Inspire Drug Design.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Humans, plants, and animals live, by and large, harmoniously with microbes. A recently published review article by Michael Zasloff of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia,...

ActivBiotics Secures $17 Million in Funding.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- ActivBiotics has moved from a virtual organization to an early stage pharmaceutical company with the investment of $17 million in venture capital and the acquisition of exclusive global rights to...

Start Of Pilot Program Should Improve Healthcare Delivery In Africa.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PharmAccess International (PAI) announced the start of the CARE partnership pilot program to deliver comprehensive HIV healthcare in four African centers. Together with support and funding from...

Phase III Interferon (gamma)-1b Study To Continue As Planned.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- InterMune, Inc., announced in January, 2002, that the Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) for its Phase III clinical trial of Actimmune (interferon (gamma)-1b) injection for the treatment of idiopathic...

InterMune Signs Agreement With Abbott for the Manufacture of Oritavancin.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- InterMune, Inc., has signed an agreement with Abbott Laboratories to provide the bulk manufacturing of oritavancin, InterMune's glycopeptide antibiotic for the treatment of Gram-positive bacterial...

QuickVue Test Gets Specific Reimbursement Code.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Quidel Corp.'s QuickVue influenza test received a new billing code for 2002 from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS sent all carriers and intermediaries a Change Request,...

Prevalence In The United States Is Increasing.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The trend of increasing prevalence of Lyme disease is continuing in the United States, according to latest data analyzed. Lyme disease, a tick-borne bacterial illness, continues to be an important...

Multiuse Topical Antifungal Included In Defense Appropriation.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ganeden Biotech has announced that its proprietary topical antifungal medication, Fungi-Free, has for the second straight year been included as part of the Congressionally mandated Peer Reviewed Medical...

PKIDs Report Explains The ABCs Of Hepatitis A-E.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The national nonprofit agency PKIDs (Parents of Kids with Infectious Diseases) has released a report examining how viral hepatitis affects children's health and its medical, emotional, and civil rights...

Activity In The United States During The 2000-2001 Season Reported.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) monitors the spread of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), documenting annual RSV outbreaks in the United States, primarily during...

Antiviral Drugs Reduce Herpesvirus 6 Replication.
February 5, 2002... 2002 FEB 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States say that antiviral therapy may help protect stem cell graft recipients from herpesvirus-6-based disorders. "Human...

Female Genital Tuberculosis Likely Cause Of Infertility In High-Risk Areas.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Genital tuberculosis carries a high risk of infertility in women, researchers in Iran found. Behineh Namavar Jahromi and colleagues at Shiraz University of...

Individualized Treatment Can Effectively Resolve Drug-Resistant Infections.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in South Korea say that individualized therapy can be successfully used to treat drug-resistant tuberculosis. H.J. Kim and colleagues working...

Rifampicin Reduces Nevirapine Levels In Coinfected Patients.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The antituberculosis drug rifampicin lowers in vivo levels of the antiretroviral agent nevirapine, researchers in Spain report. Dr. Esteban Ribera and...

Epidemic Threatens Volcano Eruption Refugees.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- International aid workers are fearing an outbreak of cholera following a devastating volcanic eruption that has all but completely leveled Goma, Congo, a city of a half million people. Compounding the...

High Chlamydia pneumoniae Prevalence Seen In Italian Heart Disease Patients.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Italy say that patients with coronary disease in that country are likely to carry Chlamydia pneumoniae infections. "Chlamydia pneumoniae...

Science and Computing Leaders Ask PC Community to Help Develop Treatment.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Intel, Microsoft Corp., the National Foundation for Cancer Research (NFCR), Oxford University and United Devices have asked computer users around the world to join with them in the Anthrax Research...

Americans Want Antibiotics, Even When They Know Better.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- There is widespread consensus among medical authorities that antibiotics are prescribed too often and that this is a major cause of the evolution of new strains of bacteria, which are increasingly drug...

Death Toll From Outbreak Rises To 34 In Central Africa.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Ebola has claimed five more victims in Gabon, news reports said on January 26, 2002, bringing the death toll from the disease in two Central African countries to 34. The new deaths were reported...

Bioinformatics Research Collaboration Formed To Study Infectious Diseases.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech and the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) Bloomberg School of Public Health have announced a $10 million bioinformatics research collaboration to...

Quinolone Treatment Increases Risk Of False-Positive Drug Tests.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Quinolone antimicrobial medicines can increase the risk of testing positive for illicit opiates, researchers in the United States say. "Millions of assays...

Protein Plays Key Role In Bacteria's Virulence.
February 12, 2002... 2002 FEB 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A key protein discovered in the bacterium that causes Legionnaires disease may help explain how these common aquatic organisms became virulent human pathogens. When the Legionella bacterium...

Polymerase Chain Reaction Typing Superior To Conventional Methods.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis is superior to conventional methods for the molecular typing of Vibrio parahaemolyticus pathogens, researchers in...

Invasive Procedures Causing Infection Rates To Expand In Cirrhosis Patients.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Sonia Nichols, senior medical writer - Epidemiologists in Spain have determined that the number of liver cirrhosis patients experiencing bacterial infection as a result of undergoing invasive...

Bacteriophage Successful Against Resistant Bacteria.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the National Institutes of Health are using viruses to attack antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Working with scientists from Exponential Biotherapies in Port Washington, New York, they...

Roll Call: Study Shows How Bacteria Signal A Quorum.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have identified a molecule that allows bacteria to send signals between species, a discovery that may eventually lead to new drugs designed to disrupt bacterial communication. The...

West Nile Virus Heading Toward Texas.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Texans living near water are accustomed to annual warnings about St. Louis encephalitis. Now, they are being warned of a new virus sure to make its way into the state - West Nile encephalitis. ...

Bronchoscopic Dilatation Safe, Effective For Tracheobronchial Stenosis Patients.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Australia say that bronchoscopic dilatation is a suitable treatment for benign tracheobronchial stenosis. "Tracheobronchial stenosis in the...

Germ-Fighting Office Out To Defend Country Against Deadly Outbreaks.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- They're the Green Berets of the germ world. They gather intelligence on invading armies of lethal microbes and then try to force them to retreat. They must be ready to leave their families for...

Researchers Working On High-Tech Bandage That Would Detect Infections.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists are working on a "smart bandage" that would detect specific bacteria in a wound and eventually may help people self-diagnose illnesses and free doctors to focus on more seriously ill...

Scientists Gain Understanding of Virus Nano-Machine For Cell Puncturing, DNA Delivery.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a discovery that could eventually lead to a new class of antibiotics, researchers have learned how the bacterial virus, bacteriophage T4, attacks its host, the Escherichia coli bacterium. ...

New Task Force Will Respond To Future Domestic Disasters And Acts Of Terrorism.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- America's blood banking and transfusion medicine community has announced new recommendations for responding to future domestic disasters and acts of terrorism. The Interorganizational Task Force...

Clarithromycin-Ethambutol Therapy Ineffective.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The antibiotic clarithromycin and the antituberculosis drug ethambutol should not be used to treat Crohn disease, researchers in the United States find. ...

Belgian Toxic Food Scare Spreads to Pork.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The country's latest toxic food scare spread beyond poultry into the pork industry after authorities admitted some pigs that had eaten contaminated feed had already entered the food supply. ...

Countries Strive for Better Food Safety.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first ever Global Forum of Food Safety Regulators took place in Marrakech, seeking ways to improve the safety of food worldwide at every step of the food production chain - from farmers, through...

Lettuce Takes Up E. coli, Defeating Normal Cleaning.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lettuce that has been fertilized with manure or irrigated with water contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 can take the bacteria up through its root system and internalize it inside its leaves, resisting...

Pneumococcal Surface Adhesin Shows Promise.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States say that a pneumcoccal protein can induce potent antibacterial immune responses. "Pneumococcal surface adhesin A (PsaA), a...

Certain Cytokines, Receptors Needed For Koch's Phenomenon.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Germany have shed new light on the molecular causes of tuberculosis-induced pulmonary necrosis. "The immunological basis of...

Amid High Hopes and Frustrations, Global Fund on AIDS/TB Holds First Meeting.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A special fund of nearly $2 billion to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria has moved one step closer to helping victims of the three diseases, which kill an estimated 6 million people a year. ...

Millions of Children Vaccinated In Bangladesh.
February 19, 2002... 2002 FEB 19 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nearly 20 million children under 5 years old received doses of polio vaccine and vitamin A in the first round January 27, 2002, of the 10th National Immunization Day, the health ministry said. The...