TB & Outbreaks Week articles from February 2004

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from February 2004

High-dose pulse corticosteroid treatment more effective than low-dose therapy.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- High-dose pulse corticosteroid treatment for SARS is superior to low-dose therapy. According to a study from China, "The treatment of atypical pneumonia, subsequently termed severe acute respiratory...

Crystal structure of S. pneumoniae chorismate synthase solved.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The structure of streptococcal CS has been characterized, providing information that could lead to novel antimicrobial agents. In a recent study from Scotland, "The crystal structure of chorismate...

P. aeruginosa clone C widely distributed in Europe.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The highly pathogenic P. aeruginosa clone C is widely distributed in Europe. In a recent study from Germany, "a collection of 77 epidemiologically unrelated Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates was...

M. tuberculosis narGHJI locus plays key role in nitrate reduction.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Mycobacterium tuberculosis narGHJI gene locus plays a key role in the pathogen's nitrate reductase activity. M. tuberculosis "is one of the strongest reducers of nitrate in the genus...

Latex agglutination TB test effective.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel assay shows promise for mass tuberculosis testing. Researchers in India described the "large-scale validation of a simple latex agglutination test for the diagnosis of tuberculosis". ...

Structure of mycobacterial EPSP synthase elucidated.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The molecular structure of mycobacterial EPSP synthase has been elucidated. "The shikimate pathway is an attractive target for herbicides and antimicrobial agent development because it is essential...

Reversible anosmia reported after amikacin therapy.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Reversible anosmia is possible after amikacin therapy. "Olfactory disorders are among the rare adverse effects of antibiotic therapy," scientists in Switzerland explained. "To date, olfactory...

WHO: Bird flu not moving human to human.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Health officials are hoping a chicken flu that has killed at least three people in Vietnam won't start spreading from person to person, and a genetic study has provided encouragement, a health agency...

Common P. falciparum parasites can cause cerebral malaria in children.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Commonly recognized P. falciparum parasites can cause cerebral malaria (CM) in children. According to scientists in Germany, CM "is a devastating form of Plasmodium falciparum malaria, in which...

Alliance to develop, commercialize influenza vaccines.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aventis (AVE) and Crucell N.V. (CRXL) announced that they have entered into a strategic agreement to further develop and commercialize novel influenza vaccine products based on Crucell's proprietary...

Treatment in prison can prevent disease outside, says U.S. Surgeon General.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cooperation between its health department and prison system has helped Mississippi do something unique: steadily reduce tuberculosis cases for more than a decade, a federal official said. ...

Thailand epidemics have 3-year cycle.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dengue fever epidemics in Thailand occur in a predictable 3-year cycle, new research reveals. The discovery may aid the allocation of resources needed to contain future outbreaks. Dengue fever is a...

Federal government report illustrates current diphtheria risks.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to the January 9 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a recent case of fatal diphtheria was diagnosed in a U.S....

Glycosylated beta-amino hydroxamates show promise as antimalarials.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of novel beta-amino hydroxamates show promise as antimalarial agents. According to research from India, "Glycosylated beta-amino acids (3-18, 38, 39), obtained by hydrolysis of glycosylated...

Novel 1beta-methylcarbapenems have potent antimicrobial activity.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of novel carbapenems have demonstrated potent antimicrobial activity. Scientists in South Korea described the "synthesis and antibacterial activity of novel 1beta-methylcarbapenems 1a-f...

Outbreaks are simultaneous "mini-epidemics".
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Although they may appear as single outbreaks quickly spread by people and wildlife, recent flare-ups of the deadly Ebola virus in Central Africa are actually multiple epidemics of different viral...

MacAndrews & Forbes and TransTech Pharma complete $10,000,000 investment.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SIGA Technologies, Inc., (SIGA), a biopharmaceuticals company developing products for the prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases, including products for use against biological warfare...

Detergent rinses have limited efficacy for produce decontamination.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Detergent rinses have limited efficacy in removing pathogens from produce. "Fresh produce has been implicated in several foodborne disease outbreaks," researchers in the United States noted....

Electrostatic space charge system reduces poultry Salmonella contamination.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A electrostatic system significantly reduces Salmonella contamination of broiler breeders. "Salmonella in birds is a concern because of the human food-borne illness associated with the consumption...

New test offers faster detection of contaminated oysters.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham have developed a new DNA-based test that allows for rapid detection of contaminated oysters. One of the leading causes of seafood-related...

Smallpox likely historic cause of CCR5-Delta32 mutation.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Contrary to conventional wisdom, smallpox is the likely historic cause of the CCR5-Delta32 mutation in Europeans. "The high frequency, recent origin, and geographic distribution of the CCR5-Delta32...

When it comes to contact notification, HIV is not TB.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- When it comes to contact notification, HIV infection must be treated differently than tuberculosis. According to published research from the United States, "HIV partner notification can help...

M. tuberculosis co-infection possible in HIV CAP patients.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- M. tuberculosis co-infection should be tested for in HIV patients with refractory CAP. According to physicians in South Africa, "Pulmonary infections with more than one organism are common in human...

Novel regimen may improve disseminated aspergillosis survival.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel treatment regimen may improve survival in disseminated aspergillosis patients. Researchers in Israel conducted a study "to assess the efficacy of amphotericin B (AMB), AMB-intralipid...

Lymph node TB characterized in HIV+ and HIV- patients.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The features of lymph node tuberculosis have been characterized in HIV and other patients. "Lymph node tuberculosis is the most frequent form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis especially in...

Specialist clinic service for HIV+ mineworkers helps prevent TB.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel clinic helps prevent tuberculosis and other infections in HIV+ mineworkers. "Occupational settings offer an ideal opportunity to provide preventive health services for HIV-infected workers,"...

H. pylori CagA mimicry may underlie cITP.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Molecular mimicry by the Helicobacter pylori CagA protein may underlie cITP associated with infection. H. pylori eradication "often leads to platelet recovery in patients with chronic idiopathic...

Vertebral cryptococcosis can mimic tuberculosis.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Vertebral cryptococcosis can mimic tuberculosis. "Infection with the fungus Cryptococcus neoformans is seen predominantly in two forms: pulmonary and cerebromeningeal. Skeletal cryptococcosis is...

CDC study: Flu shot doesn't fend off related illnesses.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- This season's flu vaccine offers little or no protection against flu-like illnesses, according to a U.S. study. The study of 1818 Colorado hospital workers who received flu shots found that only...

Why is this year's flu so severe?
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Why is this year's flu packing such a wallop? And why is it taking such a harsh toll on young children? One reason is that the flu virus has changed, or mutated, slightly in the 9 months since flu...

Inhibition of Borrelia burgdorferi protein prevents invasion of tick salivary glands.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from Yale University have demonstrated that an outer surface protein, OspC, of the organism Borrelia burgdorferi, which causes Lyme disease, is critical for the organism's ability to invade...

Plasmodium chabaudi sex ratios evaluated.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- P. chabaudi parasite sex ratios have been determined. "The sex ratios of malaria and related Apicomplexan parasites play a major role in transmission success," scientists in Scotland explained. ...

Inappropriate drugs contributing to increasing global childhood death.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- "Institutional inadequacies" of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Global Fund for Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM) have created a crisis that is leading to increased malarial deaths in...

Function of P. berghei SUB2 elucidated.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The function of the plasmodial enzyme PbSUB2 has been elucidated. "The Plasmodium merozoite proteases involved in the crucial process of erythrocyte invasion are promising targets for novel malaria...

Chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium vivax present in Peru.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chloroquine-resistant P. vivax is present in some areas of Peru. According to a study from Peru, "Reports from several sites in South America suggest the presence of isolated cases of...

Halofantrine effective in Vietnam.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Halofantrine remains effective against malaria in Vietnamese patients. "Drug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum is present in Vietnam," scientists there noted. In a recent study, D.H. Nhan and...

Macrophyte-based wastewater treatment has limited impact on malaria vector levels.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Malaria vector populations are unlikely to be significantly affected by macrophyte-based wastewater processing, despite increased levels of other mosquito genera. "Macrophyte-based wastewater...

Spatial pattern of dengue vector in Peru characterized.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The distribution of the dengue mosquito vector in Peru has been clarified. In a recent study, scientists in California examined "the spatial pattern of Aedes aegypti and the containers in which they...

M. smegmatis GPLs inhibit macrophage phagocytosis.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A group of M. smegmatis GPLs prevents macrophage phagocytosis of several mycobacterial species. "Phagocytosis by macrophages represents the early step of mycobacterial infection. It is governed...

Acinetobacter baumannii is hospital opportunist.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Acinetobacter baumannii is an opportunistic pathogen operating in hospitals creating serious infections such as pneumonia. It principally affects patients who have weakened health. The mortality...

Challenges remain for containing respiratory disease.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The world is much better prepared to handle SARS than it was the last time around, but efforts to refine diagnostic tests, develop the right treatment and trace where the virus is coming from remain...

Company accelerates new oral SARS prevention program.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., (HEB) is accelerating its experimental SARS treatment, including preparation of the clinical investigator's brochure and related packaging/labeling materials. The...

Inhibition of SARS coronavirus with Neugene antisense drugs reported.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- AVI BioPharma, Inc., (AVII) presented confirmatory positive results on the inhibition of the SARS coronavirus using its Neugene antisense drugs. Michael Buchmeier, PhD, of The Scripps Research...

Pet snakes may be source of infection.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- German researchers have determined that exotic reptiles maintained as pets may be responsible for an increase in Salmonella cases in humans. "Children under the age of 10 years and immunocompromised...

CMV-seropositive donors might be preferable for seropositive SCT recipients.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-seropositive stem-cell donors may increase the safety and efficacy of transplantation for CMV-seropositive recipients. CMV infection "has been a major cause of morbidity and...

CDC provides perspective on genotyping in TB contact investigations.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides its perspective on genotyping in TB contact investigations in a recent issue of the International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease....

PBMC-PCR can facilitate tuberculous lymphadenitis diagnosis.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PBMC-PCR testing can facilitate the diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis. "Providing prompt and precise laboratory confirmation of a clinical diagnosis of tuberculous lymphadenitis is difficult...

CD40 needed for efficient T-cell priming after M. tuberculosis exposure.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CD40 expression - but not that of its main ligand, CD40L - is needed for efficient T-cell priming during acute Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. In a study from the United States, "CD40(-/-)...

Scientists identify how mosquitoes detect human sweat odorant.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Yale scientists have identified a mosquito smell receptor that specifically detects a chemical component of human sweat, a finding that may provide the basis for developing insect repellants for humans...

Epidemiological model for West Nile virus developed.
February 3, 2004... 2004 FEB 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- West Nile virus is an emerging infectious disease in North America. It spreads primarily through contact between birds and mosquitoes, and can be lethal to birds, horses and humans. To prevent West...

Real-time PCR enables rapid diagnosis.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel molecular assay enables rapid SARS diagnosis. In a recent study from China, "An enhanced polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to detect the coronavirus associated with severe acute...

Genetic distance useful as measure of ongoing TB transmission.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genetic distance is a valuable measure of ongoing tuberculosis transmission. "The stability of the genotypic marker IS6110, used to define the epidemiology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of...

Risk factors for malaria in U.K. travelers identified.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Risk factors for malaria in U.K. travelers have been identified, and include the use of chloroquine and proguanil as chemoprohylaxis. "After observing an apparent increase in severe falciparum...

Expression of functional plasmodial fp2 in E. coli achieved.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The expression of functional plasmodial fp2 in E. coli has been achieved. "Falcipain-2 (fp2) is a hemoglobinase required for supplying peptides and amino acids for the proliferation of Plasmodium...

IFN-gamma autoantibodies can increase susceptibility to mycobacterial infection.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- IFN-gamma autoantibodies can cause susceptibility to drug-resistant disseminated mycobacterial infection. Physicians in England "evaluated a patient with disseminated Mycobacterium tuberculosis...

Crystal structure of M. tuberculosis PPAT characterized.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The crystal structure of mycobacterial PPAT has been elucidated. "The penultimate step of prokaryotic coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis is directed by the essential enzyme phosphopantetheine...

Companies agree to drop price of AIDS-combating drugs sold to Brazil.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Five pharmaceutical companies have agreed to offer average discounts of 37% on the sale of AIDS-combating drugs to the Brazilian government, Brazil's Health Ministry announced January 15, 2004. ...

Small-molecule inhibitors of anthrax lethal factor identified.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have identified several compounds that block the activity of a key anthrax protein called lethal factor (LF) - an important first step in developing therapeutics to counter the disease. ...

U.N. FAO seriously concerned about spread of avian flu in East Asia.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) expressed serious concern about the spread of avian flu in East Asia. "The disease seems to have a regional dimension, with South Korea, Vietnam...

Bird flu vaccine not likely for 6 months.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Asia's bird flu virus is resistant to key anti-influenza drugs, and an effective vaccine is probably more than 6 months away, the World Health Organization said, as Indonesia confirmed it had become...

Bird flu's rapidly changing genetic makeup likely behind its rapid spread.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bird flu's rapidly changing genetic makeup and the cramped quarters of Asian chicken farms and markets are likely behind the disease's explosive spread, a World Health Organization expert says. ...

Threat to humans is significant.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new editorial addresses the potential threat of avian influenza. Five human deaths were reported in Vietnam as of January 20, 2004. The disease is caused by influenza virus type A, and infects...

Vietnam last on vaccine list.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Drug company contracts and intellectual property rights are impeding efforts to ensure an outbreak of bird flu in Vietnam does not result in a deadly human pandemic. All the victims so far have...

WHO says SARS helped Asia on bird flu.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) credited SARS for helping Asia prepare for a flu that has killed millions of chickens and at least three people, while governments struggled to contain the virus...

WHO suggests quarantine for bird flu.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) says that people hit by the bird flu outbreak sweeping Asia should be quarantined to avoid contact with sufferers of regular influenza, because a combination of the...

Mycobacterial consumption of carbon monoxide, hydrogen reported.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Some species of mycobacteria - including M. tuberculosis - can consume carbon monoxide and/or hydrogen. According to recent research from the United States, "Liquid culture assays revealed a...

Late sequela of infective endocarditis possible.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Late sequelae are possible in infective endocarditis patients. According to scientists in New York, "Left ventricular pseudoaneurysm is an uncommon complication of infective endocarditis, usually...

Misdiagnosis common in patients who die after coma.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study by Terrie Taylor and colleagues has new implications for diagnosing cerebral malaria. Cerebral malaria is a severe, sometimes fatal, form of malaria affecting the brain; it occurs when...

New screening programs launched in U.K. to reduce STD incidence.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Britain's health minister, Melanie Johnson, announced the UKP4 million roll-out of a screening program to help reduce incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the U.K. The program will...

First mass cholera vaccination begins.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Health workers in Mozambique are carrying out the world's first mass vaccination against cholera in an attempt to reduce cases in one of the worst-hit areas, the U.N. health agency said January 14th....

Biopharmaceutical company enters joint SARS clinical program with Vanderbilt.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hemispherx Biopharma, Inc., (HEB) announced a new clinical program for the treatment of SARS in collaboration with Vanderbilt University, which will seek the incremental funding for the program from...

Pharmaceutical company identifies SARS antisense drug candidates.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (ISIS) announced that it has achieved two milestones in its antisense drug discovery partnership with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) of Taiwan focused...

Antimicrobial agents isolated from Turkish Pimpinella plants.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of novel antimicrobial agents have been isolated from Turkish Pimpinella plants. In a recent study from Turkey, "A new, 4-(2-propenyl)-phenyl angelate (1) and four known phenylpropanoids...

New advance to combat antibiotic-resistant pneumonia and malaria.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New biochemical studies may hold clues to more powerful malaria and pneumonia treatments that could save more than 2 million lives worldwide. Using baker's yeast as a surrogate disease model,...

Vitamin E may be key to listeria-free turkeys.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adding vitamin E to the diets of turkeys may further reduce the likelihood of consumers contracting a serious food-borne illness from the popular holiday and sandwich fowl. That's what U.S....

Malays with distal renal tubular acidosis have high rate of SE Asian ovalocytosis.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Malay dRTA sufferers have a high rate of Southeast Asian ovalocytosis (SAO), suggesting a common genetic origin for the two conditions. According to researchers in Japan, SAO "is a red blood cell...

C. albicans cell wall adhesin identified.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A Candida albicans gene involved in epithelial cell adhesion has been identified. According to a study from the United States, C. albicans "adhesion to host tissues contributes to its virulence and...

Molecular assay enables noninvasive PCP monitoring.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel molecular assay enables noninvasive monitoring of PCP progression in AIDS patients. In a recent study from the United States, "The progression of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia was...

Oral CMV therapy cost effective.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Oral therapy for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is cost-effective. "The overall costs usually are lower for the oral route of administration than for the intravenous route, although the cost to...

MDR-TB common for HIV patients in Peruvian hospitals.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Drug-resistant TB is common in HIV patients treated at Peruvian hospitals. "During 1999 to 2000," scientists in the United States "identified HIV-infected persons with new episodes of tuberculosis...

Roles of TLR2 and -4 in antimycobacterial host defense characterized.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The roles of TLR2 and TLR4 in antimycobacterial host defense have been elucidated. "Toll-like receptor (TLR) proteins mediate cellular activation by microbes and microbial products," immunologists...

Soluble TLR2 isoforms present in plasma, breast milk.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Soluble TLR2 isoforms are present in human plasma and breast milk. "Dysregulation of the initial, innate immune response to bacterial infection may lead to septic shock and death," immunologists...

Flu continues to decline; just five states now reporting widespread illness.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The number of states hard-hit by the flu has dropped to just five from a peak of 45 right before Christmas, and the death toll among children has climbed to at least 111, health officials say. ...

Flu shots last winter not perceived as effective prevention, surveys show.
February 10, 2004... 2004 FEB 10 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two surveys conducted by Harris Interactive suggest that the flu vaccine used to vaccinate people before and during last winter (2002-2003) was not perceived as effective in preventing flu. The...