TB & Outbreaks Week articles from February 2009

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from February 2009

Clostridium difficile Infection: Current Challenges and Controversies.
February 3, 2009... Current education about Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) is critical for several reasons. The epidemiology of CDI is changing and has been marked by increasing rates and more severe disease. In addition, the epidemic strain continues to be...

Findings from A.B. Sudeep and co-authors provide new insights into arthralgia.
February 3, 2009... "Chikungunya (CHIK), a mosquito borne debilitating disease, is caused by CHIK virus, an alphavirus belonging to the family Togaviridae. The sudden onset of very high fever along with rash, and severe arthralgia especially in the small joints of...

New data from S. Husain et al illuminate research in aspergillosis.
February 3, 2009... "We have evaluated the Platelia Aspergillus enzyme immunoassay for detection of galactomannan in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens in solid organ transplant patients with aspergillosis. The precision and reproducibility in serum or BAL to...

Research on aspergillosis detailed by scientists at Innsbruck Medical University.
February 3, 2009... According to recent research published in the journal Clinical Microbiology and Infection, "Aspergillus terreus appears to have become an increasingly frequent cause of opportunistic infections in the University Hospital of Innsbruck (UHI) and...

Research on chlamydia published by F. Gouriet et al.
February 3, 2009... According to recent research from Marseille, France, "The aetiological diagnosis of pneumonia depends largely on culture-, antigen- or PCR-based tests. Atypical agents of pneumonia include Coxiella burnetii, Chlamydophila pneumoniae, Chlamydia...

Studies from University of British Columbia, Life Sciences Institute further understanding of life sciences.
February 3, 2009... Data detailed in 'The actinobacterial mce4 locus encodes a steroid transporter' have been presented. "Bioinformatic analyses have suggested that Mce proteins in diverse actinobacteria are components of complex ATP-binding cassette transporter...

Patients' Bath Basins Increase Risk for Hospital-Acquired Infections.
February 10, 2009... Patients across the country may be opening themselves up to infection as a result of bathing practices applied in hospitals. According to a study published in the January 2009 American Journal of Critical Care, bath basins are a significant...

Reports summarize aspergillosis research from A. Erikci and co-authors.
February 10, 2009... According to recent research from Istanbul, Turkey, "Aspergillosis is one of the most common invasive fungal infections in immunocompromised patients. Sinonasal region and upper respiratory tract are commonly involved regions whereas oesophagus...

Studies in the area of central nervous system infection reported from New York University.
February 10, 2009... "Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus(1) infection of the mouse central nervous system (CNS) elicits fatal immunopathology through blood - brain barrier breakdown(2) and convulsive seizures(3). Although lymphocytic- choriomeningitis- virus-...

Reports summarize community-acquired study results from B. Diederen and co-researchers.
February 10, 2009... According to a study from Netherlands, "We conducted a study on throat swabs obtained from a group of hospitalized patients with community acquired pneumonia (CAP). Throat swab specimens from 242 adults admitted to hospital with CAP were...

Recent findings from J. Rihakova and co-authors highlight research in drug resistance.
February 10, 2009... According to recent research from France, "The emergence of an increasing number of antibiotic resistant human clinical bacteria has been a great cause of concern for the last decades. As an example, Staphylococcus aureus isolates in the...

Data from B. Kele and colleagues advance knowledge in infectious diseases.(Report)
February 10, 2009... According to a study from Szeged, Hungary, "Little is known of the frequency of norovirus infections in sporadic gastroenteritis cases." "In a 4-y study, we examined 1152 rota-, adeno- and astrovirus negative stool samples for human...

Study results from B. Smith and colleagues broaden understanding of infectious diseases.(Report)
February 10, 2009... According to a study from Copenhagen, Denmark, "Maternal-foetal infection by Listeria monocytogenes is a rare complication in pregnancy. In the period 1994-2005, 37 culture-confirmed cases of maternal-foetal Listeria monocytogenes infections...

New aspergillosis data have been reported by M. Marjani and co-authors.
February 17, 2009... According to recent research from Iran, "Aspergillosis is one of the most important opportunistic infections after organ transplantation. Early diagnosis and initiation of appropriate antifungal therapy are key factors for better prognosis."...

New asthma research has been reported by S. Foliaki et al.
February 17, 2009... According to recent research from Tonga, "The Tonga Asthma Self-management Project assessed whether the introduction of an asthma self-management plan would reduce asthma morbidity. The project involved a 'before and after' trial, with each...

Researchers from University of Barcelona report details of new studies and findings in the area of atorvastatin.(Report)
February 17, 2009... According to a study from Barcelona, Spain, "High fructose intake contributes to the overall epidemic of obesity and metabolic disease. Here we examined whether atorvastatin treatment blocks the activation of the carbohydrate response element...

Researchers at University of Paris target drug development.
February 17, 2009... "The antileishmanial evaluation of more than one hundred 2-substituted quinolines led us to identify three compounds for further studies: compound 1 (2-n-propylquinoline), compound 2 (2-(2methoxyethenyl)quinoline) and compound 3...

Findings from Medical University of Innsbruck broaden understanding of enterovirus.
February 17, 2009... According to recent research published in the Journal of Medical Virology, "Between 1999 and 2007 1,388 stool specimens from patients with acute flaccid paralysis or aseptic meningitis were submitted to the Austrian reference laboratory for...

Data on infectious disease discussed by researchers at University of Georgia.
February 17, 2009... "Elevated immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels are often associated with resistance to reinfection in human schistosomiasis. However, Although B cells are the source of schistosome-specific IgE, little is known about B cell subsets or their functions...

Studies from G.L. Drusano et al in the area of infectious disease described.
February 17, 2009... According to a study from the United States, "We previously demonstrated that therapy duration has a differential impact on susceptible and resistant subpopulations of Staphylococcus aureus. What our previous investigation did not address was...

Study data from I. Chelbi et al provide new insights into vector-borne and zoonotic disease.
February 17, 2009... "Zooprophylaxis is the use of animals to deviate vectors from humans. The indoor abundance of Phlebotomus papatasi in houses with rabbit holes in the peridomestic areas are significantly lower than the indoor abundance in houses without rabbit...

Studies from University of Maryland have provided new information about arthritis.(Report)
February 24, 2009... According to recent research published in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism, "Pretreatment of Lewis rats with soluble mycobacterial Hsp65 affords protection against subsequent adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA). This study was aimed at...

New bone research study findings reported from University of California, Medical Department.
February 24, 2009... "Vitamin D insufficiency has now reached epidemic proportions and has been linked to low bone mineral density, increased risk of fracture, and obesity in adults. However, this relationship has not been well characterized in young adults,"...

Recent studies by D.J. Vugia and co-authors add new data to botulism findings.
February 24, 2009... "Foodborne botulism occurred among inmates at 2 prisons in California in 2004 and 2005," scientists in the United States report (see also Botulism). "In the first outbreak, 4 inmates were hospitalized, 2 of whom required intubation. In the...

Research in the area of clinical microbiology and infectious disease reported from Erasmus University.(Report)
February 24, 2009... "This study investigates aspects of the general assumption that, in bacteria, genetic variation in functionally-constrained genomic regions accumulates at a lower rate than in regions of hypermutability such as DNA repeat loci. We compared...

Research on clinical microbiology and infectious disease published by A. Nissinen et al.(Report)
February 24, 2009... According to recent research from Jyvaskyla, Finland, "The purpose of this study was to evaluate the overall performance of rapid antigen detection (RAD) in group A streptococcus (GAS) in Finland by using the results of external quality...

Researchers from University of Lyon describe findings in clinical microbiology and infectious disease.
February 24, 2009... "A retrospective study investigating all the infectious encephalitis cases hospitalized at the pediatric intensive care unit of Edouard Herriot University Hospital in Lyon, France, was carried out in order to estimate the prevalence of...

Studies from University of Washington update current data on emerging infectious diseases.
February 24, 2009... 'Bordetella avium is thought to be strictly an avian pathogen. However, 16S rRNA gene sequencing identified 2 isolates from 2 humans with respiratory disease as B. avium and a novel B. avium-like strain. Thus, B. avium and B. avium-like...

Study data from T. Mourez et al provide new insights into emerging infectious diseases.
February 24, 2009... According to recent research from Paris, France, "Polyomaviruses KI (KIPyV) and WU (WUPyV) were recently identified, mainly in respiratory specimens from children." "Among 200 patients with respiratory disorders admitted to Saint Louis...

Study results from North Carolina State University, Medical Department broaden understanding of emerging infectious diseases.
February 24, 2009... 'Candidatus Bartonella melophagi was isolated by blood culture from 2 women, 1 of whom was co-infected with B. henselae. Partial 16S rRNA, RNA polymerase B, and citrate synthase genes and 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer sequences indicated...

Reports outline infectious diseases research from Stavanger University.(Report)
February 24, 2009... According to recent research from Stavanger, Norway, "Neuroborreliosis may be caused by different species of Borrelia burgdorferi (BB) and the clinical presentation of neuroborreliosis in children may differ between geographical areas due to...

Research conducted at Sahlgrenska University has updated our knowledge about infectious diseases.
February 24, 2009... "Invasive pneumococcal infections in 777 adults caused by 'invasive' (1, 7; n=187), 'paediatric' (6, 9, 14, 19, 23; n=304) and other (n=286) serogroups were compared," scientists in Gothenburg, Sweden report (see also Infectious Diseases). ...

Research findings from University Hospital update understanding of infectious diseases.
February 24, 2009... "During a 5-y period (2003 - 2007), nocardial infections were diagnosed in 15 patients admitted to the University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Nine patients (60%) had 1 or more underlying conditions predisposing to nocardiosis,"...

Research reports on infectious diseases from A. Brillowskadabrowska and colleagues provide new insights.
February 24, 2009... According to a study from Kalmar, Sweden, "In a haematology ward, Candida parapsilosis was found in blood cultures from 4 patients within a month. As C. parapsilosis is known to have a restricted genetic diversity, a combined methodological...

Researchers at Aarhus University release new data on infectious diseases.
February 24, 2009... According to recent research published in the Scandinavian Journal of Infectious Diseases, "We hypothesized that severity of human non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS) infection was a marker of 0-30 and 31-365-d mortality. All patients with first-time...