TB & Outbreaks Week articles from January 2004

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from January 2004

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis YafD protects against egg albumen.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The YafD protein expressed by Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis protects this pathogen from the destructive effects of egg albumen. S. enterica serovar Enteritidis "is a major cause of...

Common TLR5 mutation linked to heightened Legionnaires disease risk.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A common TLR5 mutation has been linked to heightened Legionnaires disease susceptibility. According to recent research from the United States, "Although Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are critical...

Suramin analogues block P. falciparum MSP1 secondary processing.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A group of suramin analogues disrupt plasmodial MSP1 secondary processing, a key process in malaria infection. According to a study from England, "Malarial merozoites invade erythrocytes; and as an...

Amodiaquine treatment effective for children in chloroquine-resistance area.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Amodiaquine treatment is effective against pediatric malaria in regions with chloroquine-resistant parasites. In a recent study from Nigeria, "The efficacy of amodiaquine against Plasmodium...

Molecular analysis performed on Koch bacillus.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Modern genetic analysis has been performed on the first known M. tuberculosis isolate. "Using molecular methods," scientists in England examined "mycobacterial DNA taken from a 19th century victim...

M. tuberculosis-specific CD8 cells recognize heavily infected cells.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- M. tuberculosis-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes are able to recognize heavily infected cells, a finding that sheds new light on their role in tuberculosis defense. According to scientists in the United...

Inhaled endotoxin increases lung surfactant protein A, lowers it in lavage fluid.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Surfactant protein A (SP-A) is expressed more in lung, but presence lowered in lung lavage fluid, following repeat exposure to inhaled endotoxin. "Chronically inhaled endotoxin, which is ubiquitous...

U.K. company to work with U.S. Naval Medical Research Center on oral anthrax vaccine.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.K.-based biotechnology company Microscience has entered into a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with the Naval Medical Research Center (NMRC). The collaboration will...

Doxycycline inhibits T cell cytokine reaction to staphylococcal exotoxin.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Doxycycline inhibits T-cell proliferation, cytokine reaction to staphylococcal exotoxins (SE); thus may lower toxic effects. According to a study from the United States, "proinflammatory cytokines...

California partnership takes lead on simplifying guidelines.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The California Medical Association Foundation (CMAF) has announced that a 2-year project to simplify recommendations and help physicians appropriately prescribe antibiotics has reached completion. ...

V. cholerae's resistance genes can leave host, integrate into new one.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Medication may actually stimulate the spread of antibiotic resistance, according to a new report. Vibrio cholerae's antibiotic resistance genes are located on a mobile genetic element, called SXT, which...

Penicillium chrysogenum can inhibit some aspergilli with PAF protein.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Penicillium chrysogenum produces an antifungal protein, PAF, that is internalized and works on some aspergilli. "The Penicillium chrysogenum antifungal protein PAF inhibits the growth of various...

Gastric epithelial cells produce beta-defensins after H. pylori infection.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gastric epithelial cells produce beta-defensins following Helicobacter pylori infection. "The beta-defensin peptides are known to be potent antibacterials with a wide spectrum of activity. They,...

Lactoferrin-derived peptides have antimicrobial activity beyond iron depletion.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lactoferrin-derived peptides have antimicrobial activity beyond simple iron sequestration. "Lactoferrin is a member of the transferrin family of iron-binding proteins. Numerous functions have been...

Adenovirus proteinase is inhibited by NO from NONOates; viral infection lowered.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adenovirus proteinase is inhibited by NO from NONOates; viral infectivity lowered. "Nitric oxide (NO) is an antiviral effector of the innate immune system, but few of the viral targets of NO have...

Xopenex effective treatment for children with acute attacks.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- During a season of flu scares and special caution for children with chronic illnesses, there is good news for parents of asthmatic children. A study conducted in the emergency department (ED) and...

Friendly bacteria shut down inflammation.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- How are we able to live happily with huge communities of various bacteria in our intestines, when many of them have the potential to cause inflammation? In the January 2004 issue of Nature...

Outbreak of botulism linked to food sold at salvage store in Texas.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An outbreak of food-borne botulism has been associated with food sold at a salvage store in Texas. According to a study from the United States, "Food-borne botulism is caused by potent neurotoxins...

Report appears to confirm blood-borne transmission of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The British government reported that a patient died of the human form of mad cow disease after a blood transfusion from an infected donor - the first time such a connection has been reported. ...

Cryptosporidium surveillance provides outbreak insights.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Molecular surveillance of Cryptosporidium species in raw wastewater in Milwaukee has provided insights into understanding outbreak occurrence and transmission dynamics. "Six Cryptosporidium species...

Early research advances field of proteasome biology.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., (MLNM) and collaborators released findings that implicate the proteasome pathway in tuberculosis and extend the understanding of the pathway in stroke, advancing the...

Oxygenated xanthones show antimalarial activity in vivo.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A group of novel xanthone agents has demonstrated antimalarial activity in animals. In a recent study from Cameroon,"A series of oxygenated xanthones was prepared so that the antimalarial activity...

NIH begins human Ebola vaccine trial using Biojector 2000.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bioject Medical Technologies, Inc., (BJCT), a developer of needle-free drug delivery systems, announced that the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious...

WHO: Ebola outbreak death toll stands at 29.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The fifth outbreak in 2 years of the deadly Ebola virus in a remote area of central Africa has so far killed 29 people, the U.N. health agency says. However, the outbreak appears to be coming under...

Advanced and refractory human alveolar echinococcosis responds to amphotericin B.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Advanced and refractory human alveolar echinococcosis responds to amphotericin B; parasite growth is controlled. According to recent research from Germany, "most patients with alveolar...

2003 begins with SARS, ends with flu.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A dangerous respiratory illness that seemed to spring from nowhere and rapidly spread was the biggest medical news of 2003. No, it wasn't the flu. It was SARS. The end of 2003 saw hundreds of...

Posaconazole is most effective against the zygomycete Rhizopus microsporus.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Zygomycete responses differ to amphotericin B, itraconazole, and posaconazole; posaconazole is most effective against Rhizopus microsporus. According to a study from France, "Three isolates of...

Doctor discovers noninvasive way of taking temperature.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Dr. Marc Abreu's fascination with temperature arose during morning rounds in medical school, when he found many patients dead. Many succumbed during the night to bacterial infections accompanied by...

Exposure to UV irradiation kills off harmful bacteria in food.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The presence of Escherichia coli bacteria, found in foods such as egg white and apple juice, is a major public health concern. The bacteria have, in the past, been inactivated by heat pasteurization -...

U.K. scientists create medical and food safety tool from virus.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.K. scientists have found a way to explode deadly food-poisoning bacteria using an agent found in viruses. Professor Mike Gasson from the Institute of Food Research in Norwich, England, discovered...

U.S. agency launches $53 million cow genome project.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A $53 million project to map the genetic makeup of cattle was launched with the hope that it will boost human health by controlling animal disease. The U.S. Department of Agriculture launched the...

Surgery still the best option for allergic fungal sinusitis in atopic patients.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Surgery remains the best option for allergic fungal sinusitis (AFS) in atopic patients. "Since the early 1980s, AFS has been an increasingly recognized and diagnosed chronic health disorder....

Company produces whole genome map of Francisella tularensis.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- OpGen, Inc., has added a genome map of the Category "A" pathogen, Francisella tularensis, the causative agent of tularemia, to its genome map database. The organism poses a potential biothreat...

Pneumocystis carinii mt LSU rRNA gene in SIV-infected macaques examined.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The P. carinii mt LSU rRNA gene has been characterized in SIV-infected monkeys. In a recent study from the United States, "The nucleotide sequences of a segment of the Pneumocystis mitochondrial...

Solid phase cytometry test provides rapid Aspergillus fumigatus detection.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel assay could aid diagnosis of Aspergillus infection in immunocompromised patients. In a recent study from Belgium, "A rapid method based on solid phase cytometry (SPC) for the detection of...

IL-4 reduces Helicobacter gastritis, increases somatostatin, lowers gastrin.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Interleukin 4 therapy reduces Helicobacter gastritis by way of somatostatin increases, which reduce gastrin. According to recent research from the United States, "Fifty percent of the world's...

Reinfection with new H. pylori strains is common after antibiotic therapy.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In Peruvian adults, reinfection with new H. pylori strains is common in the years following antibiotic therapy. According to recent research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, "to...

Human enterovirus 71 contains a type I IRES element similar to other enterovirus.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human enterovirus 71 (EV71) contains a noncoding region with a type I IRES element similar to other enterovirus genomes. According to a study from the United States, "human EV71 is a member of the...

Molecular assay detects norovirus, Sapovirus and astrovirus.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel molecular assay can detect three pathogenic enteric viruses. In a recent study from Japan, "A reverse transcription (RT) single-round multiplex polymerase chain reaction (smPCR) assay was...

Among high-risk adults, flu shots less likely for blacks than whites.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Adults who are at high risk from flu complications are strongly urged to get an influenza vaccination this year, yet a study shows a racial disparity in the response. In an analysis of data from...

CDC activates center to deal with flu.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- America's top health agency has activated its emergency operations center and has established response teams to assist states with the country's flu outbreak, federal officials have announced. The...

Fluvirin influenza vaccine production increased by 50%.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Chiron Corporation (CHIR) announced that it increased production of its Fluvirin flu vaccine for the U.S. 2003-2004 flu season to 38 million doses, approximately 50% more than the previous flu season....

Health plan expands flu vaccine coverage.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cigna HealthCare announced that it is extending its flu vaccine coverage to include recently U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved intranasal influenza vaccines (such as FluMist) for healthy...

New flu test for physician offices launched.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Meridian Bioscience, Inc., (VIVO) announced it has begun marketing a new physician's office influenza A&B test. According to Meridian, this rapid test is simple enough to be performed in...

Patient, doctor attitudes can affect rate of flu shots.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Success in immunizing the elderly against flu largely depends on attitudes of both patients and physicians, according to a study that found decreasing vaccination rates before this year's outbreak...

Scientists agonized over choosing less-than-perfect flu vaccine.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Late last winter, a committee of vaccine experts designing this season's flu shot considered their choices. They had two, and both seemed bad. Should they stick with last year's formula, even though...

Scientists warn of coming flu pandemic.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As bad as this year's flu season is, it hasn't brought the worldwide outbreak known as a pandemic. But experts warn that a pandemic is coming, it's just a question of when. "It's going to happen,"...

Shipment of about 43M doses of influenza vaccine completed.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Aventis announced that the company has completed shipment of approximately 43 million doses of its influenza vaccine (Fluzone, Influenza Virus Vaccine) to customers for the 2003-04 influenza season. ...

Some New Jersey insurers expand coverage to include nasal flu vaccine.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Several insurance companies in New Jersey said they will cover costs for a new nasal flu vaccine during this flu season, according to a report. AmeriHealth, Aetna, Oxford Health Plans, and Horizon...

CDC launches e-journal to connect public health research and practice.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has launched a peer-reviewed electronic journal, Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice, and Policy (PCD). The journal will...

Lyme borreliosis is a risk to zoo visitors; there are infected animals and ticks.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Lyme borreliosis is a risk to zoo visitors; there are infected animals and ticks present on vegetation. According to a study from Germany, "we conducted the first seroepidemiological study to...

DB289 demonstrates potent antimalarial results in human clinical trial.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Immtech International, Inc., (IMM) announced that the company's oral drug candidate, DB289, demonstrated potent antimalarial activity in the human clinical trial conducted in Bangkok, Thailand. The...

Raman imaging of hemozoin in malaria-infected RBC achieved.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Raman imaging of hemozoin in malaria-infected trophozoites has been achieved. Scientists in Australia described the "micro-Raman spectra of hemozoin encapsulated within the food vacuole of a...

Abbott Cell-Dyn 4000 useful for therapeutic monitoring of malaria patients.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Abbott Cell-Dyn 4000 is useful for monitoring the results of therapy in malaria patients. According to researchers in South Korea, "The Cell-Dyn 4000 automated hematology analyzer (CD4000) has...

Pyruvate kinase deficiency may protect against malaria.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pyruvate kinase deficiency may protect against malaria. "The global health impact of malaria is enormous, with an estimated 300-500 million clinical cases and one million annual deaths," scientists...

Crystal structure of plasmodial PfGST characterized.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The X-ray structure of a key plasmodial enzyme has been characterized for the first time. "GSTs catalyze the conjugation of glutathione with a wide variety of hydrophobic compounds, generally...

Subunit fusion plays key role in Plasmodium glyoxalase evolution.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Subunit fusion appears to play a key role in the evolution of the plasmodial enzyme glyoxalase I. In a recent study from Germany, "Recombinant Plasmodium falciparum glyoxalase I (PfGlxI) was...

Crossreactive antibodies against Plasmodium protein induced.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have reported the induction of crossreactive antibodies to Plasmodium falciparum variant protein. "The variant antigen Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1),...

PCR can diagnose and type antibiotic-treated invasive meningococcal disease.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antibiotic-treated invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) can be diagnosed and typed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). According to recent research published in the journal FEMS Immunology and...

Toscana virus protein antigenicity may contribute to infection neuropathology.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Toscana virus protein antigenicity may contribute to neuropathology of encephalitis infections in the Mediterranean area. "Toscana virus (Bunyaviridae family, Phlebovirus genus) is a sandfly fever...

High oxidative stress in An. gambiae can prevent Plasmodium development.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A mutant form of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae with heightened oxidative stress is unable to support Plasmodium parasites. "Malaria transmission depends on the competence of some Anopheles...

Mating does not affect Anopheles gambiae biting behavior.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mating does not alter the biting behavior of the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. In a recent study from Portugal, "To determine if mating or gonotrophic age influenced" An. gambiae biting, "a...

Scientists discover new pathway critical to pathogen survival.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tuberculosis, the age-old scourge of mankind, is particularly deadly because the bacteria can linger in the body for years or even decades, popping up at any time to cause the life-threatening lung...

Pregnant women request influenza vaccine to protect self and baby.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- With the rising number of influenza cases in the U.S., women who are pregnant or considering becoming pregnant may wonder if the flu vaccine is safe for their unborn babies and themselves. Neil S....

Researchers warn pregnant women to be wary of flu outbreak.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pregnant women in the U.S. should be particularly wary of the current flu outbreak, researchers caution. Women who experience fever during their second trimester of pregnancy have been found to be...

Staphylococcus lugdunensis may be the cause of some vertebral osteomyelitis.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Staphylococcus lugdunensis may be the cause of some vertebral osteomyelitis. "We report a case of vertebral osteomyelitis due to the coagulase-negative staphylococcus, Staphylococcus lugdunensis....

High hemozoin levels linked to low PGE[subscript]2 output in pregnant women.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- High IVBMC hemozoin levels reduce production of PGE[subscript]2 and related cytokines in women with placental malaria infection. According to published research from the United States, "In areas of...

Resistant rhinosinusitis may indicate another underlying condition.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Resistant rhinosinusitis may mean misdiagnosis of another underlying condition. According to a study from the United States, "there are some patients with rhinosinusitis in whom the condition never...

Non-viral factors play key role in SARS severity.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Non-viral factors - more so than viral genomics - play key roles in determining the severity and pathogenicity of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). According to recent research from China,...

Outbreak in Beijing spread rapidly, was controlled fairly quickly.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Improving triage in hospitals and dissemination of information to the public helped bring a rapid resolution to the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Beijing in early 2003, according...

Preliminary report suggests combination therapy may help treat SARS.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A preliminary study suggests that use of a combination of corticosteroids and interferon may have a role in treatment of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). SARS is characterized by fever,...

Spilled lab sample likely infected Taiwanese scientist.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A spilled test tube containing a SARS sample likely infected a medical researcher who wasn't wearing gloves or a gown, the World Health Organization claimed when the scientist was diagnosed as the first...

Study: Coronavirus part bird, part mammal.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is formed by a combination of mammalian and avian viruses, says a new study from the University of Toronto. The study, published in the January 2004 issue of...

LPS-binding domain of cathelicidin linked to IgG is protective against sepsis.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A cathelicidin fragment with the lipopolysaccharide- (LPS) binding domain linked to IgG is protective against sepsis and death experimentally; while the domain alone is not. According to published...

Mannose-binding lectin polymorphisms are linked to sepsis, related mortality.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mannose-binding lectin (MBL) polymorphisms providing for lower expression are linked to sepsis, related mortality. According to a study from Denmark, "genetic factors may predispose critically ill...

Pharmaceutical and USAMRIID collaborate on molecule-screening program.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Kemin Pharma announced the formation of a collaborative molecule-screening program with the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). Under the terms of the...

Vaccine victims can seek payment.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Emergency response workers who developed health problems from smallpox vaccinations can seek compensation from the U.S. government, the U.S. Health and Human Services Department says. More than...

Amotosalen-treated T cells prevent CMV infection without inducing GVHD.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- T cells treated with amotosalen prevent CMV infection in murine stem-cell transplant recipients, without triggering graft-versus-host reactions "Infusion of donor antiviral T cells can provide...

Available rapid streptococcal-A-antigen assays still need backup culture.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Available rapid streptococcal-A-antigen assays still need backup culture. "Rapid streptococcal-A-antigen detection assays have good specificity (over 90%) but moderate sensitivity (80-90%), when the...

Sulfadiazine presents risk of kidney failure during pregnancy.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sulfadiazine given to pregnant women for toxoplasmosis can result in kidney stones and failure if not approached properly. "Obstructive renal failure is a rare but serious complication of...

Tanzanian rats, who already sniff out landmines, now poised to detect TB.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The giant pouched rats that have been trained to sniff out land mines in Africa are now learning to detect tuberculosis bacteria in human saliva with the help of a grant from the World Bank. "This...

TB transmission among Canadian Inuits characterized.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The rate and patterns of TB transmission among Canadian Inuits has been characterized. "In low-incidence countries targeting tuberculosis (TB) elimination, TB remains a problem of a few high-risk...

Novel CD8 cell epitope shared by M. tuberculosis ESAT-6 proteins.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel MHC class I-restricted T-cell epitope may shed new light on the immune response to tuberculosis infection. Scientists in France reported "the identification of a new CD8+-T-cell epitope,...

Differential mycobacterial gene expression seen in mice and humans.
January 6, 2004... 2004 JAN 6 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mycobacterial gene expression varies depending on the host species. "Pathogenetic processes that facilitate the entry, replication, and persistence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) in the...