TB & Outbreaks Week articles from July 2000

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from July 2000

Fulminant Viral Hepatitis Due to Combined Infection.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- A recent study confirmed that most cases of fulminant viral hepatitis result from hepatitis B virus (HBV) in combination with hepatitis D, C, or G (HDV, HCV, or HGV) infection. Fulminant hepatitis is a...

Phase III Trials Underway in Several Countries.(AIDS vaccines)
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- Phase III trials of multivalent gp120 HIV vaccines are underway in several countries. "Virus variation is one of the greatest challenges in HIV-1 vaccine development," observed P. Berman and colleagues...

Hairstylists Get Serious About Prevention of Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- Atop a candy vending machine in Tom Jacobs' barber shop in Charlotte, North Carolina, sits a glass jar with freebies for customers. But it's not filled with free combs or candy. Jacobs is giving away...

Study Finds Evidence of Multiple Symptoms, but No Syndrome.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- In a study involving nearly 3,700 Gulf War-era veterans from Iowa, University of Iowa (UI) researchers did not find evidence of a unique Gulf War syndrome attributed to military service in the Persian Gulf...

Prevnar Voted for Inclusion in Vaccines for Children Program.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- American Home Products (AHP), Madison, New Jersey, announced that its vaccine Prevnar has been included in the U.S. government's Vaccines for Children program (VFC). Based on this vote all VFC-eligible...

Outbreak Contained in Los Angeles.(Statistical Data Included)
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- A syphilis outbreak primarily among gay men in Los Angeles County, California, has been contained, officials report. No new cases were reported since the first week of April, said Diane Goodwin,...

Scientists Suggest Isoniazid Alone as Effective as Multi-Drug Therapy.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- Results of a study of Asian patients with inactive tuberculosis (TB) suggest that isoniazid used alone is as effective as multiple-drug prophylactic therapy. C.R. MacIntyre and colleagues at Westmead...

World AIDS Series: Hit HIV-1 Hard, But Only When Necessary.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- When should drug therapy to treat HIV-1 infection be initiated? This is the subject of the fourth in a series of six articles published by The Lancet in the build-up to the World AIDS 2000 Conference in...

Interferon-(alpha)2b and Ribavirin Evaluated in HCV/HIV Infected Patients.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in France have found that combination therapy is useful in hepatitis C virus (HCV)/HIV coinfected patients. They conducted a safety and efficacy study of a "combination therapy of...

Chickenpox Vaccination Could Prevent Invasive GAS Disease.(group A streptococcal )
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- Universal chickenpox vaccination would help reduce the incidence of invasive group A streptococcal (GAS) disease, suggest researchers in Canada. Their study aimed to "describe the incidence and clinical...

Interleukin-10 Causes Anergy in Tuberculosis Patients.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is largely responsible for the anergy, or inability to raise an immune response to substances that are known to be immunogenic, seen in patients with tuberculosis, researchers report. ...

Genetic Mutations Increase Susceptibility to Severe Disease.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- CD36 gene mutations occur with very high frequency in African populations, researchers report in the June 29 issue of the journal Nature. They say the mutations result in carriers being more susceptible to...

Viral Nonstructural Protein Required for Replication.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- Scientists in Canada have conducted research that shows the p200 polyprotein is important for viral replication in the rubella virus and that mutation on this protein can cause the virus to be non-infectious....

Alternative Hybridization Assay Detects Mycobacterial Diseases.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- A new technique for quickly diagnosing mycobacterial diseases has been developed by M.C. Rossi and fellow research associates at the University of Milan in Italy. Their "easy and rapid" assay uses...

Minimal Amount of Sputum Improves Acid-Fast Smear Results.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- Increasing the amount of sputum used for processing acid-fast smears for Mycobacterium tuberculosis improves the sensitivity of the assay, researchers report. "Detection of acid-fast bacilli (AFB) by...

Innovative Program Moves Out of Clinic Into Community.
July 4, 2000... 2000 JUL 4 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, have implemented a new sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening program that moves beyond the traditional clinic walls. ...

TB Vaccine Expresses a Ubiquitin-Conjugated Tuberculosis Protein.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- A novel DNA vaccine expresses a ubiquitin-conjugated tuberculosis protein that enhances immunity to mycobacteria, researchers in the United States reported. "Genetic immunization is a promising new...

Scientists Analyze Ways Mycobacterium tuberculosis Overcomes Destruction.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- New research findings from the University of California suggest that Mycobacterium tuberculosis is able to evade destruction by disrupting important interactions that would normally occur between macrophages...

New Strain of Hepatitis E Virus Detected in China.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Researchers in China have isolated a new strain of hepatitis E virus (HEV). Preliminary characterization of this strain was recently reported in the most recent edition of the Journal of Medical Virology. ...

Epidemiology in Japanese Children Studied.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Scientists at the Tokyo Metropolitan Komagome Hospital in Japan recently reported their findings of a study of the epidemiology of herpes zoster in immunocompetent and immunocompromised children in the...

Cytokine Secretion Following Infection Varies by Mycobacterium Species.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- A study recently published in the journal Microbial Pathogenesis notes that different species of the genus Mycobacterium influence the secretion of different cytokines after infection. In this study, E....

Genetic Engineering Targets Mosquitoes with Scorpion Venom.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Peptides in scorpion venom are suddenly making medical news. Researchers in Mexico say malaria could be stopped in its tracks by genetically engineered mosquitoes that produce a scorpion toxin in their...

Antibodies Against Thrombospondin-Related Anonymous Protein are Ineffective.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Antibodies against thrombospondin-related anonymous protein (TRAP) are unable to inhibit Plasmodium sporozoite infection in vivo, researchers in the United States reported. "TRAP, a candidate malaria...

New Recommendations Issued for Diagnosing Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) has issued new recommendations to assist physicians in the diagnosis of a serious and often fatal condition, ventilator-associated pneumonia. The report...

DNA Fingerprinting Helps Identify Cross-Contamination.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- The utility of DNA fingerprinting to identify tuberculosis strain patterns was demonstrated in a series of case studies conducted by state and federal health workers in the U.S. Using the technique,...

Protective Role of Interleukin-1 Examined in Mice.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- An animal model study using mice has shown that interleukin 1 (IL-1) expression is an important factor in the response to mycobacterial infection. The study, conducted by researchers in Tokyo, Japan, was...

Researchers Create Blueprint for Vaccine Development.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- In an effort to control the alarming spread of tuberculosis (TB) across the globe, a team of researchers has created a strategic plan or "blueprint" that sets guidelines for developing an effective TB...

Movement Disorders Afflict Some Patients with Inflammatory Disease.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- New findings from a study conducted in Quito, Ecuador, have shown that movement disorders may remain in patients who have had tuberculous meningitis. These disorders are sometimes associated with a poor...

War on Bacteria Could Leave Drug-Resistant Strains Unchecked.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Efforts to keep our bodies and everything we touch bacteria-free could instead promote the growth of drug-resistant strains, says a Tufts University physician who urges people to abandon their irrational fears...

Patients with Early Stage HIV Infection are Resistant to TB.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Alveolar macrophages (AM) from patients with early HIV infection are resistant to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, researchers in the United States report. "HIV infected individuals are predisposed...

Risk Factors for M. avium Complex Disease in AIDS Patients Re-evaluated.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has changed the risk factors associated with disseminated Mycobacterium avium complex disease (DMAC) in AIDS patients. "DMAC in patients with AIDS has...

TB Worsens After Antiretroviral Therapy in Some AIDS Patients.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Antiretroviral therapy (ART) correlates with the worsening of tuberculosis (TB) in some AIDS patients, researchers in the United States have found. "We have previously reported the paradoxical worsening...

Third of African Malaria Deaths Due to Conflict or Natural Disaster.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 30% of the 960,000 people who die of malaria every year in Africa are from countries affected by serious conflict, war, or natural disaster. ...

Tumor Necrosis Factor (alpha) Necessary to Maintain Tuberculosis Latency.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- According to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the Albert Einstein School of Medicine, tumor necrosis factor (alpha) (TNF-(alpha)) is necessary to maintain a state of latency...

Clinical Trials on Rapid Gene-Based Test for Antibiotic-Resistant Superbug Begin.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- ID Biomedical Corp. (IDBE), Vancouver, British Columbia, announced that it has completed development and is beginning a clinical trial on its Velogene Rapid VRE Identification Assay, a gene-based test for the...

Diseases are World's Most Deadly and Unrecognized Disasters, Says Red Cross.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Diseases are turning into the world's most devastating and most under funded disasters, according to figures contained in the latest "World Disasters Report," recently released by the International Federation...

African Nations Urged to End 'Malaria Taxes'.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Uganda has completely scrapped from its June 2000 budget taxes and tariffs on mosquito nets and insecticides used in the fight against malaria. This follows hard-hitting pledges to waive malaria-related...

CDC Recommends Warning College Students.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- College freshmen living in dorms should be told about the risks of contracting meningitis, and a vaccine should be made available to those who want it. The recommendation was issued by the U.S. Centers...

Malaysia Expected to Kill 4,900 Infected Pigs.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- Health authorities on Borneo Island will cull 4,900 pigs infected with a virus that killed more than 100 Malaysians last year, the national Bernama news agency reported July 12. A massive operation to...

Approach Commercialized to Treat Malaria, Other Infections.
July 25, 2000... 2000 JUL 25 - (NewsRx.com) -- BTG plc, London, United Kingdom, announced that it has signed an exclusive agreement with Biomes, Inc., Pelham, Massachusetts, under which BTG will seek potential licensees to commercialize a novel approach...