TB & Outbreaks Week articles from July 2002

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from July 2002

Taiwan enterovirus 71 outbreak probed.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Taiwan have shed new light on the factors responsible for an deadly outbreak triggered by a ubiquitous organism. "In 1998, an epidemic of...

New measure may help prevent patients from being sent home too soon.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hospitalized pneumonia patients who have abnormal vital signs, mental confusion, or problems with eating or drinking in the 24 hours prior to discharge are more likely not to be able to resume normal...

Hantaan and Sin Nombre virus peptides may be useful for treatment.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in South Korea have identified a peptide that may have therapeutic use for treating patients infected with some hantavirus strains. Dr....

Contraction of T cell response not linked to clearance of infection.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The results of a new University of Iowa (UI) study challenge an old assumption about how the immune system responds to an infection and could have important implications for improving vaccine...

Novel genetic assay can reduce waiting period.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A novel genetic tuberculosis screen can reduce the time period needed for conclusive diagnosis, researchers in the United States report. Cathal E....

For environmental health, drinking water and sanitation are crucial.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Increasing access to drinking water is one of the priorities of the Pan American Health Organization, especially since figures show that 70 million Latin Americans lack access to drinking water, and in...

Cost-effectiveness of African intervention programs scrutinized.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Europe have reached some surprising conclusions about the cost-effectiveness of African programs to control HIV infection. "African...

Vancomycin resistance genes found.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genes specific to antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus faecalis - a scourge of hospitals worldwide - are huddled together on the same spot of its genome and could point to new targets for drugs to combat...

FDA gives marketing clearance for Vfend (voriconazole).
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Pfizer, Inc., said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given marketing clearance for both oral and intravenous formulations of Vfend (voriconazole) for the treatment of deadly fungal infections....

Hadron Advanced Biosystems files nine biodefense provisional patent applications.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hadron, Inc.'s (HDRN) Advanced Biosystems, Inc. subsidiary filed nine provisional patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. These provisional patent applications cover novel...

Hong Kong flu strain causes illness in Texas.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A rare strain of the influenza virus not covered by the last round of vaccinations has caused outbreaks among children in Austin, Galveston, Houston and El Paso, the Texas Department of Health (TDH)...

New approach holds promise.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Call them the pest posse. Mice are being used to kill a more dreaded pest - ticks - in the latest strategy for preventing Lyme disease. A new contraption developed by federal scientists and a...

CDC reports on progress toward eradication in Nigeria.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nigeria has greatly improved its surveillance system for polio in the past 2 years, and should place Nigeria on the verge of interrupting poliovirus transmission. Nigeria is one of three global...

RSV prevention in first winter protects lungs of preemies for many years.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A short-term treatment to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in premature infants with lung disease provided significant respiratory and immunologic benefits up to 10 years later,...

Better tests may help detect congenital syphilis in newborns.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas research team has developed two blood tests that quickly and reliably diagnose congenital syphilis in newborns. "This is the first...

FDA: ThinPrep can detect chlamydia, gonorrhea.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Women may start getting checked for cervical cancer and common sexually transmitted diseases at the same time now that the U.S. government has ruled the ThinPrep Pap test also can screen for chlamydia...

Potato may offer protection against human papillomavirus.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists are bellying up to the challenge of creating an edible vaccine to confer protection against human papillomavirus (HPV), one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases and the cause of...

Stanford researcher advocates aggressive, preventive anal cancer treatment.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rates of cervical cancer dropped by 78% once women started receiving yearly Pap smears in the 1940s. Now Mark Welton, MD, associate professor of surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, hopes to...

CDC advisers lobby for 'ring containment' smallpox vaccine.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Five doctors advising the federal government on its smallpox vaccination policy appear unanimous in their opposition to a mass inoculation of all Americans, arguing the chances of a terrorist smallpox...

Genetic fingerprint can be unstable.
July 2, 2002... 2002 JUL 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A genetic tuberculosis marker commonly used in epidemiological TB studies may not be as reliable as previously assumed, researchers warn. Dr. Robin M....

Acyclovir cream can ameliorate herpes simplex labialis.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have provided new information about the safety and efficacy of topical acyclovir used to treat herpes simplex labialis. ...

Vascular endothelial growth factor produced by T cells in response to infection.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Japan have shed new light on the serological response to tuberculosis infection. Dr. Wataru Matsuyama and colleagues at Kagoshima University...

Treating bacterial infections can help asthmatics.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study indicates that many patients with asthma may have bacterial infections in their lungs and that treatment with antibiotics can improve their ability to breathe. Researchers at National...

Cryptosporidium infections more common, less harmful than previously thought.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have shed new light on the prevalence and dangers of water-related Cryptosporidium infections. "Cryptosporidium oocysts...

New therapy for 'black fever' is 95% effective.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have developed a new treatment for the 500,000 people who develop visceral leishmaniasis each year, a disease also known as "black fever" and "kala azar." The new drug, miltefosine...

Whirlpool footbaths can be source of infection.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Whirlpool footbaths can harbor fast-growing, infectious mycobacteria, researchers in the United States warn. "In September 2000, a physician in northern...

Fewer antibiotics prescribed for children in the U.S.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A survey of office-based physicians shows antibiotic prescriptions decreased overall and for common respiratory tract infections among American children and young teenagers during the 1990s, according...

U.N. agencies urge 'Days of Tranquillity' for immunization campaign in Burundi.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Concerned that continued armed clashes in Burundi could hinder vaccination campaigns targeting more than 3 million children in the country, U.N. officials have called on all parties to the conflict to...

Obesity not a risk factor for H. pylori infection.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - The prevalence of Helicobacter pylori was not any greater in obese adults than in normal weight adults, according to work done in Greece. I. D....

Antex lead antibiotic makes major advances.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antex Pharma, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Antex Biologics, Inc., (ANX), announced major advances for AP-158, its lead antibiotic compound. AP-158 is a novel chemical entity with a unique...

FDA increases sampling of imported shrimp and crayfish.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced June 14, 2002, that it will be increasing the sampling of imported shrimp and crayfish (also known as crawfish) for the presence of chloramphenicol....

Top health and finance officials meet partners on improving health of poor.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Senior officials from developing countries and development partners convened at the World Health Organization's Geneva headquarters in June 2002, to start turning theory - on improving health, which...

Genes turn intestinal bacteria infectious, scientists say.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists say they have found a cluster of genes that transforms a normally benign type of bacteria in the intestines into a nasty germ blamed for a variety of infections, especially those acquired in...

Quilimmune-P pneumococcal vaccine induces potent immune response in elderly.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Antigenics, Inc., (AGEN) announced interim phase I results of its pneumococcal vaccine Quilimmune-P - a combination of a commercially available vaccine plus Antigenics' QS-21 adjuvant. The trial...

Clinicians should consider influenza A and B when diagnosing a febrile respiratory illness during the summer.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The 2001-02 influenza season was mild to moderate in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Influenza A (H3N2) viruses predominated, but influenza B...

Nasal antibiotic ointment reduces infection risk after surgery.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In what may be the largest clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of antimicrobial agents in preventing surgical wound and hospital-based infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, scientists at...

Pittsburgh hospital alerts patients to fatal brain disease risk.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Presbyterian hospital will alert patients who had neurosurgery between April 17, 2001, and April 6, 2002, of a slight risk that surgical instruments may...

Nanogen and CDC begin gene-based E. coli assay development collaboration.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nanogen, Inc., (NGEN) has entered into a development site agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and will shortly begin installation of a nanochip molecular biology...

Estrogen may be associated with virus implicated in cervical cancer.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The female hormone estrogen may have a role in human papillomavirus (HPV) viral infection, strains of which are implicated in cervical cancer, shows research in Sexually Transmitted Infections. ...

Teacher-led sex education of limited benefit.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Improvements in teacher-delivered sex education have some beneficial effect on the quality of young people's sexual relationships, but do not reduce sexual risk taking in adolescents, finds a study in...

UN agencies join OAU to fight diseases spread through tsetse flies.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Three United Nations agencies have announced plans to team with the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in the fight against diseases spread through tsetse flies, which cause sleeping sickness in humans...

Study: Soviet test caused outbreak.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- U.S. Officials weighing whether to dispense smallpox vaccine to the nation were presented with the possibility June 15, 2002, that the virus might be a more effective terrorist weapon than they thought....

Vaccine decision ahead.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The question carries critical weight in the new age of bioterrorism: Who should have access to vaccine against deadly smallpox? The killer has not infected a human in more than two decades, and the...

Antibody addition increases success of Streptococcus pneumoniae sepsis treatment.
July 9, 2002... 2002 JUL 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer ? Researchers in Spain report that the presence of specific antibodies lowered the dose of antibiotics needed to successfully treat sepsis caused by...

Infection frequent cause of uveitis in Japan.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Patients with uveal inflammation should be undergo routine testing for tuberculosis infection, researchers in Japan say. Yoshihiro Morimura and colleagues...

Two-stage spinal surgery highly effective for tuberculous spondylitis treatment.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A novel two-stage surgical technique can reverse bone and nervous system damage caused by spinal tuberculosis infection, researchers in Taiwan report. ...

Novel diagnostic tool detects life-threatening infections in patients.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center have found that a novel imaging agent detects life-threatening infections and inflammation in patients more rapidly than the standard nuclear medicine imaging...

Viral infections may not underlie transient pediatric erythroblastopenia.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Sweden have shed new light on the pathogenesis of a severe but temporary form of pediatric anemia. "It has been proposed that human...

Cranberry may offer protection against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Public health officials concerned about the rising problem of antibiotic resistance may have an ally in a common household beverage. Findings published in a research letter to the editor in the June...

Effects of tuberculosis and HIV-2 coinfection elucidated.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Like its more common cousin, HIV-2 infection has significant effects on tuberculosis risk, researchers in Europe and Africa report. "HIV-1 infection is...

Response Biomedical announces two U.S. marketing partners for RAMP Anthrax Test.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Response Biomedical Corp. (RBM), announced that marketing and distribution agreements have been reached with two U.S. partners to support the company's direct sales of the RAMP Anthrax Test. ...

Drug-resistant bug found in Ohio patient.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A drug-resistant germ was discovered last year in a Cleveland Clinic patient in a case that was only the eighth of its kind in the nation. One of the eight victims of the germ known as vancomycin...

EPA grants BioShield new use approval for polymers.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- BioShield Technologies, Inc., (BSTI) announced that the EPA has granted approval for a new-use application of BioShield's Antimicrobial line of products for the polymers industry. This new use...

No transmission reported yet in area hit hard last year.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Viruses that cause encephalitis have not yet shown up in the area of Louisiana where last year's deadly outbreak occurred, but people still need to guard against mosquito bites, officials say. ...

Spectroscope aids real-time test for meat spoilage.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A real-time method that rapidly tests meat for spoilage could ultimately help keep contaminated meat out of consumers' hands, say researchers from the University of Wales, who presented this new...

Viral infections often trigger bronchiolitic rejection lung graft rejection.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Severe bronchiolitis after lung transplantation can be triggered by community-acquired viral respiratory infections, researchers in the United States say. ...

Alcohol-based handrub promotes intensive care hand hygiene.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in Switzerland say that they have developed an effective intervention program to improve health care workers' lax hand hygiene in intensive care...

Mupirocin nasal ointment cuts infections in surgical patients at risk.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that use of mupirocin nasal ointment (Bactroban Nasal [mupirocin calcium]) in the noses of patients before surgery significantly reduces the...

World Health Organization declares European zone free of polio.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The World Health Organization has declared its European zone, which includes former Soviet republics and almost 1 billion people, free of the polio virus. Southeastern Turkey was the last area in...

Survey shows majority of sexually active men are not tested for genital herpes.
July 16, 2002... 2002 JUL 16 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A recent four-city survey shows only one-fourth of men (26%) who say they get tested for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are getting tested for genital herpes, despite widespread knowledge among...

Genetically heterogenous streptococcus responsible for Salt Lake City outbreaks.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have shed new light on the streptococcus pathogens responsible for several outbreaks in Utah. "Acute rheumatic fever...

Dendritic cells and macrophages show different responses to infection.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Different types of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) have different responses to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, researchers in the United States report....

Researchers shed light on bacterial infection linked to ulcers and stomach cancer.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- About 40% of the U.S. population is infected with a bacterium that can cause stomach inflammation and ulcers and increases the risk of stomach cancer. Although the bacterium, Helicobacter pylori, was...

Nucleoprotein-based immunoassay useful for CCHF diagnosis.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A novel immunoassay could be useful for detecting Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), researchers report. Dr. Masayuki Saijo and colleagues at...

Conserved staph protein may be therapeutic target in drug-resistant infections.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have identified a Staphylococcus aureus protein that may represent a therapeutic target in drug-resistant infections. ...

Liquid media monitoring system may offer improvement over standard Japanese method.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A liquid media system for monitoring the efficacy of tuberculosis treatment may offer an improvement over conventional Japanese techniques, researchers in...

Campaign urges consumers to use antibiotics wisely.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The ad shows a tantalizing glimpse of gold inside a treasure chest. No, not a pirate's doubloon: The message is that antibiotics are one of America's great treasures and it's everybody's...

New technique enables rapid detection of bacterial contamination of meat products.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) have developed a new rapid procedure that will enable food producers to detect the bacterial contamination of their meat products. Their...

Postpackaging process halts deadly food contaminant.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Purdue University scientists have developed a postpackaging pasteurization process for ready-to-eat meats that eliminates contamination by the deadliest of the bacterial food contaminants. The...

Iowa researchers work to provide barriers to biological weapons.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers at the University of Iowa are studying a synthetic molecule that could provide biological barriers to lethal infections from anthrax, smallpox, plague and other biological weapons. ...

Chemical produced by bug may be useful medicine.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- When the human body is threatened with infection, it mounts a defense that includes a rush of cells of the immune system to the site of infection. To achieve locomotion through the body, these cells...

Probiotics may prevent antibiotic-associated diarrhea.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Probiotics (microbes that protect their host and can prevent disease) can prevent diarrhea associated with the use of antibiotics, finds a study in the British Medical Journal. Researchers at the...

Scientists explore role of STDs, malaria, and TB in Africa AIDS epidemic.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The effect of HIV-1 on other infectious diseases in Africa is an increasing public health concern. In a review in the June 22, 2002 issue of the Lancet, Elizabeth Corbett from the London School of...

Antibiotic treatment can increase blood dyscrasia risk.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Antibiotic treatment may increase the risk of pathological blood conditions, researchers in Spain warn. "Blood dyscrasias, although rare, can be fatal,"...

Structure of critical protein determined.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scientists have determined the structure of a telltale protein in the Lyme disease bacterium that picks a fight with a patient's immune system and then evades the antibodies sent out to destroy it. ...

Study highlights success of vaccination program among U.K. children.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Authors of a research letter in the Lancet report how the introduction of a recent vaccination campaign in the U.K. has substantially reduced the potential for group C meningococcal infection among...

Molecular 'motor' drives virus replication.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A nonstructural protein called NSP2 appears to be the molecular "motor" that drives replication of rotavirus within cells lining the gastrointestinal tract - a finding that could enable development of...

Europe becoming complacent over HIV prevention.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Rising levels of gonorrhea and syphilis across western Europe since 1995 imply that complacency over HIV prevention efforts may have set in among individuals and some governments, argue researchers in...

Rates of genital herpes infections rise in Scotland.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Genital infections with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) have risen in western Scotland over the last 15 years, particularly among young women, finds a study in the British Medical Journal. ...

Government health officials say they are stockpiling vaccine.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Within the coming year, the U.S. government expects to stockpile 286 million doses of smallpox vaccine - enough to protect every U.S. citizen in case of a bioterrorist attack. The news was...

Procalcitonin has limited utility for predicting infectious morbidity.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Despite widespread attention, the hormone precursor procalcitonin is not superior to standard diagnostic markers of infection following stem cell...

Increase In IFN-(gamma) response predicts BCG vaccine effectiveness.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS, senior medical writer - A new study shows that the wide gap in protection against tuberculosis conferred by the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BGC) in the U.K. and Malawi can be...

More preventive TB treatment should reduce cases in non-U.S.-born.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- More aggressive treatment of latent tuberculosis infections in non-U.S.-born residents in New York City could reduce the very high rate of the active disease in this population, according to an...

New drugs sought for top killer of young women worldwide.
July 23, 2002... 2002 JUL 23 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Tuberculosis is the number one killer of women of childbearing age worldwide, and the epidemic is growing with the spread of bacteria that are resistant to drugs that have worked in the past. ...