TB & Outbreaks Week articles from March 2002

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from March 2002

Childhood viral infections can reduce allergy risk.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - When contracted during childhood, some viral infections reduce the risk of allergic disorders later in life, researchers in Finland report. Terhi Kilpi and...

Isoniazid safe for lupus patients on steroid therapy.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The antituberculosis drug isoniazid is suitable for use with steroid-treated lupus patients, according to researchers in India. Dr. S. Gaitonde and...

WHO report outlines plan for new health spending, points to way out of poverty to health.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Scaling Up the Response to Infectious Diseases: A Way out of Poverty, a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, UNAIDS, the World Bank, UNESCO and UNFPA, was launched at the World...

Cytokine dysregulation underlies symptoms.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A massive proinflammatory and proapoptotic cytokine response underlies the symptoms of Ebola infection, researchers in Maryland argue. "Ebola virus (EBOV)...

Long-term care patients likely to harbor drug-resistant enterococci.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Patients in long-term hospital care are likely to harbor drug-resistant enterococci bacteria, researchers in the United States warn. Dr. Marnie L. Elizaga...

U.S. sees dramatic decline in chickenpox incidence.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The introduction of the varicella vaccine in the U.S. in 1995 has resulted in a marked decline in varicella incidence, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,...

Bush seeks antibioterror funds.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nearly $6 billion will be spent during the new budget year to prepare for bioterrorist attacks, "a new American vulnerability laid bare," if Congress goes along with President Bush's proposals. ...

Lack of health workers imperils Africa's gains, UN agency warns.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An emerging "crisis of health manpower" in Africa threatens to derail the continent's progress, according to experts attending a United Nations-sponsored meeting that concluded recently in Addis Ababa,...

Gates, Bono call on leaders at World Economic Forum to increase health spending.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Addressing leaders at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in his capacity as cofounder of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, joined by pop star Bono of U2, called on government, industry and...

Special 510K clearance received for new breath test.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Meretek Diagnostics, Inc., has received special 510K clearance for the BreathTek-UBiT breath test kit for detection of active Helicobacter pylori infection - the major cause of peptic ulcer disease. ...

Smallpox vaccinations may pose health risk for people with HIV.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Recent news and government reports have raised the possibility that the smallpox virus, which was virtually eradicated as a public health threat more than 25 years ago, could in the future be used as a...

CEOs call for freater corporate engagement against HIV/AIDS, TB, malaria.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The member companies of the World Economic Forum's Global Health Initiative (GHI) joined with global health leaders and issued a call to the business leaders of the world to increase their efforts in...

Fluorogenic 5'-nuclease assays may have prognostic value.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States say that they may have found a useful prognostic tool for use with patients suffering from Ebola virus infection. Tammy R....

Routine candida prophylaxis unnecessary for critical care patients.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Patients in intensive care do not require routine treatment to prevent Candida infections, researchers in Taiwan report. "Nosocomial Candida infections are...

Vaccination safety controversy reaches British Parliament.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A controversy over the safety of vaccinations for childhood diseases grew as new cases of measles in England and Wales were reported February 6, 2002, and British Prime Minister Tony Blair insisted the...

Bush's 'abstinence only' program puts at-risk youth at greater risk, says GLMA.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At its recent board of directors meeting, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA) unanimously voiced deep disappointment and concern about the increased funding of "abstinence only" programs by...

New virtual laboratory connects researchers, industry to microbial models.
March 5, 2002... 2002 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new "virtual laboratory" website established by the Agricultural Research Service will help facilitate research cooperation among scientists studying a key food safety issue - how pathogenic bacteria...

Protein sorting factor possible target for Ebola, HIV treatment.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have identified a possible target for therapy against both HIV and Ebola virus infection. "Retroviral Gag proteins encode...

Fibronectin helps attach mycobacteria to lung cells.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have identified a possible target for antituberculosis therapies. "Attachment of M. tuberculosis organisms to alveolar...

Malaria vaccine based on parasite protein effective in animals.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - A vaccine based on a protein found on the surface of malaria-causing parasites protects animals from the disease, researchers in the United States and Japan...

Mecca pilgrims a priority for meningococcal vaccination.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Muslims traveling to Saudi Arabia for the annual Hajj are a high priority for enhanced meningococcal vaccination this year. Thirty-three cases and nine fatalities were reported in England and...

Undiagnosed, untreated gonorrhea, chlamydia infections common.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Between 1997 and 1998, undiagnosed gonorrhea and chlamydia infections occurred in a combined 1 in 12, or 7.9%, of young adults ages 18 to 35 in Baltimore, Maryland, a surprisingly high total that...

BCG vaccine elevates protective cytokine release.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - The venerable and widely used Mycobacterium bovis Bacillus Calmette Guerin (BCG) tuberculosis vaccination raises protective cytokine output from immune cells,...

New vaccines will take awhile.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Americans will probably have to depend on current anthrax vaccines if there's another such biological attack this year, a leading researcher says. Second-generation vaccines are in the works but not...

David A. Cory, RPh, named senior VP, sales and marketing.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- InterMune, Inc., (ITMN) has promoted David A. Cory, RPh, to the position of senior vice president of sales and marketing to lead its recently expanded sales and marketing force. The company's...

Oregon shortage causes health officials to drop two vaccines.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Shortages have forced Oregon health officials to drop for this year two immunizations previously required of school-age children. The vaccine for chicken pox and a tetanus-diphtheria booster for...

Versicor achieves fifth milestone in collaboration.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Versicor, Inc., (VERS) announced that it has achieved a fifth milestone in its ongoing collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG (NVS); it receive a milestone payment for the successful transfer of a...

Ready meals need proper handling at home to prevent illness.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Growing consumer appetite for ready-to-eat meals with a minimal preparation time and few preservatives has led to increased production and sales of chilled ready meals. Although the food industry has...

Study: Salmonella resists Cipro.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A study at two Taiwan hospitals found that a powerful strain of Salmonella developed a resistance to the antibiotic Cipro in less than 2 years. In findings published February 7 in the New England...

Pneumococcal vaccine boosters less effective for HIV patients.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Booster doses of a commonly used vaccine against pneumococcal infections are markedly less effective in patients infected with HIV, researchers in the United...

WHO: Vaccine fears could lead to unnecessary deaths.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Safety fears that have led some British parents to refuse to have their children vaccinated could lead to many unnecessary deaths if the concerns spread to developing countries, the United Nations...

Children suffer more colds in day care, but fewer in early school years.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Children who attended large day care centers for preschool have fewer colds at ages 6-11 than those cared for at home, according to a study by Thomas M. Ball, MD, MPH, associate professor of clinical...

Defense department awards grant for vaccine development.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Plexus Vaccine, Inc., has won a competitive Department of Defense grant. The award provides R&D funding that enables Plexus Vaccine to acquire proof of concept for vaccine development for the...

Bush to pledge $200 million for global AIDS fund.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- President George W. Bush will include a $200 million contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in his new budget proposal, the administration has announced. The money...

Biotech company reports positive, late-stage clinical trial results for TB diagnostic.
March 12, 2002... 2002 MAR 12 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Sequella, Inc., a biotechnology focused on infectious diseases, has reported positive late-stage clinical trial results for its Transdermal Patch for active tuberculosis (TB). According to the...

Antiretroviral therapy can be deferred in stable patients.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - HIV patients with tuberculosis should defer powerful antiretroviral treatments until the last stages of tuberculosis therapy if possible, researchers in the...

M. avium infection lowers macrophage cytokine output.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Mycobacteria avium infection reduces the output of a key antibacterial cytokine by immune cells, researchers in the United States report. "Interleukin-12...

New protocol for administering vaccine could save lives, dollars.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Requiring hospital nurses to identify patients who would benefit from pneumonia vaccine and providing prepreprinted vaccination orders for doctors to sign can significantly reduce the physical and...

Researchers discover rapid-response, interferon-producing cells.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nearly 50 years ago, researchers discovered that when cells in laboratory cultures are infected by a virus, they secrete a substance that protects other cells from infection. In 1957 Alick Issaks...

Antibiotic overuse in chickens may compromise effectiveness for humans.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Extensive use of powerful antibiotics in poultry animals may limit their efficacy for humans, researchers in the United States warn. "Fluoroquinolones...

Carboxamides inhibit herpesvirus activity.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- by Michael Greer, senior medical writer - Researchers in the United States have uncovered a novel class of agents that may be useful for treating herpesvirus-related disorders. "Through broad...

WHO urges vaccination for Northern Hemisphere.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- As the influenza season in the Northern Hemisphere reaches its peak, the World Health Organization (WHO) is scaling up its efforts to fight this potentially devastating disease. Influenza is one...

Carol Nacy named to Fast 50 list.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Carol Nacy, founder and CEO of Sequella, Inc., has been named as one of Fast Company magazine's "Fast 50" innovators - individuals whose achievements helped change their companies or society. Nacy's...

Parents want government to offer separate injections for measles mumps, rubella: poll.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- One in five British parents would pay to give their children separate measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations rather than accept the free combined injection, according to a recent survey (See Vaccine...

Strange rash baffles medical sleuths.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Hundreds of youngsters in at least seven states have broken out in mysterious rashes, and some health investigators suspect it might be caused by a new or yet-to-be-identified virus. The red,...

Government launches trial of gel to protect women against HIV.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The British government, working with agencies in five African countries, have launched a 5-year program to find an effective gel to protect women against HIV infection. International Development...

E.U. says scientists find new test for early detection.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers from Europe and Africa have developed a new test for Ebola fever that could lead to earlier detection of the deadly virus, the European Union announced. E.U. Research Commissioner...

Nearly 1 million in Russia infected with HIV.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nearly a million Russians are likely infected with HIV, the Health Ministry's official in charge of AIDS prevention reports, and the climbing infection rate could aggravate the country's demographic...

Versicor announces fourth quarter 2001 financial results.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Versicor, Inc., (VERS), reported financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2001. For the fourth quarter of 2001, total revenues were $1.6 million compared with $1.7 million in...

Health officials looking for source of salmonella outbreak.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The source of a salmonella outbreak that has swept across four Canadian provinces since December 2001 continues to elude health officials. Salmonella oranienberg - a bacterial disease that can...

Scientists warn that dangerous food bacteria here to stay.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Consumers beware: Scientists say the bacteria that cause food poisonings aren't going away, despite the efforts of the food industry to eliminate them. New germs arrive in imported foods and...

One in four vets claim illness.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Gulf War has been over for more than a decade, but questions about sick veterans linger. Nearly 199,000 veterans - or more than one in four - who served in the Persian Gulf from August 1990 to...

Panel advises flu shots for babies.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A U.S. advisory panel decided to encourage flu shots for children ages 6-23 months - a group not previously on the recommended list for the vaccine. The government currently recommends the vaccine...

More cases reported in London, despite promotion of MMR.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Nine new cases of measles have been confirmed in London, raising concerns that many parents are ignoring a government appeal to use the standard children's vaccine. The new cases, reported by...

Doctors fear outbreak in India.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Doctors fear pneumonic plague may have caused the deaths of five people in a remote part of northern India, hospital officials said February 18, 2002. The first death was reported February 11, and...

WHO starts testing program for HIV/AIDS in Afghanistan.
March 26, 2002... 1902 MAR 26 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The United Nations health agency says it is planning to survey the level of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases in Afghanistan and encourage testing of donated blood before transfusions. ...