TB & Outbreaks Week articles from March 2004

TB & Outbreaks Week archives from March 2004

Rifampicin reduces focal ischemia-induced brain damage.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Treatment with rifampicin may help prevent ischemic brain damage. "Rifampicin is an antibacterial agent that is widely used in tuberculosis and leprosy therapy," neurologists in Switzerland...

WNV infection in kidney transplant recipient reported.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The first known case of West Nile virus (WNV) infection associated with kidney transplantation has been reported. According to recent research from the United States, WNV, "a mosquito-transmitted...

Genetic element linked to streptococcal macrolide resistance characterized.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A chimeric genetic element linked to streptococcal macrolide resistance has been characterized. According to recent research from the United States, "The resistance of group A Streptococcus (GAS)...

Primaquine analogue lacks methemoglobin toxicity.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel primaquine analogue has potent antimalarial activity without MetHb toxicity. In a recent study from India, "To eliminate an unwarranted metabolic pathway of the quinoline ring, a set of two...

Trimethoprim derivatives active against drug-resistant malaria parasites.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novel TMP derivatives show promise for the treatment of drug-resistant malaria. "The resistance to pyrimethamine (PYR) of Plasmodium falciparum arising from mutation at position 108 of dihydrofolate...

Crystal structure of M. tuberculosis MshB determined.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The crystal structure of M. tuberculosis MshB has been characterized. "All living species require protection against the damaging effects of the reactive oxygen species that are a natural by-product...

Avian flu virus continues to spread in Asian countries.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Despite massive efforts to stamp out the virulent avian influenza virus, the disease continues to spread in poultry-producing areas in some Asian countries, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization...

Ban won't be lifted on Thai poultry until bird flu eradicated.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The European Union (E.U.) won't lift its ban on the import of chicken from Thailand until the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms that the bird flu there is stamped out, the E.U.'s top health...

New Zealand authorities make avian influenza a notifiable disease.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New Zealand has made avian influenza, or bird flu, a notifiable disease, requiring health authorities to be informed urgently of any actual or suspected cases. New Zealand Health Minister Annette...

U.N. says bird flu has not mutated to potent, new form; downplay tests in pigs.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The World Health Organization say the bird flu virus in the case of two Vietnamese sisters has not mutated into a new, potent form, while officials in Vietnam reject claims that pigs now have the virus....

Synthetic prototype of P. falciparum GPI developed.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A synthetic prototype of P. falciparum glycosylosphatidylinositol (GPI) has been developed. Scientists in North Carolina developed a technique for the "synthesis of a fully lipidated and...

Partnership to develop new treatment for tropical disease.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Roche and AEterna Laboratories, Inc., (AEL; AELA) announced a partnership for the marketing in Brazil of Impavido (Miltefosine), the breakthrough oral therapy of leishmaniasis. The agreement was...

Ivory Coast medicinal plants demonstrate antiparasite activity.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A number of medicinal plants used in the Ivory Coast have potent antiparasitic activity. According to published research from France, "During an ethnopharmacological survey of antiparasitic...

Antimicrobial diflunisal hydrazide-hydrazones synthesized.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of novel diflunisal hydrazide-hydrazone have demonstrated significant antimicrobial activity. According to recent research from Turkey, "Several diflunisal hydrazide-hydrazone derivatives...

Kenyan medicinal plants may yield antimalarial agents.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Extracts from several Kenyan medical plants show promise as antimalarial agents. In a recent study from Kenya, "The organic extracts of leaves and roots of five plants used for treating malaria in...

Gates Foundation commits $82.9 million to develop new tuberculosis vaccines.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced an $82.9 million grant to the Aeras Global TB Vaccine Foundation to support development of new vaccines to prevent tuberculosis (TB), a disease that...

SECEBT receives nearly $1 million for bioterror studies.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A new 1-year federal grant of nearly $1 million will help the Southeastern Center for Emerging Biologic Threats (SECEBT) fulfill its mission of combating emerging infectious diseases and potential...

Scientists developing bacteria detection device.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Jay Glasel envisions a day when supermarket employees will be able to scan meat packages to determine whether the food is contaminated with dangerous bacteria. That may happen soon, as Glasel, an...

LA County to intensify fight against HIV, STDs in gay bathhouses.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Alarmed by high rates of HIV, LA County, California, supervisors have ordered local health officials to strengthen plans to combat sexually transmitted diseases in gay bathhouses and sex clubs. The...

Enyzme immunoassay suitable for cryptosporidiosis diagnosis.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Cryptosporidiosis diagnosis through EIA appears to be feasible in HIV patients. Scientists in Brazil conducted a study "to verify the occurrence of Cryptosporidium infection in 52 human...

Murine T cytotoxic-1 CD8 cells are effector cells against P. carinii.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In mice, anti-Pneumocystis immune activity is effected by T cytotoxic-1 CD8 cells. "Host defenses are profoundly compromised in HIV-infected hosts due to progressive depletion of CD4+ T...

Prevalence and effects of P. jirovecii DHPS mutations determined.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The frequency and clinical significance of P. jirovecii DHPS polymorphisms have been elucidated. According to published research from France, "Dihydropteroate synthase gene (DHPS) mutations at...

Haemophilus influenzae vaccine does not elicit helper T cells.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine does not elicit antigen-specific helper T cells. "A small number of fully vaccinated children in the U.K. have experienced invasive Haemophilus...

CD1a presents mycobacterial lipopeptides.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- CD1a presents mycobacterial lipopeptides. "Unlike major histocompatibility proteins, which bind peptides, CD1 proteins display lipid antigens to T cells," immunologists in Boston explained. In...

Effects of SAP, SLAM on Th1 cytokines during TB elucidated.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- SAP and SLAM have divergent effects on the production of Th1 cytokines during tuberculosis infection. According to recent research from Argentina, "[p]roduction of the Th1 cytokine IFN-gamma by T...

National nosocomial infections surveillance program reduces infection rate.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance (NNIS) system has reduced the incidence of urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, and pneumonia in...

CIEF-WCID may enhance norovirus testing.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A novel assay may enhance norovirus detection in food and clinical isolates. In a recent study from Canada, "A capillary isoelectric focusing-whole column imaging detection (CIEF-WCID) method was...

Panfungal PCR useful for cerebral aspergillosis diagnosis.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Panfungal PCR can facilitate cerebral aspergillosis diagnosis. Physicians in Japan described their experience treating a "patient with osteosarcoma in whom a brain abscess developed after...

Nonprofit drug company attacks developing-world diseases.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Victoria Hale is chief executive of the ultimate oxymoron: a nonprofit drug company. From her office in San Francisco's financial district, she hopes to wipe out diseases that plague developing...

Availability of work site vaccinations increases rate of adult flu shots.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The Southeast Michigan Partners Project, funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP), found in a recent study of employees in...

Late CMV PRP reported after stem-cell transplantation.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- An incidence of late CMV PRP has been reported in a stem-cell transplant recipient. In a case described by physicians in Germany, a "55-year-old man with acute myeloid leukemia in second relapse...

Human serum haptoglobin is toxic to cultured P. falciparum.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Haptoglobin has toxic effects on P. falcipaurm in vitro. According to a study from England, "Innate immune responses are important in the control of malaria, particularly in those who have not yet...

"Full-malaria" cDNA database updated.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The "Full-malaria" cDNA database has been updated and expanded. According to J. Watanabe and colleagues at the University of Tokyo, "Full-malaria (http://fullmal.ims.u-tokyo.ac.jp), a database for...

Crt and Mdr1 orthologues not involved in P. chabaudi chloroquine resistance.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Crt and Mdr1 orthologues do not play a major role in P. chabaudi chloroquine resistance. In a recent study, parasitologists in Scotland "identified in the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium...

Mosquito nets treated with multiple insecticides show promise.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Mosquito nets treated with multiple insecticides may improve malaria prevention efforts in endemic regions. "Only pyrethroid insecticides have so far been recommended for the treatment of mosquito...

High-dose artemisinin has D[subscript]2 receptor-mediated sedative effect.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- At high doses, artemisinin has a sedative effect mediated by dopamine receptors. "Artemisinin or qinghaosu is the active principle of quinghao (Artemisia annua L.) developed from Chinese traditional...

Salmonella found in sesame seed products.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Salmonella pathogens have been found in a variety of sesame-seed based products. "In the context of an international outbreak of multiresistant Salmonella typhimurium DT 104 that was correlated to...

Nigerian team seeks reassurance that polio vaccine is safe.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- With its polio outbreak spreading, Nigeria recently sent a team of scientists, officials and Muslim leaders abroad to bring back proof that the vaccine is neither contaminated nor a Western plot to...

Should compulsory screening of immigrants be part of U.K. policy?
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The U.K. government may be considering compulsory screening of immigrants for tuberculosis and HIV, yet compulsory screening is not based on adequate evidence and has practical and ethical problems,...

2003 Outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Beijing summarized.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have summarized the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Beijing in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. According to recent research from the United States and...

New Mexico health department, University study spread of TB at the border.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New Mexico researchers say a possible tuberculosis outbreak is lurking at the U.S.-Mexico border. To prevent a public health crisis, the University of New Mexico (UNM) and the state Department of...

BDProbeTec ET system facilitates rapid TB diagnosis.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The BDProbeTec ET system can facilitate the rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis infection. In a recent study, scientists in Spain "evaluated the BDProbeTec ET System (Becton Dickinson) for the routine...

Gallium-67 scintigraphy can help diagnose tuberculous peritonitis.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Gallium-67 scintigraphy can facilitate the diagnosis of tuberculous peritonitis. In the Journal of Gastroenterology, physicians in Japan described "a case of tuberculous peritonitis in a 24-year-old...

Structural features of M. tuberculosis AKmt identified.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The structure of M. tuberculosis AKmt has been determined. "Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death worldwide from a single infectious disease. Search of new therapeutic tools requires the...

Structure of M. tuberculosis RpiB characterized.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The structure of M. tuberculosis RpiB has been characterized. "Ribose-5-phosphate isomerases (EC 5.3.1.6) inter-convert ribose-5-phosphate and ribulose-5-phosphate. This reaction allows the...

Household TB transmission lower than expected.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Household transmission of tuberculosis may be lower than previously assumed. "The prevalence of infection among household contacts of people with tuberculosis is high," scientists in South Africa...

STAT1 plays key role in defense against pulmonary TB in mice.
March 2, 2004... 2004 MAR 2 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- STAT1 activity is crucial for control of pulmonary tuberculosis in mice. Scientists in Japan conducted a study to "determine the roles of STAT1 protein in defense against mycobacterial infection."...

Cholesterol-specific receptor enables mycobacterial cell entry.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A mycobacterial cholesterol-specific receptor plays a key role in tuberculosis pathogenesis. "Cholesterol-mediated mycobacteria entry into and survival within macrophages has added a new dimension...

Isoniazid more cost-effective than rifampin-pyrazinamide for latent TB treatment.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Isoniazid is more-effective than RZ regimens for the treatment of latent tuberculosis. According to published research from California, "2 months of treatment with rifampin-pyrazinamide (RZ) and 9...

Bacillus thuringiensis crystal proteins protect against malaria in mice.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Bacillus thuringiensis crystal proteins have potent antimalarial activity in mice. In a recent study from China, eight B. thuringiensis strains "were used to test their activity against Plasmodium...

Amino acid-conjugated quinolinamines are potent antimalarials.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novel amino acid-conjugated quinolinamines have potent antimalarial activity. In a recent study from India, "Alanine, lysine, ornithine and valine conjugated to primaquine and other 8-quinolinamine...

Rifampin strongly reduces indinavir levels.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Indinavir treatment for HIV can be rendered ineffective by rifampin co-administration. "Rifampin is an important drug in the treatment of tuberculosis, but administration of rifampin in combination...

P. vivax heightens erythrocyte deformability.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The malaria parasite P. vivax avoids the immune system by increasing erythrocyte deformability. "Red blood cells (RBCs) must deform considerably during their multiple passages through the...

PCR asay aids Aspergillus endocarditis diagnosis in AML patients.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- PCR analysis facilitates the diagnosis of Aspergillus-related complications during leukemia. According to published research from Wales, "Endocarditis secondary to Aspergillus niger has not been...

B. anthracis spores can germinate, grow and reproduce in soil.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For Bacillus anthracis, the bacterium that causes anthrax, nothing beats the inside of a warm human or animal host for triggering an intense spurt of rapid growth and reproductive activity. But when a...

Artemisinin alkylates human hemoglobin A[subscript]0.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Artemisinin alkylates human hemoglobin A[subscript]0. According to published research from France, "In vitro, the heme cofactor of human iron(II) hemoglobin was efficiently and quickly alkylated at...

Sepsis drug also protects brain cells.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A compound currently used to treat patients with severe sepsis also protects brain cells in an unexpected way, say researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Doctors currently use a...

Children's flu vaccination does not relieve exacerbations.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in children with asthma, ages 6-18, Dutch researchers found that influenza vaccination did not significantly reduce the number, severity, or...

Expert warns bird flu outbreak could evolve into SARS-like epidemic.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Health experts February 19, 2004, urged Asian countries to step up vigilance against bird flu amid worries it has the ability to evolve into a SARS-like human epidemic that killed hundreds last year....

Infection-control company launches fight against avian flu.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- JohnsonDiversey, Inc., is partnering with its customers across the globe to launch an offensive against the spread of avian flu. The effort includes offering products that are registered by the...

Leopard reportedly dies of bird flu; study of patients shows short incubation period.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A leopard died from bird flu in a zoo in Thailand, a Cabinet minister said, while new clinical data showed it takes only about 3 days for humans to get sick after being infected. The U.N. Food and...

New approach may provide prompt recovery from bird flu.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- GenoMed, Inc., (GMED) announced that its treatment approach to viruses, which tones down the host's immune response rather than trying to kill the virus, should be effective against the bird flu. ...

New research could lead to potential treatment for avian flu.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- With the re-emergence of SARS and another outbreak of avian influenza in Asia, many government officials are concerned the outbreaks will increase and a new epidemic will emerge. In response to...

Vaccine could be made quickly if Asian bird flu goes global, U.S. officials say.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Drug companies could quickly produce 270 million doses of a human vaccine for bird flu in the United States if it develops into a worldwide killer, U.S. health officials says. Scientists have begun...

Mouse bioassay and ELISA compared for detecting botulinum toxin in food.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers have compared the mouse bioassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay procedures for the detection of type A botulinal toxin in food. "Samples of chili linked to a food-borne illness...

Role of chemokine receptors in chagasic cardiomyopathy evaluated.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The role of chemokine receptors in Chagas disease-induced cardiomyopathy has been clarified. In a recent study, scientists in Brazil "evaluated the expression of chemokine receptors (CCR1, CCR2,...

Effectiveness of vaccine decreases after 1 year.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The effectiveness of the chickenpox vaccine decreases significantly in the first year after vaccination, and also appears lower if the vaccine is administered to children younger than 15 months of age,...

Blood test could avoid inappropriate use of antibiotics for respiratory infections.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A rapid blood test to help distinguish between bacterial and other (predominantly viral) infections could substantially reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics for common infections, conclude...

Rapid diarrhea test saves lives.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Diarrhea, a worldwide killer, could be diagnosed more successfully thanks to a new diagnostic test devised by researchers at the University of Bristol and the University of the West of England, U.K. It...

Galactopyranosyl amino alcohols show promise as antimicrobial agents.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A series of novel amino alcohols show promise as antimicrobial agents. In a study from India, the "galactopyranosyl amino alcohols (3-16) were synthesised by regioselective oxirane ring opening of...

Novel trioxane derivatives have improved antimalarial activity.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Novel trioxane derivatives have demonstrated improved antimalarial activity. According to published research from India, "Using readily available trioxanes 6a-b, a new series of amino functionalized...

New, nonradioactive screen for antimalarial compounds developed.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Panama's International Cooperative Biodiversity Group (ICBG) announced the development of a new test for identifying antimalarial compounds with wide applicability in the developing world. The...

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis traced to fresh produce for the first time.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- For the first time, scientists have identified fresh produce as the source of an outbreak of human Yersinia pseudotuberculosis infections, according to a new report. The outbreak was identified in...

World food safety experts offer new methods to assess risk.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- New methods are in the pipeline to improve the safety of the world's food supply, and the need is imminent, says the director of the National Food Safety and Toxicology Center at Michigan State...

UN: HIV growth rates in Estonia, Russia and Ukraine among world's fastest.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Russia, Ukraine and the Baltic nation of Estonia have some of the world's fastest HIV growth rates, the United Nations Development Program declared. The world body said one in every 100 adults of the...

Epidemiology of human M. bovis infection in the U.K. characterized.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The molecular epidemiology of human Mycobacterium bovis infection in the United Kingdom has been characterized. M. bovis is the causative agent of bovine tuberculosis, with a wide host range,"...

Report finds inactivated influenza virus vaccines effective in children.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Every winter inevitably brings with it the flu season, but kids don't inevitably have to contract the flu. A new report, which reviews the results of multiple studies on the effects of influenza vaccine...

Vaccine development against H5N1 virus "should be made a priority".
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Two new studies raise questions about the transmission of avian influenza viruses from chickens to humans. Marion Koopmans (National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, The Netherlands)...

WHO adds Fujian flu to vaccine list for next winter.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The United Nations health agency is recommending that a vaccine against the Fujian strain of influenza be included in inoculations next winter. In its recommendations for the composition of the...

New antibiotic improves treatment of parasitic infection.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A team of researchers from the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, led by Professor Jordi Alberola, has demonstrated the efficacy and safety of a new type of antibiotic, belonging to the family called...

SCT with voriconazole treatment feasible for AML with pulmonary aspergillosis.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Stem-cell transplantation with extended voriconazole therapy is safe and effective for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with pulmonary aspergillosis. According to recent research published from...

In African highlands, climate extremes are critical factor in malaria epidemics.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Seasonal fluctuations in a region's climate, rather than consistently high annual temperatures or levels of rainfall, play an important role in causing malaria epidemics in the African highlands, a new...

Molecular basis of P. jirovecii atovaquone resistance clarified.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- The molecular mechanics of P. jirovecii atovaquone resistance have been characterized. "Atovaquone is a substituted hydroxynaphthoquinone that is widely used to prevent and clear Plasmodium...

Murine plasmodial ABC genes identified.
March 9, 2004... 2004 MAR 9 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A number of ABC genes in murine plasmodial parasites have been identified and characterized. "The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) proteins are one of the largest evolutionarily conserved families,"...