Health - Infectious Diseases latest news

(University of Virginia health System) In a study published in the Sept. 3, 2008, issue of Surgical Infections, UVA researchers report that switching between two antibiotics, linezolid and vancomycin, every three months in the surgical ICU decreased the MRSA infection rate from 1.9 to 1.4 patients per 100 admissions. In-hospital mortality from surgical ICU-acquired MRSA infections fell from 3.8 patients per year to none.

(University of Florida) There's no magic bullet for wiping out malaria, but a new study offers strong support for a method that effectively delays the evolution of drug resistance in malaria parasites, a University of Florida researcher says.

(University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) A recent study found a method to increase enrollment among high-risk individuals in HIV prevention programs.

(George Mason University) With the publication of a study led by Yuntao Wu, assistant professor in George Mason University's department of molecular and microbiology, the medical community is one step closer to understanding how the human immunodeficiency virus attacks cells in the immune system. AIDS, which is caused by HIV, affected more than 33 million people worldwide in 2007 according to World health Organization statistics.

(Cell Press) Researchers have shown that they can create entirely new strains of infectious proteins known as prions in the laboratory by simply mixing infectious prions from one species with the normal prion proteins of another species.

(NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Scientists have uncovered new evidence that strengthens the link between a host-cell gene called Apobec3 and the production of neutralizing antibodies to retroviruses. Published in the Sept. 5 issue of Science, the finding adds a new dimension to the set of possible explanations for why most people who are infected with HIV do not make neutralizing antibodies that effectively fight the virus.

(Syracuse University) A unique partnership between Syracuse University and the Serum Institute of India could lead to better access to life-saving vaccines for children living in some of the most impoverished areas of the world. The Institute recently awarded $250,000 to a team of SU researchers led by Robert Doyle, assistant professor of chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, to develop new oral vaccines against tetanus and rotavirus, a severe form of diarrhea that affects infants and young children worldwide.