Vital Technologies, Inc.

"Epidemiology is always important and topical, though sometimes unsung," says Professor Johan Giesecke, Chief Scientist at ECDC, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, "but the third applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology Conference in Stockholm in October this year will be an o

Malawian Government Supplies 250,000 HIV-Positive Citizens With Free Antiretrovirals The government of Malawi supplies 250,000 of its HIV positive citizens with antiretrovirals (ARVs) free of charge, Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika said during an AIDS candlelight memorial outside of the capital city, Blantyre, on Sunday, the

Scientists know that some cancers are triggered by viruses, which take over cellular systems and cause uncontrolled cell growth. Doctors and patients who get shingles late in life have also known for many years that some viruses, particularly the herpes virus, can lie dormant in a person's cells for long periods of time and then reactivate, causing disease. These viruses also cause significant disease in immunosuppressed people and those living with HIV/AIDS.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday, June 29, that it had found E. coli O157:H7 in a sample of prepackaged Nestlé Toll House refrigerated cookie dough that had been collected at the Nestlé factory in Danville, Virginia four days earlier.

Scientists at the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research (SFBR) in San Antonio have for the first time constructed a genetic map of the parasite that causes schistosomiasis, a chronic intestinal infection that can damage internal organs and, in children, impair growth and cognitive development. Schistosome parasites are flatworms that infect more than 200 million people a year worldwide.

A Vanderbilt chemist and a biomedical engineer have teamed up to develop a respiratory virus detector that is sensitive enough to detect an infection at an early stage, takes only a few minutes to return a result and is simple enough to be performed in a pediatrician's office.

Plainview Milk Products Cooperative, Plainview, Minn., is voluntarily recalling instant nonfat dried milk, whey protein, fruit stabilizers, and gums (thickening agents) that it has manufactured over the past two years, because they might be contaminated with Salmonella. The company sells these products to other industry customers, including distributors and manufacturers, who may have incorporated them into their own products. None of Plainview's products were sold directly to the public.

MedImmune continues to advance its commitment to pediatric research with today's announcement of the first observational prospective study designed to assess the burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) among preterm infants 32-to-35 weeks gestational age (GA) in outpatient settings during their first year of life. The study also seeks to gather virology data regarding the national onset of the RSV season across the four geographic regions established by the U.S.

In a leading medical journal this week US researchers describe the 90-year history of swine flu and warn about working with "freezer" viruses, which they suspect is how an H1N1 virus that closely resembles a temporarily "extinct" 1950s strain resurrected some 20 years later and continues to circulate as a seasonal flu strain today.

Over the last five days, the Middlesex-London Health Unit has received reports of three children with E. coli O157:H7. To receive three laboratory confirmed cases of E. coli O157:H7 in such a short timeframe is unusual. In two of these cases, the common food consumed was kofta (spiced ground beef) purchased on June 14 and 15 from the Westmount Halal Food Store located at 490 Wonderland Road South. The source of the third child's infection is currently unknown.

The University of Queensland has produced the first Australian batch of a new candidate vaccine against the H1N1 "swine flu" virus. Professor Anton Middelberg, from UQ's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, said the vaccine matched the virus found in the first US case of swine flu, a 10-year-old boy in San Diego.

Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Doctors may get a new arsenal for meningitis treatment and the war on drug-resistant bacteria and fungal infections with novel peptide nanoparticles developed by scientists at the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (IBN) of Singapore and reported in Nature Nanotechnology. The stable bioengineered nanoparticles devised at IBN effectively seek out and destroy bacteria and fungal cells that could cause fatal infections and are highly therapeutic.

Health professionals are being given clear guidelines for prescribing particular antibiotics in different diagnostic scenarios in the latest National Prescribing Service (NPS) education program, Management of specific respiratory tract infections.

Southampton's teaching hospitals have been recognised by one of the UK's top medical organisations for leading the way in use of antibiotics in the fight against infection. The British Medical Association, the professional body for doctors and medical students, praised Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust's development of clear and simple antimicrobial prescribing guidelines for staff.

Staphylococcus epidermidis is quite an opportunist. Commonly found on human skin, the bacteria pose little danger. But S. epidermidis is a leading cause of infections in hospitals. From catheters to prosthetics, the bacteria are known to hitch a ride on a range of medical devices implanted into patients. Inside the body, the bacteria multiply on the implant's surface and then build a slimy, protective film to shield the colony from antibiotics.

Gonorrhea (from Late Latin gonorrhoia where gonos means "seed" and rhoe means "flow") is a sexually transmitted bacterial infection that tends to attack the mucous membranes of the body. It is the second most common sexually transmitted disease in the U.S.; the first being Chlamydia. The bacteria reside in the warm and moist body cavities of both men and women and are highly contagious.

The Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IBB) belonging to Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) is directing the AntiPathoGN European research project aimed at looking for new drug targets in pathogenic bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics. To do so a consortium was created by six institutions and firms in Spain, three in Germany, one in France and one in Bulgaria. The project, which will cost approximately 7.7 million euros, will be carried out during four years.

An additional 535 confirmed human cases of Swine Flu A(H1N1) cases have been confirmed in the England, plus 111 in Scotland, 5 in Northern Ireland, and 3 in Wales, bringing the UK total so far since April 2009 to 4,250, says the Health Protection Agency (HPA). The HPA informs that the infection can be effectively treated with antiviral medication. The majority of UK cases have been mild, the agency says, and people have recovered fully after treatment.

According to the CDC's (Center for Disease Control and Prevention's) Friday evening weekly update, 27th June 2009, there have been 27,717 laboratory confirmed human cases including 127 deaths of Swine Flu or A(H1N1) influenza. Fortunately, so far the Swine Flu A(H1N1) virus appears to be no more virulent than ordinary seasonal human influenza. No reports have come in indicating that the virus may have mutated.