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Since 2000, U.S. infants have been routinely immunized against pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae) infection, but the existing vaccine's expense puts it out of reach for most developing countries, where almost one million children die from pneumococcal infections each year.

Fighting infectious disease, the very heart of public health and the genesis of contemporary nursing, is about more than hand washing and immunizations. It's about screening and early detection, identifying risk and protective factors, and educating clinicians, facilities and the public. But it all begins with research, like that underway by nurse researchers at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON).

When Jason Martin gives a talk about his research, he begins with the dramatic story of Mariana Bridi da Costa: The young Brazilian supermodel died from severe sepsis in January after amputation of both her hands and feet failed to stop its spread.

A team of researchers led by Amy G. Hise, M.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at the Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, is the first to discover how the body fights off oral yeast infections caused by the most common human fungal pathogen, Candida.

The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) today encouraged the public to remain calm, listen to public health authorities and follow common sense health precautions during the swine influenza A (H1N1) virus outbreak. "This is the time for heightened awareness about proactive steps we all can take to protect our families," said Christine J. Nutty, RN, MSN, CIC, APIC 2009 president.

Emergency care staff are likely to bear the emotional brunt of the effects of a pandemic in the UK, and hospital trusts must prepare them adequately and take steps to look after them properly at this time, warn researchers in guidance published ahead of print in Emergency Medicine Journal. Although the guidance was written with a pandemic sparked by bird flu in mind, its recommendations apply equally to the current outbreak of swine flu, which may become a pandemic.

Luminex Corporation (NASDAQ: LMNX), the worldwide leader in multiplexed solutions, today issued a follow-up statement to an announcement on Monday, April 27, 2009, confirming that the xTAG® Respiratory Viral Panel (RVP) assay has been demonstrated to be effective in surveillance of swine flu.

The Council adopted the following conclusions: "With regard to the international outbreak of human cases of influenza A/H1N1 infection, the growing international concern and on the basis of updated information provided by the World Health Organisation (WHO), Member States, the Commission, the E

Canada's Minister of Health Leona Aglukkaq and Mexico's Minister of Health Dr. Jose Angel Cordova today announced that the Government of Canada has accepted the Government of Mexico's request to assist with laboratory testing of viral samples. The Public Health Agency of Canada's National Microbiology Laboratory has already begun testing the 200 specimens from patients in Mexico with severe respiratory illness.

Mexican authorities say the number of new human cases of swine flu as well as new deaths is slowing down significantly. The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is too early to make such claims. However, the general feeling among health agencies and some media outlets is that the spread really may be losing some of its steam.

Washington state Gov. Chris Gregoire (D) on Tuesday signed into law two bills that aim to strengthen hospital infection control and patient-safety standards, the Seattle Times reports. One bill authorizes state health regulators to conduct unscheduled inspections of hospitals.

Preventable or treatable deaths contribute to a large portion of the mortality gap between blacks and whites, according to a study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. For the study, researcher James Macinko of the

In 1918 a human influenza virus known as the Spanish flu spread through the central United States while a swine respiratory disease occurred concurrently. A Kansas State University researcher has found that the virus causing the pandemic was able to infect and replicate in pigs, but did not kill them, unlike in other mammalian hosts like monkeys, mice and ferrets where the infection has been lethal. Juergen A.

A new union survey of more than 100 health care facilities across the country reveals that many are not adequately prepared to protect workers' health and safety during an influenza pandemic.

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) re-issued a series of It's Not Flu As Usual guides on pandemic flu preparedness for families, businesses, medical providers, and community groups. "Worry and fear will not protect us -- knowing the facts and planning ahead will," said Jeff Levi, Ph.D., Executive Director of TFAH. "All of us want to do the right things to protect ourselves and our families in the event of a health emergency.

A disease spread simulation has emphasized that flu interventions must be imposed quickly, if they are to be effective. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health have shown that staying at home, closing schools and isolating infected people within the home should reduce infection, but only if they are used in combination, activated without delay and maintained for a relatively long period.

A French study of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, which analysed mortality rates in approximately three-quarters of the European population, has concluded that it is unlikely that the virus, often described as Spanish Flu, originated in Europe. Published in the May issue of Influenza and Other Respiratory Viruses, the research shows a high degree of synchronicity in the 14 countries studied, including Spain, with the flu peaking in October to November 1918.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is the main cause of nosocomial infection in patients undergoing major heart surgery. An international study of 25 hospitals from 8 European countries, published in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care, has confirmed the degree of danger posed by VAP and identified the main risk factors.

A spokesman for the Egyptian health ministry said on Thursday that the decision to cull quarter of a million pigs was not a measure against swine flu but a general health measure. "The authorities took advantage of the situation to resolve the question of disorderly pig rearing in Egypt," health ministry spokesman Abdelrahman Shahine told Agence France-Presse (AFP).

As the current swine flu virus is present in several countries, trying to contain it is probably not feasible any more. Efforts should now focus mainly on mitigation, according to a public health expert in an Editorial published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) today.