Feature Channels: Infectious Diseases

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A revolutionary new solar energy technology that turns water into steam without boiling the entire container of water has become the basis for new devices to sanitize medical and dental instruments and human waste in developing countries, scientists said here today. Prototypes of the devices, which need no electricity or fuel, were the topic of one of the keynote addresses at the opening of the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.

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An international team of scientists have demonstrated that a simple, low-cost intervention holds the potential to eradicate a debilitating tropical disease that threatens nearly 1.4 billion people in more than six dozen countries.

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By any measure, tuberculosis (TB) is a wildly successful pathogen. It infects as many as two billion people in every corner of the world, with a new infection of a human host estimated to occur every second.

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Poor oral health, including gum disease and dental problems, was found to be associated with oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which causes about 40 percent to 80 percent of oropharyngeal cancers, according to a study published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.

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A culturally tailored HIV prevention program developed and tested by investigators at UCLA and the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science has been shown to significantly reduce unprotected sex among bisexual black men.

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As part of the largest international research effort ever made to combat tuberculosis, a team of Johns Hopkins and Brazilian experts has found that preventive antibiotic therapy for people with HIV lowers this group’s chances of developing TB or dying.

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University of Utah and George E. Wahlen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center researchers have developed a mathematical model to help answer critical questions and guide the response to an anthrax exposure.

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A smoking-cessation intervention delivered through mobile phones to HIV/AIDS-positive smokers increased cessation rates compared to standard care, according to research published online in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

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New UAB faculty hopes to implement her successful Ohio HIV/AIDS research, education/prevention program in Birmingham’s African-American churches.

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Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have discovered the molecular mechanism by which the deadly Ebola virus assembles, providing potential new drug targets. Surprisingly, the study showed that the same molecule that assembles and releases new viruses also rearranges itself into different shapes, with each shape controlling a different step of the virus’s life cycle.

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Rresearchers have established new techniques for predicting the severity of seasonal cholera epidemics months before they occur and with a greater degree of accuracy than other methods based on remote satellite imaging. Taken together, findings from these two papers may provide the essential lead time to strengthen intervention efforts before the outbreak of cholera in endemic regions.

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Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a powerful mechanism by which viruses such as influenza, West Nile and Dengue evade the body's immune response and infect humans with these potentially deadly diseases. The findings may provide scientists with an attractive target for novel antiviral therapies.

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New irrigation systems in arid regions benefit farmers but can increase the local malaria risk for more than a decade — which is longer than previously believed — despite intensive and costly use of insecticides, new University of Michigan-led study in northwest India concludes.

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Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that community-based pharmacies can be effective locations for offering rapid HIV testing, diagnosing HIV, and connecting those who test positive with medical care quickly. The study publishes online today in the August issue of the journal AIDS Patient Care and STDs.

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The bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae harmlessly colonizes the mucous linings of throats and noses in most people, only becoming virulent when they leave those comfortable surroundings. Now, University at Buffalo researchers reveal how that happens.

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The study, formally titled, “Optimal Germinal Center B Cell Activation and T-Dependent Antibody Responses Require Expression of the Mouse Complement Receptor Cr1” used a mouse model system to examine receptors on a select set of cells that centralize antigens in sites of high immune activity, which are substances that cause a person’s immune system to produce antibodies. Among their discoveries was a finding that cells that are central to organizing the centers for B cells (which are antibody-producing cells) express a receptor called Cr1 when undergoing processes to make antibodies.

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Mark Martens, M.D., chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, announces that the hospital is participating in a clinical study to evaluate the safety, immunogenicity and efficacy of an investigational vaccine for the prevention of primary symptomatic Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Clostridium difficile (C. diff) is a potentially life-threatening, spore-forming bacterium that causes intestinal disease. While most types of health care-associated infections (HAIs) are declining, C. diff is emerging as a leading cause of life-threatening, HAIs worldwide.

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When U.S. physicians prescribe antibiotics, more than 60 percent of the time they choose some of the strongest types of antibiotics, referred to as “broad spectrum,” which are capable of killing multiple kinds of bacteria, University of Utah researchers show in a new study.

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Every year reported cases of Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and the West Nile virus surface in communities around the country, raising concerns and questions about mosquito borne-illnesses. Despite reports that children and the elderly are at greatest risk, anyone can be stricken by these viruses. But prevention is within everyone’s control.