Virtual Infection Centre Medical News

Prednisolone not beneficial in most cases of community-acquired pneumonia

Patients hospitalised with mild to moderate community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) should not be routinely prescribed prednisolone, a corticosteroid, as it is associated with a recurrence of symptoms a

Genomic warfare to counter malaria drug resistance

Scientists battling malaria have earned a major victory. According to a Nature Genetics study, an international group of researchers has used genomics to decode the blueprint of Plasmodiu

New strain on whooping cough vaccine
Vaccination programs against whooping cough may not be fully effective because the bacteria that cause the disease have evolved new strains, a University of New South Wales study has found.

Chief Medical Officer mobilises GPs to support pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza vaccinations
Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jim Bishop, is calling on GPs to promote vaccination against the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza to their patients before the flu season begins in Australia

Time to think about vaccinations again
Vaccinations are usually associated with young children or travelling overseas, but immunisations given at childhood can wear off and leave adults exposed to debilitating diseases.

First measurement of energy released from a virus during infection
Within a virus's tiny exterior is a store of energy waiting to be unleashed. When the virus encounters a host cell, this pent-up energy is released, propelling the viral DNA into the cell and turning

Maternal and foetal genes that increase preterm birth risk
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have identified DNA variants in mothers and foetuses that appear to increase the risk for preterm labour and delivery. The DNA variants were in genes i

Newborn screen can protect infants from vaccine-acquired rotavirus
A vaccine designed to protect infants against rotavirus, the leading cause of childhood diarrhoea, can actually cause the disease in infants born with severe combined immunodeficiency, said experts at

Teens turn to new options for birth control
Teens and young adults who opt for hormonal birth control are bypassing the pill and choosing longer term options like injections and implants, said a Baylor College of Medicine expert on teen sexual

Promising candidates for malaria vaccine revealed
Walter and Eliza Hall Institute researchers have uncovered a group of proteins that could form the basis of an effective vaccine against malaria.

Herpes medication does not reduce risk of HIV transmission
A five-year international multicentre clinical trial has found that acyclovir, a drug widely used as a safe and effective treatment taken twice daily to suppress herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), which

Genital herpes virus reactivates widely throughout genital tract
Genital herpes caused by a reactivation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is generally treated as a lesion in one specific area of the genital region. A new study, however, finds that the virus c

How a single molecule gives our immune systems their memory
While most of us are able to protect ourselves against recurrent infections by making antibodies that will recognise the same invader in the future, people with hyper IgE syndrome, a rare immunodefici

Key mechanism for proliferation of Epstein-Barr virus discovered

Scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München have elucidated a crucial mechanism in the lytic cycle of Epstein-Barr virus. A team of researchers led by Professor Wolfgang Hammerschmidt identified t

Increased presence, severity of coronary artery plaques in HIV-infected men
A Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) study has found that relatively young men with longstanding HIV infection and minimal cardiac risk factors had significantly more coronary atherosclerotic plaque