Virtual Infection Centre Medical News

Compound has potential for new class of AIDS drugs

Researchers have developed what they believe is the first new mechanism in nearly 20 years for inhibiting a common target used to treat all HIV patients, which could eventually lead to a new class of

HPV linked to better survival in tonsil, tongue cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have found a series of markers that indicate which patients are more likely to survive cancers of the base of the tongue and tonsi

Enterovirus in China � update

As of 5 May, 4,496 cases, including 22 deaths, of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) due to enterovirus 71 (EV71) have been reported among infants and young children in Fuyang City, Anhui Province, C

Staffers, supplies on standby to avert potential public health crisis in Myanmar

With the death toll from the Myanmar cyclone likely to climb to 100,000 people or more, Oxfam is warning that a public health catastrophe could hit 1.5 million storm survivors if they don't quickly ge

Bread mold may hold secret to eliminating disease-causing genes

When most people discover mold on their bread, they immediately throw it out. Others see a world of possibilities in the tiny fungus. A University of Missouri scientist, along with a collaborative res

Superbug genome sequenced

The genome of a newly-emerging superbug, commonly known as Steno, has just been sequenced. The results reveal an organism with a remarkable capacity for drug resistance. The research was carried out b

Steroids provide no survival benefit for children with bacterial meningitis

Corticosteroids given to children who are hospitalised for bacterial meningitis do not provide a benefit in survival or in reduced hospital stays, according to a large multicenter study by pediatric r

Molecular espionage shows a single HIV enzyme's many tasks

Using ingenious molecular espionage, scientists have found how a single key enzyme, seemingly the Swiss army knife in HIV's toolbox, differentiates and dynamically binds both DNA and RNA as part of th

New discovery on role of vital protein that fights meningitis

A University of Leicester researcher has discovered how a protein in the blood – linked to defence against meningitis - plays a more vital role than previously understood in the body’s imm

1 in 10 children using cough, cold medications

Researchers from Boston University’s Slone Epidemiology Center have found that approximately one in ten U.S. children uses one or more cough and cold medications during a given week. These findi

Prevention and control of childhood pneumonia

This month’s WHO Bulletin, led by the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia (GAPP), focuses on the prevention and control of childhood pneumonia. It highlights research

Safe water? lessons from Kazakhstan

Despite significant efforts to improve access to safe water and sanitation, a new report co-authored by an expert at The University of Nottingham, argues that much more needs to be done.

Immune system kick-started in moist nasal lining in sinusitis, asthma and colds

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have outlined a new path for potential therapies to combat inflammation associated with sinusitis and asthma based on a new understanding of the body’s earliest immun

Scientists discover a mechanism that can send cells on the road to cancer

Using a common virus as a tool for investigating abnormal cell proliferation, a team led by scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has succeeded in clarifying an intricate series of bioche

Common vitamin and other micronutrient supplements reduce risk of TB recurrence

New findings show a link between micronutrient supplementation and reduced risk of recurrence during tuberculosis chemotherapy, according to a study published in the June 1 issue of The Journal of