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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: infectious diseases

infectious diseases stories: 9 news summaries

(Newser) - The parasite that causes malaria almost certainly jumped from chimpanzees to humans much like the AIDS virus did, National Geographic reports. Scientists initially believed that the malaria parasite that kills over a million people annually was older than humanity. But new research has found that it is a mutant version... More »

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disease • malaria • monkey • chimpanzees • parasite • infectious diseases

(Newser) - With panic over the H1N1 flu virus on the wane, some Americans are pondering allowing themselves to become infected in hopes of building immunity against potentially more virulent strains, the New York Times reports. Doctors are split on the idea. "I think it's totally nuts," says a flu... More »

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • vaccine • infection • virus • infectious diseases • immunity • influenza • pandemic • swine flu • H1N1 virus

 With 20 Sick, US Declares 
 Swine Flu Emergency 

Napolitano stresses declaration is 'standard operating procedure'

Apr 26, 09 2:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - The White House declared today a public health emergency to fight the spread of swine flu, the New York Times reports. With 20 confirmed infections in the US, the declaration frees up money and resources for diagnosis, prevention, and antiviral medication. “We’re preparing in an environment where we... More »

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public health • infectious diseases • outbreak • Janet Napolitano • antiviral drugs • medical emergency • swine flu

(Newser) - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has prepared a seed stock of vaccine for the swine flu that has killed dozens in Mexico and infected a handful of Americans, Time reports. The CDC has not begun mass production of the vaccine, opting instead to see if the outbreak... More »

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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • United States • vaccine • virus • World Health Organization • infectious diseases • pandemic • swine flu • WHO

 New Superbug Stalks Hospitals 

Thousands killed by drug-resistant pathogen

Nov 18, 08 7:53 AM CST
(Newser) - A deadly new superbug is stalking the world's hospitals, health experts warned today. The pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii is a burgeoning threat and proving extremely difficult to control, with a third of outbreaks resistant to front-line antibiotics, according to a study in the Lancet. Of 24,000 US cases in a... More »

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health • hospitals • patients • superbug • antibiotics • infectious diseases • Acinetobacter

 Non-Profit Pharma 
 Puts Cures Over Cash 

Institute for OneWorld Health finds cheap, new uses for partially developed meds

Oct 24, 08 7:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - Combating diseases that afflict only the poor doesn't plump the profit margins of pharmaceutical companies; now comes one that sets out to do just that as a non-profit, Good Magazine reports. Using grants to look at long-forgotten compounds, fund clinical trials, and distribute affordable meds to the world’s poorest... More »

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pharmaceutical companies • malaria • drug companies • nonprofit • infectious diseases • pharmaceutical industry • Institute for OneWorld Health

Eggbeater Helps Scientists Whip Disease

Harvard researchers fashion a household item into a diagnostic device

Oct 16, 08 4:30 PM CDT
(Newser) - Centrifuges separate blood from plasma—but at considerable expense, in a bulky package. That leaves them beyond the reach of underfunded medical facilities that could use the help in diagnosing blood-borne ailments, such as hepatitis and other diseases. The solution, Discover reports, could be as close as the nearest kitchen.... More »

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medicine • health care • infectious diseases • developing countries • diagnosis • Harvard • developing world • hepatitis B

Anthrax Suspect Was Eccentric, Respected

Colleagues say scientist was innocent; others recall dark side

Aug 1, 08 4:54 PM CDT
(Newser) - Bruce Ivins, the government scientist who committed suicide this week as FBI investigators working the case of the 2001 anthrax attacks were closing in, was known as a quiet, introverted researcher, the Washington Post reports. One ex-colleague described him as "a well-respected scientist” although he “always seemed on... More »

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suicide • FBI • indictment • infectious diseases • scientist • anthrax • domestic terrorism • Bruce Ivins

Gates Aims $100M at Polio

Foundation aims to eradicate disease

Nov 27, 07 4:30 AM CST
(Newser) - The world stands at the brink of eradicating polio, Bill Gates says, and his foundation yesterday awarded $100 million toward that end. One of the foundation's largest challenge grants will fund programs in four countries where the disease is still epidemic, notably Nigeria. The Rotary Foundation received the grant and... More »

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philanthropy • Bill Gates • Nigeria • World Health Organization • infectious diseases • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation • disease control • rare diseases • polio • Rotary International

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