Copyright 2012 Medical News TodayLatest Health News and Medical News posted throughout the day, every day.http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/sections/infectious_diseases/admin@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Admin)editors@medicalnewstoday.com (MNT Editors)en-us Sun, 12 Feb 2012 12:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241569.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241569.phpA protein called SAMHD1 has been found to starve HIV in cells so that it cannot do anything, thus making the cell resistant to HIV infection, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center reported in Nature Immunology. The authors explained that their discovery could pave the way for new therapeutic research at halting or slowing the HIV's progression to AIDS. Research co-leader, Nathaniel R...HIV / AIDS Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241404.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241404.phpA species of mosquito has been discovered breeding in the UK that has not been seen in the country since 1945. Populations of the mosquito, found across mainland Europe and known only by its Latin name Culex modestus, were recorded at a number of sites in the marshes of north Kent and south Essex in 2010 and 2011...Tropical Diseases Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241388.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241388.phpA study by Hospital for Special Surgery researchers has provided the first comprehensive look at just how metal-on-metal total hip replacements are failing in patients around the country. Made possible by what is thought to be the largest archive of failed joint replacements, the research should help doctors develop a better hip replacement for future patients...Bones / Orthopedics Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241390.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241390.phpIn their search for new, better ways to diagnose periprosthetic joint infection, Rothman Institute at Jefferson researchers have discovered that measurement of C-reactive protein in the synovial fluid is extremely accurate, while measuring a patients' serum white blood cell count (WBC) and the percentage of neutrophils (PMN%), the conventional method for diagnosis, has a minima...Bones / Orthopedics Thu, 09 Feb 2012 09:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241426.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241426.phpAccording to a study published in the February 8 issue of JAMA, cefpodoxime, an antibiotic used as a short-term therapy in women with uncomplicated bladder infection (cystitis), failed to meet criteria for non-inferiority in comparison to ciprofloxacin. There have been concerns that ciprofloxacin, classed as a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, is overused, resulting in an increase in resistance rates...Urology / Nephrology Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241423.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241423.phpA study in the February 8 issue of JAMA reports that routine infant immunizations with a vaccine for serogroup B Neisseria meningitidis, a bacterium that causes serious diseases like sepsis and meningitis, proved effective against meningococcal strains and displayed minimal interference with the response to the routine vaccinations...Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241335.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241335.phpCleansing a newborn's umbilical cord with chlorhexidine can reduce an infant's risk of infection and death during the first weeks of life by as much as 20 percent, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health...Pediatrics / Children's Health Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241337.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241337.phpGunshot injuries are typically categorized as low- or high-energy based on the weapon's missile velocity and mass. Typically, low energy injuries are treated with simple wound care, with or without antibiotics, regardless of the presence of a fracture. In contrast, high energy injuries are treated more aggressively...Bones / Orthopedics Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241343.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241343.phpTwo outcomes-based measures from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP) were recently endorsed by the National Quality Forum (NQF)...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241322.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241322.phpRespiratory tract infections, including pneumonia, are the most common cause of death in children under the age of five. In a study looking at children given standard antibiotic therapy, new research published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Medicine shows how zinc supplements drastically improved children's chances of surviving the infection...Respiratory / Asthma Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241323.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241323.phpStripping some mouth bacteria of their access key to gangs of other pathogenic oral bacteria could help prevent gum disease and tooth loss. The study, published in the journal Microbiology suggests that this bacterial access key could be a drug target for people who are at high risk of developing gum disease...Dentistry Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241327.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241327.phpRothman Institute at Jefferson joint researchers continue to seek better ways to diagnose and subsequently treat periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in patients following total joint arthroplasty. Their latest research shows leukocyte esterase reagent (LE) strips, common in diagnosing urinary tract infections, can also have a role in rapid diagnosis of PJI...Bones / Orthopedics Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241281.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241281.phpUsing whole-genome sequencing, a team led by researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the Broad Institute has traced the path of the E. coli outbreak that sickened thousands and killed over 50 people in Germany in summer 2011 and also caused a smaller outbreak in France...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241282.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241282.phpA team of scientists studying the effects of electron-beam irradiation on iceberg lettuce and spinach has had its research published in the February issue of the leading microbiology journal, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, said the study's lead investigator...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241288.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241288.phpThe future of disease diagnosis may lie in a "breathalyzer"-like technology currently under development at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. New research published online in February in the peer-reviewed journal Metabolism demonstrates a simple but sensitive method that can distinguish normal and disease-state glucose metabolism by a quick assay of blood or exhaled air...Medical Devices / Diagnostics Wed, 08 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241305.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241305.phpContrary to current convention by which infection with the organism Clostridium difficile is regarded as an infection that is acquired by contact with symptomatic patients known to be infected with C. difficile, these may account for only a minority of new cases of the infection. These findings are important as they indicate that C...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241258.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241258.phpSusceptibility to anthrax toxin is a heritable genetic trait that may vary tremendously among individuals, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Among 234 people studied, the cells of three people were virtually insensitive to the toxin, while the cells of some people were hundreds of times more sensitive than those of others...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241179.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241179.phpA new study by food safety researchers at Drexel University demonstrates that plasma can be an effective method for killing pathogens on uncooked poultry. The proof-of-concept study was published in the Journal of Food Protection...Nutrition / Diet Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241187.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241187.phpMany living organisms suffer from parasites, which use the hosts' resources for their own purposes. The problem of parasitism occurs at all levels right down to the DNA scale. Genomes may contain up to 80% "foreign" DNA but details of the mechanisms by which this enters the host genome and how hosts attempt to combat its spread are still the subject of conjecture...Genetics Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241170.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241170.phpSalmonella remains a serious cause of food poisoning in the UK and throughout the EU, in part due to its ability to thrive and quickly adapt to the different environments in which it can grow...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241128.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241128.phpUnpredictable, ever-changing and with potentially far-reaching effects on the fates of nations, infectious diseases are compelling actors in the drama of human history, note scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241155.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/241155.php The World Health Organization (WHO) has ongoing programs to improve and monitor tuberculosis (TB). The WHO's 2011 report on global TB control provides the most comprehensive information ever collected on the problems and issues of disease, as well as deaths caused by TB and multidrug-resistant TB (i.e. disease marked by in vitro resistance to at least isoniazid and rifampicin)...Tuberculosis Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241067.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241067.php A new map pinpoints well-defined areas of the Eastern United States where humans have the highest risk of contracting Lyme disease, one of the most rapidly emerging infectious diseases in North America, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241033.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241033.phpNorovirus, a pathogen that often causes food poisoning and gastroenteritis, was responsible for 18.2 percent of all infection outbreaks and 65 percent of ward closures in U.S...Infectious Diseases / Bacteria / Viruses Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:00:00 PSThttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241057.phphttp://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/241057.phpCommon infections in children pose a high risk of ischemic stroke, according to research presented at the American Stroke Association's International Stroke Conference 2012. In a review of 2.5 million children, the researchers identified 126 childhood ischemic stroke cases and then randomly selected 378 age-matched controls from the remaining children without stroke...Stroke