UCLA researchers issue guidelines on the treatment and management of MRSA skin abscesses
It has been more than 10 years since the clinical battle began with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), and doctors are still grappling with how to diagnose, treat and prevent More...
What are the four cardinal signs of inflammation?
Recently, a friend of the family asked me to look at something on her lower shin to get my opinion as to what it may be. It was raise, red and slightly more than 1 inch in diameter. It felt warm especially in More...
University at Buffalo Microbiology professor, Dr Anders Hakansson talks about Strep biofilm study
In late December 2013, a study was published in the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) journal, Infection and Immunity, which found that common human pathogens like Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus More...
Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes survive on inanimate objects longer than previously thought
Two common bacteria often implicated in a variety of serious and not-so-serious infections, Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes, can persist on surfaces for far longer than has been thought, according More...
National Influenza Vaccination Week: ‘It’s not too late to vaccinate!’
It is National Influenza Vaccination Week! What is National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW)? It’s a national observance that was established to highlight the importance of continuing influenza vaccination. NIVW More...
FDA study looks at pertussis vaccines and rising rates of whooping cough
A new study is helping to provide a better understanding of vaccines for whooping cough, the common name for the disease pertussis. Based on an animal model, the study conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration More...
CDC launches influenza prediction by using social media competition
CDC has launched the “Predict the Influenza Season Challenge,” a competition designed to foster innovation in flu activity modeling and prediction. The registrant who most successfully predicts the timing, peak More...
Narrow-spectrum ultraviolet light could dramatically reduce surgical infections from organisms like MRSA: Study
New research suggests that narrow-spectrum ultraviolet (UV) light could dramatically reduce surgical wound infections such as those caused by MRSA, according to a study by Columbia University Medical Center More...
British health officials advise about norovirus as the winter approaches
Health authorities with the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust issued a advisory today for the public on the “winter vomiting disease”, norovirus, as the season approaches. NorovirusImage/CDC They More...
New HIV infections down 33% since 2001: UNAIDS
The combined, adult and children, new HIV infections has dropped by a third, according to new data released today in the 2013 UNAIDS Report on the global AIDS epidemic. Public domain photo/ ChristianHeldt via More...
A few words on the Maine Lyme disease law, LD597, with MaineLyme.org President Constance Dickey
A couple of weeks ago in the state of Maine, Governor Paul LePage signed the bill, LD597, into law, which makes some changes concerning the state’s public health website and other provisions. ”black-legged More...
Maine Gov. Paul LePage signs Lyme disease bill
In a follow up to a story 10 days ago, the legislation, LD597, which passed the Maine legislature, was signed into law by Maine Governor Paul LePage today. The bill requires the Maine Centers for Disease Control More...
New virus, cyclovirus-Vietnam, found in patients with severe brain infections
A team from Oxford University have discovered a novel virus found in some patients with severe infections in Vietnam, tentatively naming it cyclovirus-Vietnam [CyCV-VN]. The findings of the study, “Identification More...
Lyme disease bill passes Maine legislature, heads to Gov. LePage’s desk
A Lyme disease bill, which would require the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to link to alternative treatments for the bacterial disease, passed both houses of the Maine legislature this week and More...
Antimicrobial soap and ointments best to reduce MRSA infections in ICU patients: Study
Using germ-killing soap and ointment on all intensive-care unit (ICU) patients can reduce bloodstream infections by up to 44 percent and significantly reduce the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus More...
The possible aftermath of the Oklahoma tornados: the risk of fungal infections
In the aftermath of the tornados that ripped through parts of Oklahoma killing dozens, including children, is the risk of serious, potentially fatal, deep skin fungal infections. In a scene reminiscient of Joplin, More...
Five kids contract skin infection after swimming in Idaho YMCA pool
The Central District Health Department (CDHD) in Boise, Idaho has reported that five children had contracted skin infections caused by the bacterium, Mycobacterium abscessus, after swimming in local YMCA children’s More...
Study: Evidence of Lyme disease-Autism link lacking
The proposed link between the bacterial tick borne disease, Lyme disease and autism is lacking in evidence, according to researchers at Columbia University. ”black-legged ticks”, Ixodes scapularisImage/CDC Despite a More...
E.coli O121 outbreak Linked to Farm Rich Brand Frozen Food grows by five cases
The multistate outbreak of Escherichia coli O121, or E. coli O121, linked to Farm Rich brand frozen food products has grown both in number of cases and the number of states affected, according to a Centers for More...
Canadian Liver Foundation cartoon advises baby-boomers to get tested for hepatitis C
Based on research that shows that baby boomers born between 1945 and 1965 are up to five times more likely to be infected with hepatitis C than any other age group, the Canadian Liver Foundation (CLF) released More...
