New studies suggest airborne SARS transmission is possible
Two new studies present evidence that the virus causing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) may spread through the air, not just through direct contact with contaminated water droplets as previous research had shown. SARS coronavirus was detected in the air in a patient's room during the 2003 outbreak in Toronto, according to a new study published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases...WHO Warns Of Increased Risk Of Vector-borne Diseases In Tsunami-affected Areas
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned about increased risk of vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue fever across tsunami-affected areas in Southeast Asia. Nearly four weeks after the disaster struck the region on 26 December, the organization is strengthening its disease surveillance, stagnant water conditions creating conditions for mosquito vectors to multiply to sufficient leve...Scientists show that tick-borne flaviviruses use a novel mechanism to evade host defenses
Researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, have made the surprising discovery that flaviviruses, which cause such serious diseases as West Nile fever, yellow fever and forms of encephalitis, evade immune system defenses in different ways depending on whether they are transmitted by mosquitoes or ticks. This findin...New tools used to control foodborne hepatitis A outbreaks related to green onions
Novel use of genetic testing methods helped public health officials control and limit the further spread of four outbreaks of foodborne hepatitis A virus in 2003 related to the consumption of green onions, according to a detailed analysis published in the October 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. The authors of the study, Joseph J. Amon, PhD, MSPH, and c...Free-energy theory borne out in large-scale protein folding
In unprecedented new research, scientists at Rice University have combined theory and experiment for the first time to both predict theoretically and verify experimentally the protein-folding dynamics of a large, complex protein. "Researchers have succ...Use of the DCode System to Detect the Food-Borne Bacterial Pathogen Listeria monocytogenes
Nikolaj Schmolker, Fintan van Ommen Kloeke and Gill Geesey, Departmentof Microbiology and Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University,Bozeman, MT 59717-3980 Amplification of a region of the 16S rRNA gene of L. monocytogenes, Listeria innocua, and Listeria seeligeri by the polymerase chain reac...Water borne diseases, need caution
During the rainy season as as water stagnation and floods occur through out the country,Water Borne diseases are more prevalent.//Experts attending the workshop on 'water microbiology' stressed the need to regularly test water sources and confirm their purity, as water supplies were contaminated with sewage as well as human and animal excreta. The workshop was inaugurated by Dr C V Ra...Scientists Warn Against Food Borne Illnesses
Researchers at the Institute of Food Technologists annual meeting in US// have warned the general people against taking food borne illnesses casually and had said that these are illnesses that can threaten the health of the nation, if not taken enough precaution against them. The studies presented at the meeting said that often people are unaware of the risks involved in having food b...233 Dead in Mumbai and Thane due to Water Borne Diseases
Mumbai, August 15, 2005. The death toll seems to be on constant rise, though the floodwaters seem to be receding in Mumbai and Thane. There were 91 more deaths in the Mumbai and Thane district and now the death toll stands at 233// from leptospirosis and other water-borne diseases according to the Maharashtra Directorate of Health services sources on Monday. In the last 24 hou...Water Borne Diseases causing More Havoc in Mumbai
The receeding flood waters are causing a major health calamity in Mumbai with another 14 deaths were reported from Mumbai taking the toll in this worst affected commercial capital to 142, and 4 were from other parts of Maharashtra. // The Health authorities however are maintaining a brave and defensive stance and claim that the number of serious cases had dropped drastically. Direc...Rise In Waterborne And Malaria Cases Anticipated In Britain
The incidence of waterborne diseases and food poisoning cases is anticipated to rise in Britain, this summer. An increase in the number of malaria cases is also likely. // The incidence of salmonella // cases is hoped to soar particularly, as people would opt for more barbecues during summer. Cryptosporidium induced malaria may also be seen when there is an associated heavy rain....