Rabies kills 24,000 people a year in Africa, most of them children, because many on the world's poorest continent cannot afford the cost of the vaccine, experts said. Africa is home to nearly half the 55,000 people around the world who die each year from rabies, caused mainly by bites from dogs.continue reading
Dengue Virus Identified in Houston
Dengue fever, a virulent tropical disease thought to be eradicated from the United States in the 1950s, has re-emerged in Houston, according to a new study. Baylor College of Medicine scientists are reporting the mosquito-borne virus has recently been transmitted in Houston, the first evidence the disease so prevalent in the developing world has spread to a major U.S. city in large numbers. http://www.chron.com/
High-Dose Flu Vaccine Better for Frail Elderly
Among the frail elderly in long-term care, a high-dose influenza vaccine improved antibody responses compared with standard vaccines, a researcher said. In a randomized, single-blind trial over two flu seasons, the higher dose gave superior responses to four out of five strains contained in the vaccines, http://www.medpagetoday.com/
Hookworm Vaccine Will Be Tried in Africa
Dr. Peter J. Hotez, director of the Sabin Vaccine Institute, explained that the vaccine creates antibodies not against the parasites themselves but against two enzymes found in the worm’s own gut — one that detoxifies the iron in its blood diet, and another that digests blood proteins. Without those enzymes the worm slowly dies. The trial will start on a few adults in Gabon, and children will eventually be enrolled.”continue reading
Legionnaires' illnesses seen in Ala nursing home
ATLANTA — An outbreak of Legionnaires' disease appears to be centered at a northwest Alabama nursing home.However, the source of the outbreak is still under investigation, a state health official said Wednesday.
Eleven lab-confirmed cases have been seen in the Florence area since the outbreak was detected this month. Another eight pneumonia illnesses are being investigated as possibly also Legionnaires'.Continue Reading
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