Fungal Infections

Mounting a Multi-Layered Attack on Fungal Infections

Unraveling a microbe's multi-layer defense mechanisms could lead to effective new treatments for potentially lethal fungal infections in cancer patients and others whose natural immunity is weakened.Although not as well known as bacterial infections, such as MRSA and ...More
September 8, 2009
Posted in News
Friendly Gut Bacteria Lend a Hand to Fight Infection

Immunology researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found that bacteria present in the human gut help initiate the body’s defense mechanisms against Toxoplasma gondii, the parasite responsible for toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is generally a mild infection, ...More
August 20, 2009
Posted in News, Disinfection & Sterilization
Drug Shows Promise Against Serious Infections

A Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved drug used for preventing recurrence of breast cancer shows promise in fighting life-threatening fungal infections common in immune-compromised patients, such as infants born prematurely and patients with cancer. Some scientists ...More
July 20, 2009
Posted in News
Researchers Advancing Vaccine Against Valley Fever

Medical mycologists at the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) and the Department of Biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) have significantly advanced the fight against San Joaquin Valley Fever, a respiratory infection of humans, ...More
July 7, 2009
Posted in News
Predicting Fatal Fungal Infections

In a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers from Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have identified cells in blood that predict which HIV-positive individuals are most likely to develop deadly fungal meningitis, a major ...More
June 15, 2009
Posted in News
Researchers Discover a New Way the Body Fights Fungal Infection

A team of researchers led by Amy G. Hise, MD, MPH, assistant professor at the Center for Global Health and Diseases, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, is the first to discover how the body fights off oral yeast infections caused by the most common human ...More
June 11, 2009
Posted in News
Anti-infectives in Water a Growing Concern

Anti-infectives have become environmental contaminants of growing concern, as they are transported from landfills, agriculture and urban centers into waterways and drinking water, according to a review article published in the May 2009 issue of the journal Environmental ...More
May 19, 2009
Posted in News
Breaking the Chain of Infection and Preventing Cross-Contamination

A plethora of studies in the medical literature has demonstrated that nearly everything in the healthcare setting – from surfaces, to healthcare workers’ hands, to medical equipment and everything in between — can serve as a reservoir and a vector for ...More
April 29, 2009
Posted in Articles, Environmental Hygiene, Hand Hygiene, PPE & Standard Precautions
Discovery Turns Model Parasite Into Genetic Workhorse

In a genetic leap that could help fast-track vaccine and drug development to prevent or tame serious global diseases, Dartmouth Medical School (DMS) researchers have discovered how to destroy a key DNA pathway in a wily and widespread human parasite. The feat surmounts a ...More
April 13, 2009
Posted in News, Disinfection & Sterilization
Progress in Foodborne Illness Prevention Plateaus

The incidence of the most common foodborne illnesses has changed very little over the past three years, according to a 10-state report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The findings are from 2008 data reported by the Foodborne ...More
April 9, 2009
Posted in News