MEDSCAPE's Infectious Diseases MedPulse 2-27-02

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>>> MEDSCAPE's Infectious Diseases MedPulse(R) <<<

http://www.medscape.com/infectiousdiseaseshome

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UTIs CAUSED BY MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT E COLI CLONAL GROUP

A new study links a previously undescribed, multidrug-resistant E coli

clonal group to a high percentage of UTIs among university coeds in

3 states. Medscape Journal Scan summarizes these findings in an

original summary. It's one of the many articles available in the

UTI-Zone, a clinical Resource Center online at Medscape.

http://www.medscape.com/resource/uti-zone

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MedPulse is a weekly index of key news and features on Medscape's

specialty sites compiled by Medscape's Editors.

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___________________ NEW FEATURE ARTICLES THIS WEEK ____________________

-- MEDSCAPE ORIGINAL ARTICLES --

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SIXTH ANNUAL AST WINTER SYMPOSIUM – TRANSPLANTATION MEETS INFECTION: MICROBES, REJECTION, ATHEROSCLEROSIS, AND MALIGNANCY

Microbes, rejection, atherosclerosis, and malignancy -- are they related?

Medscape Transplantation 3(1) 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/424607

TIMEBOMB: THE GLOBAL EPIDEMIC OF MULTI-DRUG-RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS

A top TB specialist sounds the alarm.

Medscape General Medicine 4(1) 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/423184

INFECTIONS IN A WOMAN WITH ADULT-ONSET STILL'S DISEASE

Pancytopenia and hepatitis C virus positivity have developed, and recurrent bacterial and viral infections are an issue.

Medscape Rheumatology 4(1) 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/425257

JOURNAL SCAN - INFECTIOUS DISEASES, FEBRUARY 2002

Highlights from leading ID journals.

Medscape Infectious Diseases 4(1) 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/425277

-- MMWR --

TUBERCULOSIS MORBIDITY AMONG U.S.-BORN AND FOREIGN-BORN POPULATIONS --UNITED STATES, 2000

The decrease among foreign-born persons was less substantial than for those born in the US.

MMWR 51(5) 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/424020

PROGRESS TOWARD ELIMINATION OF PERINATAL HIV INFECTION -- MICHIGAN,

1993-2000

Obstetric providers should offer all pregnant women HIV counseling and voluntary testing.

MMWR 51(5) 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/424018

-- INFECTIONS IN MEDICINE --

PREPARING FOR PANDEMIC INFLUENZA

Essential elements of a response plan include surveillance, implementation of clinical guidelines, and vaccine delivery.

Infect Med 18(12) 2001

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/421532

MANAGEMENT OF PROSTHETIC JOINT INFECTIONS

Treatment must be highly individualized but it generally involves both systemic antibiotics and surgical intervention.

Infect Med 18(12) 2001

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/421529

AMEBIC LIVER ABSCESS

Read the case report of a 30-year-old male physician who contracted amebiasis in his native India.

Infect Med 18(12) 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/421533

HIV RESISTANCE TESTING -- AGAIN

A laboratory kit for HIV genotyping was recently approved by the FDA.

Infect Med 18(12) 2001

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/421534

-- SOUTHERN MEDICAL JOURNAL --

PREVENTING PERINATAL HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS TRANSMISSION: FACTORS INFLUENCING WOMEN'S INTENTIONS TOWARD ZIDOVUDINE THERAPY

What factors influence women to choose ZDV therapy for their newborns?

South Med J 94(12) 2001

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/423564

SPONTANEOUS RESOLUTION OF PROFOUND HYPOGAMMAGLOBULINEMIA

Read the case report of a 3-month-old infant who was hospitalized with pneumonia and bronchiolitis.

South Med J 94(12) 2001

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/423572

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ANNUAL SCIENTIFIC ASSEMBLY: WEAPONS OF MASS

DESTRUCTION: ORGANIZED MEDICINE'S ROLE IN THE NATIONAL RESPONSE TO

TERRORISM

Medical professionals will be among the first respondents in the event of an attack using biologic or chemical warfare.

South Med J 94(12) 2001

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/423636

CLUSTER OF SEROGROUP C MENINGOCOCCAL DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH ATTENDANCE AT A PARTY

What risk factor do these adolescents share that might make them susceptible to meningococcal infection?

South Med J 94(12) 2001

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/423567

ONCE DAILY HIGH-DOSE GENTAMICIN TO PREVENT INFECTION IN OPEN FRACTURES OF THE TIBIAL SHAFT: A PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

Is the addition of gentamicin to cephalosporin necessary to prevent infection in open tibial shaft injuries?

South Med J 94(12) 2001

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/423566

-- OTHER JOURNALS --

ERADICATING MEASLES BY EFFECTIVE VACCINATION

Several million children and adolescents in the US fail to receive the full range of recommended vaccines.

US Pharmacist 27(1) 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/424160

AN IN-HOME SYNAGIS PROGRAM FOR RSV PREVENTION IN HIGH-RISK INFANTS

In-home administration appears to be cost effective compared with administration in other sites of care.

J Managed Care Pharm 7(6) 2001

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/421563

MANAGEMENT ISSUES IN PATIENTS COINFECTED WITH HEPATITIS C VIRUS AND HIV

Coinfection with HIV alters the natural history of hepatitis C, accelerating the progression of liver disease.

AIDS Read 12(1) 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/423529

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EARLY TREATMENT, DIAGNOSIS: CHALLENGES OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE

Does your clinical staff have a high index of suspicion for

presentations that could signal onset of virulent infections?

Review ID management strategies, risk stratification, and more in

"Challenges in Infectious Disease: Pneumonia, Influenza, and

Biologic Weapons of Terror." Now available in the InfluenZone,

Medscapeís collection of clinical flu resources.

http://www.medscape.com/resource/flu

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___________________________________ NEWS ______________________________

-- VACCINES & IMMUNIZATIONS --

INFLUENZA VACCINE ENCOURAGED FOR INFANTS 6 TO 23 MONTHS

The vaccine advisory committee of the US Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention (CDC) is now encouraging parents to have children between the

ages of 6 and 23 months old vaccinated for influenza next fall, at the

start of the 2002/2003 flu season.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427882

IOM REPORT FINDS MULTIPLE VACCINATIONS NOT INHERENTLY RISKY

Current childhood immunization standards recommending multiple shots for

children under 2 years of age are not increasing the risk of diabetes or

infectious diseases, an expert committee concluded Wednesday.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427108

MOST CHILDREN ADOPTED FROM COUNTRIES OUTSIDE US LACK VACCINATION RECORDS

The majority of children adopted from other countries by US parents do

not have written records of immunizations.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426177

UNNECESSARY RABIES VACCINATION CAN BE PREVENTED

Many rabies vaccinations given to people potentially exposed through

contact with animals may be unnecessary, a study by the Florida

Department of Health suggests.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427907

-- HEPATITIS --

HEPATITIS C APPARENTLY TRANSMITTED FROM AN ANESTHESIOLOGIST TO A PATIENT

A study in the February 11th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine

suggests that an anesthesiologist acquired hepatitis C virus (HCV) from

one patient and later transmitted it to another patient while

administering anesthesia during a thoracotomy.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427104

RHEUMATOLOGIC SYMPTOMS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH HEPATITIS C INFECTION

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection with mixed cryoglobulinemia is

often accompanied by rheumatologic symptoms, Italian investigators

report.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426262

-- CJD/BSE --

BSE TESTING WORRIES GERMAN POPULATION

Germans, who are increasingly worried about the safety of beef as

reports of substandard testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy

(BSE) continue, are likely more nervous this week after weekend reports

that the McDonald's fast food restaurant chain has briefly taken beef

products off the menu.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426581

THREAT OF BSE IN GERMAN BEEF IS NOT GREAT

Growing reports of improper testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy

(BSE), or 'mad cow disease,' in Germany should not cause undue alarm

among beef eaters, according to an expert on the disease.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427898

-- BIOTERRORISM --

WHITE HOUSE WITHDRAWS DOCUMENTS ON MAJOR BIOWEAPONS

The Bush administration has begun withdrawing from public release more

than 6,000 documents that deal primarily with the manufacture of

chemical and germ weapons, according to Sunday's New York Times.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426237

-- PLAGUE --

THREE DIE IN SUSPECTED PLAGUE OUTBREAK IN INDIA

A suspected outbreak of the plague in the Himalayan foothills of

northwest India has killed at least 3 people and 14 more have been

hospitalized, physicians said Friday.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426200

INDIA SAYS PLAGUE OUTBREAK IN NORTH NOW CONTAINED

The Indian government on Tuesday confirmed that the disease that killed

four people earlier this week in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh

was plague but that it had now been contained.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426585

-- HIV/AIDS --

HIV-RELATED LIPODYSTROPHY MAY IMPROVE WITH DIET AND EXERCISE

A program combining diet and exercise led to 'dramatic improvement' in

body composition and metabolic parameters in a 44-year-old man with

HIV-associated lipodystrophy.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427908

HIV TREATMENT INTERRUPTION DOES NOT ALTER T CELL RECEPTOR REPERTOIRE

Despite rapid increases in viral load and substantial decreases in CD4 T

cells seen when antiretroviral therapy is suspended, T cell receptor

beta chain (TCR-beta) repertoire shows no marked changes, Canadian

researchers report.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426224

SECONDARY CMV RETINITIS PROPHYLAXIS CAN BE HALTED IN HAART RESPONDERS

Mounting evidence indicates that cytomegalovirus (CMV) prophylactic

maintenance therapy can be safely discontinued in HIV-infected patients

with quiescent CMV retinitis who show a sustained response to highly

active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427103

AMPRENAVIR PLUS RITONAVIR IMPROVES HIV SALVAGE THERAPY OUTCOME

The addition of ritonavir to amprenavir increases plasma concentrations

of amprenavir in patients who have failed previous antiretroviral

treatment and results in better viral suppression than obtained with

amprenavir alone, French researchers report.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426565

IMMUNE FAILURE DELAYED BY CONTINUING TREATMENT WITH PI AFTER VIROLOGIC FAILURE

CD4+ cell counts stay elevated longer when patients who experience

virologic failure while on at least one protease inhibitor (PI) continue

to take medication rather than stopping therapy altogether, according to

California investigators.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426609

-- OTHER STDS

NEW HERPES SECTION OF DATABASE IS ONLINE

Los Alamos National Laboratory has released a Web database containing

the human herpesvirus 2 genomic sequence.

MedscapeWire 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/425877

-- OTHER ID NEWS --

CENTRAL AFRICAN EBOLA DEATH TOLL KEEPS CLIMBING

The deadly Ebola virus has killed 55 people in the central African

countries of Gabon and the Republic of Congo in just over 2 months,

health officials said on Tuesday.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426579

TICK-BORNE ILLNESS UNRECOGNIZED IN MANY CHILDREN

Many more children are infected with the tick-borne illness ehrlichiosis

than previously thought, according to the results of a new study.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426197

HHV-6 IN CSF CAN CAUSE ENCEPHALITIS AFTER STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION

Since the mid-1990s, several reports have described an association

between human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) in hematopoietic stem cell

transplant recipients and encephalitis.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426619

GONORRHEAL PROTEIN SUPPRESSES ACTIVATION AND PROLIFERATION OF CD4+ T

CELLS

Neisseria gonorrhoeae's opacity-associated (Opa) protein binds to CD4+ T

lymphocytes and suppresses their activation and proliferation, thereby

diminishing the immune response, according to a report in the February

19th advance online issue of Nature Immunology.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426589

MUTANT STREP MUTANS REPLACEMENT THERAPY PREVENTS CARIES IN PRECLINICAL TESTS

Tooth decay is prevented in animals when a modified Streptococcus

mutans--unable to produce lactic acid--replaces the normally occurring

S. mutans in the mouth, Dr. J. D. Hillman reported at the 168th annual

meeting of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science in

Boston.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427888

NEW ANTIMICROBIALS IDENTIFIED BY HIGH THROUGHPUT SCREEN OF UNCULTIVATED SOIL BUGS

Using 'molecular biodiversity technology,' researchers at the Aventis

Cambridge Genomics Center have developed a high throughput screening

technique to isolate DNA that encodes antimicrobial molecules from

uncultivated soil microorganisms.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427084

LIKELIHOOD OF FUNCTIONAL ABDOMINAL SYMPTOMS RAISED WITH ANTIBIOTIC USE

After a course of antibiotics, patients have a threefold increased risk

of functional bowel symptoms 4 months after treatment compared with

patients who have not received antibiotics, UK researchers report.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426225

SIMIAN-VIRUS 40 INFECTION CAUSES MESOTHELIOMA CELLS TO SECRETE VEGF

The integration of simian virus-40 (SV40) DNA sequences into the DNA of

human malignant mesothelioma cells is associated with increased release

of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), Italian investigators have

discovered.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426604

VIRAL PROTEIN FOUND IN MEDULLOBLASTOMA CELLS

Researchers have identified a JC virus (JCV) protein product, known as

agnoprotein, in human medulloblastoma cells, according to a report

published in the February 20th issue of the Journal of the National

Cancer Institute.

Reuters Health Information 2002

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/426600

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OCULAR MANIFESTATIONS OF LYME DISEASE?

Posterior scleritis associated with Lyme disease?

Review the case of a 39-year-old man with a history of tick bites

and a presentation of eye pain. Available now in an original

Medscape Ophthalmology Journal Scan summary, at:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/421512

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