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MEDSCAPE CONFERENCE COVERAGE, BASED ON SELECTED SESSIONS AT THE: 41ST INTERSCIENCE CONFERENCE ON ANTIMICROBIAL AGENTS AND CHEMOTHERAPY http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/507?srcmp=id-032202

MEDSCAPE CONFERENCE COVERAGE, BASED ON SELECTED SESSIONS AT THE: 39TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOCIETY OF AMERICA http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/208?srcmp=id-032202

ANTHRAX: CDC WEBCAST AND OUR CURRENT KNOWLEDGE http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/980?srcmp=id-032202

MEASLES, HAEMOPHILUS INFLUENZAE TYPE B, VARICELLA: PRE- AND POSTVACCINE EPIDEMIOLOGY IN THE UNITED STATES http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/596?srcmp=id-032202

MEDICAL BOOKS, JOURNALS, AND SUPPLIES NEEDED IN AFGHANISTAN Will you help provide medical facilities in Afghanistan with needed medical books, journals, and supplies? Medscape Nurses 4(1) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430320?srcmp=id-032202

Several organizations are promoting awareness of meningitis and its grave, sometimes life-threatening consequences. Medscape Infectious Diseases 4(1) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430000?srcmp=id-032202

Includes predictors of response to therapy; pathogenesis and progression of lipodystrophy; effects of HAART on anal SIL Medscape HIV/AIDS 8(1) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/429653?srcmp=id-032202

I have a patient with myositis and panniculitis. What is the possible differential diagnosis? Medscape Rheumatology 4(1) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/429756?srcmp=id-032202

ACQUIRED RIFAMYCIN RESISTANCE IN PERSONS WITH ADVANCED HIV DISEASE BEING TREATED FOR ACTIVE TUBERCULOSIS WITH INTERMITTENT RIFAMYCIN-BASED REGIMENS Persons with HIV-TB and low CD4 counts should receive daily therapy during the intensive phase. MMWR 51(10) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430134?srcmp=id-032202

UPDATE: ALLOGRAFT-ASSOCIATED BACTERIAL INFECTIONS --- UNITED STATES, 2002 As of March 11, 26 patients with allograft-associated infections have been identified. MMWR 51(10) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430131?srcmp=id-032202

OUTBREAK OF BACTERIAL CONJUNCTIVITIS AT A COLLEGE -- NEW HAMPSHIRE, JANUARY-MARCH, 2002 A bacterial etiology should be suspected for college students with conjunctivitis. MMWR 51(10) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430129?srcmp=id-032202

CHAGAS DISEASE AFTER ORGAN TRANSPLANTATION --- UNITED STATES, 2001 Serologic screening of organ donors and recipients for antibody to T. cruzi is standard practice in Latin America. MMWR 51(10) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430132?srcmp=id-032202

CAT-SCRATCH DISEASE IN CHILDREN -- TEXAS, SEPTEMBER 2000-AUGUST 2001 Serologic testing should be considered for patients with adenopathy, fever, malaise, and history of feline contact. MMWR 51(10) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430133?srcmp=id-032202

CLINICAL ISSUES IN THE PROPHYLAXIS, DIAGNOSIS, AND TREATMENT OF ANTHRAX Chest tube drainage often leads to dramatic clinical improvement. Emerg Infect Dis 8(2) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/424807?srcmp=id-032202

DISTEMPER OUTBREAK AND ITS EFFECT ON AFRICAN WILD DOG CONSERVATION Adequate protection against infectious diseases is needed for successful captive breeding programs. Emerg Infect Dis 8(2) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/424804?srcmp=id-032202

POSTEXPOSURE TREATMENT AND ANIMAL RABIES, ONTARIO, 1958-2000 Introducing the vaccine led to an immediate doubling of post-exposure treatments. Emerg Infect Dis 8(2) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/424805?srcmp=id-032202

Review the characteristics of the virus, the basics of diagnosis, and the role of vaccines and antiviral agents. Infect Med 19(2) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/429478?srcmp=id-032202

THE USE OF VACCINATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS What are the latest recommendations regarding influenza, MMR, and hepatitis B vaccination in MS patients? Infect Med 19(2) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/429479?srcmp=id-032202

Due to a shortage of some pediatric vaccines in 2001, the ACIP has revised recommendations for administration. Infect Med 19(1) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/423500?srcmp=id-032202

A distinctive feature in this patient was the acute onset of symptoms in the immediate postoperative period. Infect Med 19(2) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/429481?srcmp=id-032202

PHARMACOKINETICS OF LEVOFLOXACIN DURING CONTINUOUS VENOVENOUS HEMODIAFILTRATION AND CONTINUOUS VENOVENOUS HEMOFILTRATION IN CRITICALLY ILL PATIENTS Should the elimination of levofloxacin by CVVH and CVVHDF influence the dosage regimen? Pharmacotherapy 22(2) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427384?srcmp=id-032202

EFFECT OF A HIGH-FAT MEAL ON THE PHARMACOKINETICS OF THE DES-F(6)-QUINOLONE BMS-284756 Single doses of this drug were safe and well tolerated and may be taken without regard to meals. Pharmacotherapy 22(2) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427381?srcmp=id-032202

THERAPY WITH MACROLIDES IN PATIENTS WITH CYSTIC FIBROSIS Macrolides could have a tremendous impact on the quality of life of patients with cystic fibrosis. Pharmacotherapy 22(2) 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/427440?srcmp=id-032202

http://www.medscape.com/mp/rc/usmd/anemia

Twenty-six cases of bacterial infections associated with musculoskeletal tissue allografts, including one fatal case, have been reported as of March 11th, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430148?srcmp=id-032202

An orally active derivative of cidofovir has shown activity against several poxviruses in vitro and has potential as a treatment for smallpox, according to data presented Wednesday by a team of researchers at the International Conference on Antiviral Research in Prague, Czech Republic. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430351?srcmp=id-032202

Test readings performed 24 hours after administration of a tuberculin test may be as accurate as those taken at 72 hours, Indian researchers report. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430230?srcmp=id-032202

Ukraine's cash-strapped government faces an uphill battle to contain a tuberculosis epidemic that killed 11,000 Ukrainians last year, health officials said on Wednesday. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430342?srcmp=id-032202

Despite significant progress in tuberculosis control, India still has the greatest number of tuberculosis cases in the world, according to the sixth annual global tuberculosis control report released by the World Health Organization (WHO). Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430346?srcmp=id-032202

RIFAMYCIN RESISTANCE SEEN IN AIDS PATIENTS WITH TB RECEIVING INTERMITTENT THERAPY In a 'Notice to Readers,' the US CDC warns that once- or twice-weekly therapy with rifamycin for patients co-infected with HIV and Mycobacterium tuberculosis has resulted in cases of rifamycin resistance. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430165?srcmp=id-032202

The WHO said on Friday an influenza outbreak in northeastern Afghanistan had killed 60 children this winter, but was now under control. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430169?srcmp=id-032202

While the classic rash of Lyme disease is an expanding erythematous skin lesion with partial central clearing, a new report indicates that most patients actually have homogeneous lesions. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430341?srcmp=id-032202

Federal health experts on Thursday said they would consider recommending that organ donors be screened for Chagas disease after confirming the first cases of the potentially fatal parasitic infection in US transplant recipients. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430150?srcmp=id-032202

POLIO OUTBREAK IN HISPANIOLA BLAMED ON VACCINE-DERIVED POLIOVIRUS A polio outbreak in the Dominican Republic and Haiti in between 2000 and 2001 appears to be the result of vaccine-derived poliovirus (VDPV) type 1, shed by an individual vaccinated in Haiti in 1998 or 1999. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430159?srcmp=id-032202

GUIDELINES TO CONTROL VANCOMYCIN RESISTANT INFECTIONS NEEDED IN EUROPE Vancomycin-resistant enterococci infections are endemic in many US hospitals and rare in Europe, but a recent outbreak in a Dutch hospital underscores the need for European guidelines, Dutch researchers report in the March 16th issue of the British Medical Journal. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430145?srcmp=id-032202

A high proportion of Staphylococcus aureus isolates from hospitals in Britain, Israel and Greece are resistant to the antibiotic methicillin, a Europe-wide survey shows. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430151?srcmp=id-032202

PRION ACCUMULATION SEEN IN ANIMAL MUSCLE, NOT JUST NEURAL AND LYMPHATIC TISSUE Murine muscle can propagate prions and accumulate high levels of these pathogens, according to a report published in the March 19th issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430246?srcmp=id-032202

GERMANY, FRANCE TO TEST FOR BSE PRIONS IN CATTLE MUSCLE; UK TO REVIEW RESEARCH Reacting to a study showing that prions can accumulate in mouse muscle tissue, French and German authorities said on Tuesday they would begin testing the muscle of cows for the errant proteins. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430272?srcmp=id-032202

H. PYLORI ACQUISITION RATES HIGHER AMONG BLACKS AND YOUNG CHILDREN Children 4 to 5 years old had the highest rate of Helicobacter pylori seroconversion in a population of children and young adults in Bogalusa, Louisiana. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430179?srcmp=id-032202

ANTIBIOTIC OVERUSE IN CYSTITIS COULD BE CUT WITH PYURIA AND NITRITE TESTING Empirical treatment of women with acute cystitis leads to unnecessary antibiotic use, Canadian researchers report in the March 11th issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430250?srcmp=id-032202

IN UTERO VACCINATION STRATEGY MAY HELP PREVENT VERTICAL DISEASE TRANSMISSION Oral DNA vaccination in utero can induce mucosal and systemic immune responses in the neonate that may help prevent vertical disease transmission, according to findings from a recent animal study. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430241?srcmp=id-032202

DUAL VACCINE STRATEGY SHOWN FEASIBLE IN HAART-TREATED HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS Vaccination with a canarypox virus vector, carrying genes coding for multiple HIV-1 proteins, and recombinant gp160 appears to be a safe method of improving the immune responses of newly HIV-infected patients treated with highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), according to a recent report. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430237?srcmp=id-032202

Although people of any age can contract cat-scratch disease, children may be at particularly high risk, according to researchers at the US CDC. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430229?srcmp=id-032202

PULMONARY HYPERTENSION IN MYOCARDITIS INCREASES MORTALITY Patients with pulmonary hypertension and myocarditis should be targeted for aggressive therapy, according to a rapid access report from the April 9th issue of Circulation published online. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430249?srcmp=id-032202

The European Union will discuss on Tuesday whether to test all seafood from Southeast Asia after banned drug residues were found in shipments to Britain and the Netherlands last week, an official said. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430234?srcmp=id-032202

CASE OF HIV-RELATED CNS ANGIITIS REPORTED WITH NO SECONDARY INFECTION Primary angiitis of the central nervous system can occur in HIV-infected patients in the absence of opportunistic infections or lymphoproliferative disorders, according to a case report in the March Archives of Neurology. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430299?srcmp=id-032202

AIDS CASES CONTINUE TO RISE THOUGH LESS RAPIDLY IN INDIA India's HIV-infected population increased by 110,000 individuals in 2001, says India's health ministry. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430290?srcmp=id-032202

Pakistan has largely escaped the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, but health experts said on Friday that the country of 140 million people needed to take advantage of a window of opportunity to stop the disease from spreading. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430149?srcmp=id-032202

END-STAGE AIDS PATIENT PROFILE IN US HAS CHANGED SINCE HAART Since HAART was introduced, more patients who die of AIDS in the US are 35 years of age or older, injection drug users, and HAART-experienced. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430157?srcmp=id-032202

NEVIRAPINE TO BE OFFERED TO ALL HIV-POSITIVE PREGNANT WOMEN IN SOUTH AFRICA Last week, the Pretoria High Court ordered that the national government of South Africa and all provinces have a duty to provide nevirapine to all HIV-positive pregnant women who have been voluntarily counseled and tested. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430232?srcmp=id-032202

The use of cannabinoids by HIV-infected patients to manage wasting symptoms, stimulate appetite, and control medication side-effects, does not appear to impact antiretroviral efficacy. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430339?srcmp=id-032202

Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA is often found in oral mucosal lesions, particularly those that are frankly or potentially malignant, according to a report published in the March 15th issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430164?srcmp=id-032202

AUTOMATED PCR TESTING RECOMMENDED FOR ROUTINE GENITAL HERPES DETECTION, TYPING UK researchers report that automated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is an efficient way to detect and type genital herpes in clinical practice. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430168?srcmp=id-032202

Treatment with oral valacyclovir shortened cold sore episodes and improved lesion healing in patients with herpes labialis, according to data presented Tuesday during the International Conference on Antiviral Research in Prague, Czech Republic. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430311?srcmp=id-032202

UN AGENCIES PUBLISH FIRST LIST OF ACCEPTABLE AIDS DRUG SUPPLIERS UN agencies on Wednesday published the first list of preferred suppliers whose HIV drugs meet WHO recommended standards and are considered acceptable for inclusion in UN procurement programmes. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430369?srcmp=id-032202

FDA'S ADVISORS DECLINE TO RECOMMEND PICOVIR FOR THE TREATMENT OF COLDS Expert advisors to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) unanimously refused on Tuesday to endorse the highly anticipated proposed cure for the common cold, Picovir (pleconaril). Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430301?srcmp=id-032202

SUBSPECIALISTS OUTSIDE SPECIALTY MAY BE LESS EFFICIENT, PROVIDE LESS QUALITY CARE Subspecialists practicing outside their subspecialty are likely to have patients that stay in the hospital longer than general internists or subspecialists practicing within their subspecialty, according to a study at hospitals in Cleveland. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430300?srcmp=id-032202

A potentially fatal tick-borne disease may be far more widespread in Germany than previously thought, public health authorities are warning. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430240?srcmp=id-032202

About 1100 pigs have been slaughtered after a case of swine fever was confirmed in the western German state of Rhineland-Pfalz, an official said on Monday. Reuters Health Information 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/430231?srcmp=id-032202

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ALL INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE.  THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.