MEDSCAPE's Infectious Diseases MedPulse 10-0-01

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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 ____________________

-- ANGELS IN OUR MIDST --

SUMMER CAMP FOR CHILDREN WITH HEART DISEASE

Starting from scratch, a physician and nurse built a free camp so that children with heart disease can experience the joys of being a child.

Medscape Infectious Disease, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/43435.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

Other articles in this series:

TAKING HEALTHCARE TO SCHOOL

http://id.medscape.com/42905.rhtml

TRAINING VILLAGERS TO BECOME HEALTHCARE WORKERS

http://www.medscape.com/41703.rhtml

SPECIAL DELIVERY

http://www.medscape.com/40604.rhtml

-- OTHER MEDSCAPE ORIGINAL ARTICLES --

WHEN DISASTER STRIKES: THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS

Doctors visiting New York mobilize during the World Trade Center attacks.

http://id.medscape.com/43421.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

MEDSCAPE ESPANA: SPEECH GIVEN ON SEPTEMBER 12, 2001, IN MADRID, SPAIN,

CELEBRATING THE LAUNCH

Medscape launches Medscape El Mundo-Medscape in Spanish, in a talk by George D. Lundberg, MD.

MedGenMed, October 5, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/43450.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

MEDSCAPE GOES TO JAPAN IN JAPANESE: CONTINUING THE TRADITION ONLINE

Medscape announces the launch of its information portal in Japan, Medscape on Medipro.

MedGenMed, October 3, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/43418.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- MMWR --

NOTICE TO READERS: NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH RESPONSE TO

TERRORIST ATTACK, SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

Despite the evacuation and relocation of NYCDOH's headquarters, the department continued essential public health services, including death registration.

http://id.medscape.com/govmt/CDC/MMWR/2001/09.01/mmwr5038.01/mig-pnt-mmwr5038.01.html

UPDATE: INFLUENZA ACTIVITY --- UNITED STATES AND WORLDWIDE,

MAY--SEPTEMBER 2001

Influenza A (H1N1), A (H3N2), and B viruses continued to circulate worldwide and were associated with mild to moderate levels of activity.

http://id.medscape.com/govmt/CDC/MMWR/2001/09.01/mmwr5038.02/mig-pnt-mmwr5038.02.html

PROGRESS TOWARD POLIOMYELITIS ERADICATION --- ANGOLA, DEMOCRATIC

REPUBLIC OF CONGO, ETHIOPIA, AND NIGERIA, JANUARY 2000--JULY 2001

Access to children residing in rebel-controlled areas remains a challenge.

http://id.medscape.com/govmt/CDC/MMWR/2001/09.01/mmwr5038.03/mig-pnt-mmwr5038.03.html

WEEKLY UPDATE: WEST NILE VIRUS ACTIVITY ---UNITED STATES, SEPTEMBER

19--25, 2001

Eight human cases of WNV encephalitis were reported in Maryland (five) and New York (three); no deaths were reported.

http://id.medscape.com/govmt/CDC/MMWR/2001/09.01/mmwr5038.04/mig-pnt-mmwr5038.04.html

-- INFECTIONS in MEDICINE --

ANTIBIOTIC PROPHYLAXIS FOR NEONATAL GROUP B STREPTOCOCCAL DISEASE

GBS disease in neonates has declined by more than 65% in the last decade. But during 1998-1999, only 21% of mothers of infants with early-onset disease received intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis, and approximately 70% of mothers who were not screened and had a risk factor

did not receive antibiotic prophylaxis.

Infect Med 18(9):419-427, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/43431.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- THE AIDS READER --

HIV-1 NON-B SUBTYPES IN CLINICAL PRACTICE

Mark is a 34-year-old heterosexual white man who comes to your service having recently tested positive for HIV.

The AIDS Reader 11(8):399-400, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/43413.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- OTHER JOURNALS --

FIRST REPORTS OF ADVERSE DRUG REACTIONS (ADRS) IN RECENT WEEK

Drugs include ciprofloxacin, piperacillin, and tobramycin.

Drug & Ther Perspect</A> 17(18):15, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/43323.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

STUDY LINKS HIV WITH MENTAL HEALTH/SA DISORDERS

A study of adults receiving care for HIV shows that almost half of the nation's adult HIV patients suffered from symptoms of mental disorders and 26 percent used illicit drugs other than marijuana.

Mental Health Weekly 11(34):4, 2001

http://id.medscape.com/43401.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- TODAY'S QUESTION --

H2 RECEPTOR ANTAGONISTS VS PPIS FOR TREATING H PYLORI

In treatment of Helicobacter pylori, are histamine 2 receptor antagonist-based regimens superior over proton pump inhibitor-based regimens?

http://id.medscape.com/43449.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

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___________________________________ NEWS ______________________________

-- INFLUENZA --

HUNDREDS DEVELOP INFLUENZA SYMPTOMS IN PHILIPPINE CAPITAL

Hundreds of students in the Philippine capital Manila have developed flu-like symptoms, possibly caused by an airborne virus.

http://id.medscape.com/43349.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- VACCINES --

NEW SINGAPORE BIOMED CENTER TO DEVELOP VACCINES FOR TROPICAL DISEASES

Tropical diseases like hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) and dengue fever will be a thing of the past if a project to develop vaccines for such diseases, by a newly-formed biomedical research center, proves successful.

http://id.medscape.com/43270.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

UK DATA INDICATE NO CASE FOR MMR VACCINE-INDUCED 'AUTISTIC

ENTEROCOLITIS'

A new report further quashes the notion that measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination contributes to the development of a new variant of autism, associated with developmental regression and GI symptoms.

http://id.medscape.com/43299.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

NVIC SAYS IOM REPORT CONFIRMS 1999 FDA/EPA ORDER FOR MERCURY-FREE

VACCINES

The recent IOM report confirmed that the FDA and EPA were justified in ordering drug companies to take mercury out of childhood vaccines in 1999, according to the National Vaccine Information Center.

http://id.medscape.com/43415.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

STRONG LINK NOT FOUND BETWEEN THIMEROSAL AND NEURODEVELOPMENTAL

DISORDERS

The use of pediatric vaccines containing thimerosal should be avoided, even though there is no hard evidence connecting the mercury-containing preservative to autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders, a panel of government experts announced on Monday.

http://id.medscape.com/43311.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- TUBERCULOSIS --

BCG VACCINATION APPEARS NOT TO REDUCE RISK OF ATOPY

In Chinese schoolchildren who received BCG vaccination at birth, there is no association between tuberculin reactivity and symptoms of asthma and allergy, according to a report in the October issue of Thorax.

http://id.medscape.com/43259.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- POLIO --

POLIO ERADICATION STILL A PRIORITY IN FOUR AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Despite progress in eradicating polio in Africa, transmission continues to be a concern in four countries: Nigeria, Ethiopia, Angola, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), according to the CDC.

http://id.medscape.com/43263.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- RESPONSE TO TERRORISM --

MORE FUNDS SOUGHT TO COMBAT BIOWARFARE IN US

The US could deal with a biological attack, but it could be better prepared, HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson and other lawmakers told a Senate appropriations committee Wednesday.

http://id.medscape.com/43382.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

US DEVELOPING CHEMICAL ATTACK SENSOR FOR SUBWAYS

The United States is preparing to test a revolutionary system for detecting chemical attacks in subways, a government official said on Wednesday.

http://id.medscape.com/43272.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- ANTHRAX --

ANTHRAX RESISTANCE GENE IDENTIFIED IN MICE

Researchers have identified a gene in mice that mediates macrophage resistance to anthrax lethal toxin (LeTx), according to a report published in the October 2nd issue of Current Biology.

http://id.medscape.com/43356.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- PLAGUE --

YERSINIA PESTIS GENOME SEQUENCED

Scientists said Wednesday that they have mapped all the genes in the plague bacterium, a development that could speed up research into vaccines and treatments.

http://id.medscape.com/43395.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- HEPATITIS --

FDA CLEARS ORTHO-CLINICAL HCV TEST

The US Food and Drug Administration has cleared for sale the VITROS Anti-HCV rapid front-line hepatitis C virus test from Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, the Johnson & Johnson unit said on Friday.

http://id.medscape.com/43277.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

INTERFERON THERAPY FOR ACUTE HEPATITIS C PREVENTS CHRONIC INFECTION

Interferon alfa-2b is often used to treat chronic hepatitis C, but a report released Monday indicates that it can also prevent chronic infection in patients with acute disease.

http://id.medscape.com/43282.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- CJD/BSE --

DISEASE SCIENCES TEAMS WITH BIOTEC TO PRODUCE TSE TEST

Development-stage firm Disease Sciences Inc. has teamed with UK-based BioTec Global Limited to create a urine test for forms of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), the firm said on Monday.

http://id.medscape.com/43293.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- HIV/AIDS --

TENOFOVIR RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL IN US FOR TREATMENT OF HIV

Expert advisors to the US FDA unanimously recommended on Wednesday that the agency grant accelerated approval to Gilead Sciences Inc.'s acyclic nucleotide analog, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (Viread), for the treatment of HIV infection.

http://id.medscape.com/43387.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

IMPROVED P24 ANTIGEN TEST A COST-EFFECTIVE SUBSTITUTE FOR HIV RNA

TESTING

The relatively low cost of an amplified HIV-1 p24 antigen test allows for more frequent viral load testing than is feasible with HIV-1 RNA testing, and appears to offer comparable diagnostic sensitivity, Swiss investigators report.

http://id.medscape.com/43289.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

SOUTH AFRICAN FIRM TESTS COAL-BASED DRUG FOR AIDS PATIENTS

A South African government-funded research and development firm said Friday that a coal-based drug it tested on AIDS patients was safe and boosted their immune systems.

http://id.medscape.com/43291.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

SUSCEPTIBILITY OF HIV-1 TO DIFFERENT DRUGS VARIES MARKEDLY IN UNTREATED INDIVIDUALS

In untreated HIV-infected patients, the phenotypic drug susceptibility of the virus varies markedly from drug to drug, according to a report published in September 7th issue of AIDS.

http://id.medscape.com/43298.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

This is only a selection of this week's HIV/AIDS NEWS. Read all the latest news about advances in the field, from Reuters and Medscape Wire.

http://www.medscape.com/hiv/news

And you can subscribe to the HIV/AIDS Medpulse, as well as other specialty Medpulses, by updating your profile at the following link:

http://www.medscape.com/profile

-- OTHER STDs --

MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN NOT NECESSARILY AT HIGHER RISK OF CHLAMYDIA

Chlamydia infection occurs in 7.7% of men who have sex only with men, according to data released Sunday at the 19th annual conference of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association in New Orleans.

http://id.medscape.com/43297.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- MENINGITIS --

MENINGITIS OUTBREAK KILLS 14 PEOPLE IN CONGO

A deadly meningitis outbreak has killed 14 people in eastern Congo in the last two weeks and threatens to spread to neighboring Rwanda, health officials said Monday.

http://id.medscape.com/43310.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- SEPSIS --

NEW REPORT WARNS THAT SEPSIS COULD KILL 146,000 EUROPEANS EACH YEAR

Severe sepsis and septic shock could be associated with up to 146,000 deaths every year in the European Union and as much as 7.6 billion euros (US $6.7 billion) in patient healthcare costs, according to US drug maker Eli Lilly, which hopes to launch its breakthrough treatment Xigris, a recombinant form of Activated Protein C called drotrecogin alfa, early next year.

http://id.medscape.com/43333.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- FUNGAL INFECTIONS --

CRYPTOCOCCOSIS REMAINS AN IMPORTANT INFECTION IN HIV-NEGATIVE

INDIVIDUALS

Despite the availability of fluconazole and other newer antifungal drugs, cryptococcosis is still associated with substantial morbidity and mortality in HIV-negative patients in the US, especially those with significant underlying disease and immunosuppression.

http://id.medscape.com/43365.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- BACTERIAL INFECTIONS --

CONTINUOUS VANCOMYCIN INFUSION COST-EFFECTIVE FOR STAPHYLOCOCCAL

INFECTIONS

Continuous infusion of vancomycin is as safe and effective as intermittent infusion of vancomycin in patients with severe staphylococcal infections, and it may be more cost-effective, according to researchers in France.

http://id.medscape.com/43366.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

-- ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE --

MULTIDRUG-RESISTANT E. COLI CLONAL GROUP IDENTIFIED

A multidrug-resistant Escherichia coli strain of clonal group A accounts for a high percentage of community-acquired urinary tract infections, according to a report in the October 4th issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

http://id.medscape.com/43377.rhtml?srcmp=id-100501

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_______________________________ MEMBER NEWS

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MEDSCAPE ESPANA: SPEECH GIVEN BY DR. GEORGE LUNDBERG IN MADRID SPAIN ANNOUNCING THE MEDSCAPE EL MUNDO PARTNERSHIP

http://www.medscape.com/43450.rhtml

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