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Transcript
News Infectious diseases ■ TDR focuses on diseases of poverty. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced its plan to adopt a more expansive strategy to prevent and control the most poverty-related infectious diseases. The WHO’s Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) will focus on getting healthcare treatments to poor and remote areas, as well as fostering research and leadership where infectious diseases cause serious health problems. With its new 10-year strategy, the TDR — responsible over the last three decades for containing diseases such as leprosy, onchocerciasis (that causes river blindness), Changas disease, lymphatic filariasis, and visceral leishmaniasis — will confront the biggest challenges of the global health community: getting poor people access to primary health treatments. In areas without doctors or hospitals, the model being used is based on the TDR’s community-directed, grassroots delivery system from the 1990s when ivermectin was distributed to combat onchocerciasis. This model is the backbone for continuing research into how to deliver other essential primary healthcare to more patients in rural areas. The TDR’s successful campaigns against emerging diseases, such as TB-HIV co-infection, will be one among many new challenges TDR will face in the next decade. Conferences ■ Two-year response plan for TB. The WHO and the Stop TB (tuberculosis) Partnership launched “The Global MDR-TB and XDR-TB Response Plan 2007-2008” containing measures to immediately prevent, treat, and control extensively drug-resistant TB (XDRTB) — resistant to all of the most effective anti-TB drugs, it infects up to 30,000 people yearly — and multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) — non-responsive to standard treatments and resistant to main first-line drugs, it infects an estimated 424,000 people yearly. The two-year plan emphasizes the imminent need to boost TB control around the globe and to increase early TB detection. Top priorities focus on particular investments: developing programs to treat DR-TB; building capacity in TB diagnostic labs; expanding infection surveillance; and funding research for new drugs and vaccines. In addition, the two organizations established a long-term goal to provide access to drugs and diagnostic tests to all MDR- and XDR-TB patients by 2015, possibly saving up to 1.2 million lives. ■ New MRSA stats. According to the Associated Press, a comprehensive study by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) shows that at least 30,000 U.S. hospital patients may have the “superbug” methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) at any given time. This figure is approximately 10 times the rate previously estimated by some health officials. The survey, sent by APIC to its more than 11,000 members, asked them to pick one day between ■ Aug. 29. The AABB hosts an audioconference, “Supplier Qualifications, EquipmentReagents and Vendors” from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Director Sally Rudumann, PhD, MT(ASCB) SBB will touch on requirements for vendor qualification, how to develop forms for documenting the qualification process, and how to select a vendor- qualification process suitable for reagents, supplies, and product manufacturing. Using a case-study approach, the conference will provide answers to FAQs and convey tips for effective and efficient vendor qualification. For more information and to register, visit www.aabb.org. ■ Sept. 7-9. Join the Society for the Advancement of Blood Management (SABM) at its annual convention at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in Hollywood. The three-day event will focus on the newest and most important developments in blood-management and transfusion strategies, as well as problem-oriented workshops, oral abstract offerings, and “meet the expert” sessions on topics from pediatric and neonatal case studies, the successes and pitfalls of opening an anemia clinic, the history and science behind hemodilution, and critical anemia management. For more information and to register, visit www.sabm.org. August 2007 ■ MLO Trends Analysis Oct. 1 and Nov. 10, 2006, to count cases of the infection in their hospital or nursing-home environments. The final results represented 1,237 facilities or, roughly, 21% of U.S. inpatient healthcare facilities, concluding that 46 out of every 1,000 patients had the “superbug.” Researchers also concluded that about 75% of patients walked into the hospitals and nursing homes carrying MRSA, having acquired it in a previous stay in healthcare facility or out in the community. Healthcare workers can prevent the spread of MRSA through hand washing as well as equipment decontamination, by wearing gloves and gowns, and by separating infected people from other patients. For more information on the APIC study, go to www.apic. org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home. U.S. Lyme-disease cases double. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced in late June that the number of Lyme-disease cases has doubled since 1991, and that is probably an underestimation. The higher figures, says the CDC, are likely due to increased disease incidence and increased detection with the implementation of laboratory-based surveillance. Lyme disease, marked by a characteristic rash and joint pain, is the most common illness transmitted by bugs or animals in the United States — infecting over 21,000 people annually. Caused by a bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi and spread by ticks, Lyme disease, if not treated by antibiotics, can cause long-term effects including arthritis, heart disease, and nervous-system damage. In 2002, a Lyme-disease vaccine was taken off the market; the reason given was the manufacturer’s poor sales reports. People can lower their risk of contracting Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses by avoiding infested areas, using insect repellent, and performing daily self-checks for ticks. Removing ticks within 24 hours makes them less likely to transmit the bacteria. HIV/AIDS ■ “Natural barrier” to HIV. A recent HealthDay report says researchers have discovered that cells in the mucosal lining of human genitals produce a protein that “eats up” invading HIV infection. The protein produced by the www.mlo-online.com Bio-Rad Laboratories Langerhans cells is called Langerin, and could be instrumental in curtailing transmission of the virus that is responsible for the AIDS epidemic. Researchers report that Langerin — one of the first natural lines of defense against initial HIV infection — is able to “scavenge” viruses from the surrounding environment, thereby preventing infection. Because most outside body tissue has Langerhans cells suggests the human body has a natural antiviral defense mechanism, which may support evidence as to why HIV, in fact, is not very efficient in infecting humans. It has been a common belief that HIV easily infects the near-to-surface Langerhans cells and uses them as “vehicles” to migrate to Tcells; this new discovery has now cast doubt on that notion. Looking closely at the interaction of HIV and Langerhans cells, scientists found that the cells do not become infected by HIV because they have Langerin on their surfaces. Langerin captures HIV very efficiently, and this Langerin-bound HIV is “eaten up” by the Langerhans cells and destroyed. In essence, Langerhans cells act like a virus “vacuum cleaner.” The discovery also might help explain differences in vulnerability to HIV infection among people. Because the Langerin gene is different in some individuals, Langerhans cells with less functional Langerin cells could be more susceptible to HIV infection. AUTOIMMUNE TESTING Take a closer look. KALLESTAD™ HEp-2 IFA Slides with Improved Clarity, Consistency and Contrast News ■ Another “hitchhiker’s guide” now out. MLO’s Christopher S. Frings, PhD, CSP — full-time professional speaker, consultant, and entertainer — penned a new book entitled A Hitchhiker’s Guide To Self-Management and Leadership, released in June. He employs his expertise to update his seven key skills to successfully guide readers through just about anything life has in store. For information, contact the AACC press at 800-892-1400 or visit www.chrisfrings.com. l For more information, call us toll free at 1-800-2BIO-RAD (1-800-224-6723); outside the US, contact your local sales office. Visit us on the web at www.bio-rad.com/diagnostics. Visit www.rsleads.com/708ml-005 www.mlo-online.com