Mediaboss Marketing

New Delhi, May 14 (IANS) A study has confirmed that rotavirus is the most common cause of diarrhoea, the second largest killer of children across the world, and vaccines to contain the virus can change the situation dramatically.

Expanding access to vaccines for rotavirus could save tens of thousands of lives and help avoid hundreds of thousands of hospitalisations, thereby improving the lives of children and families while at the same time reducing significant burden on the health care costs, says the study published in medical journal The Lancet.

The Global Enteric Multicentre Study (GEMS), involving 20,000 children from across Asia and Africa, is the largest study ever conducted on diarrhoeal diseases in developing countries.

Analysing data from the study, researchers found that approximately one in five children under the age of two suffer from moderate-to-severe diarrhoea (MSD) each year, which increased children's risk of death 8.5-fold and lead to stunted growth over a two-month follow-up period.

"Without a full picture of which pathogen causes the most harm, it had been difficult to make evidence-based decisions around diarrhoeal disease control," said Dipika Sur, principal investigator, National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases, Kolkata.

GEMS will fill in the critical gaps in knowledge about the disease and help governments to prioritise resources for research and action to reduce the burden of the disease, Sur added.

More than 100,000 children die from diarrhoea in India every year, and approximately 4,57,000- 8,84,000 are hospitalised with the disease.

Nearly 800,000 deaths are caused by diarrhoea across the world.

The findings of the study also suggest that longer-term monitoring and care of children with diarrhoea could reduce mortality and developmental delays.

Across most study sites, children with moderate-to-severe diarrhoea grew significantly less in height in the two months following the diarrhoeal episode.

Follow this link:
Rotavirus vaccines can save millions of lives: Study

The World Health Organization has had a busy couple of weeks keeping track of three deadly strains across the world, and world travelers have probably been equally overcome with fear. And while the public-health group has been realistic in combatting a worldwide freakout at least it's been a bit more proactive than local governments in check-ups on novel coronavirus, Chinese bird flu, and now wild polio in Africa the WHO did confirm over the weekend that the SARS cousin, NCoV, can spread between humans in the same room. If you're already afraid of humans in the same room as you, here's how to responsibly freak out on the viral news before it goes viral in the wrong way.

RELATED: What We Don't Know About the Deadly New SARS-like Virus

Because if you haven't been to any of those four countries of late, none of the three viruses have escaped them. The new bird flu, H7N9, has spread across the provinces of China. The newest cases of NCoV were found in France after a traveler came from Dubai the United Arab Emirates still don't face a threat, but a large number of cases of the disease stem from Saudi Arabia. Oh, yeah, and the WHO issued an alert on Saturday that "wild poliovirus" was found in Somalia preliminarily, but still: a confirmation that it was spreading "would constitute a serious national and international risk to public health." But even for the far-flung, there's this....

RELATED: Is China Covering Up an Outbreak of the Bird Flu?

If you have been to China, you should only freak out if... you like to hang out with people who hang out with Chinese poultry farmers.

RELATED: The Truth About Bird Flu Is We Don't Know the Truth but It's Getting Worse

Because if it was the pig-bat in Contagion, it's the chicken in China.Though there have been reported cases of bird flu in Chinese people who were not exposed to poultry, WHO and Chinese health officials continue to stress that there is no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of H7N9. So: Most of the people who got the disease were exposed to poultry, and most of the people who got it who weren't exposed to poultry were exposed to other infected people, like family members, for too long but there's not enough evidence that, you know, you'll be getting the bird flu by touching the same subway strap in Shanghai on your business trip.

In fact, Shanghai put a halt to its emergency response to H7N9 over the weekend, Forbes's Russell Flannery reported.The city "will end its emergency response measures following theabsence of new cases in the past 20 days," Flannery reports, gleaning information from local reports throughout the region. See that? No new cases in 20 days. Take a chill pill.

As Business Insider's Jennifer Welsh reports, fever is one of the symptoms of bird flu along withpneumonia and respiratory failure. But the people who have died from H7N9, or are suffering from it, tend to be older people with weaker immune systems. "What we're seeing is that half the serious cases are above 60 years of age," Benjamin Cowling,associate professor at HKU's public health research center, told CNN.

What's more,China's Global Times reported on Monday that a 31-year-old in Taiwan made a full recovery. More good news for the young and previously healthy: another recovery story includes a 4-year-old boy."To date, a total of 131 laboratory-confirmed cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus including 32 deaths have been reported to WHO," reads the latest update from the WHO, meaning the majority of people infected have recovered. Which is a good thing!

Continued here:
The Hypochondriac's Guide to Which New Killer Disease Will Kill You

UVK - Ultra Virus Killer 5.4.0.0
UVK - Ultra Virus Killer 5.4.0.0 Tutorial.

By: flyfoxtwo

More here:
UVK - Ultra Virus Killer 5.4.0.0 - Video

By Brenda Goodman HealthDay Reporter Latest Sexual Health News

WEDNESDAY, May 8 (HealthDay News) -- A specialized kind of immune cell that patrols the skin of people infected with the herpes virus appears to prevent the outbreak of painful sores, a new study suggests.

Researchers think the cells may be key to developing a potential vaccine against genital herpes, which afflicts more than 24 million people in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For the study, published online May 8 in the journal Nature, researchers took skin samples from people infected with HSV-2, the virus that causes genital herpes, and followed them as they healed from recent outbreaks.

Working with a high-powered microscope, researchers used fluorescent stains to find and label different types of immune cells in the skin. They were most interested in cells called CD8 killer T-cells.

Unlike antibodies, which bind to bacteria and viruses, preventing them from infecting cells in the first place, CD8 cells are a second line of defense, said Bryan Cullen, director of the Center for Virology at Duke University, in Durham, N.C.

"They kill virus-infected cells as quickly as possible after they become infected," said Cullen, who also studies herpes infections but was not involved in the research. Killing infected cells prevents them from becoming factories that crank out more copies of the virus, he said.

Scientists once thought that all CD8 cells roamed the body, looking for infected cells through the bloodstream.

By watching the immune response as it unfolded in the skin, researchers realized that there were special CD8 cells that stayed in place, patrolling the area around nerve endings like beat cops. They guessed that the cells were waiting for the herpes virus to emerge and cause trouble.

To test that theory, they used very fine lasers to pluck out these specialized cells to see what kinds of proteins they were making.

See the article here:
Immune Cell Discovery May One Day Lead to Herpes Vaccine: Study

Austin, TX (PRWEB) May 07, 2013

Many baby boomers bodies may be harboring a silent killer: Hepatitis C. In fact, the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends testing for anyone born between 1945 and 1965 as early diagnosis and treatment can help prevent liver damage, cirrhosis, liver cancer and other complications.

In recognition of Hepatitis Awareness month, MedSpring is offering baby boomers, those born between 1945-1965, free Hepatitis C screenings at any of its 14 centers in Austin, Chicago and Houston during the month of May. In addition, those born after 1965 with tattoos and body piercings are also eligible for free screenings.

The Hepatitis C virus is a contagious, blood-borne infection affecting the liver. Baby boomers may have contracted the disease numerous ways, including through a simple blood transfusion, injection drug use or an organ transplant performed prior to 1992. While baby boomers comprise only 27 percent of the U.S. population, the CDC estimates they account for 75 percent of the Hepatitis C cases and 73 percent of deaths related to the virus.

This simple, one-time blood test can mean the difference between life-saving treatment and serious, even deadly, liver disease, said Dr. Jon L. Belsher, M.D., MedSprings Chief Medical Officer. The Hepatitis C virus is dangerous, especially to baby boomers, as it can go unnoticed for years with most people experiencing no symptoms.

MedSpring centers will administer the complimentary blood test to the first 1000 eligible patients during regular center hours of 9am-9pm daily. For those patients requiring follow-up, MedSpring will provide complimentary consultation and referrals. Walk-ins are welcome, and appointments are also available. For more information, visit the Hepatitis C information page on MedSprings website.

MedSpring Urgent Care has six centers in Austin, three in Chicago and five in Houston.

About MedSpring Urgent Care Based in Austin, Texas, MedSprings 14 Urgent Care centers focus on delivering quality care and exceptional service. For more information, including patient reviews and savings compared to an ER, please visit http://www.medspring.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter. ###

Excerpt from:
Baby Boomers Face Silent Hepatitis C Virus Risk