Latest Neglected diseases Stories
Changes promote blood-feeding behavior and virus transmission Mosquitoes infected with dengue virus experience an array of changes in the activity of genes and associated functions of their salivary glands, and these changes may lead to increased virus transmission, according to a recent study led by George Dimopoulos, Ph.D., of the Malaria Research Institute and Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University. Some of these changes involve the mosquito's immune system and...
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have, for the first time, shown that infection with dengue virus turns on mosquito genes that makes them hungrier and better feeders, and therefore possibly more likely to spread the disease to humans. Specifically, they found that dengue virus infection of the mosquito's salivary gland triggered a response that involved genes of the insect's immune system, feeding behavior and the mosquito's ability to sense odors. The...
Genetic variants in a region of the genome linked to our immune response have been linked to increased risk of podoconiosis, a disfiguring and disabling leg swelling caused by an abnormal reaction to the minerals found in soil. An estimated 4 million people worldwide suffer from the condition. In a study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland compared the genomes of 194...
GAITHERSBURG, Md., March 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- GenVec, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNVC) announced today that it has received a grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Award Number R43AI100467 to support the company's malaria vaccine program. "We appreciate the support this grant offers GenVec. Our technology to discover new antigens is showing promise and this grant will further our efforts in this area to...
RICHMOND, Va., March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- As the weather turns warmer, Mosquito Squad, www.MosquitoSquad.com, North America's largest and most trusted mosquito elimination and tick control company, is joining forces with Malaria No More (www.MalariaNoMore.org) to help the organization achieve its goal of ending malaria deaths in Africa. Mosquito Squad, who has committed more than $50,000 to the effort, is mounting a local campaign to underscore the need for mosquito nets in...
BRIGHTON, England, March 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Footwork, the newly-formed International Podoconiosis Initiative, brings together private and public partners to advance advocacy for and prevention and treatment of podoconiosis, popularly known as 'podo', one of the few readily-preventable and treatable Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs). Footwork envisions a world free of podoconiosis in our lifetime. (Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120315/DC71433)...
Elimination campaign against ancient, yet prevalent disease, receives critical funding from RHSC Research and Data Institute SEATTLE, March 8, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leprosy, otherwise referred to as Hansen's Disease, is one of the most ancient diseases known to humans. Although the World Health Organization declared leprosy to be under control in many previously endemic countries, most experts agree that current approaches to treating the disease are not sufficient to...
Idol Finalists Jason Castro (Season 7), Melinda Doolittle (Season 6) and Elliott Yamin (Season 5) will meet with Members of Congress on Wednesday, March 7 NEW YORK, March 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, Malaria No More, a nonprofit organization determined to help end malaria deaths in Africa, will bring former American Idol finalists Jason Castro (Season 7, 4th place), Melinda Doolittle (Season 6, 3rd place) and Elliott Yamin (Season 5, 3rd place) to Washington, D.C. to...
As disease expands global reach, Infectious Disease Research Institute teams up with India to target most deadly form of leishmaniasis SEATTLE, Feb. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The first clinical trial of a new vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis (VL) has been launched by the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a Seattle-based nonprofit that develops products to prevent, detect, and treat diseases of poverty. The Phase 1 trial is taking place in Washington State,...
Water-associated infectious disease outbreaks are more likely to occur in areas where a region's population density is growing, according to a new global analysis of economic and environmental conditions that influence the risk for these outbreaks. Ohio State University scientists constructed a massive database containing information about 1,428 water-associated disease outbreaks that were reported between 1991 and 2008 around the world. By combining outbreak records with data on a variety...
Latest Neglected diseases Reference Libraries
The giant roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides) is a parasitic worm within the Nematoda phylum. This species can be found throughout the world, but occurs in higher numbers in tropical and subtropical areas. It causes the disease known as ascariasis in its human hosts and infects about one quarter of the entire world’s human population. It displays a sexual dimorphism, with females growing larger than males. Females reach an average body length between 7.8 and 19.2 inches, while males reach a...
Wuchereria bancrofti is a species of roundworm in the Nematoda phylum. This species is spread through a mosquito vector, which means that it is transferred through mosquitos. This species infects over 120 million people in South America, Africa, and other tropical and subtropical areas. It is one of three species of parasitic worm that can cause lymphatic filariasis, which can lead to elephantiasis. The disease is wrongfully named, because the term translates to “a disease caused by...
Wuchereria bancrofti is a species of roundworm in the Nematoda phylum. This species is spread through a mosquito vector, which means that it is transferred through mosquitos. This species infects over 120 million people in South America, Africa, and other tropical and subtropical areas. It is one of three species of parasitic worm that can cause lymphatic filariasis, which can lead to elephantiasis. The disease is wrongfully named, because the term translates to “a disease caused by...
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease with a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family. It is transmitted by the bite of female mosquitoes and is found in tropical and subtropical areas in South America and Africa, but not in Asia. Primates and a few kinds of mosquitoes are the only known hosts. The origin of the disease is most likely Africa. From there it was introduced to South America through the slave trade in the 16th century. There...
Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), caused by the dengue virus, is among the spectrum of acute febrile tropical disease and is transmitted by mosquitoes. Occurring mainly in the tropics it can be life threatening and is caused by four closely related virus stereotypes of the genus Flavivirus. It was identified and named in 1779. It has a nickname of "breakbone fever" due to it causing sever generalized bodyache. It tends to be more prevalent in the urban districts of its range...
