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Norovirus Top Cause of Hospital Infection Outbreaks, Says Study
Posted 10 days ago by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 3 – Norovirus was the most common culprit responsible for infection outbreaks in U.S. hospitals in 2008 and 2009, new research finds. Researchers analyzed survey results from 822 hospitals regarding their infection outbreaks. About 35 percent reported at least one infectious outbreak over the 2-year period. Four organisms triggered nearly 60 percent of the outbreaks: Norovirus (18.2 percent), which causes severe gastroenteritis (abdominal cramps, vomiting, diarrhea) and is often responsible for food poisoning Staphylococcus aureus (17.5 percent), or staph Acinetobacter spp (13.7 percent) C. difficile (10.3 percent), which can also cause diarrhea and serious inflammation of the colon. Nearly 23 percent of outbreak investigations led to the closure of a unit or department. The study is published in the February issue of the American Journal of Infection Control Outbreaks. ... Read more
Related support groups: Gastroenteritis
Certain Seniors at Risk for Infection After ER Visit: Study
Posted 23 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Jan. 23 – Seniors in long-term care facilities have a roughly threefold increased risk for respiratory or gastrointestinal infections if they visit a hospital emergency department in the fall, winter or spring, according to a new study. Canadian researchers looked at 1,269 elderly residents of 22 long-term care facilities in Toronto, Ontario, and Montreal and Riviere-du-Loup, Quebec between September 2006 and May 2008. The investigators noted that they focused on non-summer months because that's when higher rates of respiratory and gastrointestinal infections occur. During the study period, 424 of the seniors visited an emergency department for a variety of conditions other than acute respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms, and 845 did not go to an emergency department. The seniors who went to an emergency department had a higher rate of chronic illnesses and tended to be ... Read more
Related support groups: Infections, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, Gastroenteritis
Vaccine Might One Day Prevent 'Cruise Ship' Stomach Bug
Posted 7 Dec 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 7 – An experimental vaccine may one day help us say "bon voyage" to the dreaded "cruise-ship" tummy bug for good. New research suggests a vaccine to stave off the norovirus that has sickened many cruisers in recent years may be on the horizon. Norovirus causes cramping, diarrhea and vomiting, and spreads easily from person to person, often in crowded, closed places like cruise ships. Each year, 21 million cases of norovirus occur in the United States, according to background information in the small new study published in the Dec. 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "It is possible to prevent infection and illness with a vaccine for norovirus," said Dr. Robert Atmar, a professor of medicine and molecular virology at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. But many questions remain unanswered, he said. For example, "we have to figure out the best way to ... Read more
Related support groups: Gastroenteritis
'Superdrug' Against Range of Viruses Shows Promise in Animal Trials
Posted 11 Aug 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Aug. 11 – A potentially groundbreaking drug appears effective against a wide range of viral infections, including the common cold, flu, stomach viruses, polio and dengue fever – at least in mice. The new drug is made from living cell's own defense systems and works by targeting a type of genetic material found only in those cells infected by viruses, MIT researchers explained. "Currently there are very few antiviral treatments, and most that do exist are highly specific for individual viruses or have undesirable side effects," noted lead researcher Todd Rider, a senior staff scientist at Lincoln Laboratory's Chemical, Biological, and Nanoscale Technologies Group, which is part of MIT. The new drug is called DRACO (from the more unwieldy "double-stranded RNA activated caspase oligomerizers"). According to Rider, it "has the potential to safely treat or prevent a broad ... Read more
Related support groups: Influenza, Cold Symptoms, Gastroenteritis
Gene Study Sheds Light on Deadly German E. Coli Strain
Posted 27 Jul 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 27 – Scientists who sequenced the genetic structure of the E. coli strain that caused the deadly food poisoning outbreak in Germany that began in May say their findings could help fight the deadly bug. Their paper was published online July 27 in the New England Journal of Medicine. "This research gives us insights into the reasons why this particular strain of E. coli is so virulent, allows us to hypothesize about the evolution of this bacterium and provides clinically relevant information about the treatment of this infection," senior author Dr. Matthew Waldor, a researcher at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, said in a hospital news release. Waldor and his colleagues found that the O104:H4 outbreak strain is different from other O104:H4 strains of E. ... Read more
Related support groups: Cipro, Ciprofloxacin, Gastroenteritis, Infectious Gastroenteritis, Cipro IV, Proquin XR, Cipro Cystitis Pack, Cipro XR
How to Cope With Stomach Flu Symptoms
Posted 12 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 12 – If you get the stomach flu (also known as viral gastroenteritis), there are a number of things you can do to cope with the illness, an expert suggests. "This virus causes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, fever, and head and muscle aches. Although the virus itself most often is not a serious health threat, it can cause serious complications like dehydration, which can be especially dangerous for young children and older adults," Dr. Christopher Zipp, a family physician at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's School of Osteopathic Medicine, said in a university news release. Zipp offered the following tips for coping with stomach flu: Avoid dehydration by consuming plenty of fluids. The best choices are water or half-strength juices. It's best to avoid sodas or sports drinks, but they can be given to people who can't tolerate the recommended ... Read more
Related support groups: Gastroenteritis, Infectious Gastroenteritis
Breast-Feeding for 6 Months May Prevent Infant Infections
Posted 28 Sep 2010 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Sept. 28 – Children who derive all their nutrition from breast-milk during their first six months of life are less prone to a host of common infections, new Greek research says. And when infection strikes, the ensuing illness is typically less severe among children who are exclusively breast-fed (having ingested no substitute formula) in their first half year, the study authors stated. The research, led by Emmanouil Galanakis from the department of pediatrics at the University of Crete in Heraklion, Greece, is published in the Sept. 28 online edition of the Archives of Disease in Childhood. In 2004, Galanakis and his colleagues looked at the feeding patterns and infection rates among nearly 1,000 Greek infants from birth to 1 year of age. All the infants had received their routine vaccinations and all were deemed to have access to high-quality health care. The study authors ... Read more
Related support groups: Urinary Tract Infection, Otitis Media, Upper Respiratory Tract Infection, Oral Thrush, Conjunctivitis, Gastroenteritis
Rotavirus Vaccine Trials Show Positive Results in Africa, Asia
Posted 7 Aug 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Aug. 6 – Two new studies find that a vaccine against rotavirus is safe and effective in preventing severe rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVG), which is characterized by diarrhea, vomiting and fever, and causes the deaths of more than half a million children worldwide each year. The researchers said their findings, published online Aug. 6 in The Lancet, support calls by international experts to make the vaccine available in Asia and Africa, where these two studies were conducted. The first study included 2,036 infants, aged 4 to 12 weeks, in Bangladesh and Vietnam. The children were randomly selected to receive either three oral doses of Merck's pentavalent rotavirus vaccine (RotaTeq) or a placebo at six weeks, 10 weeks and 14 weeks of age. At the end of the nearly two years of follow-up, there were 38 cases of severe RVG in the vaccine group, compared with 71 cases in the placebo ... Read more
Related support groups: Gastroenteritis, Rotarix, Rotavirus Vaccine, Rota Teq, RotaShield, RotaTeq
Rotavirus Vaccine Could Save Millions of Children Worldwide
Posted 28 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 27 – Vaccinating infants against rotavirus could save the lives of millions of children in developing nations who would otherwise die from the diarrhea-causing disease, two new studies show. A study conducted in Malawi and South Africa found vaccinations reduced the rate of severe, life-threatening rotavirus in infants by more than 61 percent. A second study found deaths from diarrheal disease in Mexico fell by more than 66 percent in children 11 months and younger during the 2009 rotavirus season compared to 2003-2006. In 2006-2007, Mexico's Ministry of Health and other major health providers made the rotavirus vaccine part of its national vaccination programs. "A disease that may be a nuisance in the U.S. can be a killer in a poorer country," said Dr. Kathleen Neuzil, senior author of the African study and a senior advisor for immunization at PATH, an international ... Read more
Related support groups: Gastroenteritis, Infectious Gastroenteritis, Rotarix, Rotavirus Vaccine, Rota Teq, RotaShield, RotaTeq
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