WHAT's New From NIAID, DMID, and the ICSSC
DMID-Sponsored Investigators from Thirteen Countries in Four Continents Attend International Clinical Research Workshop in Cape Town, South Africa
In January 2009, DMID and ICSSC hosted a five-day workshop on the fundamentals of international clinical research for investigators sponsored by the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. The workshop, attended by 34 researchers from thirteen countries, was held at The Vineyard Hotel and included sessions on Good Clinical Practice, Study Design, Protocol Development, and Data Management and Analysis.
Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths in 1918
The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs. read more>
Researchers Find Quick Way to Make Human Monoclonal Antibodies against Flu
Human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs)—highly specific, identical, infection-fighting proteins produced in large quantities in the lab in cell lines that are derived from a single cell—against influenza can be rapidly produced in the lab, according to a new report from scientists supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Using cells drawn from volunteers inoculated with seasonal influenza vaccine, the investigators made influenza-specific mAbs in just a few weeks rather than the typical two to three months. The new technique could potentially be used to rapidly create mAbs for a range of uses, the team says. read more>