(Press-News.org) 2824 new cases of hantavirus disease were reported in Germany in 2012, the highest number ever in a single year. In the current issue of Deutsches Ärzteblatt International, Detlev Krüger and coauthors present the main facts about this disease (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2013; 110[27-28]: 461-7).
Every two to three years, large outbreaks of hantavirus disease are caused by Puumala virus, which is transmitted by bank voles and is endemic to southwestern and western Germany. In the north and east of the country, hantavirus infections are caused by the Dobrava-Belgrad virus, which is transmitted by striped field mice.
The manifestations that typically arise over the course of hantavirus disease come in several phases. The first sign is often an otherwise unexplained high fever; this may be followed by shock, renal failure, and pulmonary failure, depending on the severity of the disease. Thus, whenever persons living in high-risk areas present with fever of unknown origin or renal failure of unknown origin, physicians should consider the possibility of a hantavirus infection. Once the suspicion of hantavirus disease has been raised, special techniques can be used for precise viral diagnostic evaluation.
###
http://www.aerzteblatt.de/pdf.asp?id=142369
Record incidence of hantavirus disease
2013-07-24
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
First human tests of new biosensor that warns when athletes are about to 'hit the wall'
2013-07-24
A new biosensor, applied to the human skin like a temporary tattoo, can alert marathoners, competitive bikers and other "extreme" athletes that they're about to "bonk," or "hit the wall," scientists are reporting. The study, in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry, describes the first human tests of the sensor, which also could help soldiers and others who engage in intense exercise — and their trainers — monitor stamina and fitness.
Joseph Wang and colleagues explain that the sensor monitors lactate, a form of lactic acid released in sweat. Lactate forms when the muscles ...
Ancient technology for metal coatings 2,000 years ago can't be matched even today
2013-07-24
Artists and craftsmen more than 2,000 years ago developed thin-film coating technology unrivaled even by today's standards for producing DVDs, solar cells, electronic devices and other products. Understanding these sophisticated metal-plating techniques from ancient times, described in the ACS journal Accounts of Chemical Research, could help preserve priceless artistic and other treasures from the past.
Gabriel Maria Ingo and colleagues point out that scientists have made good progress in understanding the chemistry of many ancient artistic and other artifacts — crucial ...
Researchers target HER1 receptor for peptide cancer vaccine, therapeutic agents
2013-07-24
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Small proteins called peptides that consist of 10 to 50 amino acids are being studied as cancer vaccines and as possibly safer, more effective and less costly alternatives to the monoclonal-antibody-based drugs and small-molecule inhibitors now used to treat many malignancies.
Researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC – James) have identified two regions on the HER1/EGFR receptor, a protein important for cancer-cell growth and metastasis and for ...
University of Alberta scientists get dirty at the Robson Glacier
2013-07-24
Glacier retreat areas provide an excellent window into the evolution of microbial communities, an ideal opportunity for scientists to study how quickly soil biological functions become established and how ecosystems begin to form. Soils are not static in the landscape, but instead evolve with time under the influence of multiple environmental factors – understanding how these factors interact can lead to advancements in the science and management of soils.
Aria Hahn and Dr. Sylvie Quideau, researchers at the University of Alberta, conducted their research in Mount Robson ...
A quick test for the Black Death
2013-07-24
This news release is available in German. Diagnosing the presence of Yersinia pestis, the cause of plague, may soon be easier than ever before. Scientists working with Peter Seeberger, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPIKG) in Potsdam and Professor at the Freie Universität Berlin, have come up with a simple, inexpensive and reliable method of detecting the bacterium. The research team, specialising in glycochemistry and glycobiology, first identified and synthesised an oligosaccharide structure on bacterial surface before combining ...
University of Minnesota research reveals luxury products' role in relationships
2013-07-24
Purchasing designer handbags and shoes is a means for women to express their style, boost self-esteem, or even signal status. New University of Minnesota research suggests some women also seek these luxury items to prevent other women from stealing their man.
Through a series of five experiments featuring 649 women of varying ages and relationship statuses, Carlson School of Management Associate Professor Vladas Griskevicius and PhD student Yajin Wang discovered how women's luxury products often function as a signaling system directed at other women who pose a threat ...
Medicare spending rates based on regional cost variations unlikely to improve health care
2013-07-24
WASHINGTON -- A "geographic value index" that would tie Medicare payment rates to the health benefits and costs of health services in particular regions of the country should not be adopted by Congress, says a new congressionally mandated report from the Institute of Medicine. The committee that wrote the report concluded that decisions about health care generally are made at the level of the physician or organization, such as a hospital, not at the regional level. Because individual physician performance varies, sometimes even within a single practice group, an index ...
Carnegie Mellon biophysicist obtains first experimental evidence of pressure inside the herpes virus
2013-07-24
PITTSBURGH - Herpes viruses are like tiny powder kegs waiting to explode. For more than 20 years scientists suspected that herpes viruses were packaged so full of genetic material that they built up an internal pressure so strong it could shoot viral DNA into a host cell during infection. No one had been able to prove that theory until now.
Carnegie Mellon University biophysicist Alex Evilevitch together with his graduate student David Bauer and University of Pittsburgh collaborators Fred Homa and Jamie Huffman have measured, for the first time, the pressure inside human ...
High rate of early delirium after surgery in older adults
2013-07-24
San Francisco, CA. (July 24, 2013) – Close to half of older adults undergoing surgery with general anesthesia are found to have delirium in the postanesthesia care unit (PACU), according to a study in the August issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
Delirium occurring early after surgery is linked to decreased cognitive (mental) function and an increased rate of nursing home admission, according to the study by Dr Karin J. Neufeld of Johns Hopkins University and colleagues. They write, "Recognizing ...
Patient warming systems may affect ventilation in OR, study suggests
2013-07-24
San Francisco, CA. (July 24, 2013) – Forced-air systems used to keep patients warm during surgery may affect the performance of operating room (OR) ventilation systems—potentially increasing exposure to airborne contaminants, reports a study in the August issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
By comparison, conductive warming systems don't disrupt ventilation airflows over the surgical site, according to the report by Dr Kumar G. Belani of University of Minnesota and colleagues. But an accompanying ...