• Home
• Español
• Site Map
• Privacy Policy
• About

Subscribe

Mobidiag Releases First Microarray Based Rapid Test for Herpesvirus Identification

It looks like a new weapon in the detection of Herpes has been released in Finland and here are the details from the release. 

March 12th, 2008, 9 a.m.

Prove-it Herpes™ offers considerable cost savings for healthcare industry by identifying eight herpesviruses simultaneously

Helsinki, Finland 12 March – the Finland-based biotechnology company Mobidiag today announced the new Prove-it™ Herpes test for the fast and reliable identification of herpesviruses. The microarray-based test takes less than three hours to complete and enables simultaneous identification of eight different human herpesviruses. Herpesviruses cause life-threatening central nervous system infections (CNSI), and rapid diagnosis improves likelihood of recovery. The new test is initially intended for research purposes, and Mobidiag plans to acquire European approval for use in clinical diagnostics later this year.

”Market potential for the product is enormous. In Europe alone, over 100 million euros are spent annually on herpesvirus diagnostics. We believe that Prove-it™ Herpes will gain a considerable slice of that market,” says Jaakko Pellosniemi, CEO of Mobidiag. ”What makes Prove-it™ Herpes unique is that it combines different technologies and integrates them into a single easy-to-use and capable products,” Pellosniemi continues.

In addition to illnesses such as labial herpes, chickenpox and roseola, herpesviruses can also cause serious central nervous system infections such as encephalitis. Without appropriate treatment, mortality rate from these infections can be as high as 50%. The sooner the pathogen is detected, the higher the likelihood of recovery. However, virus detection may be slow with current methods, and in severe suspected virus infection cases, medication is often started merely as a precaution. There are roughly four million of these suspected cases annually in the Industrial World, making testing and treating potential infections very expensive.

The Mobidiag test can detect and identify the viruses many times faster than conventional methods. Appropriate antiviral treatment can be administered sooner, and the level of potential permanent damage to the patient is decreased. Additionally, Mobidiag’s test reveals multi-infections caused by several herpesviruses. The detection is also exceptionally sensitive to low viral loads, which are typical in the early stages of a central nervous system infection.

”We believe that in the future, microarray-based tests will quickly become common in diagnostics due to their simplicity, speed, and reliability. A clinician can instantly check hundreds of viral and bacterial-based illnesses, offering a huge saving potential for the healthcare industry. Mobidiag will play a vital role in this development,” says Pellosniemi.

Founded in 2001, Mobidiag develops rapid diagnostic tests for hospital laboratories. The Prove-it™ Herpes test is developed in co-operation with Hospital Districts of Helsinki and Uusimaa and the University of Helsinki.

Additional information:

CEO Jaakko Pellosniemi, Mobidiag Ltd, tel. + 358 40 501 1004

Mobidiag Ltd is a Finnish biotechnology company developing, producing and marketing rapid diagnostic tests to hospital laboratories. The company focuses on detection of serious infections with DNA-tests. More information on www.mobidiag.com

Study Links Kids Vaccine to Fever Seizures

In our quest to keep you informed about the latest news on Chickenpox and its treatments here is some news to make you think when choosing a vaccine to use. 

From the AP

By MIKE STOBBE – 8 hours ago

ATLANTA (AP) — Children suffered higher rates of fever-related convulsions when they got a Merck & Co. combination vaccine instead of two separate shots, according to a new study presented Wednesday.

The results prompted a federal advisory panel on vaccines to water down their preference for the combo vaccine ProQuad, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella as well as chickenpox.

In the study of children ages 12 months through 23 months, the rate of seizures was twice as high in toddlers who got ProQuad, compared with those who got one shot for chickenpox and one for the three other diseases.

The risk translates to about one extra case of convulsion for every 2,000 doses of ProQuad given said Dr. Nicola Klein, who lead the federally funded study. She presented the data at a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The study focused on children who develop fevers and then go into convulsions — an occurrence that frightens parents but usually has no lingering consequences. There were no deaths in the new study.

ProQuad was licensed in 2005. It’s been in extremely short supply since last year, when Merck suspended production because of manufacturing problems. The company expects to resume ProQuad production next year.

The panel had previously taken a position that they preferred doctors give children as few needlesticks as possible, and that ProQuad is preferable to giving separate shots.

It voted Wednesday to amend that, to say they’re no longer voicing a preference for ProQuad over the separate shots.

“Safety, shortages, delivery issues — lots of reasons not to state such a strong preference,” said member panel Patsy Stinchfield, an infectious disease expert at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

Merck officials said their own research, though preliminary, also showed a doubling of the risk in children within five to 12 days of vaccination. However, the occurrence was low — about 5 cases in 10,000, Merck officials said.

They said there was five times more chickenpox antigen, the key ingredient, in the ProQuad shot than in the stand-alone chickenpox shot. But they said it’s not clear that would explain the difference in seizure rates.

For some reason, the difference disappears when comparing rates for 30 days, Merck officials added.

Klein’s research checked seizure rates only at seven to 10 days after vaccination, and looked at about 43,000 kids who got ProQuad and 315,000 who got the two other shots together. It found fever-related seizures occurred at a rate of 9 per 10,000 children vaccinated with ProQuad, compared with 4 per 10,000 for those who got separate shots.

Klein is co-director of Kaiser Permanente Vaccine Study Center in Oakland, Calif., one of seven sites in the study. Her work was funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

ProQuad costs $124 per dose, about the same as the two other shots combined.

Kansas – Sedgwick County School Outbreak

Chicken Pox Outbreak in Sedgwick County Local Schools

Feb 11, 2008

Sedgwick County health officials say there has been an outbreak of Chickenpox (Varicella) in two schools in the county. KAKE News has learned that one of those schools is Tanglewood elementary in Derby.

Twenty nine cases have been reported so far in 2008. That’s compared to 23 cases in all of 2006 and 55 cases in all of 2007.
The most common symptoms of chickenpox are fever and an itchy rash which covers the body. The rash usually is most concentrated on the face, scalp, and trunk. Occasionally more serious complications occur including swelling of the brain or pneumonia.

Varicella is highly contagious and spread by coughing and sneezing. Contact with the skin lesions can also spread the disease.

Due to the high level of contagiousness, as well as the potential for serious complications, it is important to seek medical attention from your primary care physician if you or your child is exhibiting symptoms of
Chickenpox. Although children typically acquire the disease, adolescents and adults are at higher risk for a more severe case.

For the full story at wibw.com

Next Page »

Helpful Reading

Sponsored Ads

Copyright © 2008-10 Chicken Pox Symptoms

By using this site you agree to and understand the following: Information contained within this site is intended solely for general educational purposes and is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice relative to your specific medical condition or question. Always seek the advice of your physician or other health provider for any questions you may have regarding your medical condition. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies.