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Zika threat to Olympics attendees? An interview with Prof. Eskild Petersen

The risk in terms of the Olympics, especially for travelling populations remains low – with the notable exception of pregnant women.

31 Mar 2016

Research describes first new mouse model for Zika infection in decades

Efforts to combat the rapid spread of Zika virus got a boost this week as researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston (UTMB) announced the first peer-reviewed publication of a mouse model for Zika infection reported in decades.

30 Mar 2016

Alternative policy for Ebola entry screening at U.S. airports

As of January 31, 2016, a total of 28,639 cases and 11,316 deaths have been attributed to Ebola, figures that are assumed to significantly underestimate the actual scope of the 2014 Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever outbreak in West Africa. In the United States, there were also two imported cases and two locally acquired cases reported in September/October 2014.

29 Mar 2016

UCI researchers get $8 million to help develop new vaccine for Q fever

A University of California, Irvine scientific team led by infectious diseases researchers Philip Felgner and Aaron Esser-Kahn has received $8 million from the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency to help develop a new vaccine for Q fever.

29 Mar 2016

Yellow fever outbreak in Angola kills 178 people

Angola is grappling with a yellow fever outbreak, which has infected more than 450 people and killed 178 – the first epidemic of the disease to hit the country in 30 years.

28 Mar 2016

Researchers develop rapid yet inexpensive test for TB

Although tuberculosis (TB) is commonly thought of as being a disease that mainly affects nineteenth century poets and Victor Hugo characters, it is still the second-most common cause of mortality from an infectious disease in the world, killing nearly three people every minute. Every March 24, on World TB Day, the global health community recognizes the work of Robert Koch, who announced on that date in 1882 his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB.

25 Mar 2016

IBM's World Community Grid supports TB eradication project

The University of Nottingham is launching a new study to address tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's most deadly diseases, supported by IBM's World Community Grid -- one of the most powerful and fastest virtual supercomputers on the planet.

25 Mar 2016

New research highlights potential for emergence of new form of Ebolavirus

New research at the University of Kent has highlighted the potential for the emergence of a new form of Ebolavirus. A team from the University's School of Biosciences examined the differences between Ebolaviruses that cause severe disease in humans and the Reston virus that does not.

25 Mar 2016

Addition of just two DNA bases to LdAQP1 gene helps Black Fever parasite to overcome antimonial drugs

Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute scientists show how the parasite responsible for the neglected tropical disease Black Fever (visceral leishmaniasis) can become resistant to drug treatment. Studying the whole genomes of more than 200 samples of Leishmania donovani revealed that the addition of just two bases of DNA to a gene known as LdAQP1 stops the parasite from absorbing antimonial drugs.

23 Mar 2016

Global Health Frontiers' four-part newsmagazine series premieres on public television’s WORLD Channel

The acclaimed public television documentary series Global Health Frontiers expands to a weekly newsmagazine with four one-hour episodes combining compelling journalism from the leading edges of global health developments with a fast-paced and energetic style.

23 Mar 2016

TGen investigators help track hypervirulent strep outbreak in southwestern U.S.

The Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) has helped state, local and tribal health officials identify an outbreak of "hypervirulent" strep bacteria in the American Southwest.

22 Mar 2016

Sandia engineers aim to develop autonomous device to passively monitor mosquito-borne diseases

Mosquitoes are deadly efficient at spreading disease. Despite vaccines and efforts to eradicate the pesky insects, they continue to infect humans with feared diseases like Zika virus, malaria and West Nile virus.

22 Mar 2016

WAO to address effects of climate change on pollen allergy season during World Allergy Week 2016

Warmer weather brings joy to most people but misery for hay fever (pollen allergy) sufferers. For 50 million people in the United States alone, spring means sneezing spasms, itchy and watery eyes, and congestion at an annual cost of 18 billion.

21 Mar 2016

Findings could be final puzzle piece in developing effective dengue vaccine

In a small clinical trial led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, researchers say that a promising single-dose dengue vaccine, developed by scientists at the National Institutes of Health, was 100 percent effective in preventing human volunteers from contracting the virus, the most prevalent mosquito-borne virus in the world.

18 Mar 2016

Clinical study finds no added benefit of using four TB drugs to save people with advanced HIV/AIDS

In a report on the so-called REMEMBER (Reducing Early Mortality and Early Morbidity by Empiric Tuberculosis Treatment) study -- a 10-nation, randomized clinical trial of adult outpatients -- investigators concluded that there was no added benefit of using four drugs for TB over just using one drug, isoniazid, to save lives in people with advanced HIV/AIDS.

18 Mar 2016

Older types of arthritis medicine appear to be dangerous for the heart

Many Danes are prescribed NSAIDs for the treatment of painful conditions, fever and inflammation. But the treatment also comes with side effects, including the risk of ulcers and increased blood pressure.

17 Mar 2016

Biological change in mosquito mating could be used to fight mosquito-borne diseases

Genetic cues from male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes passed on during sex affect which genes are turned on or off in a females' reproductive tract post-mating, including genes related to blood feeding, egg development and immune defense, according to new Cornell research.

14 Mar 2016

MGH researchers identify how Shigella injects proteins into target host cells

Researchers from the Massachusetts General Hospital Division of Infectious Diseases are investigating the mechanism by which several important pathogenic species of bacteria deliver proteins into the cells of the organisms they are infecting.

10 Mar 2016

Tips to treat boils and styes at home

It may be tempting to squeeze or pop a painful lump on your skin, but experts advise against it. The bump could be a boil - a pus-filled skin infection that occurs around a hair follicle or oil gland - or a stye if the lump is on your eyelid. According to dermatologists, squeezing a boil or stye could make the infection worse.

9 Mar 2016

Rutgers' new drug candidate may help fight malaria

Malaria killed about 440,000 people - mostly young children - last year, but a new drug candidate discovered at Rutgers may help fight the long-dreaded disease.

8 Mar 2016