Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Researchers develop survey to understand factors that influence vaping

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, information about the dangers of vaping was emerging. To investigate the potentially serious health and respiratory implications of vaping, Mayo Clinic researchers wanted to better understand the factors influencing vaping in the community.

23 Nov 2020

SARS-Cov-2 antibodies are detected up to 3 months after infection, shows study

A new study in health care workers led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), an institution supported by "la Caixa" Foundation and the Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, shows that IgA and IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 decay quickly, while IgG antibody levels are maintained for at least three months after infection.

23 Nov 2020

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 hyperimmune globulin produced from convalescent plasma pool has 3-fold antibody neutralizing activity

In a recent study published in the preprint server bioRxiv, researchers from the Grifols Bioscience Research Group reported on the collection of convalescent plasma and production of anti-SARS-CoV-2 hyperimmune globulin for use in clinical research.

22 Nov 2020

SARS-CoV-2 transmission model predicts when schools can be safely reopened

Can schools safely remain open or reopen during periods of significant community spread of COVID-19? According to predictions from a model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in the school setting, yes - if appropriate precautions are followed both in school and in the community.

20 Nov 2020

UCLA receives seven grants totaling $6.4 million for cannabis research

UCLA has received seven grants totaling $6.4 million from the California Bureau of Cannabis Control. The awards will fund studies on topics ranging from the toxicity of inhaled and second-hand cannabis smoke to employment conditions in California's cannabis industry.

20 Nov 2020

Fear of flying is a COVID-era conundrum

The holidays are approaching just as COVID-19 case rates nationwide are increasing at a record-breaking pace, leading to dire warnings from public health experts.

20 Nov 2020

Study: More investment is needed to produce, distribute approved COVID-19 vaccines

The success of a COVID-19 vaccine will depend not only on its efficacy but will hinge at least as much on how fast and widely it can be delivered, the severity of the pandemic, and the public's willingness to be immunized, according to a study published in Health Affairs.

20 Nov 2020

New COVID-19 app can make contact tracing more private and secure

Engineers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Virginia Tech are collaborating on a smartphone app that can help conduct contact tracing needed to contain the spread of COVID-19 without risking users' privacy or personal security. Their work is funded by a one-year, $120,000 RAPID grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

20 Nov 2020

Texas Biomed awarded $1 million to evaluate MAb therapeutics for COVID-19

Texas Biomedical Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas, was awarded $1 million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to test the efficacy of human monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

19 Nov 2020

Pregnant women with COVID-19 have low risk of developing severe symptoms

Pregnant women who test positive for COVID-19 and their newborn babies have a low risk of developing severe symptoms, according to a new study from UT Southwestern.

19 Nov 2020

KHN’s ‘What the Health?’: What would Dr. Fauci do?

Since the mid-1980s, whenever there's been a public health crisis, America — and six U.S. presidents — have turned to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

19 Nov 2020

Children born via Cesarean section may face increased risk of infection

According to the results of a new study, children born via cesarean section may be at an increased risk of hospitalization due to infection in their first years.

19 Nov 2020

Domestic cats can be asymptomatic carriers of SARS-CoV-2, show studies

Two recently published studies from Kansas State University researchers and collaborators have led to two important findings related to the COVID-19 pandemic: Domestic cats can be asymptomatic carriers of SARS-CoV-2, but pigs are unlikely to be significant carriers of the virus. SARS-CoV-2 is the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19.

19 Nov 2020

TB researchers uncover crucial clue that explains antibiotic resistance in bacteria

For a slow-growing microbe that multiplies infrequently, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the pathogen that causes tuberculosis (TB) has long puzzled researchers as to how it develops resistance to antibiotics so quickly, in a matter of weeks to months.

18 Nov 2020

Children's DTP vaccine may provide cross-immunity for COVID-19

He found that the viruses subject to pediatric vaccinations do not have cross-reactive epitopes for SARS-CoV-2, showing they cannot provide protection against COVID-19.

17 Nov 2020

Analysis highlights the economic and health consequences of UTI superbugs in Australia

Analysis by national consortium, OUTBREAK, highlights how urinary tract infections (UTIs) are becoming more persistent and harder to treat, resulting in more people being admitted to hospital where they require longer stays and more costly medicines.

17 Nov 2020

Conservation of tropical peatlands could reduce the likelihood of new zoonotic diseases

Conservation of tropical peatlands could reduce the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the likelihood of new diseases jumping from animals to humans, researchers say.

17 Nov 2020

New method helps detect remission points of pandemics

Lecturers from the University of Valencia, Jose M. Pavía and Ernesto Veres-Ferrer, have developed a method that makes it possible to identify, in real time, when an epidemic issue such as Covid-19 is in remission. The method, explained in a research paper, has been published in the journal Statistics in Medicine.

17 Nov 2020

Multi-model forecasts could help inform management of COVID-19 pandemic

A team of researchers from various institutions in the UK has reviewed multi-model forecasts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic made between the end of March and mid-July 2020.

16 Nov 2020

OHIO professor's new study focuses on strategies hospitals adopt to address the opioid epidemic

While the world's attention to public health remains focused on COVID-19, Berkeley Franz, Ph.D., assistant professor at the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, continues to focus her attention on one of the largest public health crises in the United States today - the opioid epidemic.

16 Nov 2020