Infectious Diseases News and Research

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TL1A and its receptor could reduce fibrosis and tissue remodeling in patients with severe lung disease

Your lungs and airways need to be stretchy, sort of like balloons. Take a big breath, and they'll open right up.

25 Sep 2020

Faulty genes and an autoimmune condition linked to severe COVID-19 in young, healthy people

More than 10 percent of young and healthy people who develop severe COVID-19 have misguided antibodies that attack not the virus, but the immune system itself, new research shows. Another 3.5 percent, at least, carry a specific kind of genetic mutation.

25 Sep 2020

Scientists to use CRISPR gene-editing technology for Phase 1 vaccine trials in humans

Scientists are planning for Phase 1 human trials of a vaccine they developed by using CRISPR gene-editing technology to mutate the parasite that causes leishmaniasis, a skin disease common in tropical regions of the world and gaining ground in the United States

25 Sep 2020

Individuals with severe forms of COVID-19 disease can have compromised type I interferon responses

Individuals with severe forms of COVID-19 disease can present with compromised type I interferon (IFN) responses based on their genetics, according to results published in two papers today in the journal Science.

25 Sep 2020

New study may explain why more men than women die from COVID-19

New findings by scientists at the National Institutes of Health and their collaborators help explain why some people with COVID-19 develop severe disease.

25 Sep 2020

Berlin researchers are pursuing the development of passive vaccination

Researchers at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin have identified highly effective antibodies against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and are now pursuing the development of a passive vaccination.

25 Sep 2020

Climate anomaly exacerbated WWI mortality and the Spanish flu pandemic

Scientists have spotted a once-in-a-century climate anomaly during World War I that likely increased mortality during the war and the influenza pandemic in the years that followed.

24 Sep 2020

These secret safety panels will pick the COVID vaccine winners

Most Americans have never heard of Dr. Richard Whitley, an expert in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

24 Sep 2020

Molecular analysis of COVID-19's second wave shows mutant viruses linked to rapid spread

Molecular analysis of COVID-19's powerful second wave in Houston – from May 12 to July 7 – shows a mutated virus strain linked to higher transmission and infection rates than the coronavirus strains that caused Houston's first wave.

24 Sep 2020

Men with COVID-19 have worse outcomes than women, confirms study

New research presented at this week's ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, online 23-25 September) confirms that men with COVID-19 have worse outcomes than women, possibly related to them experiencing higher levels of inflammation.

24 Sep 2020

Siemens’ SARS-CoV-2 antibody immunoassays meet regulatory targets

New research being presented at the ESCMID Conference on Coronavirus Disease (ECCVID, online 23-25 September) shows that, in a head-to-head comparison of five tests used to detect SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (known as 'immunoassays'), an assay manufactured by Siemens and one developed by an academic partnership led by the University of Oxford had the most accurate results.

24 Sep 2020

Fourth Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating COVID-19 vaccine begins in the U.S.

A fourth Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating an investigational vaccine for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has begun enrolling adult volunteers.

23 Sep 2020

How families are keeping Halloween from turning into a COVID nightmare

For Laura Stoutingburg and her family, Halloween has always been a monthlong celebration of corn mazes, pumpkin patches and, of course, trick-or-treating in their suburban Denver neighborhood.

23 Sep 2020

Infants born to women with COVID-19 show few adverse outcomes

Infants born to women with COVID-19 showed few adverse outcomes, according to the first report in the country of infant outcomes through eight weeks of age.

23 Sep 2020

Research explains why flu is dangerous for pregnant women

A team of researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University explains why flu can lead to potentially fatal complications during pregnancy, suggesting that the virus does not only stay in the respiratory tract but spreads throughout the body.

22 Sep 2020

Study shows effectiveness of UV-C light for killing COVID-19 on N95 respirators

Dermatology researchers at Henry Ford Health System, in collaboration with a team at the University of Michigan, have demonstrated that certain N95 respirators tainted with COVID-19 can be effectively and safely decontaminated for reuse using ultraviolet-C light (UV-C), a method commonly utilized for treating rare skin diseases.

22 Sep 2020

Research consortium receives $111 million NCI grant to prevent, treat HIV-related cancers

The widespread use of antiretroviral therapy to suppress the HIV virus has helped tens of millions of people with HIV live healthier, longer lives--but an unfortunate consequence of people living longer with HIV is an increased risk of cancer.

22 Sep 2020

COVID-19 can affect the retina

Now, a new study published in the journal EClinicalMedicine shows that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), targets the retina.

22 Sep 2020

BCG vaccine may offer protection against COVID-19, shows study

While scientists race to develop and test a vaccine effective against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, recent studies have indicated that countries with widespread BCG vaccination appear to be weathering the pandemic better than their counterparts.

22 Sep 2020

Expanded screening of asymptomatic people could reduce COVID-19 infections and deaths

New research suggests when the COVID-19 pandemic is slowing, low-cost, recurring screening of asymptomatic people - at an expense of approximately $3 or less per test every two weeks - could decrease COVID-19 infections and deaths and be cost-effective.

22 Sep 2020