Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Virome analysis reveals clues for increased risk of type 1 diabetes in children

New results from The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in the Young study show an association between prolonged enterovirus infection and the development of autoimmunity to the insulin-producing pancreatic beta-cells that precedes type 1 diabetes.

2 Dec 2019

75-year old blood-stained microscope slide reveals historical spread of malaria

DNA from 75-year old eradicated European malaria parasites uncovers the historical spread of one of the two most common forms of the disease, Plasmodium vivax, from Europe to the Americas during the colonial period, finds a new study co-led by UCL.

2 Dec 2019

Research uncovers mechanism that triggers inflammatory process by Mayaro virus

The mechanism by which defense cells respond to infection by Mayaro virus has been described by a team affiliated with the Center for Research on Inflammatory Diseases - CRID in an article published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

2 Dec 2019

People who eat bushmeat may be at risk of contracting life-threatening diseases

People who eat wildebeests, wart hogs and other wild African animals may be at risk for contracting potentially life-threatening diseases, according to an international team of researchers.

2 Dec 2019

Experimental therapies offer patients a greater chance of surviving Ebola virus disease

The investigational therapeutics mAb114 and REGN-EB3 offer patients a greater chance of surviving Ebola virus disease compared to the investigational treatment ZMapp, according to published results from a clinical trial conducted in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

2 Dec 2019

Health organizations urge people to get vaccinated against the flu

Health organizations are urging people to get their flu shot soon to protect themselves during the upcoming influenza season.

28 Nov 2019

HIV positive sperm bank launched in New Zealand

In pursuit of greater acceptance for HIV positive people, an organization in New Zealand aspires to begin an HIV positive sperm bank called Sperm Positive. It will start by accepting sperms from 3 males who have HIV but are being treated such that their sperm is not capable of transmitting the infection at present. The treatment has reduced viremia (the viral load in the blood) to such a level that it is undetectable by standard methods.

27 Nov 2019

Household factors promote rapid staph superbug spread within families

A new study published in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases on November 21, 2019, shows how the superbug called methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can get into a house and spread rapidly between family members and pets, with the potential to cause devastating infections.

27 Nov 2019

Life expectancy in the United States steadily decreasing

Life expectancy in the United States is decreasing, and it may be due to the increasing rates of drug abuse and suicide, a new study finds.

27 Nov 2019

LACV-infected cerebral organoids reveal how to protect neurons from virus-induced death

Scientists have determined that La Crosse virus, which can cause inflammation of the brain, or encephalitis, in children, affects brain cells differently depending on their developmental stage.

26 Nov 2019

New way to thwart HIV infection at early stages

1.7 million. That's how many people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) each year worldwide. 1.7 million people who are condemned to lifelong antiretroviral therapy (ART) or risk developing fatal AIDS . Out of the 37.9 million people living with HIV (PLWH), 22.3 million have access to ART, allowing them to have an almost normal lifespan.

26 Nov 2019

New antiviral drug drives treatment resistance in influenza viruses

On January 31, 2019, an 11-year old boy in Japan went to a medical clinic with a fever. The providers there diagnosed him with influenza, a strain called H3N2, and sent him home with a new medication called baloxavir.

25 Nov 2019

Potent antimicrobial could combat antibiotic-resistant MRSA infections

Scientists have discovered a strong antimicrobial that is effective against some of the strongest infectious diseases.

25 Nov 2019

Researchers discover new active substance effective against gram negative bacteria

More and more bacterial pathogens of infectious diseases become resistant to customary antibiotics. Typical hospital germs such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae have become resistant to the most - and in some cases even all - currently available antibiotics. Their additional external membrane makes these bacteria difficult to attack.

21 Nov 2019

Researchers investigate a hospital outbreak in real time using high-resolution technique

On the European Antibiotic Awareness Day, researchers announce the results of a pilot study completed in record time. The initiative opens new perspectives for the control of bacterial infections in Portuguese hospitals.

21 Nov 2019

Eastern equine encephalitis virus poses emergent threat in the U.S.

Although eastern equine encephalitis (EEE), a mosquito-borne illness, has existed for centuries, 2019 has been a particularly deadly year for the disease in the United States.

21 Nov 2019

Public health officials announce that eastern equine encephalitis virus is an “emergent threat”

Public health officials have declared that the mosquito-borne eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus is an "emergent threat".

21 Nov 2019

Researchers develop breakthrough in marine sponge cell culture

Vertebrate, insect, and plant cell lines are important tools for research in many disciplines, including human health, evolutionary and developmental biology, agriculture and toxicology. Cell lines have been established for many organisms, including freshwater and terrestrial invertebrates.

21 Nov 2019

Experimental vaccine elicits antibodies that can neutralize multiple HIV strains

An experimental HIV vaccine developed by scientists at Scripps Research and the nonprofit vaccine research organization IAVI has reached an important milestone by eliciting antibodies that can neutralize a wide variety of HIV strains.

21 Nov 2019

Efforts to move the needle on flu shot rates get stuck

It's free and available everywhere. Yet most Americans skip the annual flu shot - with the number of dispensed vaccines barely changed in the past decade, despite government removal of cost and access obstacles.

21 Nov 2019