Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Study uncovers details about human immune response to dengue infection

About 40 percent of the global population is at risk for contracting dengue - the most important mosquito-borne viral infection and a close "cousin" of the Zika virus - and yet, no effective treatment or safe licensed vaccine exists.

29 Mar 2019

Staten Island severely infested with self-cloning Asian longhorned ticks

Staten Island residents have another reason to apply insect repellent and obsessively check for ticks this spring and summer: the population of a new, potentially dangerous invasive pest known as the Asian longhorned tick has grown dramatically across the borough, according to Columbia University researchers.

29 Mar 2019

New strategy for potential treatment of HBV associated liver cancer

Researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore General Hospital and Lion TCR have demonstrated that they were able to engineer HBV-specific T cells, a type of immune cells found in the body, to treat Hepatocellular carcinoma, a commonly occurring liver cancer.

28 Mar 2019

Study finds no damaging role for microglia during retinal prion disease in mice

National Institutes of Health scientists studying the progression of inherited and infectious eye diseases that can cause blindness have found that microglia, a type of nervous system cell suspected to cause retinal damage, surprisingly had no damaging role during prion disease in mice.

28 Mar 2019

Improved TB Diagnostic Assay for Better Multiplexing from Bruker

In time for the World Tuberculosis (TB) Day 2019 on Sunday, March 24th, Bruker today announced the launch of an important further innovation in the field of tuberculosis diagnostics.

From Bruker BioSpin Group 26 Mar 2019

Aspirin could be used to treat patients with severe tuberculosis infection

Research led by the Centenary Institute in Sydney has found a brand new target for treating drug-resistant tuberculosis; our scientists have uncovered that the tuberculosis bacterium hijacks platelets from the body's blood clotting system to weaken our immune systems.

26 Mar 2019

Researchers call for review of drug-based strategies to prevent malaria in pregnant women

A global team of researchers, led by a research team at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM), are calling for a review of drug-based strategies used to prevent malaria infections in pregnant women, in areas where there is widespread resistance to existing antimalarial medicines.

26 Mar 2019

Special Collection tracks development of new diagnostic tests for tuberculosis

The Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group (link is external) (CIDG), which has its editorial base at LSTM, helps prepare systematic reviews related to the diagnosis and treatment of tuberculosis.

25 Mar 2019

New survey indicates need of attention to neglected tropical diseases

Although neglected diseases account for 11% of the global disease burden, they are targeted by only a small proportion of the new drugs developed every year.

22 Mar 2019

NIH starts clinical trial of drug to treat cravings associated with opioid use disorder

A clinical trial of an experimental drug designed to treat cravings associated with opioid use disorder has begun in the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center.

22 Mar 2019

Presence of bacteria in urine does not always point to infection, shows study

Doctors should think carefully before testing patients for a urinary tract infection (UTI) to avoid over-diagnosis and unnecessary antibiotic treatment, according to updated asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.

22 Mar 2019

Researchers develop and validate scale for rating severity of mononucleosis

One to five percent of college students develop infectious mononucleosis each year, and about 10 percent are diagnosed six months later with chronic fatigue syndrome - a complex condition involving severe fatigue coupled with disabling cognitive and musculoskeletal symptoms.

21 Mar 2019

Role of immunological imprinting in elicitation of new antibodies

We are repeatedly exposed to the influenza virus via infections, vaccinations and our communal environments. The annual flu shot is believed to be the best line of defense, and doctors recommend vaccinations every year because the flu virus is in a constant state of adaptation and mutation, rendering older vaccines obsolete.

21 Mar 2019

New computer program developed by TGen lights up cancer-causing genetic mutations

By conjuring the spell "Lumos!" wizards in the mythical world of Harry Potter could light up the tip of their magic wands and illuminate their surroundings. So, too, does LumosVar, a computer program developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute, "light up" cancer-causing genetic Var-ients, or mutations, illuminating how physicians might best treat their patients.

21 Mar 2019

Pollutants appear to weaken immune system and increase pathogen virulence

Many people view pollutants and pathogens as separate causes of illness. However, recent research indicates that the two can interact, changing how people and animals respond to infectious diseases.

21 Mar 2019

Does it make sense to delay children’s vaccines?

When Elyse Imamura's son was an infant, she and her husband, Robert, chose to spread out his vaccinations at a more gradual pace than the official schedule recommended.

20 Mar 2019

Researchers investigate whether Zika reservoirs are found in the Americas

Most emerging infectious diseases affecting people are zoonotic -- they make the jump from other animals to humans.

20 Mar 2019

Innovative model identifies primate species with potential to transmit Zika in the Americas

In the Americas, primate species likely to harbor Zika - and potentially transmit the virus - are common, abundant, and often live near people. So reports a new study published today in Epidemics. Findings are based on an innovative model developed by a collaborative team of researchers from Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and IBM Research through its Science for Social Good initiative.

19 Mar 2019

GARDP and Evotec partner to tackle growing threat of antimicrobial resistance

The Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership and Evotec AG are today announcing the formation of a new strategic public-private partnership to tackle the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.

19 Mar 2019

Current HBV genome sequences help deduce ancient human population movements into Australia

Australian researchers have used current hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome sequences to deduce ancient human population movements into Australia, adding weight to the theory that the mainland Aboriginal population separated from other early humans at least 59 thousand years ago and possibly entered the country near the Tiwi Islands.

19 Mar 2019