Infectious Diseases News and Research

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New approach to combat influenza and herpes with bean-based gum

In today's interconnected world, infectious diseases pose an escalating threat, as demonstrated by the coronavirus pandemic and outbreaks of H1N1, SARS, Ebola, Zika, and H5N1 (bird flu) viruses-all of which have had significant global health and economic impacts.

4 Apr 2025

Study: Trust in personal doctors divided along political lines

Democrats are more likely to trust their personal doctors and follow their doctors' advice than Republicans, new research from the University of Oregon finds.

4 Apr 2025

New study reveals hidden spread of C. diff in intensive care units

One of the most common health care-associated infections spreads within intensive care units (ICUs) more than three times more than previously thought, new research has found.

4 Apr 2025

Early warning signs may help prevent sudden arrhythmic death syndrome

Recognizing and detecting the signs that commonly precede sudden arrhythmic death syndrome (SADS) may help to prevent premature deaths, according to research presented today at ESC Preventive Cardiology 2025, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

4 Apr 2025

Rutgers researchers develop promising new oral antiviral for COVID-19

Rutgers Health researchers have developed an oral antiviral drug candidate for COVID-19 that could overcome major limitations of Paxlovid, currently the most prescribed oral treatment.

3 Apr 2025

Northwestern scientists develop rapid HIV test for point-of-care diagnosis

A team of Northwestern University scientists spanning disciplines have developed new technology that could lead to the creation of a rapid point-of-care test for HIV infection competitive with traditional lab-based HIV testing in a fraction of the time and without the need for a stressful wait while results are processed or confirmed in a clinical laboratory.

2 Apr 2025

New project aims to help pin down the process of West Nile virus transmission

Mosquitoes have been transmitting the West Nile virus to humans in the United States for over 25 years, but we still don't know precisely how the virus cycles through these pests and the other animals they bite.

2 Apr 2025

New drug strategy targets Staphylococcus aureus toxin to treat pneumonia

Pneumonia caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most dangerous infections that can occur in hospital.

2 Apr 2025

NIH funds research to develop a game-changing HIV diagnostic tool

As of the end of 2023, nearly 40 million people worldwide were living with HIV, including approximately 1.2 million in the United States.

1 Apr 2025

Montana may start collecting immunization data again amid US measles outbreak

When epidemiologist Sophia Newcomer tries to evaluate how well Montana might be able to ward off the measles outbreak spreading across the U.S., she doesn't have much data to work with.

1 Apr 2025

Growth factor cocktail could reverse deadly effects of anthrax toxin

Anthrax, an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, is often treatable in its early stages. But once the disease has progressed beyond the "point of no return" after just a few days, patients are almost certainly doomed.

28 Mar 2025

Study points to single respiratory virus as cause of Kawasaki disease

Research from Stanley Manne Children's Research Institute at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago strongly suggests that Kawasaki disease is caused by a single respiratory virus that is yet to be identified.

27 Mar 2025

The impact of ending U.S.-funded global vaccine programs

Abram Wagner, assistant professor of epidemiology and global public health at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, discusses implications of the U.S. potentially ending global vaccine programs.

27 Mar 2025

Harnessing intestinal microbes to combat inflammation and infections

Despite being an everyday necessity, nutrition is something of a black box. We know that many plant-based foods are good for us, but we don't always know why.

27 Mar 2025

Study explores how sex chromosomes and hormones influence immune responses

Women have a higher proportion of key immune cells between puberty and menopause, which may be linked to the sex hormone estrogen and explain why they are less susceptible to certain infectious diseases than men, according to a new study led by researchers at UCL.

27 Mar 2025

Lasso-shaped small molecule may be a powerful tool in the fight against infectious diseases

A small molecule shaped like a lasso may be a powerful tool in the fight against infectious diseases, according to a new study in Nature co-authored by University of Illinois Chicago researchers.

26 Mar 2025

Report shows alarming measles resurgence in Europe and US

A recent report shows cases of measles across the World Health Organization's European Region, which includes the UK, are the highest they've been for more than 25 years. At the same time, large outbreaks of measles in the US have led to the first measles deaths there since 2015.

26 Mar 2025

CDC study identifies leading culprits of foodborne illness

Researchers from the CDC and Colorado School of Public Health estimate that seven major pathogens caused 9.9 million foodborne illnesses in the US in 2019. Norovirus led illness and hospitalization counts, while Salmonella caused the most deaths.

25 Mar 2025

Funding cuts endanger decades of progress in reducing child deaths and stillbirths

The number of children dying globally before their fifth birthday declined to 4.8 million in 2023, while stillbirths declined modestly, still remaining around 1.9 million, according to two new reports released today by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).

25 Mar 2025

Researchers develop tool to enhance NK cells against cancer

A team of researchers from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute, the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Pompeu Fabra University has developed a new tool that allows modifying these NK cells to make them immune to the tumor’s defense mechanism.

24 Mar 2025