Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Altered coagulation caused by HIV virus linked to increased risk of non-AIDS diseases

With more than 36.9 million people infected globally, HIV continues to be a major public health issue. Those living with the virus are at an increased risk for other non-AIDS diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, and though it's not entirely clear why, this has been associated with inflammation and abnormal blood clotting.

13 May 2016

Mosquito larvae carries Sindbis virus that can cause Ockelbo disease

After an outbreak of Ockelbo disease in northern Sweden in 2013, researchers at Umeå University were able to trace the virus to mosquitos in an area of Lövånger. In a new study, researchers have shown that mosquito larvae in the Västerbotten region also carry virus that can cause infectious disease. These include the Sindbis virus, which causes Ockelbo disease, which is associated with fever, rashes and prolonged joint pain.

13 May 2016

Drug-repositioning strategy could help combat Chikungunya virus

Since 2013, the mosquito-borne Chikungunya virus has spread rapidly through South America and the Caribbean, and is now threatening Southern Europe and the southern US.

13 May 2016

Early infection screening programs may lead to lower rates of HIV transmission

Detecting HIV earlier, through screening programs that can identify the virus shortly after infection, may lead to lower rates of HIV transmission in local epidemics, suggest findings from a new study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases and available online.

12 May 2016

Point-of-care test could help detect TB in HIV-positive individuals

An international review team has prepared a Cochrane systematic review to assess the accuracy of a point-of-care urine test for diagnosing and screening tuberculosis (TB) in people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

12 May 2016

UCLA, Danish research yields proof that treatment-as-prevention strategy could eliminate HIV

Worldwide, about 35 million people are living with HIV. The World Health Organization and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS plan to use an approach called "treatment as prevention" to eliminate the global pandemic, which the WHO says will have occurred when only one person out of 1,000 becomes infected each year.

11 May 2016

Researchers find link between BPD and risk of STI/HIV in male inmates

Sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV, disproportionately affect incarcerated populations. In 2010, over 90% of the inmates living with HIV in U.S. prisons were men and the prevalence of STIs such as chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis, continues to be much higher among male inmates as compared to the U.S. population at large.

11 May 2016

Yellow fever outbreak: Researchers emphasize need to prepare for global health emergency

Evidence is mounting that the current outbreak of yellow fever is becoming the latest global health emergency, say two Georgetown University professors, who call on the World Health Organization to convene an emergency committee under the International Health Regulations. In addition, with frequent emerging epidemics, they call for the creation of a "standing emergency committee" to be prepared for future health emergencies.

10 May 2016

Pathogen-selective approach to antibiotic development less disruptive to gut microbiome

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists report the first evidence that a pathogen-specific antibiotic was less disruptive to the gut microbiome than broad-spectrum antibiotics.

10 May 2016

Experimental vaccine protects healthy U.S. adults from malaria infection for more than one year

An experimental malaria vaccine protected a small number of healthy, malaria-naïve adults in the United States from infection for more than one year after immunization, according to results from a Phase 1 trial described in the May 9th issue of Nature Medicine.

10 May 2016

UAB hospital leads the way in improving antibiotic use

One of today's urgent health threats is antibiotic resistance, caused by inappropriate prescription and use of antibiotics, and — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — approximately 50 percent of all antibiotics prescribed in the United States are unnecessary or inappropriate, with many of them prescribed in inpatient settings.

9 May 2016

Study sheds light on development of ILCs that play vital role in body's immune defense

Through the use of powerful genomic techniques, researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases have found that the development of immune cells, called innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), gradually prepares these cells for rapid response to infection. This work, which appeared online today in Cell, sheds light on the development and function of a cell type that is increasingly recognized as having an important role in the body's immune defense. NIAMS is part of the National Institutes of Health.

6 May 2016

Bim protein may hold clue for immunotherapy response in metastatic melanoma patients

A protein called Bim may hold the clue to which patients may be successful on immunotherapy for metastatic melanoma, according to the results of a study by Mayo Clinic researchers led by senior author Haidong Dong, M.D., Ph.D., and published online in the May 5 edition of JCI Insight.

6 May 2016

Female sex hormone estradiol may protect women against sexually transmitted viral infections

A team of researchers led by McMaster University's Charu Kaushic has revealed for the first time how estradiol, a female sex hormone present during the menstrual cycle and found in oral contraceptives, may work to protect women against sexually transmitted viral infections.

6 May 2016

Climate change may be key factor for increasing rates of chronic kidney disease

Climate change may be accelerating rates of chronic kidney disease caused by dehydration and heat stress, according to research appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

6 May 2016

Children infected with Cryptosporidium parasite more likely to suffer from stunted growth

Children infected even just once with a certain type of waterborne parasite are nearly three times as likely to suffer from moderate or severe stunted growth by the age of two than those who are not - regardless of whether their infection made them feel sick, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health-led research suggests.

5 May 2016

Researchers highlight how BSI infecting pathogens become more resilient

A recently published special issue of Virulence, "Bloodstream Infections", focuses on the resilience of bloodstream infections (BSI) and is endorsed by the European Study Group for Infections in Compromised Hosts of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

5 May 2016

Study evaluates effects of corticosteroids along with anti-tuberculosis drugs in tuberculous meningitis

The Cochrane Infectious Diseases Group have carried out a review update to evaluate the effects of corticosteroids being used alongside anti-tuberculosis medication to treat people suffering from tuberculous meningitis.

4 May 2016

Ebola vaccine shows promise in clinical trials

"The results for tolerability, safety, and the immune response to the vaccine candidate are very promising," explains Prof Marylyn Addo. The antibodies which developed against the virus were still detectable after six months. Addo is convinced, "With this, a single vaccine could provide lasting protection against Ebola." The infectious disease specialist, who works for the German Center for Infection Research at the University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf in Hamburg, led the trial in Hamburg.

4 May 2016

Flu vaccinations for pregnant women reduce newborn’s influenza risk during first six months of life

Babies whose moms get flu vaccinations while pregnant have a significantly reduced risk of acquiring influenza during their first six months of life, a new study shows, leading the authors to declare that the need for getting more pregnant women immunized is a public health priority.

3 May 2016

Infectious Diseases News and Research

Altered coagulation caused by HIV virus linked to increased risk of non-AIDS diseases

Mosquito larvae carries Sindbis virus that can cause Ockelbo disease

Drug-repositioning strategy could help combat Chikungunya virus

Early infection screening programs may lead to lower rates of HIV transmission

Point-of-care test could help detect TB in HIV-positive individuals

UCLA, Danish research yields proof that treatment-as-prevention strategy could eliminate HIV

Researchers find link between BPD and risk of STI/HIV in male inmates

Yellow fever outbreak: Researchers emphasize need to prepare for global health emergency

Pathogen-selective approach to antibiotic development less disruptive to gut microbiome

Experimental vaccine protects healthy U.S. adults from malaria infection for more than one year

UAB hospital leads the way in improving antibiotic use

Study sheds light on development of ILCs that play vital role in body's immune defense

Bim protein may hold clue for immunotherapy response in metastatic melanoma patients

Female sex hormone estradiol may protect women against sexually transmitted viral infections

Climate change may be key factor for increasing rates of chronic kidney disease

Children infected with Cryptosporidium parasite more likely to suffer from stunted growth

Researchers highlight how BSI infecting pathogens become more resilient

Study evaluates effects of corticosteroids along with anti-tuberculosis drugs in tuberculous meningitis

Ebola vaccine shows promise in clinical trials

Flu vaccinations for pregnant women reduce newborn’s influenza risk during first six months of life

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