Infectious Diseases News and Research

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WHO launches global plan to stop human-to-human transmission of mpox

The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan to stop outbreaks of human-to-human transmission of mpox through coordinated global, regional, and national efforts.

26 Aug 2024

The new covid vaccine is out. Why you might not want to rush to get it.

The FDA has approved an updated covid shot for everyone 6 months old and up, which renews a now-annual quandary for Americans: Get the shot now, with the latest covid outbreak sweeping the country, or hold it in reserve for the winter wave?

26 Aug 2024

Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine joins new NSF-funded pandemic prediction initiative

The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine is proud to be part of a new initiative, supported by an $18 million grant from the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), aimed at enhancing global pandemic prediction and prevention capabilities.

23 Aug 2024

Mutation in SARS-CoV-2 spike protein enhances brain infection

Scientists have discovered a mutation in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, that plays a key role in its ability to infect the central nervous system.

23 Aug 2024

Cytek® Biosciences automates panel design with new intelligent algorithm

With the SpectroPanel tool, Cytek Cloud transforms flow cytometry panel design, enabling rapid optimization and enhancing research capabilities for scientists.

From Cytek Biosciences 23 Aug 2024

New Mpox strain sparks global health alert

On Wednesday, August 14th, 2024, in response to the active circulation of clade 1 monkeypox virus (MPXV) in Central Africa and the recent expansion of a subtype (1b) thought to be more lethal and transmissible in East Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), paving the way for enhanced coordination between regional health systems and the active engagement of stakeholders to tackle this global outbreak. The following day, Thursday August 15, Sweden reported the first positive case of clade 1b mpox on European soil. This led the French government to place the French health system on maximum alert on Friday, August 16, and the French authorities have now begun to re-evaluate the health recommendations established in 2022 during the previous mpox outbreak in preparation for the probable emergence of cases in the country.

23 Aug 2024

Immune cells' two-pronged approach to maintaining acetyl-CoA reserves

Immune cells use two different routes to produce acetyl-CoA, an essential metabolite required to fight infection and cancer, reports a study led by Van Andel Institute scientists.

23 Aug 2024

Experts release revised lung cancer testing guidelines

The College of American Pathologists (CAP), the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), and the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) announced today the open comment period for the revised 2018 evidence-based guideline, "Updated Molecular Testing Guideline for the Selection of Lung Cancer Patients for Treatment With Targeted Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors."

23 Aug 2024

Virginia Tech leads national initiative to predict and prevent future pandemics

Viruses like SARS-CoV-2 don't respect boundaries, moving between species and continents and leaving destruction as they go. Beating the next pathogen with pandemic potential means getting good at crossing borders ourselves - between fields of study, between research universities, and between scientists and the wider community.

23 Aug 2024

Exploring the impact of xylazine on wound care needs

The animal tranquilizer xylazine is increasingly found in the illicit opioid supply nationwide, leading to severe wounds among people who use drugs. New research led by a University of Pittsburgh physician-scientist and published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence seeks to understand the wound care experiences of this population.

22 Aug 2024

Cautious optimism in San Francisco as new cases of HIV In Latinos decrease

For years, Latinos represented the biggest share of new HIV cases in this city, but testing data suggests the tide may be turning.

21 Aug 2024

New genomic technique tracks superbugs in hospitals for faster infection management

Researchers have developed a new genomic technique that can track the spread of multiple superbugs in a hospital simultaneously, which could help prevent and manage common hospital infections quicker and more effectively than ever before.

20 Aug 2024

SwRI develops a unique technology to screen new DNA-targeting therapeutics

Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has developed a unique technology to screen new DNA-targeting therapeutics designed to treat cancer and other diseases.

19 Aug 2024

Study uncovers oleic acid's role in restoring vaginal microbial balance in bacterial vaginosis

More than half of women globally experience bacterial vaginosis (BV) - an imbalance of naturally occurring microbes in the female genital tract - at least once in their life.

19 Aug 2024

Breakthrough research unveils retroelement-based aging biomarkers

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and the epigenetics company TruDiagnostic have uncovered DNA markers associated with retroelements, remnants of ancient viral genetic material, in our genes that act as highly accurate epigenetic clocks predicting chronological age.

19 Aug 2024

Sustainable strategy cuts inappropriate IV use by a third

Research led by Amsterdam UMC, across more than 5 years and 1100 patients has demonstrated a strategy for reducing inappropriate IV use by a third, an effect that was sustained across the five-year period.

16 Aug 2024

Pneumococcal vaccines could drastically reduce child deaths by 2030

Utilizing pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) could save almost 700,000 children's lives between the time of their introduction to the year 2030, according to a new modeling study. This would be equivalent to the average number of babies born in the UK each year.

16 Aug 2024

Researchers develop four new regimens to treat people with multidrug-resistant TB meningitis

In a preliminary study with a small number of humans, rabbits and mice, researchers at Johns Hopkins Children's Center say they have developed four new regimens that have the potential to treat and save the lives of people with multidrug-resistant (MDR) tuberculous (TB) meningitis.

16 Aug 2024

Tecovirimat shows no significant impact on mpox lesion duration in DRC study

The antiviral drug tecovirimat did not reduce the duration of mpox lesions among children and adults with clade I mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), based on an initial analysis of data from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.

16 Aug 2024

X-ray irradiation emerges as a new tool to combat aflatoxin-contaminated corn

Corn, a staple food crop consumed by billions of people and animals worldwide, is frequently contaminated by the fungal toxin aflatoxin B1, a highly potent carcinogen produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus.

16 Aug 2024