Pathogen News and Research

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New approach to vaccine development and improved surveillance could help target deadly diseases

Scientists hope that a new approach to vaccine development, combined with improved surveillance of potential future threats of outbreak, could help to massively reduce the impact of deadly diseases such as Ebola, Marburg and Lassa fever.

26 Sep 2018

African swine fever virus does not pose risk to humans

The ASF pathogen is a virus which infects domestic pigs and wild boar and which leads to a severe, often lethal, disease in these animals. It is transferred via direct contact or with excretions from infected animals, or through ticks.

26 Sep 2018

Scientists find wild African monkeys infected with bacterium that causes syphilis, yaws in humans

An international research team, led by scientists from the German Primate Center, the Robert Koch Institute, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, McGill University, Masaryk University, the University of Tübingen and the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, has successfully recovered genomes of the bacterium Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis and yaws in humans, from wild nonhuman primate populations across sub-Saharan Africa.

20 Sep 2018

Researchers develop fast detection strategy to know type of virus acquired by patients

Even tiny amounts of viruses can have disastrous consequences. RNA identification can reveal the type of virus present.

20 Sep 2018

LSTM partners with TB Alliance to develop novel TB drug regimens

LSTM and TB Alliance are collaborating to investigate novel combination drug therapies that could help the fight against multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), following an award of £1 million from the Medical Research Council.

19 Sep 2018

AmpliPhi receives positive feedback from FDA for its AB-PA01 product targeting P.aeruginosa infections

AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on precisely targeted bacteriophage therapeutics for antibiotic-resistant infections, today announced that the company has received positive feedback, via written response, from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding its development plans for AB-PA01, without the need for a Type B Pre-IND meeting.

19 Sep 2018

NUS researchers develop new device for quick and accurate screening of diseases

A multidisciplinary team of researchers at the National University of Singapore has developed a portable, easy-to-use device for quick and accurate screening of diseases.

18 Sep 2018

Researchers describe mechanism that sets stage for fate decision of T cells

After a pathogen infects the body, the immune system responds with a remarkable -- and remarkably complicated -- cascade of events.

14 Sep 2018

Researchers identify mechanism that could make pathogens more susceptible to antibiotics

Scientists at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) have identified new means of fighting drug-tolerant bacteria, a growing global threat as menacing as drug-resistant microbes.

14 Sep 2018

Rare antibodies could be key ingredients in therapeutics capable of neutralizing many Ebola types

Two new studies by scientists at Scripps Research are bringing Ebola virus's weaknesses into the spotlight, showing for the first time exactly how human and mouse antibodies can bind to the virus and stop infection--not only for Ebola virus, but for other closely related pathogens as well.

13 Sep 2018

Study provides complete picture of HPV virus-head and neck cancer connections

Human papillomavirus is widely known to cause nearly all cases of cervical cancer. However, you might not know that HPV also causes 70 percent of oropharyngeal cancer, a subset of head and neck cancers that affect the mouth, tongue, and tonsils.

12 Sep 2018

Researchers develop mathematical model for monitoring, controlling spread of melioidosis

An international research team from the University of Leicester, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology from Russia has developed a mathematical model for monitoring and controlling the spread of melioidosis in Southeast Asia.

12 Sep 2018

How 'bad' bacteria gain an upper hand in the human gut

A study has revealed that the bacterium C. difficile gains a competitive advantage over protective bacteria in the human gut by producing para-cresol.

11 Sep 2018

Scientists develop first non-antibiotic drug to treat tuberculosis in animals

Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed the first non-antibiotic drug to successfully treat tuberculosis in animals.

11 Sep 2018

New paper reports conserved collateral susceptibility to antibiotics in E. coli

LSTM's Dr Adam Roberts is a co-author on a new paper published in Nature Communications which reports conserved collateral susceptibility to antibiotics in the human pathogen Escherichia coli.

10 Sep 2018

Superbugs often move between humans and animals

The MRSA staphylococcus is an example of a pathogen, the likes of which are often called superbugs. These are resistant to most antibiotics and can cause serious infections.

7 Sep 2018

Mycovia initiates two Phase 3 clinical trials to evaluate VT-1161 in patients with RVVC

Mycovia Pharmaceuticals, making its official debut as a company developing therapies in women's health and dermatology, today announced the initiation of two Phase 3 clinical trials called VIOLET to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its lead candidate, VT-1161, in patients with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis

6 Sep 2018

Superbugs emerging from skin bacteria on the increase

A new study has shown that some of the sub-strains of the bacteria that commonly live on our skin have become resistant to common infections – or in other words turned into superbugs. Infections with these strains thus could become untreatable with the antibiotics available and may turn life-threatening, warn researchers.

6 Sep 2018

Scientists receive $2.5 million grant to combat South American-borne deadly disease

A George Mason University researcher is heading a scientific team that has received a sizable Department of Defense grant to combat the threat of a South American-borne disease that can cause long-term neurological problems and even death.

5 Sep 2018

Easy and inexpensive test could one day help guide epilepsy treatment

An easy and inexpensive test for the HLA-B*15:02 allele could one day allow clinicians to quickly identify which epilepsy patients are at risk of carbamazepine hypersensitivity, according to study results presented by Gita V. Soraya at ILAE's 2018 Asian & Oceanian Epilepsy Congress in Bali.

4 Sep 2018