Disease/Infection News

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Could we prevent Alzheimer's disease by treating herpes?

An exciting new paper suggests that over half of all cases of Alzheimer’s disease could be traced back to herpes simplex virus 1, which causes cold sores.

19 Oct 2018

Survey finds high prevalence of HTLV-1 infection among teens and adults in Gabon

A study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, by Mirdad Kazanji, of the Centre International de Recherches Medicales de Franceville in Gabon, and the Institut Pasteur de la Guyane in French Guiana, suggests that 30 years after the first epidemiological survey of the seroprevalence of Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) infections in Gabon, the country remains highly endemic, with a seroprevalence of 7.3%.

19 Oct 2018

Understanding of metal-free enzymes used by bacteria could lead to new effective antibiotics

Some bacterial pathogens, including those that cause strep throat and pneumonia, are able to create the components necessary to replicate their DNA without the usually required metal ions.

19 Oct 2018

A new approach identified to control Zika virus, dengue fever

Mosquitoes are the world's deadliest animals, killing thousands of people and causing millions of illnesses each year.

19 Oct 2018

Mad Cow disease found on Aberdeenshire farm

Scotland has confirmed its first case of Mad Cow disease or Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) since 2018 on a cattle farm. The case was confirmed after a cow died.

19 Oct 2018

New DNA vaccine strategy protects mice against lethal challenge by multiple H3N2 viruses

Researchers developed a novel DNA influenza vaccine based on four micro-consensus antigenic regions selected to represent the diversity of seasonal H3N2 viruses across decades.

18 Oct 2018

Cases of Acute Flaccid Myelitis on the rise across U.S.

According to the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), cases of dangerous and rare Acute Flaccid Myelitis (AFM) are being noted across United States. This disease manifests similar to acute flaccid paralysis caused by polio virus say the experts. There is at present no treatment for this condition that primarily affects children and leads to paralysis of the limbs.

18 Oct 2018

Research points to new target for treating periodontitis

T cells help fight off infection, but they can go overboard. A new study led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and the National Institutes of Health shows that a subset of T cells contributes to the problematic inflammation and bone loss that is associated with periodontitis, a severe form of gum disease.

17 Oct 2018

Mice study shows antibiotics are not always necessary to cure sepsis

Biochemists, microbiologists, drug discovery experts and infectious disease doctors have teamed up in a new study that shows antibiotics are not always necessary to cure sepsis in mice.

17 Oct 2018

One-time universal screening recommended to tackle increase in hepatitis C

Physicians are encountering a growing number of younger patients who are testing positive for hepatitis C virus fueled largely by the opioid crisis impacting communities around the country.

17 Oct 2018

New research seeks to address sex disparities in women's health

Traditionally many health-related research projects focused only on males, assuming that females' bodies would respond the same way to a given intervention or drug.

17 Oct 2018

Video monitoring of TB therapy works well in urban and rural areas

Researchers from University of California San Diego School of Medicine, with statewide collaborators, report that patients who recorded videos of themselves taking tuberculosis medications better adhered to treatment than patients who were observed in-person.

16 Oct 2018

Study findings may explain sporadic outbreaks of C. difficile infections in hospitals

Washing contaminated hospital bedsheets in a commercial washing machine with industrial detergent at high disinfecting temperatures failed to remove all traces of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), a bacteria that causes infectious diarrhea, suggesting that linens could be a source of infection among patients and even other hospitals, according to a study published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.

16 Oct 2018

Simple, inexpensive test quickly detects antibiotic-resistant 'superbugs'

When you get sick, you want the right treatment fast. But certain infectious microbes are experts at evading the very anti-bacterial drugs designed to fight them.

16 Oct 2018

WRAIR clinical study evaluates safety and immunogenicity of Marburg vaccine

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research this week administered the first vaccine in a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a Marburg vaccine candidate in healthy adult volunteers.

15 Oct 2018

Allele awarded NIH grant to develop nanoantibody therapies for treatment of sepsis

The National Institute of General Medical Sciences of NIH has awarded a Small Business Innovative Research grant to Allele Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals to develop new single-domain nanoantibody therapies for the treatment of sepsis.

15 Oct 2018

Potential 'early warning markers' for sepsis discovered

A multi-site research collaboration supported by a Technology Strategy Board Grant has shown that immune response signatures could be used as an early warning test for the serious condition sepsis in patients attending emergency departments with suspected infection.

15 Oct 2018

The impending risk of African Swine Fever Virus

A new emerging pathogen, African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV) has caused outbreaks in 15 countries, including across Europe, and a month ago it was identified in China, the world's largest producer of pork.

15 Oct 2018

Human and cattle decoys trap outdoor-biting mosquitoes in malaria endemic regions

Host decoy traps which mimic humans or cattle by combining odor, heat and a conspicuous visual stimulus could be effective at measuring and controlling outdoor-biting mosquitoes in malaria endemic regions, according to a study published in the open access journal Parasites & Vectors.

15 Oct 2018

Researchers develop two-pronged approach for targeting Ebola virus

In a new study researchers have developed a two-pronged approach for targeting Ebola virus infection using linked nucleic acid (LNA) antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs)designed to interfere both genes essential for translation of Ebola virus genes and to block production of an intracellular human protein needed for the virus to enter cells.

12 Oct 2018