Disease/Infection News

RSS

Probiotic use helps reduce health care cost and societal impact of flu-like RTIs

A study published on August 27 in Frontiers in Pharmacology found that general probiotic use in the U.S. could save the health care payer and the economy around $1.4 billion in medical bills and lost productivity due to acute respiratory tract infections.

28 Aug 2019

Promising vaccine may protect against the Klebsiella superbug

A powerful superbug, a hypervirulent form of the bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae, is a very difficult to curb infection. It causes a variety of infections including rare but life-threatening liver, respiratory tract, bloodstream and other infections.

28 Aug 2019

Promising new strategy to treat severe dengue disease on the horizon

Researchers led by Duke-NUS Medical School have discovered that tryptase, an enzyme in human cells that acts like scissors to cut up nearby proteins, is responsible for blood vessel leakage in severe dengue hemorrhagic fever.

27 Aug 2019

Human infective nematode identified in canine carriers for the first time

A human infective nematode found in remote northern areas of Australia has been identified in canine carriers for the first time.

27 Aug 2019

Studying human behavior might help curb mosquito-borne illness

Control and prevention of Aedes-transmitted viruses, such as dengue, chikungunya, or Zika relies heavily on vector control approaches. Given the effort and cost involved in implementation of vector control, targeting of control measures is highly desirable. However, it is unclear to what extent the effectiveness of highly focal and reactive control measures depends on the commuting and movement patterns of humans.

27 Aug 2019

Discovery of protein that may be key to treating tropical diseases

Neglected tropical diseases form a group of infectious parasitic diseases that affect a large percentage of the world population, mostly in emerging nations. Sleeping sickness affects millions in sub-Saharan Africa and is caused by the protozoan parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, which is transmitted by the tsetse fly.

27 Aug 2019

Individual’s trust and proximity to disease outbreak may affect vaccination attitudes

An individual’s trust in institutions such as the CDC, and how close they live to a recent measles outbreak, may affect their attitudes on measles vaccination, according to a study published August 28, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Florian Justwan of the University of Idaho, USA, and colleagues.

From PLOS ONE 26 Aug 2019

Blood sugar levels linked to DNA damage and cancer in diabetics

Increased blood sugar levels in diabetics could damage DNA and make the genome unstable, increasing the risk of certain cancers.

26 Aug 2019

Vaccinating older adults against shingles is likely cost-effective in Canada

Vaccinating older adults against shingles in Canada is likely cost-effective, according to a study in CMAJ, and the Shingrix vaccine appears to provide better protection than the Zostavax vaccine.

26 Aug 2019

Hidden Zika outbreak in Cuba uncovered by genomic sequencing and travel data

Researchers from the Scripps have stumbled upon evidence of a hidden outbreak of Zika virus infection in Cuba, around 300 miles from the coast of Miami. The researchers managed to detect the outbreak by some detective work that used air travel patterns as well as genome sequencing of the viral samples.

25 Aug 2019

Needle stick injuries are common and can transmit many blood-borne pathogens

Needle stick injuries (NSIs) can transmit more than 20 blood-borne pathogens, including HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and, more rarely, malaria, human T cell leukemia virus and Ebola.

25 Aug 2019

New type of vaccine targets deadly tuberculosis

Australian medical researchers from the Centenary Institute and the University of Sydney have successfully developed and tested a new type of vaccine targeting tuberculosis (TB), the world's top infectious disease killer.

25 Aug 2019

New approach to detection reveals unreported Zika outbreak in 2017

Public health experts in the US have discovered that the Zika virus may still be spreading in the Americas, despite case reporting having approached close to zero.

23 Aug 2019

Study uncovers link between dietary zinc and protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae

Researchers have uncovered a crucial link between dietary zinc intake and protection against Streptococcus pneumoniae, the primary bacterial cause of pneumonia.

23 Aug 2019

Study sheds light on emergence and spread of drug-resistant malaria parasites in Africa

In the first continent-wide genomic study of malaria parasites in Africa, scientists have uncovered the genetic features of Plasmodium falciparum parasites that inhabit different regions of the continent, including the genetic factors that confer resistance to anti-malarial drugs.

23 Aug 2019

Nigeria on the brink of being polio free

There have been no reported cases of polio in Nigeria for the last three years and the nation may soon be declared free of the crippling viral disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Nigeria has come a long way since 2012 when it had almost half of the global number of polio cases.

21 Aug 2019

Mysterious lung disease linked to vaping spreads across 14 US states

The CDC is investigating a series of cases of mysterious, severe lung disease. The cause is not known, but every patient uses an e-cigarette.

21 Aug 2019

Meat allergy triggered by tick bites explained

Researchers from University of Virginia School of Medicine have uncovered the mystery behind development of allergic reactions to red meat such as beef in some individuals. Recently there has been a body of research on allergies to meat developing in individuals due to tick bites.

21 Aug 2019

Measles back in UK three years after elimination

The United Kingdom was declared to be free of measles infection three years back in 2016 by the World Health Organization (WHO). In a recent development, due to the increasing number of cases of measles among unvaccinated children, the WHO has declared that UK can no longer be called measles-free.

20 Aug 2019

Investigating organ crosstalk leads to a better understanding of sepsis

Sepsis, a complex systemic response to infection leading to organ failure, is generally studied at the level of individual organs; this research has hinted at altered metabolic changes.

20 Aug 2019