Disease/Infection News

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New, more effective method to prevent spread of MRSA infections

A research team led by scientists at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health report on a new method to help health officials control outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a life-threatening antibiotic-resistant infection often seen in hospitals.

3 Jan 2019

New technique helps measure concentration of insecticides on surface of mosquito nets

Insecticide-infused mosquito netting is in widespread use around the world to limit the spread of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria.

3 Jan 2019

Court decision to stop further cuts in 340B reimbursements protects patient care

The Dec. 27 federal court injunction stopping further cuts in 340B reimbursements for Medicare Part B drugs to some participating hospitals is a critical step in preserving the role that academic health centers play in providing HIV, viral hepatitis, and other infectious disease treatment and prevention services to patients who otherwise lack care options.

2 Jan 2019

Nature-based antibiotic molecules for treatment of infections

New developments in antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) with antibiofilm properties are rapidly materializing.

2 Jan 2019

ERADA launches first diagnostic saliva test for malaria

ERADA Technology Alliance Ltd, pioneers of innovative, rapid diagnostic solutions for early detection of infectious diseases, have announced the imminent launch of a world first diagnostic saliva test for malaria.

2 Jan 2019

Rockefeller scientists uncover genetic mutation responsible for tuberculosis vulnerability

If you live in the United States, you are unlikely to come into contact with the microbe that causes tuberculosis. Your odds of encountering the microbe are so low, in fact, that risk factors for the disease can easily go unnoticed: If you happened to carry a gene that predisposed you to tuberculosis, you likely wouldn't know.

2 Jan 2019

Scientists solve mystery of Yemen cholera epidemic

The most likely source of the cholera epidemic in Yemen has been discovered by scientists. Through the use of genomic sequencing, scientists at the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Institut Pasteur estimate the strain of cholera causing the current outbreak in Yemen - the worst cholera outbreak in recorded history - came from Eastern Africa and entered Yemen with the migration of people in and out of the region.

2 Jan 2019

Device uses light to treat overactive bladder

Researchers have developed an implantable device that could one day treat overactive bladder.

2 Jan 2019

Molecular signatures reveal why women are more likely to die from glioblastoma

Scientists have discovered molecular signatures that reveal why women are more likely to develop and die from the brain cancer, glioblastoma.

2 Jan 2019

Speedier examinations may be useful in public health assessments of scabies

For years, the diagnosis of scabies has relied on time-consuming and intrusive full-body examinations. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have found that an exam of just a patient's hands, feet and lower legs may have the potential to catch more than 90 percent of all scabies cases, regardless of severity.

28 Dec 2018

Sleeping sickness parasite exhibits metabolic flexibility and adaptability

Parasitic protozoa called trypanosomes synthesize sugars using an unexpected metabolic pathway called gluconeogenesis, according to a study published December 27 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by David Horn of the University of Dundee in the UK, and colleagues.

28 Dec 2018

Physical contact with primates puts people at risk of infection with new diseases

Animal diseases that infect humans are a major threat to human health, and diseases often spillover to humans from nonhuman primates. Now, researchers reporting in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases have carried out an extensive social sciences evaluation of how populations in Cameroon interact with nonhuman primates, pointing toward behaviors that could put people at risk of infection with new diseases.

28 Dec 2018

Researchers develop vaccine effective against emerging tick-borne virus in mice

A group of researchers led by Michael Diamond of Washington University in St. Louis have developed a vaccine that is effective in mice against Powassan virus, an emerging tick-borne virus that can cause life-threatening encephalitis in humans.

27 Dec 2018

Study: Reactivation of HIV-infected cells depends on its size and cell cycle

Thanks to the development of antiretroviral drugs, human immunodeficiency virus is considered a manageable chronic disease today.

27 Dec 2018

Study reveals how Hepatitis C infection varies by state and region

Hepatitis C virus infection is a major cause of illness and death in the United States and injection drug use is likely fueling many new cases.

24 Dec 2018

Bacterial resistance to last-resort antibiotic is spreading at alarming rate in Vietnam

Researchers have discovered that polymyxin E-resistant Escherichia coli is widely prevalent among people living in rural Vietnam.

21 Dec 2018

Scientists develop novel eye drop that reduces sight-threatening scarring to the eye surface

Scientists at the University of Birmingham have developed a novel eye drop that rapidly reduces sight-threatening scarring to the surface of the eye.

21 Dec 2018

New vaccine shows promise against chikungunya virus

A live vaccine genetically engineered from a common measles vaccine promises to be effective against the chikungunya virus. Such is the central finding of a recently completed Phase II trial now published in the prestigious journal "The Lancet".

21 Dec 2018

New approach to destroy HIV reservoirs

Current HIV treatments need to be taken for life by those infected as antiretroviral therapy is unable to eliminate viral reservoirs lurking in immune cells. Institut Pasteur scientists have identified the characteristics of CD4 T lymphocytes that are preferentially infected by the virus - it is their metabolic (or energy-producing) activity1 that enables the virus to multiply.

21 Dec 2018

Study reveals high prevalence of colistin-resistant bacteria in residents in Vietnam

A team of researchers led by Osaka University examined the dissemination of colistin-resistant bacteria among residents of rural communities in Vietnam to find that the prevalence of colistin-resistant Escherichia coli in the intestines was extremely high, at about 70 percent.

21 Dec 2018