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IU study may explain how Wolbachia bacterium prevents mosquitoes from transmitting deadly diseases

A new study from Indiana University may explain how a bacterium called Wolbachia prevents mosquitoes from transmitting deadly diseases such as dengue fever, West Nile virus and Zika.

16 Jun 2017

Wayne State awarded NIH grant to identify new therapeutic targets for bacterial keratitis

Wayne State University recently received a five-year, $1.925 million grant from the National Eye Institute of the National Institutes of Health to test the role of microRNAs (miRNAs) - a newly recognized level of gene expression regulation - in bacterial keratitis – an infection of the cornea caused by bacteria - as well as to identify new therapeutic targets and alternative treatment strategies.

15 Jun 2017

Scientists discover new approach for antifungal drug treatments

Each year, invasive fungal infections sicken an estimated 2 million people worldwide and kill nearly 800,000 - but a team of international scientists have discovered a new approach for antifungal drug treatments.

15 Jun 2017

New TSRI study could have implications for development of flu vaccines, drug therapies

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have shown that for the virus that causes the flu, two wrongs can sometimes make a right.

15 Jun 2017

Researchers find low adherence of physicians to H. pylori guidelines

It was long thought that gastric ulcers and other digestive woes were brought about by stress. But in 2005, clinical fellow Barry J. Marshall and pathologist J. Robin Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for recognizing the role of Helicobacter pylori in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease.

15 Jun 2017

Plant compound found to be effective against drug-resistant HIV

A plant found throughout Southeast Asia traditionally used to treat arthritis and rheumatism contains a potent anti-HIV compound more powerful than the drug AZT, according to a new paper published in the Journal of Natural Compounds.

15 Jun 2017

Newly discovered natural antibiotic could help fight against drug-resistant TB

The number of drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) cases is rising globally. But a newly discovered natural antibiotic -- produced by bacteria from the lung infection in a cystic fibrosis patient -- could help fight these infections.

14 Jun 2017

UAB researchers demonstrate persistence of donor microbes in recipients after fecal transplant

University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have made the first direct demonstration that fecal donor microbes remained in recipients for months or years after a transplant to treat the diarrhea and colitis caused by recurrent Clostridium difficile infections -- a serious and stubborn cause of diarrhea after an antibiotic treatment for some other illness.

14 Jun 2017

Researchers identify key Lassa virus structure using powerful Argonne X-rays

Before Ebola virus ever struck West Africa, locals were already on the lookout for a deadly pathogen: Lassa virus.

13 Jun 2017

New OpenArray system offers simultaneous detection of pathogens in blood samples

The emergence of new pathogens like West Nile Virus, Ebola, Dengue, and Zika, threaten human health on a global scale.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific - Microbiology 13 Jun 2017

Low levels of vitamin A could be strong risk factor for TB

People with low levels of vitamin A living with individuals sick with tuberculosis may be 10 times more likely to develop the disease than people with high levels of the nutrient, according to research led by investigators at Harvard Medical School.

13 Jun 2017

New way to produce protein antigen may lead to preventative vaccine for schistosomiasis

Cornell and Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research scientists have developed a way to produce a protein antigen that may be useful as vaccine for schistosomiasis – a parasitic disease that infects millions of people, mostly in tropical and subtropical climates – according to new research in the journal Protein Expression and Purification, June 2017.

12 Jun 2017

Study reveals role of mast cells in severe forms of dengue infection

Why mosquito-borne dengue virus causes more severe disease in some individuals, including hemorrhagic fever with or without shock, remains controversial and researchers are focusing on the factors related to the interaction between the virus and the host immune system, including the role of mast cells.

12 Jun 2017

Suspected cholera cases in Yemen is now more than 100,000

The number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has reached 101,820 and killed 798 people since 27th April, says the World Health Organization (WHO).

12 Jun 2017

Tyson Foods Inc. recalls over 2 million pounds of chicken products

Tyson Foods Inc., a New Holland, Pa. establishment, has recalled more than 2.4 million pounds of their products containing ready-to-eat breaded chicken. The recall was announced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the recall on Friday, 9th of June. The Agency says that the label does not indicate the presence of milk which is a known allergen.

11 Jun 2017

Case of Legionnaires’ disease in the city sparks alerts

A New York Police Department officer has contracted Legionnaires’ disease leading to a spate of investigations by the health officials as to its source and potential capacity for spread. The officer however is at present on their way to recovery at a hospital located outside the city said health officials. Legionnaire’s disease is a form of pneumonia that can become life threatening.

11 Jun 2017

Adult male farmers in Malaysia more likely to contract 'monkey malaria'

Adult male farmers in Malaysia are more than twice as likely to contract Plasmodium knowlesi malaria - an infection usually found only in monkeys - than other people in their communities, according to a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health.

9 Jun 2017

UNC researchers identify how class of antiviral drugs interacts with HCV

Globally, an estimated 71 million people are living with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV). Over decades of infection, chronic HCV infection results in progressive damage to the liver and an increased risk for end stage liver disease and liver cancer, making the virus the leading cause of liver-related deaths in the United States today.

9 Jun 2017

More-is-better approach appears to improve vaccine protection from HIV-like virus in monkeys

Building on insights from an HIV vaccine regimen in humans that had partial success during a phase 3 clinical trial in Thailand, a Duke-led research team used a more-is-better approach in monkeys that appeared to improve vaccine protection from an HIV-like virus.

8 Jun 2017

West Nile virus positive mosquitoes detected in Las Vegas

According to the health officials in Southern Nevada, mosquito samples from multiple Las Vegas neighbourhoods have tested positive for the West Nile virus. The affected zip code areas according to the officials are 89011, 89110 and 89146. These areas were being combed for Zika virus in mosquitoes. One such case of human West Nile virus infection has been confirmed in Clark County a few weeks ago.

7 Jun 2017