Disease/Infection News

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Automated sample-to-answer system could make EVD diagnosis easier

An automated "sample-to-answer" system could provide Ebola virus disease (EVD) diagnosis more quickly and easily than the current standard test, according to research published this week in PLOS Medicine.

30 Mar 2016

Researchers explore four potential treatments for Lyme disease

The ticks that transmit Lyme disease have multiplied aggressively over the past 20 years, and now thrive in half of all counties in the U.S., according to a recent study in the Journal of Medical Entomology.

30 Mar 2016

UGA and Sanofi Pasteur researchers develop new H1N1 influenza vaccine

Researchers at the University of Georgia and Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of Sanofi, announced today the development of a vaccine that protects against multiple strains of both seasonal and pandemic H1N1 influenza in mouse models.

30 Mar 2016

Alternative policy for Ebola entry screening at U.S. airports

As of January 31, 2016, a total of 28,639 cases and 11,316 deaths have been attributed to Ebola, figures that are assumed to significantly underestimate the actual scope of the 2014 Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever outbreak in West Africa. In the United States, there were also two imported cases and two locally acquired cases reported in September/October 2014.

29 Mar 2016

Failure to complete antibiotics could lead to additional treatment for existing skin infection

In the first study of its kind, researchers found patients with S. aureus skin and soft tissue infections took, on average, just 57% of their prescribed antibiotic doses after leaving the hospital, resulting in nearly half of them getting a new infection or needing additional treatment for the existing skin infection.

29 Mar 2016

Researchers use novel technology to sequence Y chromosome in malaria spreading mosquitoes

A team of researchers with the Fralin Life Science Institute at Virginia Tech, working with a large international consortium, has sequenced the Y chromosome--the genetic driver of sex-determination and male fertility-- in a family of malaria spreading mosquitoes.

29 Mar 2016

Protease inhibitors may prevent cardiovascular disease risk caused by HIV medications

According to the World Health Organization, approximately 37 million people are living with HIV. Antiviral medications are used to control the disease and prevent its progression to AIDS.

29 Mar 2016

Study traces ancient history of malaria evolution

A new analysis of the prehistoric origin of malaria suggests that it evolved in insects at least 100 million years ago, and the first vertebrate hosts of this disease were probably reptiles, which at that time would have included the dinosaurs.

29 Mar 2016

New drug regimens could significantly improve treatment for tuberculosis

Researchers from UCLA and Shanghai Jiao Tong University have made an important step toward a substantially faster and more effective treatment for tuberculosis, which infects some 10 million people and causes 1.5 million deaths each year.

29 Mar 2016

UCI researchers get $8 million to help develop new vaccine for Q fever

A University of California, Irvine scientific team led by infectious diseases researchers Philip Felgner and Aaron Esser-Kahn has received $8 million from the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Threat Reduction Agency to help develop a new vaccine for Q fever.

29 Mar 2016

High-throughput RNA interference screen identifies potential drug target against henipaviruses

The closely related Hendra and Nipah viruses (referred to jointly as henipaviruses) are deadly cousins of the more common mumps, measles, and respiratory syncytial viruses, all members of the paramyxovirus family. Henipavirus outbreaks are on the rise, but little is known about them, partly because research has to be conducted under extreme level containment conditions.

28 Mar 2016

Engineered HIV vaccine protein may prevent HIV infection

Some people infected with HIV naturally produce antibodies that effectively neutralize many strains of the rapidly mutating virus, and scientists are working to develop a vaccine capable of inducing such "broadly neutralizing" antibodies that can prevent HIV infection.

28 Mar 2016

Yellow fever outbreak in Angola kills 178 people

Angola is grappling with a yellow fever outbreak, which has infected more than 450 people and killed 178 – the first epidemic of the disease to hit the country in 30 years.

28 Mar 2016

Study reveals new hypothesis on evolution of hundreds of malaria species

A study published this week in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution reveals a new hypothesis on the evolution of hundreds of species of malaria - including the form that is deadly to humans.

26 Mar 2016

Changing one atom in InsP6 inhibitor can increase its ability to neutralize toxins in the gut

Infections with bacterium Clostridium difficile have rapidly become a significant medical problem in hospitals and long-term care facilities. The bacteria cause diarrhea and life-threatening inflammation of the colon by producing toxins that kill the endothelial cells that form the lining of the gut.

26 Mar 2016

Researchers develop rapid yet inexpensive test for TB

Although tuberculosis (TB) is commonly thought of as being a disease that mainly affects nineteenth century poets and Victor Hugo characters, it is still the second-most common cause of mortality from an infectious disease in the world, killing nearly three people every minute. Every March 24, on World TB Day, the global health community recognizes the work of Robert Koch, who announced on that date in 1882 his discovery of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacteria that causes TB.

25 Mar 2016

IBM's World Community Grid supports TB eradication project

The University of Nottingham is launching a new study to address tuberculosis (TB), one of the world's most deadly diseases, supported by IBM's World Community Grid -- one of the most powerful and fastest virtual supercomputers on the planet.

25 Mar 2016

New research highlights potential for emergence of new form of Ebolavirus

New research at the University of Kent has highlighted the potential for the emergence of a new form of Ebolavirus. A team from the University's School of Biosciences examined the differences between Ebolaviruses that cause severe disease in humans and the Reston virus that does not.

25 Mar 2016

Virus-generated DNA lurking between human genes, show research

Think your DNA is all human? Think again. And a new discovery suggests it's even less human than scientists previously thought.

24 Mar 2016

New research shows bacterial biofilms are stronger than single-celled bacteria

New research from the University of Copenhagen reveals that bacteria which agglutinate before entering the body are far more resistant than single-celled bacteria. This may be the cause of chronic infections.

24 Mar 2016