Disease/Infection News

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Researchers design E. coli-based transport capsule to help fight pneumococcal disease

Most people recoil at the thought of ingesting E. coli. But what if the headline-grabbing bacteria could be used to fight disease?

4 Jul 2016

Researchers develop computer model for speed analysis of TB's complex life-cycle

Tuberculosis (TB), caused by the pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is a serious global health problem accounting for 1.3 million worldwide deaths annually.

1 Jul 2016

Study sheds more light on how bacteria rapidly causes infectious diseases

Researchers at Umea University are first to discover that bacteria can multiply disease-inducing genes which are needed to rapidly cause infection.

1 Jul 2016

AHR plays role in modulating the body's innate immune response to viral infections

A receptor, first known for its role in mediating the harmful effects of the environmental pollutant dioxin in our body, is now understood to play other important roles in modulating the innate immune response.

1 Jul 2016

Report highlights need to strengthen response to major public health threats

In a report released today by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, an Independent Panel formed to review HHS's response to Ebola made several recommendations on how the nation's federal public health system should strengthen its response to major public health threats, both internationally and domestically.

1 Jul 2016

Wolbachia bacterium can prevent mosquitoes from transmitting Zika virus

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have confirmed that a benign bacterium called Wolbachia pipientis can completely block transmission of Zika virus in Aedes aegypti, the mosquito species responsible for passing the virus to humans.

1 Jul 2016

SLU researchers receive federal grant to study Zika virus

Saint Louis University vaccine researchers have received $1.3 million in federal funding to study Zika, as part of a multi-site study funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health.

1 Jul 2016

Likelihood of Zika virus outbreak not high in the U.S.

University of Alabama at Birmingham Division of Infectious Diseases professor emeritus David Freedman, M.D., is not concerned about a widespread Zika virus outbreak in the United States.

30 Jun 2016

Researchers test experimental Zika virus vaccine in mice

An experimental vaccine against Zika virus developed by Brazilian and US researchers has been tested successfully in trials with mice.

30 Jun 2016

Novel therapeutic approach may be effective for disrupting bacterial biofilms

Biofilms are communities of bacteria that adhere to a surface and are nearly impossible to eradicate when they are pathogenic, or disease-causing.

30 Jun 2016

More research needed to predict how climate change alters outbreak of infectious diseases

It is time we act proactively to minimize the effect of climate change on our health, say the researchers behind a new review published in Environment International. To do this, more cross-disciplinary collaboration is needed to predict how climate change will alter the outbreak and spread of infectious diseases.

30 Jun 2016

New research identifies flaws in LM-method for Lyme disease

A new microscopy technique (LM-method) developed to detect Lyme disease is unable to distinguish infected patients from healthy controls, yielding false-positive results that could lead doctors to over-diagnose a patient, according to new research published in the journal Infectious Diseases.

30 Jun 2016

Researchers reveal novel mechanism by which viral protein VII suppresses immune alarm signals

Viruses must avoid a host's immune system to establish successful infections—and scientists have discovered another tool that viruses use to frustrate host defenses.

30 Jun 2016

Experts compile model list of essential diagnostic tests aiming to improve global health

In a western doctor's office or hospital, patients don't think twice about giving a blood or urine sample that can tell if they have a disease or infection, or show if their medicines are working. The samples get rushed to a testing lab with modern equipment that's held to high quality standards.

30 Jun 2016

New IDSA guidelines focus on diagnosis, treatment of deadly aspergillosis

New therapies are improving care, but early diagnosis remains critical in the effective treatment of invasive, a potentially deadly fungal infection, according to new guidelines released by the Infectious Diseases Society of America and published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.

30 Jun 2016

New $2 test can rapidly detect Zika virus in saliva

Anxiety over the Zika virus is growing as the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro approach. To better diagnose and track the disease, scientists are now reporting in ACS' journal Analytical Chemistry a new $2 test that in the lab can accurately detect low levels of the virus in saliva.

30 Jun 2016

Allergy-causing immune cells play life-saving role in deadly C. difficile infection

Researchers at the University of Virginia School of Medicine have identified immune cells vital for protecting us from potentially fatal C. difficile infection. Surprisingly, those cells are often vilified for their role in causing asthma and allergies. But when it comes to C. difficile, they could be the difference in life and death.

29 Jun 2016

TSRI scientists develop new strategy to design potential HIV vaccine candidates

Want to catch a criminal? Show a mugshot on the news. Want to stop HIV infections? Get the immune system to recognize and attack the virus's tell-tale structure. That's part of the basic approach behind efforts at The Scripps Research Institute to design an AIDS vaccine.

29 Jun 2016

Experts receive NIH grant to study why some HIV-infected individuals resist TB

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine experts and colleagues in the United States and Africa have received an $11 million, five-year NIH grant to understand why some people living with HIV in Africa avoid becoming infected with the bacterium that causes tuberculosis (TB) despite exposure to high-TB-risk circumstances.

29 Jun 2016

Home test using paper strips could help detect cancer, malaria

What if testing yourself for cancer or other diseases were as easy as testing your blood sugar or taking a home pregnancy test? In a few years, it might be.

29 Jun 2016