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Research highlights global economic burden of norovirus

While norovirus is often linked in the news to outbreaks on cruise ships, the highly contagious stomach bug sickens nearly 700 million around the world every year and results in roughly $4.2 billion in health care costs and $60.3 billion in societal costs annually, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

27 Apr 2016

New study on retroviral DNA could help improve treatments for HIV infection

When retroviruses such as HIV infect a cell, they first make a copy of their RNA genome in the form of DNA. The relatively short viral DNA strand then moves to the cell nucleus, where it inserts itself into the host cell's DNA.

27 Apr 2016

TSRI study reveals important traits in LCMV, Lassa virus

For the first time, scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have solved the structure of the biological machinery used by a common virus to recognize and attack human host cells.

27 Apr 2016

Exposure to titanium dioxide nanoparticles increases bacterial infection of HeLa cells

When human cells are exposed to titanium dioxide without the presence of UV light from the sun, the risk for bacterial infection more than doubles. This finding by a Stony Brook University-led research team, published early online in the Journal of Nanobiotechnology, raises concerns about exposure to titanium dioxide, a nanoparticle commonly used in millions of products worldwide ranging from cosmetics to toothpaste, gum, food coloring, and medicines.

27 Apr 2016

Zika virus present in Americas prior to first identification in Brazil

The Zika virus was present in Haiti several months before the first Zika cases were identified in Brazil, according to new research by infectious-disease specialists at the University of Florida.

27 Apr 2016

PANDHUB project develops ways of reducing pandemic risk in transport hubs

Transport plays a major role in the spread of transmissible diseases. PANDHUB, a project coordinated by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, develops ways of reducing the risk of pandemics and managing other high-threat pathogen incidents in transport hubs.

27 Apr 2016

TGen scientists trace likely origins, dispersal of fungus that causes Valley Fever

Using the latest in genomic analysis technologies, scientists at the Translational Genomics Research Institute have tracked the likely origins and dispersal of the fungus that causes Valley Fever, according to a study published today in the journal mBio, the premiere journal for reporting high impact microbiological research.

27 Apr 2016

Mozambique women who use modern contraceptives more likely to undergo HIV testing

Women in sub-Saharan Africa who use modern contraceptives are more likely to be tested for HIV than those who do not, according to a study published April 25, 2016 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Katherine Center from the University of Arizona and colleagues.

27 Apr 2016

WHO reminds Angola travellers to receive yellow fever vaccination

As efforts to bring an outbreak of yellow fever in Angola under control continue, the World Health Organization is reminding all travellers to the country that they are required to receive the yellow fever vaccination and to have a valid certificate of vaccination to prove that they are protected from the disease and to prevent its further spread.

27 Apr 2016

Newly discovered hybrid house mosquitoes could be bridge vectors between birds and humans

The team of researchers from the Institute of Parasitology at Vetmeduni Vienna sampled nearly 1,500 house mosquitoes in eastern Austria. The northern house mosquito Culex pipiens, representing more than 90% of the total catch, was the most abundant. Culex pipiens comprises a complex of ecologically different forms that are morphologically indistinct.

27 Apr 2016

First-ever vaccine to combat Leishmaniasis under development

As scientists scramble to get a Zika virus vaccine into human trials by the end of the summer, a team of researchers is working on the first-ever vaccine to prevent another insect-borne disease - Leishmaniasis - from gaining a similar foothold in the Americas.

27 Apr 2016

UAB receives $2.86 million NIH grant to study effectiveness of cognitive training in older adults with HAND

University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing Professor David Vance, Ph.D., has received a five-year, $2.86 million R01 grant from the National Institute of Mental Health for a study to determine whether quality of life of middle-aged and older adults with HIV can be improved by enhancing cognitive functioning through speed of processing training.

26 Apr 2016

Soy peptides, isoflavones can be more effective antimicrobial agent

Soy isoflavones and peptides may inhibit the growth of microbial pathogens that cause food-borne illnesses, according to a new study from University of Guelph researchers.

26 Apr 2016

Administering flu vaccinations in the morning could induce greater antibody responses

New research from the University of Birmingham has shown that flu vaccinations are more effective when administered in the morning.

26 Apr 2016

Study highlights potential emergence of new swine flu strains

The wide diversity of flu in pigs across multiple continents, mostly introduced from humans, highlights the significant potential of new swine flu strains emerging, according to a study to be published in eLife.

26 Apr 2016

New blood treatment technology could reduce malaria risk following blood transfusions

Patients, especially children, who undergo blood transfusions in sub-Saharan Africa are at high risk of transfusion-transmitted malaria. A new trial, published in The Lancet today, suggests that treating donated blood with a new technology that combines UV radiation and vitamin B is safe and could minimise the risk of malaria infection following blood transfusions.

26 Apr 2016

Researchers reveal how bile component taurine attracts Vibrio cholera

A group of researchers from Osaka University, Hosei University, and Nagoya University have revealed the molecular mechanism that Vibrio cholerae, the etiological agent of cholera, is attracted by bile. This group has also successfully detected the ligand binding to the bacteria chemoreceptor in vivo for the first time. These results may significantly advance research on mechanism and control of V. cholerae.

26 Apr 2016

Borrelia infection can cause scleratrophic skin lesions in certain countries

This review summarizes the literature on scleratrophic skin lesions as a manifestation of a Borrelia infection. An association of morphea with Lyme borreliosis LB was mainly reported from Middle-European Countries, Japan and South America. B. afzelii has been identified predominantly from the chronic skin lesions of acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) and has been cultivated from morphea lesions in isolated cases.

26 Apr 2016

Scientists discover Hobit, Blimp1 genes that fight disease-causing pathogens

Melbourne researchers have uncovered the genes responsible for the way the body fights infection at the point of 'invasion' - whether it's the skin, liver, lungs or the gut.

25 Apr 2016

Resolving HBV infection does not reduce liver cancer risk

Long-term infection with hepatitis B virus (HBV) can cause liver inflammation and increase the risk of liver cancer. Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, however, found that resolving HBV infection was not associated with reduced rates of liver cancer.

25 Apr 2016