Tag: Infectious Diseases

A comprehensive package of prevention, screening, and treatment interventions could avert 15.1 million new hepatitis C infections and 1.5 million cirrhosis and liver cancer deaths globally by 2030 — equal to an 80% reduction in incidence and a 60% reduction in deaths compared with 2015, according to the first study to model hepatitis C interventions

Viruses plague bacteria just as viruses like influenza plague humans. Some of the largest of these so-called bacteriophages have now been found in the human gut, where they periodically devastate bacteria just as seasonal outbreaks of flu lay humans low, according to a new study led by University of California, Berkeley, scientists. These “megaphages” —

2018 was a record year for tick – 2019 could be worse In the year 2018, the highest number of ticks was seen, which was ever documented in Germany – a record-breaking year for ticks. Experts predict that this record could be broken this year again. In addition to the strikingly high number of young

Severe influenza virus infection is characterized by a strong inflammatory response and profuse viral replication in lungs. These viruses, such as the notorious avian flu, have a high rate of death and to date there are no effective treatments. A research group led by National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (NIBIOHN) and Osaka

Severe gastro-intestinal infections in a fully-coated resin-Hotel Numerous guests of a hotel in the Harz mountains, are suffering from severe gastro-intestinal infections and several victims needed to be delivered in surrounding hospitals. In the fully occupied Hotel, a state of emergency since Thursday virtually. Cause noroviruses are believed to be, but a final confirmation is

A team of researchers from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) have developed novel ferrocene-based molecules that impair the malaria parasite’s metabolic function leading to parasite death. Despite concerted efforts for malaria elimination, this deadly disease remains a major health threat to the developing world. The causative agent

Researchers have discovered a human protein that helps fight the Ebola virus and could one day lead to an effective therapy against the deadly disease, according to a new Northwestern Medicine study. The newly discovered ability of the human protein RBBP6 to interfere with Ebola virus replication suggests new ways to fight the infection. As

The venom of insects such as wasps and bees is full of compounds that can kill bacteria. Unfortunately, many of these compounds are also toxic for humans, making it impossible to use them as antibiotic drugs. After performing a systematic study of the antimicrobial properties of a toxin normally found in a South American wasp,

Distinct HIV-1 strains may differ in the nature of the CCR5 molecules to which they bind, affecting which cells they can infect and their ability to enter cells, according to a study published December 6 in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Bernard Lagane of the Institut Pasteur and INSERM, and colleagues. As noted by

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues have isolated a human monoclonal antibody that can “neutralize” the West Nile virus and potentially prevent a leading cause of viral encephalitis (brain inflammation) in the United States. Their findings, reported this week in the journal Nature Microbiology, could lead to the first effective treatment for this

Malaria affects 216 million people worldwide — mostly younger children in sub-Saharan Africa — and causes 445,000 deaths annually. Although the mosquito-borne, parasitic disease is preventable and curable, barriers exist in diagnosing the illness. The standard blood test used for diagnosis can be cumbersome, time-consuming and expensive, and its availability is limited in settings where

Group A Streptococcus (GAS), sometimes known as “flesh-eating bacteria,” causes invasive infections that result in high mortality. GAS is susceptible to many antibiotics, but continues to cause devastating infections. Many studies have attempted to understand the mechanism for immune recognition of GAS; none has provided a clear explanation, until now. In a new study published

Malaria remains an economic and health burden to the developing world. As plasmodium, the causative agent of malaria, is acquiring rapid resistance against currently used drugs, identification of new classes of anti-malarials remains an urgent need. Potential anti-malarials include small molecules, peptides, antibodies or plant extracts with likely medicinal properties. These agents are often prepared

Scientists have known for decades that certain bacteria produce small spherical versions of themselves. Although they lack basic materials to reproduce or function like normal cells, recent interest in such “minicells” has spiked due to their proficiency as nano-sized delivery tools for drugs and vaccines to targeted cells and tissues. Yet the natural role of

UC Davis researchers announce in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week a breakthrough in understanding which cells afford optimal protection against Salmonella infection — a critical step in developing a more effective and safe vaccine against a bacterium that annually kills an estimated one million people worldwide. Professor Stephen McSorley, interim

The MRSA staphylococcus is an example of a pathogen, the likes of which are often called superbugs. These are resistant to most antibiotics and can cause serious infections. “In the case of MRSA, these bacteria have also spread in hospitals almost world-wide,” says Jukka Corander, professor at the University of Helsinki, who was a member

Insights into how harmful white blood cells form during tuberculosis infection point to novel targets for pharmacological interventions, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS Pathogens by Valentina Guerrini and Maria Laura Gennaro of Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, and colleagues. Foam cells are a type of white blood cell, known as

Newborns require special diagnosis and treatment considerations for an infectious diarrhea known as Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection, according to a new evidence-based white paper published today in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. The publication is in conjunction with the release of a companion review

Continuous mass distribution of azithromycin in northern Ethiopia, where the childhood eye infection trachoma is a major cause of blindness, is effective in preventing recurrence of trachoma but does not eliminate the infection entirely, according to a new study in PLOS Medicine by Jeremy Keenan and colleagues from the University of California in San Francisco,

Scientists have used light patterns to control the swimming speed of bacteria and direct them to form different shapes, according to a new study in the journal eLife. Controlling bacteria in this way means it could be possible to use them as microbricks for building the next generation of microscopic devices. For example, they could