Infectious Diseases News and Research

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Diagnostic toolkit aims to improve response to Marburg virus cases

Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF) such as Marburg virus disease have been in the news recently, with more than 60 cases of Marburg confirmed in Rwanda.

26 Oct 2024

Study reveals resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to common cleaning agents

A new study reveals widespread resistance of a major bacterial pathogen to the active ingredients in cleaning agents commonly used in hospitals and homes.

25 Oct 2024

Antibiotic for liver disease linked to emergence of antimicrobial resistant superbug

An international team of researchers has found that an antibiotic commonly prescribed for patients with liver disease, called rifaximin, has led to the global emergence of an almost untreatable form of the antimicrobial resistant superbug vancomycin-resistant enterococcus faecium (VRE), which frequently causes serious infections in hospitalized patients.

24 Oct 2024

Study links gut bacteria infection to Alzheimer's disease progression

A groundbreaking study by researchers at Florida State University's Gut Biome Lab has revealed a potential link between an infection caused by gut bacteria and the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

24 Oct 2024

Study identifies key blood stem cells in immune system aging

What keeps some immune systems youthful and effective in warding off age-related diseases? In a new paper published in Cellular & Molecular Immunology, USC Stem Cell scientist Rong Lu and her collaborators point the finger at a small subset of blood stem cells, which make an outsized contribution to maintaining either a youthful balance or an age-related imbalance of the two main types of immune cells: innate and adaptive.

24 Oct 2024

New antibody platform targets evolving viruses

Scientists at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in collaboration with colleagues in the field, have developed an innovative antibody platform aimed at tackling one of the greatest challenges in treating rapidly evolving viruses like SARS-CoV-2: their ability to mutate and evade existing vaccines and therapies.

23 Oct 2024

Maternal antibodies may hinder malaria vaccine effectiveness in infants

Maternal antibodies passed across the placenta can interfere with the response to the malaria vaccine, which would explain its lower efficacy in infants under five months of age, according to research led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), in collaboration with seven African centers (CISM-Mozambique, IHI-Tanzania, CRUN-Burkina Faso, KHRC-Ghana, NNIMR-Ghana, CERMEL-Gabon, KEMRI-Kenya).

23 Oct 2024

Research reveals AI's potential to transform hospital reporting processes

A pilot study led by researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that advanced artificial intelligence (AI) could potentially lead to easier, faster and more efficient hospital quality reporting while retaining high accuracy, which could lead to enhanced health care delivery.

21 Oct 2024

Emory researchers discover enzyme to combat IgG-mediated disorders

Myasthenia gravis (MG) is a chronic autoimmune disorder in which antibodies block communication between nerves and muscle, resulting in weakness of the skeletal muscles.

21 Oct 2024

Real world data highlights effectiveness of RSV vaccine

A multi-state study, published in The Lancet, is one of the first real world data analyses of the effectiveness of the RSV -- short for respiratory syncytial virus -- vaccine.

18 Oct 2024

Exclusion of indigenous voices hinders HIV progress in Latin America

Indigenous communities in Latin America say they are being excluded from the global HIV/AIDS response, leaving them without access to life-saving medicines and prevention tools.

18 Oct 2024

New consortium launched to combat Mpox outbreak in Africa

University College Dublin (UCD) is leading MpoxVax AFRIVAC, a new €1.3 million international consortium that aims to rapidly deploy technology and develop new knowledge to end the current Mpox outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and surrounding countries.

17 Oct 2024

Boston University and GSK collaborate to tackle pulmonary fibrosis

Researchers from the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) at Boston University and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have announced a new collaboration with the global biopharma company GSK to advance innovative research focused on developing cutting-edge models to study and treat lung diseases like pulmonary fibrosis.

17 Oct 2024

Trial evaluates monoclonal antibodies for long COVID prevention

The first randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial evaluating the impact of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies on the risk of developing long COVID was led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine.

17 Oct 2024

New grant aims to develop rapid biosensors for detecting African swine fever

Foreign animal diseases are a global threat to swine production with the potential for detrimental economic implications.

17 Oct 2024

New synthesis technology promises faster production of mRNA vaccines

In an era where viral outbreaks can escalate into global pandemics with alarming speed, the ability to quickly develop new vaccines has become crucial.

17 Oct 2024

Discovering new natural products from human microbiomes

The idea of using microorganisms as a source of new active ingredients is not new. Numerous drugs have already been developed on the basis of natural products from bacteria and fungi.

17 Oct 2024

UF Health scientists receive major grant to combat antibiotic-resistant bacteria

University of Florida Health scientists exploring how combinations of antibiotics can fight resistant bacteria have been awarded an $11.8 million grant for work that could help save the tens of thousands of lives lost yearly to infections that are increasingly plaguing humanity.

17 Oct 2024

Black prostate cancer patients respond better to immunotherapy

Black men with advanced prostate cancer have a greater chance of survival after immunotherapy treatment, at least in part, because of ancestral gene variants in immune responses.

17 Oct 2024

Tissue chips help translate respiratory disease research into clinical applications

Scientists are developing advanced tools to understand and treat neurological symptoms such as brain fog associated with respiratory diseases like influenza.

17 Oct 2024