Disease/Infection News

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$5 million gift aims to propel Lyme disease research and education

To the Fairbairns, the symptoms--debilitating fatigue, joint pain, cognitive problems--were as worrisome as they were mystifying. All four members of the family had them.

6 Jul 2020

Mongolia warns of suspected bubonic plague

Mongolia has issued a warning to residents in the western Khovd region after two people are suspected of having the bubonic plague. The National Center for Zoonotic Diseases (NCZD) states that the disease is linked to the consumption of marmots, a relatively large ground squirrel.

6 Jul 2020

COVID-19 complications may be associated with von Willebrand factor in the blood

Anna Aksenova, a senior research associate at the Laboratory of Amyloid Biology at St Petersburg University, has advanced a hypothesis that the severe course of COVID-19 may be associated with von Willebrand factor.

6 Jul 2020

Florida man infected with brain-eating amoeba

The health agency announced that one patient in Hillsborough County contracted the Negleria fowleri, a water-borne and single-cell amoeba that targets the brain. The amoeba can cause a rare infection of the brain known as primary amebic meningoencephalitis (PAM), which destroys brain tissue.

6 Jul 2020

One-fifth of Georgian Londoners contracted syphilis in their mid-30s

250 years ago, over one-fifth of Londoners had contracted syphilis by their 35th birthday, historians have calculated.

6 Jul 2020

Sweden’s controversial decision increased COVID-19 deaths

Sweden's controversial decision not to lock down during COVID-19 produced more deaths and greater healthcare demand than seen in countries with earlier, more stringent interventions, a new analysis finds.

6 Jul 2020

Obesity and BME status may place individuals at high-risk of contracting COVID-19

Obese people among black and minority ethnic communities (BME) are at around two times higher the risk of contracting COVID-19 than white Europeans, a study conducted by a team of Leicester researchers has found.

6 Jul 2020

Human trials of potential COVID-19 vaccine commence in South Australia

A potential COVID-19 vaccine developed at Flinders University has commenced human trials in South Australia.

6 Jul 2020

Study highlights need to consider sewer processes to prevent disease outbreak

Can antibiotic-resistant bacteria escape from sewers into waterways and cause a disease outbreak?

6 Jul 2020

Study shows how listeria bacterium invades human and animal cells

Professor Juan José Quereda Torres has collaborated with the Pasteur Institute of Paris to reveal new findings on how the listeria bacterium invades human and animal cells.

6 Jul 2020

Researchers develop new tool to visualize worldwide trends in coronavirus infection

Austrian researchers have developed a simple tool to show the trends in coronavirus infections over time around the world.

6 Jul 2020

Social media image about mask efficacy right in sentiment, but percentages are ‘bonkers’

A popular social media post that's been circulating on Instagram and Facebook since April depicts the degree to which mask-wearing interferes with the transmission of the novel coronavirus.

6 Jul 2020

Study examines elderly people's attitudes and compliance to COVID-19 preventive measures

Survey results from 27 countries suggest that, despite their increased risk of severe illness due to COVID-19, elderly people are not more willing to isolate when asked to, and are not more compliant with several COVID-19 preventive measures.

6 Jul 2020

Coronavirus crisis disrupts treatment for another epidemic: Addiction

Shawn Hayes was thankful to be holed up at a city-run hotel for people with COVID-19.

6 Jul 2020

Asthma does not appear to increase the risk of COVID-19, shows study

Asthma does not appear to increase the risk for a person contracting COVID-19 or influence its severity, according to a team of Rutgers researchers.

6 Jul 2020

Cell 'membrane on a chip' could help test potential drug candidates for COVID-19

Researchers have developed a human cell 'membrane on a chip' that allows continuous monitoring of how drugs and infectious agents interact with our cells, and may soon be used to test potential drug candidates for COVID-19.

6 Jul 2020

WHO urged to recognize airborne transmission of COVID-19

Now, a team of international scientists, including 239 health experts from 32 countries, has written an open letter to the WHO urging the organization to revise its recommendations for the spread of SARS-CoV-2, due to mounting evidence that the disease is airborne for more extended periods than the WHO advisory.

6 Jul 2020

Oxford COVID-19 vaccine trials move to stage 3 human trials

The technical name of the vaccine is ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222), as it is made from a virus called ChAdOx1, which is a weakened and non-replicating version of a common cold virus (adenovirus). The vaccine has been engineered to express the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein.

5 Jul 2020

Research suggests protective effect of influenza vaccine against COVID-19 severity and mortality

A new study involving over 92,000 patients with COVID-19 in Brazil shows that the odds of severe disease, ventilatory support requirement, and death are reduced with a recent trivalent flu vaccine. This seems to indicate that these vaccines should be used as widely as possible to reduce the risk of severe COVID-19, especially among high-risk groups. The study is published on the preprint server medRxiv* in June 2020.

5 Jul 2020

High population density in India associated with spread of COVID-19

Indian health experts say the findings of a US study — which suggest that population density is unrelated to COVID-19 infection rates — to be completely contradictory to their experience of dealing with the pandemic in India, a country with 1.3 billion people.

3 Jul 2020