NDM-1 Superbug Discovered in a Cat in the USA
The Indian superbug NDM-1, which has a gene that encodes an enzyme conferring resistance to almost all known antibiotics, has been found in the USA…
Epidemiology
Spread of Disease-Carrying Mosquitoes in Europe Prompts Surveillance
Invasive mosquitoes carrying exotic diseases have made their entry into Europe. Diseases generally absent from Europe, like chikungunya and dengue fever have appeared around the…
HIV Vaccine Trial Identifies Target That Could Improve Effectiveness
A new vaccine trial has revealed a weak spot in HIV, which could lead to an effective vaccine against AIDS. The vaccine turns the immune…
Tuberculosis Resistance to Backup Drugs Increases
According to a new study, more than 40% of tuberculosis infections that are resistant to front-line antibiotic treatments have also become resistant to some common…
Brucella Blocked From Bonding with Host, Could Lead to Superbug Cure
Pathogenic bacteria without their virulent factors could be rendered harmless and eliminated by the human immune system. That’s the goal that a group of researchers…
Ebola Outbreak in Uganda Tests Readiness
Since July 16th, 16 people have died in Uganda of an Ebola outbreak. Contrary to previous outbreaks, a laboratory in Entebbe, near Uganda’s capital Kampala…
Study Shows that Vorinostat can Dislodge the Dormant HIV Virus in Patients
A newly published study from the University of North Carolina found that the drug vorinostat, a deacetylase inhibitor that is used to treat some types…
How Airports Will Influence the Spread of a Contagious Disease
By focusing on the initial days of an epidemic and determining how likely the largest U.S. airports are to influence the spread of a contagious…
CDC Reports that Superbug NDM-1 Spread within a US-Based Hospital
Yesterday, the CDC reported through its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report that the superbug NDM-1 (New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase 1), which was first identified in patients…
Monkeys Cured of Ebola Zaire Virus with Antibody Cocktail
A cocktail of three antibodies has been able to cure monkeys infected with the Ebola virus if administered 24 hours or more after exposure. This…
Latency Develops Soon After Infection and Slows When Antiretroviral Therapy is Given
While studying 27 patients with acute HIV infection, researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine found that early treatment reduced the production…
Mutated Protein Allows Flu’s Lethality in Some Patients
The flu can be lethal in some patients, but benign in others. The reason that this is the way that flu infections work might be…
Acorn, White-Footed Mice and Tick Cycle Augment Risks of Lyme Disease in 2012
It’s been explained at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases (ICEID) that the northeastern part of the United States faces the worst year yet…
Flu Infections and MRSA Combine into Lethal Cocktail in Maryland
MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus can be even deadlier when it is combined with a virulent flu infection. It’s been reported that a family of five…
Central American Bats Harbor a New Subtype of Influenza
It’s been reported that fruit bats in Guatemala are hosting a new type of the influenza A virus, according to a new study published in…
Further Investigation into Mystery Tourette-Like Outbreak in a US School
Last week, school administrators at the LeRoy Central School District in northwestern New York state approved a plan that will allow further testing at the…
Highest Recorded Rates of Drug Resistant Tuberculosis
Today the World Health Organization has released an updated report on the situation of drug-resistant tuberculosis around the world, and it’s reporting that drug-resistant TB…
Scientists Find Cure for Neurocysticercosis, a Major Cause of Seizures
Neurocysticercosis is caused when people ingest pork that has gone bad and is the root cause of several types of seizures. In a new study…
