Feature Channels: Infectious Diseases

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The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is strongly associated with gastric ulcers and cancer. To combat the infection, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Jacobs School of Engineering developed LipoLLA, a therapeutic nanoparticle that contains linolenic acid, a component in vegetable oils. In mice, LipoLLA was safe and more effective against H. pylori infection than standard antibiotic treatments.

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A Creighton physics faculty member and alum is part of a research group that discovered a new way the body fights bacterial infection.

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Johns Hopkins biomedical engineers have developed a free, browser-based online tool that could speed up the creation of new drugs to treat or prevent Ebola virus infections.

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Just-published findings in the journal AIDS raise concern about potential long-term harmful impact of “antiretroviral therapy” on in-utero infants whose mothers are HIV-positive, but who are not infected with HIV themselves.

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In a comprehensive new study published today in the journal Cell Host and Microbe, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Yoshihiro Kawaoka and a team of researchers have revealed methods for thwarting influenza viruses by shutting down the cellular machinery they need, like cutting the fuel line on a bank robber’s getaway car.

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The Baltimore study is the second Ebola vaccine trial being led by the University of Maryland School of Medicine CVD, the first currently taking place in Mali, West Africa. The Mali trial is being performed by CVD-Mali in partnership with the Ministry of Health of Mali.

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A nasal vaccine in development by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin has been shown to provide long-term protection for non-human primates against the deadly Ebola virus.

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Microbiologists at NYU Langone Medical Center say they have what may be the first strong evidence that the natural presence of viruses in the gut — or what they call the ‘virome’ — plays a health-maintenance and infection-fighting role similar to that of the intestinal bacteria that dwell there and make up the “microbiome.”

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Another family of viruses, deadly in some cases, may have already jumped from fruit bats into humans in Africa, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Communications.

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A new study from Penn Medicine researchers in the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics demonstrated that bed bugs, like the triatomines, can transmit Trypanosoma cruzi, the parasite that causes Chagas disease, one of the most prevalent and deadly diseases in the Americas.

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Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have identified weak spots on the surface of Ebola virus that are targeted by the antibodies in ZMapp, the experimental drug cocktail administered to several patients during the recent Ebola outbreak.

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Newly formed B cells take the easy way out when it comes to exiting the bone marrow, according to researchers at Yale University School of Medicine.

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Embargoed research from APHA's 142nd Annual Meeting and Exposition, Nov. 15-19.

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Embargoed research from APHA's 142nd Annual Meeting and Exposition, Nov. 15-19.

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One of the key reasons the Ebola outbreak got out of control in West Africa in the early days of the crisis was a lack of trust among community members, frontline health workers and the broader health system, suggests new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research.

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Major depressive disorder (MDD) should be re-conceptualized as an infectious disease, according to Turhan Canli, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology and Radiology at Stony Brook University. In a paper published in Biology of Mood & Anxiety Disorders, Dr.Canli suggests that major depression may result from parasitic, bacterial, or viral infection. He presents examples that illustrate possible pathways by which these microorganisms could contribute to the etiology of MDD.

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Though no one would call the Ebola pandemic a good thing, it has presented an opportunity for scientists to alert the public about the dire need to halt the spread of infectious diseases, especially in developing and densely populated areas of the world.

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Activation of the innate immune system with the bacterial protein flagellin could prevent and cure rotavirus infection, which is among the most common causes of severe diarrhea, says a Georgia State University research team that described the method as a novel means to prevent and treat viral infection.

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Hospitals, clinics and other emergency portals of entry that are planning for Ebola and other infectious disease-readiness now have access to a previously sold-out webinar featuring simulation education in crisis preparedness.

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Scientists have demonstrated for the first time that a single-dose, needleless Ebola vaccine given to primates through their noses and lungs protected them against infection for at least 21 weeks.

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Oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infections were more common among men who had female partners with oral and/or genital HPV infection, suggesting that the transmission of HPV occurs via oral-oral and oral-genital routes, according to a McGill University study.

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World Pneumonia Day, held annually on November 12, is an opportunity to raise awareness about pneumonia globally; to promote prevention and treatment; and to generate action to fight the illness. World Pneumonia Day is designed to create public awareness about pneumonia, promote interventions for preventing and treating pneumonia, and support action plans to combat pneumonia.

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Patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection and advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis who attained sustained virological response (SVR) had survival comparable with that of the general population, whereas patients who did not attain SVR had reduced survival, according to a study in the November 12 issue of JAMA.

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New research from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health suggests that HIV-infected adults are at a higher risk for developing heart attacks, kidney failure and cancer. But, contrary to what many had believed, the researchers say these illnesses are occurring at similar ages as adults who are not infected with HIV.

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A new treatment regimen for hepatitis C, the most common cause of liver cancer and transplantation, has produced results that will transform treatment protocols for transplant patients, according to research published online today in the New England Journal of Medicine.

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New findings support the possibility that, in the future, small, non-toxic doses of carbon monoxide could be used therapeutically to provide the immune system with an infection-fighting advantage.

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All patients with hepatitis C who receive a liver transplant will eventually infect their new livers. These transplanted organs then require anti-viral treatment before they become severely damaged. But traditional post-transplant hepatitis C therapy can take up to a year, is potentially toxic and can lead to organ rejection.

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In Tennessee, the introduction in 2010 of a new pneumococcal vaccine for infants and young children coincides with a 27 percent decline in pneumonia hospital admissions across the state among children under age 2.

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Along with the pressures of habitat loss, poaching and depletion of prey species, a new threat to tiger populations in the wild has surfaced in the form of disease, specifically, canine distemper virus (CDV). According to a new study from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and its partners, CDV has the potential to be a significant driver in pushing the animals toward extinction.

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Mosquitoes bite male birds nearly twice as often as they bite females, a finding that may help scientists understand how to stem some viruses from spreading to humans.

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Researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have developed a test they say will allow them to test thousands of FDA-approved drugs to see if they will work against the bacteria that causes tick-borne Lyme disease.

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A Malaria in the Americas Forum featuring videos, presentations and discussions on effective efforts to eliminate malaria in the Americas, to mark Malaria Day in the Americas, Nov. 6. Sponsored by The Pan American Health Organization/ World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the PAHO Foundation, Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University, and the Center for Communication Programs at The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

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Flu infection has long-ranging effects beyond the lung that can wreak havoc in the gut and cause gastrointestinal symptoms, according to researchers in China. The study suggests ways to relieve these symptoms without interfering with the body’s ability to fight the flu virus in the lung.

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Researchers develop first genetic strain of mice that can be infected with Ebola and display symptoms similar to those that humans experience. This work will significantly improve basic research on Ebola treatments and vaccines.

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A University of Adelaide-led project has developed a new test that can distinguish between birds that have been vaccinated against the H5N1 strain of avian influenza virus or “bird flu” with those that have been naturally infected.

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Kansas State University veterinary researchers collaborated on a study that shows the bat influence virus poses a low risk to humans.

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The study’s results suggest three themes: (1) local demand shifts drug routes to tourism areas, (2) drugs shape local economies and (3) drug use facilitates HIV risk behaviors in tourism areas.

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Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have sequenced the genome of enterovirus D68 sampled from patients treated at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Nationwide, the virus has spread rapidly in recent months and caused severe respiratory illness in young children, with some patients requiring hospitalization.

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The Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) was spotted in Houston in 1985 but can now be found in all of the southern states and as far north as Maine. To reconstruct its spread, scientists turned to the new discipline of landscape genetics. Correlating genetic patterns with landscape patterns, they concluded that the mosquito had hitched a ride along highways. One of only a handful of landscape genetics studies to track an invasive species, this is the first to detect hitchhiking.

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Paul Brindley, Ph.D., professor of microbiology, immunology, and tropical medicine, and scientific director of the Research Center for Neglected Diseases of Poverty at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, co-authored a perspective in the journal Science, calling for researchers to adapt new technologies to research neglected parasitic flatworms.

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By tricking the immune system into generating antibodies specific for only one bacterial protein, Staphylococcus aureus dodges the production of antibodies that might otherwise protect against infection. Vaccine approaches must be designed to side-step this bacterial subterfuge.

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Johns Hopkins Medicine has been tasked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to lead a group and to design an interactive Web-based learning program that guides health care workers, nurses and physicians through government-approved protocols to aid clinicians as they provide care to patients who may be at risk of contracting the Ebola virus. The program trains health care providers in three critical areas: proper donning of personal protective equipment (PPE), the safe removal of gear and active monitoring skills. All three modules will be available for free on the CDC’s website in the coming weeks and later available to the millions of iOS users on iTunes U.

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Salk scientists identify a promising target for HIV/AIDS treatment

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A new study is helping to rewrite Ebola’s family history. It shows that Ebola and Marburg are each members of ancient evolutionary lines, and that these two viruses last shared a common ancestor sometime prior to 16-23 million years ago.

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Late every summer and into every fall, enteroviruses bring a host of unpleasant ailments. This year, Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) has been making headlines for its potentially severe symptoms in children, causing some alarm among parents.

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Sri Lanka has not reported a local case of malaria since October 2012, according to the Sri Lankan Anti-Malarial Campaign. If it can remain malaria-free for one more year, the country will be eligible to apply to the World Health Organization for malaria-free certification.

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Combining a PET scanner with a new chemical tracer that selectively tags specific types of bacteria, Johns Hopkins researchers working with mice report they have devised a way to detect and monitor in real time infections with a class of dangerous Gram-negative bacteria. These increasingly drug-resistant bacteria are responsible for a range of diseases, including fatal pneumonias and various bloodstream or solid-organ infections acquired in and outside the hospital.

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Autumn brings tales of scary delight, but none terrifies parents so much as the note home from school that a case of lice has been detected. “While the make-believe vampires are prowling for candy, head lice are looking for a real blood meal,” said Dr. Andrew Bonwit, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Loyola University Health System.