COVID-19 has caused significant global panic after its rapid emergence more than 3 years ago.
During the pandemic, it became clear that children who contracted COVID-19 became less ill than adults.
Researchers at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University found that an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) was associated with the deaths of more than 330 New England harbor and gray seals along the North Atlantic coast in June and July 2022, and the outbreak was connected to a wave of avian influenza in birds in the region.
Long before COVID-19, washing and sterilizing hands were known to help prevent the spread of infections such as influenza, and hand hygiene practices were especially important in high-risk areas, such as hospitals. So it was something of a public health boon that COVID-19 abruptly increased hand hygiene awareness.
Many highly sensitive diagnostic tests for viral diseases still require complicated techniques. But now, a team reporting in ACS Central Science has developed a sensitive method that analyzes viral nucleic acids quickly and can be completed in one step with “glow-in-the-dark” proteins.
A recent study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry has revealed the secret behind an evolutionary marvel: a bacteriophage with an extremely long tail. This extraordinary tail is part of a bacteriophage that lives in inhospitable hot springs and preys on some of the toughest bacteria on the planet.
A population data linkage study using anonymised primary and secondary care health records in Swansea University’s SAIL Databank has revealed that in 2020 and 2021, fewer people in Wales were being diagnosed with long-term conditions than expected.
A patient presenting with painful, swirling skin lesions, chills, and weight loss was found to be suffering from erythema gyratum repens (EGR), a rare and striking skin condition that is associated with underlying malignancy in most cases, but in some cases can stem from an autoimmune disease, messenger RNA-based vaccines against COVID-19, or in rare cases, tuberculosis (TB). The case report from authors at Stanford University is published in Annals of Internal Medicine.
A team of faculty from Wayne State University has discovered new technology that will quickly and easily detect active Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) infection antibodies.
If you’re a fan of HBO’s post-apocalyptic series “The Last of Us” – or the video game that inspired it – you’ve probably heard the term Cordyceps. In the show, the parasitic fungus has mutated, graduating from infecting insects to humans – transforming them into mind-controlled zombies. But it’s not all science fiction. Niels-Viggo Hobbs Ph.D. ’16, a University of Rhode Island assistant teaching professor in biological sciences, lends his expertise to carefully walk us through the world of Cordyceps.
A whole new world of antibiotics is waiting inside the viruses that infect bacteria. Our scientists are making it easier to study them.
The next pandemic that cascades through the human population could be caused by a new influenza virus strain concocted in animals, against which humans will have little to no immunity.
In reviewing data from previous studies, a team lead by researchers at the University of Chicago and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) found that individuals who had fewer than six hours of sleep per night in the days surrounding vaccination had a blunted antibody response. That indicates efforts to promote heathy sleep duration ahead of an immunization could be an easy way to improve vaccine effectiveness.
Sleeping fewer than six hours per night around the time of vaccination was associated with a robust decrease in antibody response, researchers found.
As the pandemic enters its fourth year, the medical historian whose team's work on the 1918 flu influenced the "flatten the curve" approach in 2020 reflects on what lessons for the future can be drawn by studying recent pandemic history.
Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center has been recognized as a Silver Level Antimicrobial Stewardship Recognition Program award recipient by the NJDOH.
According to a new study published by Mayo Clinic researchers, the COVID-19 pandemic was linked to a 17% increase in the death rate in Minnesota during the first year of the pandemic compared to the two previous years.
The constant evolution of new COVID-19 variants makes it critical for clinicians to have multiple therapies in their arsenal for treating drug-resistant infections. Researchers have now discovered that a new class of oral drugs that acts directly on human cells can inhibit a diverse range of pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 strains. In their newly published study, the team found a novel mechanism through which the gene that expresses angiotensin converting enzyme-2 (ACE-2)—the cellular receptor to which SARS-CoV-2 binds so that it can enter and infect the cell—is turned on.
The enzyme TBK1 is an important component of the innate immune system that plays a critical role in the defense against viruses. Upon mutation-induced loss of TBK1 function, patients show an increased susceptibility to viral infections.
Rather than let the next outbreak take the world by surprise, two virologists say in a Science Perspective article published today (March 10, 2023) that the scientific community should invest in a four-part research framework to proactively identify animal viruses that might infect humans.
Mental health among the general population has not changed by large amounts during the covid-19 pandemic compared with pre-pandemic levels, finds a study published by The BMJ today.
A new review on the global mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic confirms feared increases in depression and anxiety, with leading experts saying little has been done to address what is set to become a mounting mental health crisis.
A new class of oral drugs can inhibit a wide range of SARS-CoV-2 variants, researchers report, potentially identifying new antiviral agents providing broad activity against the constantly emerging new strains of the COVID-19 virus
The link between symptoms of COVID-19 and physical inactivity is increasingly evident. An article recently published in the journal Scientific Reports by researchers at the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil describes a study in which COVID-19 survivors with at least one persistent symptom of the disease were 57% more likely to be sedentary, and the presence of five or more post-acute sequelae of infection by SARS-CoV-2 increased the odds of physical inactivity by 138%.
Infectious diseases like COVID, HIV, and battlefield wound infections cause illness and disruptions that threaten health and military readiness across the nation. To help foster collaboration in the field and share best practices, the Uniformed Service University’s (USU) Infectious Disease Clinical Research Program (IDCRP) is hosting its first annual Science Symposium March 6-10.
A pilot trial by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, tested the nasal administration of the drug Foralumab, an anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody.
A new study led by researchers at Harvard Medical School illuminates how the brain becomes aware that there is an infection in the body.
Substantial variation in infectiousness among cases may strongly impact the way SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads in the population, even at the household level, shows a study published today in eLife.
Analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands suggests that locally targeted pandemic control measures could have been just as effective as national lockdowns, according to a study published today in eLife.
A novel compound that has the potential to starve the bacteria that causes tuberculosis – the world’s leading infectious killer after SARS-CoV2 – is entering human clinical trials.
A new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care system shows that people who have been infected with COVID-19 are at an increased risk of developing a range of gastrointestinal conditions within the first month to a year after illness.
A global team of researchers has created an algorithmic tool that can identify existing drugs in order to combat future pandemics. The work, reported in the Cell Press journal Heliyon, offers the possibility of responding more quickly to public-health crises.
To evaluate best strategies for increasing vaccination rates, researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a founding member of the Mass General Brigham healthcare system, collaborated with Danish researchers to develop and implement a nationwide trial in Denmark testing nine different electronic messaging tactics among adults over age 65.
A clinical trial testing a freeze-dried, temperature-stable experimental tuberculosis (TB) vaccine in healthy adults found that it was safe and stimulated both antibodies and responses from the cellular arm of the immune system.
High-dose anticoagulation can reduce deaths by 30 percent and intubations by 25 percent in hospitalized COVID-19 patients who are not critically ill when compared to the standard treatment, which is low-dose anticoagulation.
More than 25% of parents surveyed report that they were less than truthful about their children’s COVID-19 status or that they didn't follow the disease’s preventive guidelines during the pandemic for their offspring, according to a nationwide study led in part by University of Utah scientists.
The recent public health emergency declarations in New York and London due to polio infections and detection of the virus in these cities’ wastewater strongly indicate that polio is no longer close to being eradicated. Now, four members of the Global Virus Network (GVN) proposed changes in global polio eradication strategy to get the world back on track to one day eliminating polio’s threat.
The recent public health emergency declarations in New York and London due to polio infections and detection of the virus in these cities’ wastewater strongly indicate that polio is no longer close to being eradicated.
Public and private sector health officials and public policymakers should team up immediately with community leaders to more effectively disseminate accurate narratives regarding the life-saving benefits of vaccines to counter widespread, harmful misinformation from anti-vaccine activists in the United States.
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“COVID rebound,” in which evidence of the illness disappears and then returns days or weeks later, is surprisingly common—whether or not patients are given the antiviral Paxlovid.
In autoimmune encephalitis, a rare but serious and sometimes life-threatening inflammation of the central nervous system, the body’s own defences are directed against the central nervous system.
Public and private sector health officials and public policymakers should team up immediately with community leaders to more effectively disseminate accurate narratives regarding the life-saving benefits of vaccines to counter widespread, harmful misinformation from anti-vaccine activists.
New research from Washington University in St. Louis finds evidence that parasitic infections in kids are likely widespread in low-resource communities throughout the southern United States, where environmental conditions combined with infrastructural neglect and inadequate access to health care create the perfect breeding ground for these infections.
Questions remain about artificial tears linked to an outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections involving 64 people in 13 states, including 8 cases of vision loss, as well as lung and urinary tract infections, and one death. Federal agencies warned people to stop using EzriCare and Delsam Pharma artificial tears after tests of opened bottles used by those affected found a rare, extensively drug-resistant strain of P. aeruginosa. The strain had never been reported in the United States.What is clear is that eye health experts have advice for people using artificial tears, which are sold over the counter and widely used for eye irritation associated with dry eye disease, contact lens use, and refractive surgery, as well among those using other eye drops regularly, such as for glaucoma.
Long COVID is associated with reduced brain oxygen levels, worse performance on cognitive tests and increased psychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety, according to new research studying the impacts of the disease.
Schools are among the most notable settings people associate with picking up viral infections such as the common cold, various types of the flu or other respiratory viruses.
A new study published in the journal International Social Work has uncovered concerning rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety among social workers.
Leonard A. Jason, a professor of psychology at DePaul, seeks to catalyze global knowledge about virally induced chronic illness and push forward discovery.
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