Infectious Diseases

New test better detects elephantiasis worm infection
05/22/2013 - 10:46

A new diagnostic test for a worm infection that can lead to severe enlargement and deformities of the legs and genitals is far more sensitive than the currently used test, according to results of a field study in Liberia, in West Africa, where the infection is endemic. The new test found evidence of the infection – lymphatic filariasis – in many more people that the standard test had missed.

 

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Resistance to last-line antibiotic makes bacteria resistant to immune system
05/21/2013 - 09:49

Bacteria resistant to the antibiotic colistin are also commonly resistant to antimicrobial substances made by the human body, according to a study in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Cross-resistance to colistin and host antimicrobials LL-37 and lysozyme, which help defend the body against bacterial attack, could mean that patients with life-threatening multi-drug resistant infections are also saddled with a crippled immune response.

 

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Researchers find widespread but neglected disease as real health threat in Africa
05/15/2013 - 09:58

Researchers have identified leptospirosis as a significant health threat in Botswana. The world’s most common disease transmitted to humans by animals according to the World Health Organization, leptospirosis is a two-phase disease that begins with flu-like symptoms but can cause meningitis, liver damage, pulmonary hemorrhage, renal failure, and even death if untreated.

 

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New bird flu strain seen adapting to mammals, humans
04/13/2013 - 11:43

A genetic analysis of the avian flu virus responsible for at least nine human deaths in China portrays a virus evolving to adapt to human cells, raising concern about its potential to spark a new global flu pandemic.

 

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Research advances therapy to protect against dengue virus
04/08/2013 - 14:13

Nearly half of the world’s population is at risk of infection by the dengue virus, yet there is no specific treatment for the disease. Now a therapy to protect people from the virus could finally be a step closer, thanks to a team at MIT.

 

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Bird flu mutation study offers vaccine clue
04/08/2013 - 10:30

Scientists have described small genetic changes that enable the H5N1 bird flu virus to replicate more easily in the noses of mammals. So far there have only been isolated cases of bird flu in humans, and no widespread transmission as the H5N1 virus can’t replicate efficiently in the nose. The new study, using weakened viruses in the lab, supports the conclusions of controversial research published in 2012 which demonstrated that just a few genetic mutations could enable bird flu to spread between ferrets, which are used to model flu infection in humans.

 

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