Infectious Diseases News

July 26, 2024

Top Headlines

New Drug Shows Promise in Clearing HIV from Brain

July 25, 2024 — An experimental drug originally developed to treat cancer may help clear HIV from infected cells in the brain, according to a new study. By targeting infected cells in the brain, drug may clear virus from hidden areas that have been a major ...

Scientists Identify Key Protein Behind Spread of Shingles Virus

July 25, 2024 — Scientists have discovered a new evasion strategy used by the varicella zoster virus, which causes chickenpox and shingles, that may allow it to affect tissues far from the original site of ...

Exposing Dengue's Invasion Strategies

July 22, 2024 — Mosquito-borne viral infections once confined to tropical regions are spreading. Dengue virus infects up to 400 million people worldwide each year according to World Health Organization estimates, and no available treatments exist for this disease. ...

Proof-of-Concept Study to Find Functional Cure for HIV

July 24, 2024 — Researchers conducted a breakthrough proof-of-concept study that found an HIV-like virus particle that could cease the need for lifelong ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:14pm EDT

New Study Confirms Mammal-to-Mammal Avian Flu Spread

July 24, 2024 — A new study provides evidence that a spillover of avian influenza from birds to dairy cattle across several U.S. states has now led to mammal-to-mammal transmission -- between cows and from cows to ...

New Rapid Method for Determining Virus Infectivity

July 23, 2024 — A new method that can rapidly determine whether a virus is infectious or non-infectious could revolutionize the response to future pandemics, researchers ...

B Cell Biohack: Immune Cells to Churn out Custom Antibodies

July 22, 2024 — Scientists have discovered a way to turn the body's B cells into tiny surveillance machines and antibody factories that can pump out specially designed antibodies to destroy cancer cells or HIV, two ...

Study Shows Promise for a Universal Influenza Vaccine

July 19, 2024 — New research reveals a promising approach to developing a universal influenza vaccine -- a so-called 'one and done' vaccine that confers lifetime immunity against an evolving virus. The study tested ...

Scientists Pinpoint New Drug Target for RSV

July 19, 2024 — Scientists have discovered how the dangerous Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) defuses our immune response and, in doing so, they have pinpointed an exciting new target for drug ...

Influenza Viruses Can Use Two Ways to Infect Cells

July 17, 2024 — Most influenza viruses enter human or animal cells through specific pathways on the cells' surface. Researchers have now discovered that certain human flu viruses and avian flu viruses can also use a ...

Autoantibodies Behind Lifelong Risk of Viral Infections

July 17, 2024 — A new study shows that about two percent of the population develop autoantibodies against type 1 interferons, mostly later in life. This makes individuals more susceptible to viral diseases like ...

Risk of Long COVID Declined Over Course of Pandemic

July 17, 2024 — The risk of long COVID has declined over the course of the pandemic, although it remains a persistent threat. Researchers identified vaccination as a primary factor in reducing the risk of long ...

Llama Nanobodies: A Breakthrough in Building HIV Immunity

July 17, 2024 — Biology researchers have developed a new antibody therapy that can neutralize a wide variety of HIV-1 strains. They found success in an unlikely source -- ...

Receptors Make Dairy Cows a Prime Target for Influenza

July 15, 2024 — A study helps explain why dairy cows infected by highly pathogenic avian influenza are shedding the virus in their milk. Their findings could help develop biosecurity measures aimed at slowing the ...

Long-Acting Injectable Cabotegravir for HIV Prevention Is Safe in Pregnancy, Study Finds

July 23, 2024 — Long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) was safe and well tolerated as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) before and during pregnancy in the follow-up phase of a global study among cisgender ...

Improving HIV Treatment in Children and Adolescents -- The Right Way

July 18, 2024 — Globally, around 2.6 million children and adolescents are currently living with HIV, the majority of them in Africa. These young people are much more likely to experience treatment failure than ...

Respiratory Bacteria 'Turn Off' Immune System to Survive

July 12, 2024 — Researchers have identified how a common bacterium is able to manipulate the human immune system during respiratory infections and cause persistent ...

New Study Finds 40-Percent of Cancer Cases and Almost Half of All Deaths in the US Linked to Modifiable Risk Factors

July 11, 2024 — A new study finds four in 10 cancer cases and about one-half of all cancer deaths in adults 30 years old and older in the United States (or 713,340 cancer cases and 262,120 cancer deaths in 2019) ...

Nanoparticle Vaccines Enhance Cross-Protection Against Influenza Viruses

July 10, 2024 — To offer cross-protection against diverse influenza virus variants, nanoparticle vaccines can produce pivotal cellular and mucosal immune responses that enhance vaccine efficacy and broaden ...

Cirrhosis Affects Twice as Many Transgender Adults as Cisgender Adults, Study Finds

July 10, 2024 — A new study has found a startling disparity in the frequency of liver disease for transgender individuals and highlights the need for more specialized ...

Hepatitis B: 'Sleep Timer' for Immune Cells Discovered

July 10, 2024 — In chronic hepatitis B, the liver contains immune cells that could destroy hepatitis B virus infected cells but are inactive. Researchers have discovered that cells blood vessels in the liver start a ...

Hepatitis C Leaves 'Scars' in Immune Cells Even After Successful Treatment

July 9, 2024 — Researchers have provided new insights into the lasting effects of chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection on the immune system, even after the disease has been successfully treated. The research ...

Raw Milk Is Risky, but Airborne Transmission of H5N1 from Cow's Milk Is Inefficient in Mammals

July 8, 2024 — While H5N1 avian influenza virus taken from infected cow's milk makes mice and ferrets sick when dripped into their noses, airborne transmission of the virus between ferrets -- a common model ...

Scientists Discover How to Improve Vaccine Responses to Potentially Deadly Bacterium

July 8, 2024 — Researchers have taken a leap forward in understanding how we might fight back against the potentially deadly MRSA bacterium. They have shown in an animal model that targeting a key suppressive ...

New Bio-Based Tool Quickly Detects Concerning Coronavirus Variants

July 8, 2024 — Researchers have developed a bioelectric device that can detect and classify new variants of coronavirus to identify those that are most harmful. It has the potential to do the same with other ...

Pasteurization Inactivates Highly Infectious Avian Flu in Milk, Study Suggests

July 3, 2024 — Researchers found no infectious virus in the sampled pasteurized milk products tested for ...

Scientists Unravel Life-Saving Effect of Dexamethasone in COVID-19

July 3, 2024 — Dexamethasone is one of the most important drugs in the treatment of severe COVID-19, but patients respond very differently to the therapy. Researchers have now discovered how the cortisone compound ...

Mobile Phone Data Helps Track Pathogen Spread and Evolution of Superbugs

July 3, 2024 — Combining genomic data and human travel patterns over a 14-year period in South Africa reveals key insights into the spread, evolution and resistance patterns of a major bacterium behind pneumonia ...

Low-Dose Aspirin Could Help Prevent Pregnancy Complications Caused by Flu Infections

July 2, 2024 — A world-first study has found low-dose aspirin may treat flu-induced blood vessel inflammation, creating better blood flow to the placenta during ...

Treatment With a Mixture of Antimicrobial Peptides Can Impede Antibiotic Resistance

July 2, 2024 — A common infection-causing bacteria was much less likely to evolve antibiotic resistance when treated with a mixture of antimicrobial peptides rather than a single peptide, making these mixtures a ...

Advancing Toward a Preventative HIV Vaccine

July 2, 2024 — A major challenge in developing a vaccine for HIV is that the virus mutates fast -- very fast. Although a person initially becomes infected with one or a few HIV strains, the virus replicates and ...

Regular Vaccine Boosts May Help People Who Are Immunocompromised Fight COVID-19, Study Suggests

July 2, 2024 — Research finds that booster doses of bivalent vaccines given every three to six months helps maintain a person's ability to neutralize multiple SARS-CoV-2 strains, including ...

Researchers Thwart Resistant Bacteria's Strategy

July 1, 2024 — Bacteria are experts at evolving resistance to antibiotics. One resistance strategy is to cover their cell walls in sticky and gooey biofilm that antibiotics cannot penetrate. A new discovery could ...

Breakthrough Research Makes Cancer-Fighting Viral Agent More Effective

June 28, 2024 — Researchers have made a significant breakthrough by discovering that the drug 4-OI can enhance the effectiveness of a cancer-fighting viral agent. This may lead to treatment of cancers that are ...