In the recent issue of EMBO reports, Barbara Han of the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies and John Drake of the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology call for the creation of a global early warning system for infectious diseases. Such a system would use computer models to tap into environmental, epidemiological and molecular data, gathering the intelligence needed to forecast where disease risk is high and what actions could prevent outbreaks or contain epidemics.
Patients with obstructive lung disease who take inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) may be at greater risk for nontuberculous mycobacteria pulmonary disease (NTM PD), according to new research presented at the ATS 2016 International Conference.
A viral protein known as NS5 is a promising target for vaccines against Zika and related viruses, according to National Institutes of Health (NIH) scientists and colleagues at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine. Their study, published online May 19, 2016 in Cell Host & Microbe, suggests that altering or removing the NS5 protein from Zika virus would allow the human body's own immune defenses to attack the virus. The study found that NS5 prevents Zika virus-infected human cells from signaling immune system cells to make interferon, a powerful antiviral protein.
After three years and 300 patients, George Mason University researchers have proof that their early-detection urine test for Lyme disease works.
Rutgers is taking a leading role in an IBM-sponsored World Community Grid project that will use supercomputing power to identify potential drug candidates to cure Zika virus infection.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may soon be beatable thanks to the efforts of University of South Florida scientists who have isolated and tested an extract from a sponge found in Antarctica. The sponge extract, known as Dendrilla membranosa, yields a new, natural product chemical which has shown in laboratory tests that it can eliminate more than 98 percent of MRSA cells. The research team has named the new chemical "darwinolide."
A University of Oklahoma team of chemists has developed a new antibiotic formulation to fight the sometimes deadly staph infection caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and other antibiotic-resistant infectious bacteria. The new drug to treat MRSA combines traditional Food and Drug Administration-approved antibiotics, such as methicillin, with the polymer BPEI.
A small number of patients infected by HIV spontaneously control viral replication without antiretroviral therapy, and do not develop the disease. The ability of these rare patients, known as "HIV controllers," to suppress HIV replication appears to be down to a highly effective immune response. Scientists from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm observed that CD4+ T immune cells in these patients, recruited from the ANRS CO21 CODEX cohort, were capable of recognizing tiny quantities of the virus. This highly sensitive detection is dependent on the expression of specific T cell receptors on the surface of immune cells, which target the HIV capsid protein with high affinity. The preferential expression of these receptors appears to keep the immune system on a constant state of alert, thereby enabling the patients to control HIV. These findings have been published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
A simple paper sheet made by scientists at Uppsala University can improve the quality of life for millions of people by removing resistant viruses from water. The sheet, made of cellulose nanofibers, is called the mille-feuille filter as it has a unique layered internal architecture resembling that of the French puff pastry mille-feuille ("thousand leaves").
New data released in ECDC's Annual Epidemiological report show that since 2010, the overall syphilis rates have been going up across Europe, particularly among men. In 2014, the reported syphilis numbers were six times higher in men than in women. Almost two-thirds (63%) of the syphilis cases reported with information on transmission category were recorded in men who have sex with men (MSM).
Greater collaboration between ICU nursing and medicine could help to minimize ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), according to a study presented at the ATS 2016 International Conference.