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Between Aug. 26 and Aug. 31, 2015, the National IHR Focal Point for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia notified the World Health Organization (WHO) of 22 additional cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection, including three deaths. Fifteen of these reported cases are associated with a MERS-CoV outbreak currently occurring in a hospital in Riyadh City.

Almost all human beings are exposed to the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, before their second birthdays. For most, the symptoms mimic those of the common cold: runny nose, coughing, sneezing, fever. But in some very young infants -- and some older adults -- the disease can be serious, causing respiratory problems that require hospitalization and increase the risk of developing asthma later in life. Even in the hospital, doctors can't do much more than offer supportive care. But, with a new study, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and colleagues have identified a subset of viral products that are responsible for eliciting a strong immune response against RSV in people who become infected. These products, called immunostimulatory defective viral genomes, or DVGs, were once thought to have no biological function. Now they are being eyed as a gateway through which the immune system could be coaxed to mount a defense to clear the body of the virus.

When a patient arrives at a hospital with a serious infection, doctors have precious few minutes to make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe treatment accordingly. Doctors' ability to act quickly and correctly not only makes a difference to the patient's outcome, it determines whether the infection spreads to other patients in the clinic, and can even contribute to the development of drug-resistant bacteria.

There are two common approaches to protecting humans from infectious disease: Targeting pathogens and parasites with medicines like antibiotics, or dealing with the conditions that allow transmission. A paper published today in the journal Nature Scientific Reports demonstrates the effectiveness of a third strategy: Adjusting the landscape of the human body to remove the mechanism that allows pathogens to cause disease. The discovery is the result of serendipity and collaboration between high-level scientists in different fields.

The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) recently held a roundtable discussion on the numerous challenges associated with sterile processing.

Science and technology are well recognized and important drivers of change. Likewise the escalating pace of scientific advancement in healthcare has contributed significantly, especially during the 20th century, to increased longevity and quality of life. Both acute and chronic care have improved due to the scientific discovery and new technologies designed to apply the discoveries in specific situations. The advancement of medical science has opened new practice areas for a diverse range of healthcare workers and continues to create opportunities at a never before experienced rate of change.

For much of her adult life Valerie Sim has been fascinated by a disease very few in the world can claim to even begin to understand. Sim is one of Canada's foremost authorities on prion disease--more commonly known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease in cattle, or Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease among humans. In both cases there is no cure; nor are there treatments available. But Sim's latest research is providing new hope for the future.

Today, Sept. 3, 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared Liberia to be free of Ebola virus transmission in the human population. Forty-two days have passed since the second negative test on July 22, 2015 of the last laboratory-confirmed case. Liberia now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance.

Bacteria’s ability to become resistant to antibiotics is a growing issue in health care: Resistant strains result in prolonged illnesses and higher mortality rates. One way to combat this is to determine bacteria’s antibiotic resistance in a given patient, but that often takes days - and time is crucial in treatment. Arizona State University (ASU) scientists have developed a technique that can sort antibiotic-resistant from “susceptible” bacteria, and it happens in a matter of minutes.