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Little teapots with long spouts have become a fixture in many homes to flush out clogged nasal passages and help people breathe easier. Along with other nasal irrigation systems, these devices - commonly called neti pots - use a saline, or saltwater, solution to treat congested sinuses, colds and allergies. They’re also used to moisten nasal passages exposed to dry indoor air. According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), improper use of these neti pots and other nasal rinsing devices can increase your risk of infection.

The research carried out by professor Jose Bengoechea, director at the Centre for Experimental Medicine at Queen's University, and his team unveiled the molecular mechanisms preventing the treatment of Klebsiella pneumonia. The multidrug-resistant microbe can cause bladder infections, pneumonia and has mortality rates of 25 percent to 60 percent.

An investigational malaria vaccine given intravenously was well-tolerated and protected a significant proportion of healthy adults against infection with Plasmodium falciparum malaria--the deadliest form of the disease--for the duration of the malaria season, according to new findings published in the February 15 issue of the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases. The study participants live in Mali, Africa, where they are naturally exposed to the parasite.

In an effort to one day eliminate the need for an annual flu shot, a group of researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are exploring the surface of influenza viruses, which are covered by a protein called “hemagglutinin” (HA). This particular protein is used like a key by viruses to open cells and infect them, making it an ideal target for efforts to help the body's immune system fight off a wide range of influenza strains.

Kent researchers have identified how few mutations it can take for Ebolaviruses to adapt to affect previously resistant species.

One of the most promising new approaches to slowing the spread of HIV is pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a once-a-day medication that people who don't have HIV can take to prevent becoming infected. But that strategy only works if people at risk for contracting HIV become and remain fully engaged in preventive care and actually take the pills. In the real world of clinical practice, that has often proved tricky.

A University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences entomologist will use a $200,000 grant from the Florida Department of Health to improve tests for the detection of the Zika virus.

Women have claimed for years that their bodies react differently whether they're pregnant with a male or female baby. Some studies suggest that a baby's sex could play a role in why some women report differences with morning sickness, cravings and other symptoms based on the sex of their baby. Now, evidence published in the February issue of the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity, shows the sex of a baby is associated with pregnant women's immune responses.

The non-profit research and development organization Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative (DNDi) has released results of a study in South Africa that will make it easier for healthcare workers to treat children living with HIV who are co-infected with tuberculosis (TB). The study, presented as a late-breaker this week at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI) in Seattle, provides essential evidence and data to counter the negative interactions between two critical HIV and TB treatments.