News

A study of the West Nile virus risk associated with "dry" water-detention basins in Central Illinois took an unexpected turn when land managers started mowing the basins. The mowing of wetland plants in basins that failed to drain properly led to a boom in populations of Culex pipiens mosquitoes, which can carry and transmit the deadly virus, researchers report. A paper describing their findings is in press in the journal Ecological Applications.

Today only half of people living with HIV are aware of their status. This testing gap, coupled with the importance of early treatment for HIV, is driving interest in of the role of self-testing for HIV.

To fight a pathogen that’s highly resistant to antibiotics, first understand how it gets that way. Klebsiella pneumoniae strains that carry a particular enzyme are known for “their ability to survive any antibiotics you throw at them,” says Corey Hudson of Sandia National Laboratories in California.

The negative health effects of international air travel are well documented but now it seems that the common elderberry can provide some relief. Associate professor Evelin Tiralongo and Dr. Shirley Wee from Griffith University's Menzies Health Institute Queensland (MHIQ) have completed a clinical trial showing that an elderberry supplement can provide some protection from cold and flu-like symptoms following long-haul flights.

Researchers from the University of Sydney have painted the most detailed picture to date of major infectious diseases shared between wildlife and livestock, and found a huge gap in knowledge about diseases which could spread to humans. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the world-first study has found that just 10 diseases account for around 50 percent of all published knowledge on diseases at the wildlife-livestock interface. It is based on an analysis of almost 16,000 publications spanning the last century.

University of Virginia Health System and the MITRE Corporation are partnering to develop better health data analysis tools to help prevent patients from getting sick and improving care while reducing healthcare costs.