Skin & Soft Tissue Diseases

A new study has characterized risk factors for the development of active methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among patients who are colonized with the bacteria at hospital admission.

The recent discovery of a child mummy calls into question some assumptions about the history of smallpox.

The United States is experiencing its biggest mumps outbreak in years, causing a surge of cases across the country after several years of relatively few cases. This has prompted health officials to take steps to prevent further spread of the disease.

Ongoing mumps outbreaks around the United States show that the virus can occur even in vaccinated populations, though health officials stress that the mumps vaccine does prevent larger outbreaks from occurring.

A recent study of employees at an industrial hog facility found that the livestock workers were more likely to carry Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in their noses, including antibiotic-resistant isolates.

What started as four infections at the University of Missouri has now grown into an outbreak.

For a small group of individuals with immunodeficiencies, the MMR vaccine can be deadly.

Researchers in the United Kingdom have made a new genetic discovery in the link between Epstein-Barr virus and related cancers, including a potential way to stop the cancer-causing effects of these infections.

A recent analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that strides have been made in the fight against measles; however, the work still falls short of goals set by the World Health Assembly (WHA).

Predicting how long it takes for an infectious disease outbreak to begin may help health officials develop an early warning system, according to the authors of a new study on lag times in epidemics.

Researchers estimate that there are more cases of sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE), a fatal measles complication, than previous thought.

Michael D. Nailor, PharmD, BCPS-AQ ID, clinical associate professor at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy, clinical specialist in infectious diseases at Hartford Hospital, and director of Infectious Disease Residency program at Hartford Hospital, discusses the prevalence of skin and soft tissue infections in the United States.

The probability of a measles epidemic occurring in Texas increases as the number of children exempt from receiving the measles vaccine continues to grow.

Researchers discuss five strategies to aid in the control of neglected tropical diseases.

Researchers review recent progress made on neglected tropical diseases since 2010.

A recent study details a case of a man with a confirmed Zika virus infection accompanied by papular descending eruption, petechiae on his palate, and hyperemic sclerae.

Bartonella henselae, the bacterium that causes Cat-Scratch Disease, is carried in the claws and mouth of infected cats and spreads through bites, scratches, or licks to an open wound.

Mumps outbreaks have recently been reported within the school systems of three states: Arkansas, Oklahoma, and New York.

Additional study findings indicated that patients with AD had a significantly higher risk for S. aureus colonization of lesional skin as compared with those without AD.

A new study conducted by Andreas Peschel, PhD, and colleagues at the University of Tuebingen in Germany, has shown that lugdunin, a bacteria naturally produced by the human body, can be used as an antibiotic that can eliminate Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

The number of confirmed cases in the outbreak has been attributed to the reluctance of some to be vaccinated.

Jeff Boyd, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rutgers school of Environmental and Biological Sciences, explains how Staphylococcus aureus and other microbes become antibiotic-resistant.

Jeff Boyd, PhD, assistant professor of Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rutgers School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, explains the difference between Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

A recent report describing the development of “flesh-eating bacteria” in a Louisiana woman has the public concerned. The infection developed after the woman injured her foot, resulting in bleeding, while surf fishing in the Gulf of Mexico earlier this May.

Although virtually eradicated in some parts of the developed world, spinal meningitis remains a significant healthcare challenge in the so-called “African meningitis belt,” a region of 26 countries that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia.

Zoonotic diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi that are spread between animals and humans are quite common and scientists estimate that more than 60% of human infectious diseases are spread from animals.

A new study reveals that diabetics may be at an increased risk of contracting Staphylococcus aureus blood infections, due to lower immunity.

A new study in BMC Public Health finds that neglect of skin wounds is an independent and strong risk factor for becoming a carrier of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), a dangerous pathogen that can cause infections and lead to life-threatening infectious diseases.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers have developed a new vaccine type that shows promise to possibly become the first ever for preventing genital herpes.

A survey of 571 US hospitals regarding practices used to prevent Clostridium difficile infection indicates that nearly half of the facilities appear to not be taking steps to prevent the infection that kills nearly 30,000 people and sickens hundreds of thousands more each year, despite strong evidence that these steps work.