Zoonotic & Vector-Borne Diseases

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued an elevated risk travel alert for the country of Brazil as they are currently experiencing an outbreak of yellow fever.

The Texas Department of State Health Services recently reported the first laboratory-confirmed case of Zika virus in pregnant woman who did not travel outside of the state.

In Illinois and Wisconsin, eight individuals working at rat-breeding facilities have contracted Seoul virus.

Researchers from La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology believe that their findings will provide a platform to understand how Zika virus makes its way into various body fluids.

A team of researchers has found that urbanized white ibises may be shedding Salmonella enterica and transmitting it to humans visiting parks.

As concerns over the spread of tropical infectious diseases increase, in the age of Zika virus and Dengue fever in particular, PRVs may have significant implications for the development of novel vaccines and antivirals, assuming the program is used effectively.

The researchers evaluated populations of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus collected both in the field and raised in a lab setting to determine whether or not the mosquitoes required bacterial populations in their guts to develop, and which bacteria were necessary to the process.

The World Health Organization issues a yellow fever outbreak warning in Brazil, a country that is already dealing with outbreaks of Zika virus, chikyngunya, and dengue.

Researchers from Germany recently published a new study that can change how future scientists study the replication of the Dengue and Zika viruses within the human body.

Researchers have found that it is possible to bolster the immunity of the Aedes aegypti mosquito, the species that transmits Dengue, Zika, and Chikungunya, against these viruses and effectively suppress its ability to transmit the disease.

A team of dermatologists and gynecologists recently described their work with a 23-year-old pregnant woman in Florida who was eventually confirmed as the first documented case of Zika virus infection acquired via a mosquito bite sustained in the local area.

Researchers from Martinique, France have determined that current tools to diagnose Chikungunya infection in older adults may not be useful.

A research team examines two Yosemite plague diagnoses to determine effectiveness of procedures for the detection, protection, and prevention of Yersinia pestis.

Holly Frost, MD, pediatrics physician scientist at the Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, in Minocqua, Wisconsin, discusses whether or not the prevalence of Powassan virus is increasing in humans.

Derek Gatherer, PhD, lecturer at Lancaster University has compiled a list of emerging diseases to watch out for in 2017.

The year 2016 may be over, but the fight against the infectious disease that dominated headlines for most of the year—Zika virus—has only just begun.

While more information on the Zika virus is revealed, researchers are saying that the United States can rest a little easier over concerns of a large-scale outbreak.

A new coalition created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other global partners will launch at this year’s World Economic Forum, with the goal of supporting the fast-tracked development of new vaccines.

Researchers use protein misfolding cyclic amplification to screen blood samples for abnormal prions that would indicate Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD).

Daniel Eiras, MD, MPH, hospital epidemiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses efforts to understand the Zika virus.

Researchers from Erasmus disease the key factors needed for successful human-to-human contact-transmission of zoonotic pathogens.

With an increase in attention on arthropod-borne diseases this year, scientists from Erasmus discuss the key factors involved in human-to-human transmission of these pathogens.

Daniel Eiras, MD, MPH, hospital epidemiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses Zika response at NYU Langone Medical Center.

Contagion’s Top Five Zika-related news stories over the past year are included in this article.

On December 14, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Zika-related travel and testing guidance for Brownsville, Texas and the surrounding area after local officials confirmed 5 cases of the virus linked to local mosquitoes.

Today, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a safety document cautioning healthcare providers from relying solely on commercial IgM Assay results when diagnosing Zika, as false positives have been observed.

A recent study found that azithromycin topical gel can protect against Lyme disease if administered within 72 hours of a tick bite.

Daniel Eiras, MD, MPH, hospital epidemiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses Zika virus diagnostics.

A DNA-based Zika virus vaccine developed by Inovio Pharmaceuticals proves successful in phase I open-label dose-ranging human trials.