News

Margaret Honein, MPH, PhD, chief of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Birth Defects Branch in the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities updated health professionals at a special session on Zika virus infection during the 65th Annual EIS Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

An ongoing malaria outbreak in Colombia has been linked to illegal mining practices in the South American country.

Is the U.S. a Pandora's box of laboratory biosafety failures?

Executives at Dole Food Co. Inc. knew about an outbreak of Listeria at the company’s salad production plant in Springfield, Ohio for more than a year before shutting it down in January.

Officials are stating that although the first case of locally-acquired Zika virus in the United States may be weeks or months away, the time to prepare is now.

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens continue to make the management of some bacterial infections a significant clinical challenge.

In an effort to aid in the prevention of food-borne infections, the USDA created a mobile app that provides users with “valuable storage advice” to help maximize shelf-life, prolong freshness, and improve the quality of foods and beverages.

Researchers have found a potential solution for the troubling spread of Zika virus in Brazil and across the Southern hemisphere—and it’s bacteria.

In a recent study, researchers explore and discuss the development and implementation of a new insecticide resistance management plan in Zambia between 2009 and 2014.

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) learns more about the threat of Zika virus infection on pregnant women and their growing fetuses, it will continue to share its knowledge with researchers, healthcare providers and the public.

The Ministry of Health (MOH) of Brazil has confirmed 1,271 nationwide cases of microcephaly.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill have identified what they describe as a new, “SARS-like” virus that will not need to adapt in order to infect humans.

Turtles are one of the many pets that can infect people with Salmonella; they have been linked to four 2015 multistate outbreaks in the United States.

Recent data from Bahia State, Brazil, show that Zika virus infection during the first trimester of pregnancy, or early in the second trimester, is associated with the observed increase in infants born with microcephaly.

The results of a methylome-wide analysis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) chronically infected, combination anti-retroviral therapy (cART)-treated individuals recently published in Molecular Cell suggest that HIV+ individuals have an epigenetic age 4.9 years older than healthy controls, resulting in an expected total mortality risk increase of 19%.

It is hoped that this proof of concept research may lead to promising new drug candidates to combat hPIV-3, which is the principal cause of acute respiratory illness in infants.

Consumers should note that the recalled products may have been purchased in all fifty US states and select provinces in Canada: British Colombia, Alberta, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.

The ongoing refugee crisis facing European countries as a result of conflicts in the Middle East presents a potential public health challenge to governments already struggling with the influx of hundreds of new migrants on a daily basis.

Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya. These are the most recent viruses causing outbreaks in several regions of the world, all spread through the bite of an infected female Aedes aegypti mosquito. There is currently no cure for these viruses, which makes infection prevention a priority.

A recent review article on the status of influenza vaccines, their short-comings, and ways to improve them suggests the potential for significant improvements in the performance of future influenza vaccines.

Adding to the troubling data worldwide on antibiotic resistance, researchers have found that even trace concentrations of antibiotics, such as those found in sewage, are sufficient for bacteria to maintain resistance to most broad-spectrum agents.

In a one-arm study examined by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), the added benefit of rilpivirine for HIV-positive children and adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18, was not proven, contrary to the belief of the manufacturer.

Puerto Rico, one of the countries currently experiencing active Zika virus transmission, has reported its first Zika-related death.

Two new inhibitory compounds—named KKL-10 and KKL-40—could hold the key to preventing the proliferation of the highly virulent bacterium Francisella tularensis, according to a recent study.

The world’s first commercial Zika test has been approved for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The on-again, off-again debut of the controversial film “Vaxxed: From Cover-up to Catastrophe” at the Tribeca Film Festival in March once again made the debate surrounding pediatric vaccination headline news.

Contagion™ recently spoke with FDA spokesperson, Siobhan DeLancey, who addressed some of the concerns regarding the release of OX513A, the genetically modified Aedes aegypti mosquito, in Key Haven, Florida.

Researchers analyzed archived blood donor samples collected during and after the 2014 epidemic of Chikungunya virus in Puerto Rico, and found that as many as 2 percent of the samples tested positive for Chikungunya RNA.

Because certain viral sub-types are associated with higher rates of morbidity and mortality than others, efforts to improve the effectiveness of influenza vaccines remain an important focus of future research.

A recent study has shown that although the CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing technology can stop human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication, it also results in unexpected viral resistance and thereby limits use of the technology in HIV therapy.