Emerging Infectious Diseases
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) recommends that military recruits entering basic training continue to be inoculated with a vaccine for the adenovirus, a DNA virus considered to be a major cause of febrile illness.
While adenoviruses are usually spread through coughing, sneezing or after... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) officials said they are expediting efforts to develop an African Swine Fever vaccine and diagnostic initiatives.
African Swine Fever is a viral disease capable of wreaking havoc in a pig’s body, causing... Read More »
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel have reached an agreement designed to bolster public health and safety protection efforts.
The collaboration would maximize inspection and detection capabilities as a means of preventing illegal and... Read More »
A new, investigational and universal influenza vaccine candidate reached an important milestone this week, beginning its first human trial under the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
That test will examine its safety and tolerability, along with its ability to do... Read More »
A new, $22 million grant-driven project will lead an international consortium of scientists to develop antibody-based means of combating Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), Andes virus (ANDV), Sin Nombre virus (SNV) and the Puumula virus (PUUV) over the next five years.
The effort,... Read More »
A pair of studies conducted by scientists from the United States, United Kingdom, Thailand, Bangladesh, Namibia and Norway suggest that combining data of parasite genetics and human movement could improve efforts at tracking and fighting malaria transmission.
"Countries and regional blocs are... Read More »
Rising temperatures brought on by climate change could expose as many as a billion more people to disease-carrying mosquitoes, according to a new study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
As temperatures rise across the globe, the territory of these mosquitoes expands, as well as the... Read More »
As the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) continues to deal with the most recent Ebola epidemic, a study from the Lancet Infectious Diseases journal shows that lack of trust might be a contributing factor.
Violent episodes have complicated matters in the DRC, but one bad turn tends to foster... Read More »
An outbreak of Ebola that has raged through the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) since last August has now passed more than 1,000 cases, making it the second largest outbreak ever recorded.
These figures come from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has... Read More »
Within a few decades, the Lancet medical journal’s Commission on Tuberculosis (TB) believes that the disease could be eliminated if proper funding, increased research, and greater accountability mechanisms are provided.
Setting and reaching targets is crucial. The disease is already... Read More »
A new global index offers an original way to monitor national-level preparedness for infectious disease, providing a holistic view of a country’s capacity to mitigate the spread of illness and pandemics.
Created by researchers at Metabiota, the Epidemic Preparedness Index (EPI) factors... Read More »
A new tuberculosis (TB) test developed by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) will be marketed and distributed by Advanced Biological Laboratories (ABL) under the terms of a licensing agreement reached between the two companies this week.
The test -- DeepCheck-TB -- is... Read More »
A study conducted by Australia’s University of Queensland and QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute recently uncovered the Zika virus’s evolutionary processes, allowing access to the genetic factors responsible for Zika’s dangerous spread.
The technique used in the study utilized... Read More »
Emergent BioSolutions said on Tuesday it will begin a Phase 3 trial of a new anthrax vaccine it is developing.
The Phase 3 trial will evaluate the lot consistency, immunogenicity, and safety of the vaccine, called AV7909. AV7909 is designed to elicit a faster immune response than other anthrax... Read More »
The ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo was the topic of a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee this week, highlighting successes and failures in the fight against it.
Foremost, it was shown that the outbreak not only... Read More »
Several states are grappling with how to handle current public health threats around the re-emergence of measles just as they also continue efforts to end the ongoing tuberculosis (TB) epidemic.
Both threats came up during discussions at the March 14 hearing, entitled the “Review of the Ebola... Read More »
The United States is struggling to support the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other partners in fighting what has become the world’s second-largest Ebola outbreak, federal public health officials on Thursday told members of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and... Read More »
In a randomized trial, the antimalarial effects of ivermectin showed that the drug has the potential to reduce malaria episodes among children aged five or younger by as much as one-fifth.
Repeated mass administration of ivermectin could reduce those episodes from 2.49 to 2 cases per child... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) warned this week that President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget proposal not only neglects but actively undermines investments necessary to maintain immediate and long-term responses to infectious disease threats.
The organization lauded the $58... Read More »
An influenza season forecasting challenge issued annually by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has shown the value of cooperation among international researchers working to forecast influenza outbreaks.
The influenza season forecasting challenge is one issued annually by... Read More »
A new vaccine candidate for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) has been designed from nanoparticles, and its efficacy against the illness in mice and monkeys has opened the path to human trials.
RSV is respiratory virus that causes mild, cold-like symptoms in most people, and has a relatively... Read More »
House Minority
Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), co-chairman of the Congressional Valley Fever Task
Force, held a Valley Fever roundtable on Wednesday, hosting scientists
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National
Institutes of Health (NIH), doctors, patient... Read More »
An international team of researchers have statistically predicted where mosquitoes will spread through the use of 35 years of data and 17 climate change models.
That spread data includes everything from short to long-term timeframes and, the scientists note, is precise within 5x5 kilometers.... Read More »
Scientists from the Texas Biomedical Research Institute are developing a new approach to tuberculosis (TB) protection -- one that provides a better, safer defense and is deliverable by spray instead of shot.
These represent major changes to the vaccine, but the scientists are seeking to... Read More »
Battelle, an applied science and technology nonprofit
company, recently sent two employees to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
provide training to local healthcare officials in dealing with the Ebola Virus.
Ebola remains a significant health issue in Africa. The
nation is currently... Read More »
In a letter released this week, more than 400 physicians and scientists called on Congress to increase the nation’s funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.
The United States is the largest contributor to the fund to date, comprising a third of total funding.... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and biopharmaceutical company CureVac AG recently announced a partnership worth up to $34 million for the development of a vaccine-boosting creation known as The RNA Printer.
The RNA Printer is a mobile, automated printing facility for... Read More »
Recognizing the potential for public health emergencies to be exacerbated by lack of cooperation, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have created a joint task force to make... Read More »
Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) recently reintroduced a measure designed to bolster the financial support for a universal influenza vaccine protecting against multiple strains and offering longer protection.
The Flu Vaccine Act targets a total investment of $1 billion,... Read More »
A vaccine contract potentially worth as much as $31 million was recently awarded to the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), to counteract the bat-borne Nipah virus.
Nipah is a highly virulent disease, with a fatality rate that, according... Read More »
As the political situation in Venezuela
deteriorates and a humanitarian crisis blooms, health experts warn that
epidemics could push beyond the nation’s borders and potentially bring a
hemisphere-wide health emergency.
Such were the conclusions of a review published
in a recent edition of The... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the HIV Medicine Association praised last week the 2019 spending bill recently passed by the House and Senate, stating that it offers positive forward steps in combatting infectious diseases globally.
The 2019 spending bill includes an... Read More »
Smallpox, although eradicated, has joined the growing list of potential biosecurity threats, according to experts, who say preparedness for the possible return of the virus should be prioritized around the world.
Smallpox, a contagious, disfiguring and often deadly disease, was eradicated... Read More »
As an African swine fever outbreak has moved rapidly through China and threatens to spread through new European countries, a Kansas State University researcher has studied possible routes for disease transmission and introduction, including primarily through shared feed.
Megan Niederwerder, a... Read More »
A collection of international researchers recently developed a mathematical framework to estimate the global value of investing in bacterial infection antibiotics.
Specifically, the research pertains to Staphylococcus aureus infections, a drug-resistant infection that could potentially fuel... Read More »
