Emerging Infectious Diseases
The African Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently activated its Emergency Operational Centre in response to the recently-declared Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in order to develop a concept of operations for the emergency.... Read More »
To achieve a goal of global health security, the United States must extend its legacy as a global leader through forward-looking policies, international partnerships, and continued investment into innovate medical advancements, according to a recent report from the National Academies of Sciences,... Read More »
In a rare show of bipartisanship, members of a key House appropriations panel expressed opposition to the Trump administration’s proposed budget cuts for the National Institutes of Health, the main funding source for medical research in the United States.
U.S. Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), the... Read More »
The results of two recent studies of Dartmouth University’s investigational tuberculosis (TB) vaccine, DAR-901, have expedited the vaccine’s acceptance for use in an upcoming randomized trial to determine if it can prevent the earliest stages of infection.
The inactivated vaccine is... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has taken numerous steps to reduce the risk of avian influenza, but needs a plan to evaluate its efforts going forward, according to a recent report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
In preparing its report, GAO was asked to... Read More »
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently adopted and published a recommendation made by its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP), concerning the use of PaxVax’s cholera vaccine, Vaxchora.
The recommendation, which was unanimously approved by the CDC’s... Read More »
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti recently visited Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to hold a meeting with the country’s national authorities to discuss an effective response plan in regards to the recently-verified outbreak of... Read More »
News on Friday about the reemergence of several Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) highlights the need for both a robust global and national health security strategy, said Dr. Jeffrey Duchin, immediate past chairman of the public health committee for the Infectious Diseases... Read More »
Mosquito-borne viruses, such as Zika, dengue, and chikungunya, are being transmitted at lower temperatures than previously believed, according to a recent study published by researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) and Stanford University.
The study, which was published in a recent... Read More »
The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) issued a statement of public support last week for the recent congressional passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which helps support a variety of infectious disease programs for public health benefit in the United States and... Read More »
A health alert notice was issued last week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which provides guidance for healthcare professionals for interpreting Zika virus test results for women to who live in, or travel to, areas with a CDC Zika travel notice.
The CDC said the... Read More »
Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley (UC Berkeley) recently described 10 clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) enzymes that have “Pac-Man-like” behaviors that chew up RNA, which could be used to detect infectious viruses.
Each enzyme is a... Read More »
A computer model to assess the impact of a Zika virus epidemic in the United States, taking into account important data such as population dynamics, historical infection rates, socioeconomic status and mosquito density, was recently developed by researchers from the University of Texas (UT) at... Read More »
An international team scientists recently determined the three-dimensional (3-D) atomic structure of more than 1,000 proteins that are viewed as potential drug and vaccine targets, helping researchers develop new treatments to combat some of the world’s most dangerous infectious diseases.
Each... Read More »
A recent computational analysis revealed that even a mild outbreak of Zika virus in the United States could cost more than $183 million in medical expenses and productivity losses, according to a study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Results of the study were published... Read More »
Drugs that activate a cell’s pathways to inhibit the replication of pathogens were revealed in a recent study to be a promising approach to treating dangerous infections caused by Zika virus, dengue fever, and chikungunya.
The study was conducted by researchers at Oregon Health and Science... Read More »
The Critical Path to TB Drug Regimens (CPTR), a division of the Critical Path Institute (C-Path), was recently awarded a $1.1 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to enhance its Relational Sequencing TB Data Platform (ReSeqTB), which seeks to improve global tuberculosis (TB)... Read More »
According to a recent report by researchers from the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Vietnam, daily platelet counts in children experiencing the early stages of dengue virus infection can help predict those at risk of dengue shock syndrome (DSS).
The study followed 2,301 children... Read More »
A new global coalition is laying the groundwork to achieve an ambitious goal of speeding up the development of vaccines to combat the spread of deadly emerging infectious diseases that pose great risk to public health.
Launched in January, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations... Read More »
In continuing its ongoing efforts into malaria research, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) recently announced $9 million in first-year funding for seven malaria research centers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
The seven-year awards are a continuance of... Read More »
With the nation’s signature preparedness law due for reauthorization in 2018, leaders now are readying public health stakeholders across local, state and federal levels for battle on Capitol Hill.
Not only should those in the public health sector be battle-ready to support renewal of the... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently recognized Sandia National Laboratories for its efforts in combating the 2014-2016 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in West Africa.
To address issues facing West African patients during the epidemic, Sandia researchers examined Liberia’s blood... Read More »
SIGA Technologies, Inc. recently completed its enrollment and dosing of healthy individuals in a Phase 1 clinical study of TPOXX, an intravenous formulation intended for the treatment of smallpox and related orthopoxvirus infections.
SIGA said the treatment is intended for patients who cannot... Read More »
The nation’s biodefense response to emerging diseases and outbreaks is on an endless loop that, without a proper foundation, is not allowing for progressive countermeasure operations, according to Merck Pharmaceuticals Executive Director Julie Gerberding, former director of the Centers for... Read More »
Researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai recently used the dengue virus as a model to identify the signaling pathway used to initiate an immune response in the body and how the virus counteracts that mechanism to evade immune detection.
"Previous studies have shown that human... Read More »
Researchers from the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently developed a capsule that may help prevent malaria infections and protect patients for up to two weeks.
The capsule was recently tested in swine... Read More »
A team of researchers from the United States and Uganda recently identified a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)-like coronavirus, called PDF-2180, in a bat in Uganda which the researchers said gives evidence that similar coronaviruses originate in bats.
In laboratory testing, the... Read More »
According to a recent study of nearly 5,000 Latin American-born Los Angeles County residents, approximately 1.24 percent tested positive for Chagas disease, which can cause life-threatening conditions in the heart if not properly treated.
The study was coordinated by the Center for Excellence... Read More »
A group of leading medical researchers recently wrote an article, cautioning that the number of newly-trained infectious disease physicians will not match future needs posed by emerging diseases or the expected increase in resistant microbes.
The group includes Rochelle Walensky of Harvard... Read More »
According to a recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, combating the next infectious disease epidemic will rely on strengthening clinical research programs on investigational therapeutics and vaccines in developing countries prior to the next epidemic... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through its Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), recently entered into an $8.9 million agreement with Tarrytown, New York-based Siemens Healthineers to develop a new diagnostic test for Zika virus.
Rick... Read More »
According to a recent study conducted by the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston and the Instituto Evandro Chagas at the Ministry of Health in Brazil, the first live, attenuated Zika virus vaccine protected mice subjects against infection after just a single dose.
"We chose to... Read More »
A coalition of international health institutes and organizations will soon be launching a large clinical trial of Ebola vaccine candidates to identify proper regimens that could prevent a future outbreak of the deadly disease.
The French National Institute of Health and Medicine Research... Read More »
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) recently called for continued resources to support a long-term public health response against Zika virus.
The group’s request includes increased laboratory, epidemiological, and surveillance capacity, along with enhanced vector... Read More »
A research team at Rutgers University recently determined the three-dimensional structure of the target of the anti-tuberculosis drug rifampin and discovered a new class of drugs that could potentially kill multi-drug resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria.
Rifampin has been used as an anti-TB... Read More »
