Infectious Diseases News

March 2, 2025

Top Headlines

Interventions Identified to Eliminate Transmission of Hepatitis B in Africa

Feb. 27, 2025 — A new study that has the potential to change the landscape of hepatitis B transmission in Africa. Researchers conducted an analysis revealing key interventions that could effectively eliminate vertical transmission of chronic hepatitis B, one of the ...

From Dormant to Danger: How VZV Reactivation Is Driving Central Nervous System Infections

Feb. 27, 2025 — Researchers observed a rise in adult central nervous system (CNS) infections, primarily aseptic meningitis caused by the varicella zoster virus (VZV), post-2019. The researchers highlighted the ...

Immunity Against Seasonal H1N1 Flu Reduces Bird Flu Severity in Ferrets, Study Suggests

Feb. 26, 2025 — Pre-existing immunity against seasonal H1N1 flu might help explain why most reported human cases of H5N1 bird flu in the U.S. have not resulted in lethal ...

Designing Self-Destructing Bacteria to Make Effective Tuberculosis Vaccines

Feb. 25, 2025 — Working toward more effective tuberculosis (TB) vaccines, researchers have developed two strains of mycobacteria with 'kill switches' that can be triggered to stop the bacteria after they activate an immune ...

Latest Headlines

updated 6:44pm EST

Immune 'Fingerprints' Aid Diagnosis of Complex Diseases

Feb. 24, 2025 — Receptors on B and T cells hint at what the immune system is targeting. An AI approach called Mal-ID developed increases diagnostic accuracy, particularly for autoimmune ...

As Dengue Spreads, Researchers Discover a Clue to Fighting the Virus

Feb. 24, 2025 — This research comes as dengue-carrying mosquitoes expand their territory into new regions, including Southern ...

Scientists Invent New Drug Candidates to Treat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

Feb. 24, 2025 — There's an arms race in medicine -- scientists design drugs to treat lethal bacterial infections, but bacteria can evolve defenses to those drugs, ...

Backyard Poultry Face Bird Flu Risk When Migrating Mallards Stop to Rest

Feb. 24, 2025 — Knowing where, when and for how long mallard ducks -- natural carriers of avian influenza -- stop and rest as they migrate can help predict the probability that they will spread bird flu to backyard ...

Stealth Virus: Zika Virus Builds Tunnels to Covertly Infect Cells of the Placenta

Feb. 21, 2025 — Infection with Zika virus in pregnancy can lead to neurological disorders, fetal abnormalities and fetal death. Until now, how the virus manages to ...

Groundbreaking Study Shows Potential of New mRNA Vaccine to Help Fight Tuberculosis

Feb. 20, 2025 — A new vaccine that boosts immunity against tuberculosis (TB) has been shown to be effective in pioneering pre-clinical ...

New Therapy May Effectively Control HIV in Uganda

Feb. 19, 2025 — A multi-national, multi-institutional study investigators found little natural resistance to a new HIV therapy called lenacapavir in a population of patients in ...

Designing Antivirals for Shape-Shifting Viruses

Feb. 18, 2025 — Viruses, like those that cause COVID-19 or HIV, are formidable opponents once they invade our bodies. Antiviral treatments strive to block a virus or halt its replication. However, viruses are ...

Diabetes Can Drive the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance

Feb. 12, 2025 — Researchers have proven that antibiotic-resistant strains of a harmful bacteria thrive in a diabetic infection ...

Mpox: Better Understanding of Tecovirimat Resistance

Feb. 12, 2025 — A virus originally found in animals, mpox -- which causes the disease of the same name -- is now circulating in humans. Since 2022, it has been the cause of major epidemics spreading outside endemic ...

Causes of Fevers of Unknown Origin in Sub-Saharan Africa

Feb. 11, 2025 — A new retrospective, laboratory-based observational study provides detailed insights into the causes of fevers of unknown origin in sub-Saharan Africa. Scientists examined 550 patients from Guinea ...

Influenza A Viruses Adapt Shape in Response to Environmental Pressures

Feb. 10, 2025 — Influenza A virus particles strategically adapt their shape -- to become either spheres or larger filaments -- to favor their ability to infect cells depending on environmental conditions, according ...

Warding Off Superbugs With a Pinch of Turmeric

Feb. 6, 2025 — The researchers showed that when curcumin is intentionally given to bacteria as food and then activated by light, it can trigger deleterious reactions within these microbes, eventually killing them. ...

Some Species Are Susceptible to Broad Range of Viruses

Feb. 6, 2025 — A study of fruit flies shows some species are highly susceptible to a wide range of ...

Why Antibiotics Can Fail Even Against Non-Resistant Bacteria

Feb. 5, 2025 — Antibiotics are indispensable for treating bacterial infections. But why are they sometimes ineffective, even when the bacteria are not resistant? In their latest study, researchers challenge the ...

How Sudan Virus Binds to Human Cells

Feb. 4, 2025 — The Sudan virus, a close relative of Ebola, has a fatality rate of 50% but remains poorly understood in terms of how it infects cells. Currently, no approved treatments exist. To address this ...

Exposure to Air Pollution Associated With More Hospital Admissions for Lower Respiratory Infections

Feb. 3, 2025 — Long-term exposure to PM2.5, PM10, NO2 and ozone (O3) air pollution is associated with more hospital admissions for lower respiratory tract infections in ...

Hijacking of Plasmin by Dengue Virus for Infection

Feb. 3, 2025 — Biological scientists have uncovered how the dengue virus uses its envelope protein to capture human plasmin from a blood meal to enhance the permeability of the mosquito midgut for ...

New Study Identifies Key Protein's Role in Psoriasis

Jan. 31, 2025 — In a new study, researchers have determined that a protein called NF-kB c-Rel can intensify the symptoms of psoriasis when activated by signals from the body's immune system. Understanding how ...

Antibody Treatment Prevents Severe Bird Flu in Monkeys

Jan. 30, 2025 — The antibody targets a stable part of the bird flu virus, ensuring that the immune protection can resist new variants and offer long-term protection against the globally spreading airborne ...

Study Finds Three New Safe, Effective Ways to Treat Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis

Jan. 29, 2025 — Study finds three new safe and effective drug regimens to fight multidrug-resistant TB. The treatments, which include recently discovered TB drugs, give new options for shorter, personalized ...

Genetic 'Fingerprint' to Predict Drug Resistance in Bacteria

Jan. 28, 2025 — New research has identified a unique genetic signature in bacteria that can predict their likelihood of developing antibiotic resistance, a finding that can help quickly identify precision-based ...

Scientists Uncover Structure of Critical Component in Deadly Nipah Virus

Jan. 20, 2025 — Researchers have profiled the molecular structure and features of a key part of the deadly Nipah virus. Experiments in cells showe how changes in the viral polymerase -- a protein involved in viral ...

Global HIV Study Finds That Cardiovascular Risk Models Underestimate for Key Populations

Jan. 18, 2025 — Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality globally, posing a particularly significant threat to people with HIV (PWH). To address this, CVD prevention plans rely on ...

A Chain Reaction: HIV Vaccines Can Lead to Antibodies Against Antibodies

Jan. 17, 2025 — Many vaccines work by introducing a protein to the body that resembles part of a virus. Ideally, the immune system will produce long-lasting antibodies recognizing that specific virus, thereby ...

Decoding HIV's Tactics

Jan. 16, 2025 — Scientists have unveiled insights into how HIV-1, the virus responsible for AIDS, skillfully hijacks cellular machinery for its own survival. By dissecting the molecular interplay between the virus ...

Child Undernutrition May Be Contributing to Global Measles Outbreaks, Researchers Find

Jan. 16, 2025 — Amid a global surge in measles cases, new research suggests that undernutrition may be exacerbating outbreaks in areas suffering from food insecurity. A study involving over 600 fully vaccinated ...

Bird Flu Is Mutating, but Antivirals Still Work

Jan. 15, 2025 — Researchers have identified nine mutations in a bird flu strain from a person in Texas. Bad news: this strain is more capable of causing disease and replicates better in the brain. Good news: ...

Hepatitis E Vaccination Is Effective in an Epidemic

Jan. 14, 2025 — Hepatitis E, a potentially serious viral liver disease, is transmitted through contaminated water. The risk is particularly high in populations with limited access to safe water and sanitation. In ...

Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Why Zika Virus Hijacks a Protein Needed for Brain Growth

Jan. 13, 2025 — The mosquito-borne Zika virus is known for causing microcephaly, a birth defect in which abnormal brain development results in a smaller-than-expected head. A new study shows that the Zika virus ...