Viruses, Infections & Disease, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 14, 2023

'Long flu' is real, and we've likely 'ignored it for a long time'

People hospitalized for either COVID-19 or the flu face a heightened risk of medical issues, hospital admission and death in the 18 months after they're discharged. That's according to a new study, published Thursday (Dec. 14) in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases, that compared the long-term outcomes for patients...

Dec 20, 2023

'No burp' syndrome causes flatulence, 'awkward gurgling'

A rare syndrome leaves people unable to burp and disrupts their daily lives, causing bloating, excessive flatulence and loud gurgling noises in their necks and torsos. However, people with the condition may be unlikely to seek help, and even when they do, they may not get adequate treatment, a new...

Dec 20, 2023

Why is pink eye so contagious?

Any parent of young children dreads hearing the words pink eye. This common childhood infection, also called conjunctivitis, can spread rapidly, and once the little ones bring it home, it can be passed easily to other members of the household. But why is pink eye so contagious? One factor is...

Dec 21, 2023

Never-before-seen antibodies can target many flu viruses

A newly discovered class of antibodies in human blood can neutralize different types of the flu virus and could be key to the development of broadly protective vaccines against the seasonal viruses, scientists say. Circulating flu viruses constantly mutate, so we need annual influenza virus vaccines to keep pace with...

Dec 22, 2023

Infection with cat parasite Toxoplasma may drive 'inflammation aging' in older adults

Older people who have had chronic infection with the cat parasite Toxoplasma gondii may have a higher risk of inflammation and frailty, a small study suggests. In an analysis of more than 600 people over age 65, scientists found that almost 70% had been infected with T. gondii — a...

Dec 28, 2023

'It's neither a scientific nor a medically acceptable term': The real scoop on 'white lung pneumonia'

Experts say a pneumonia outbreak among children in Ohio and a cluster of pneumonia cases in China are unrelated, despite some social media posts and tabloid articles that have ambiguously linked the two. The usual respiratory pathogens are making their rounds this cold and flu season, yet the specter of...

Jan 3, 2024

Watch parasitic worms get pulled from man's abdomen after surprise discovery during routine surgery

When a man in China went to the hospital for routine surgery, his doctors found something far more unusual: live worms squirming inside his abdomen. Using a small camera inserted into the 70-year-old's abdomen — who was due to undergo surgery to remove a tumor to treat colon cancer —...

Jan 5, 2024

2nd tuberculosis outbreak linked to bone grafts in the US

An outbreak of tuberculosis that affected dozens of people last year has been tied to bone grafts, echoing a larger outbreak in 2021. These two recent outbreaks highlight the need to better screen donated tissues for tuberculosis-causing bacteria before they're used in such medical procedures, scientists wrote in a Morbidity...

Jan 24, 2024

Oldest DNA evidence of syphilis relative discovered in 2,000-year-old skeletons in Brazil

People living on the coast of Brazil thousands of years ago carried the bacterium Treponema pallidum endemicum, a close relative of the microbe behind venereal syphilis, cutting-edge DNA research has revealed. The infection likely left the group with mouth sores and painful shins. Scientists found the microbe's DNA in 2,000-year-old...

Jan 24, 2024

Infant's 'inconsolable,' day-long crying fits tied to botulism from honey

A healthy, happy baby suddenly became inconsolable and cried for hours on end. The infant's irritability turned out to be an early sign of botulism, a relatively uncommon illness caused by dangerous, bacteria-made toxins, his doctors discovered. The likely source of the toxin-making bacteria was honey. A new report describing...

Jan 26, 2024

Decades-long mystery of flesh-eating, ulcer-causing bacteria solved

Scientists have finally solved the 80-year-old mystery of how a flesh-eating, ulcer-triggering bacterium gets into humans: via the bite of a mosquito. Once in the body, the microbe, Mycobacterium ulcerans, releases a toxin that destroys skin and soft tissue, causing it to swell and form slow-growing ulcers. The infection is...

Jan 29, 2024

Mysterious virus-like 'Obelisks' found in the human gut and mouth

Scientists have uncovered a never-before-seen class of virus-like entities hiding in the human gut and mouth, and these viroids may influence the gene activity within the human microbiome, Science reported. The researchers confirmed one host for these viroids, namely, a common bacterium found in the mouth called Streptococcus sanguinis. They've...

Jan 31, 2024

Is it too late to get a flu shot?

Each year, as fall brings shorter, colder days to the Northern Hemisphere, we're reminded to get vaccinated against the flu, or influenza. In the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone over 6 months old receive a flu shot every year. But is there a...

Jan 31, 2024

How do fevers kill germs?

They're the hallmarks of cold and flu season: a sore throat, a blocked nose and, sometimes, a dreaded fever. You may have heard that the warmth of a fever helps the body recover from illness. But how, exactly, do fevers help kill germs in the body? Scientists know that elevated...

Feb 1, 2024

Syphilis cases soaring in the US, rising to highest peak since the 1950s

Syphilis cases in the U.S. have surged to their highest levels since the 1950s, according to a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report released Tuesday (Jan. 30). The CDC has not yet published its 2023 data, but the latest report found that cases of this sexually transmitted infection (STI) rose...