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

Feb 3, 2024

Severe 'flesh-eating' infections tied to heat waves in eastern US, CDC reports

In the wake of record-breaking heat waves in the summer of 2023, three East Coast states saw upticks in severe, flesh-eating infections, a new report says. The report concerns Vibrio vulnificus, a deadly bacterial species that lives in coastal waters. If the microbe enters an open wound, it can lead...

Feb 6, 2024

'Superbugs' can linger in the body for years, potentially spreading antibiotic resistance

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria that pose a critical threat to public health can remain in the body for nearly a decade. That's according to a new analysis of two antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacteria Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli sampled from more than 70 hospital patients in Basel, Switzerland. The patients were...

Feb 12, 2024

Oregon's 1st bubonic plague case in 8 years tied to patient's pet cat

A person in Oregon has been diagnosed with bubonic plague — the first case of the illness reported in the state since 2015. The patient, in Deschutes County, likely caught the infection from their pet cat, which was showing signs of the illness, health officials said in a statement on...

Feb 13, 2024

1st fatal case of Alaskapox may have been tied to stray cat

A man has died in what is thought to be the first fatal case of Alaskapox, a rare infection caused by a virus in the same broad group as smallpox and mpox. Many viruses in this group, known as orthopoxviruses, infect both animals and humans, including the camelpox, cowpox and...

Feb 23, 2024

'It took the rug right out from under my life': Milestone ME/CFS study begins to explain disease, but will it lead to treatments?

It took the rug right out from under my life. I went to work that Friday in August; I never went to work a day since, and it'll be 10 years this August. Those are the words of Jennifer Caldwell, whose life suddenly changed trajectory on an autumn weekend in...

Mar 1, 2024

Pain can linger even after a UTI is gone — haywire nerve growth may explain it

People who experience recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) sometimes have lingering pain or still feel the need to pee often, even after their most recent infection has been treated — but now, scientists know why. It turns out that bladder damage caused by recurrent infections can drive immune cells called...

Mar 4, 2024

Scientists release genetically modified mosquitoes to fight dengue in Brazil

Scientists in Brazil are releasing genetically modified mosquitoes into the environment to combat soaring cases of dengue fever in the country. More than 1 million cases of the viral, mosquito-spread infection have been reported in the first two months of this year — 226% more than were reported in the...

Mar 5, 2024

Scientists reveal rare antibodies that target 'dark side' of flu virus

Scientists have uncovered antibodies that target the dark side of the flu virus. Influenza viruses have a mushroom-shaped protein known as neuraminidase (NA) that is said to have a dark side because the structure beneath its mushroom cap has been largely unexplored by science. Antibodies that latch onto this dark...

Mar 8, 2024

'Parrot fever' outbreak in 5 European countries kills 5 people

An outbreak of a respiratory infection that most often affects birds has killed five people in Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) warns. During 2023 and the start of 2024, Austria, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands have reported an unusual and unexpected increase in cases of so-called parrot fever,...

Mar 11, 2024

Parasitic worms found in man's brain after he likely ate undercooked bacon

Doctors in the U.S. got a nasty surprise when they discovered that a man visiting a clinic for migraines had parasitic worms growing in his brain. The 52-year-old man was infected with the larvae of Taenia solium, a tapeworm that normally infects pigs. This parasite can infect humans who inadvertently...

Mar 12, 2024

300 people possibly exposed to measles at California hospital

Around 300 people may have been exposed to measles at a hospital in California after an infected child was seen by doctors there last week, public officials say. In a statement released March 8, Sacramento County Public Health representatives (SCPH) announced that a child with measles, also known as rubeola,...

Mar 13, 2024

Paul Alexander, polio survivor who lived in iron lung for 70 years, dies age 78

Paul Alexander, an American man who lived in an iron lung for more than 70 years after catching polio, has died at age 78. Alexander caught the viral disease when he was 6 years old, in the summer of 1952 when he was living in Texas. The first effective polio...

Mar 14, 2024

Deadly amoeba brain infection can result from unsafe nasal rinsing, CDC warns

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a new report that highlights a potential danger of nasal rinsing with unsterile tap water: amoeba infections of the skin, eyes, lungs or brain. In the report, published Tuesday (March 12) in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, the agency detailed...

Mar 15, 2024

Leprosy is rare but on the rise in Florida — here's what to know

The word leprosy conjures images of biblical plagues, but the disease is still with us today. Caused by infectious bacteria, some 200,000 new cases are reported each year, according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, leprosy has been entrenched for more than a century in parts of...

Dec 14, 2015

Zika Virus Spreading in the Americas: What You Should Know

Infections with Zika virus, which is carried by mosquitos, are on the rise across the Americas, raising concerns among health officials. Although the virus is generally not life-threatening, evidence suggests that it may be responsible for recent increases in birth defects in Brazil and French Polynesia, where infections are more...