Author: Claudinne Miller
‘Truly transformative’ new diagnostic tools can help end tuberculosis
UN TB is caused by bacteria that most often affects the lungs. Every day, over 3,300 people die from the disease, with Southeast Asia accounting for nearly 40 per cent of deaths. Yet it is both preventable and treatable, including by using the antibiotic rifampicin. WHO has issued new guidelines on testing, recommending that countries deploy innovations such as new near-point-of-care molecular diagnostic tests and tongue swabs, both of which can help with faster […]
Mar 25, 2026
TB: After Hopes Of Eradication, The World’s Deadliest Infection Is Creeping Back In The US With A Vengeance
IFL Science Cases have been slowly rising in the US, the UK, and much of the world since 2021. The world’s top infectious killer, tuberculosis (TB), has plagued humans for thousands of years, and it isn’t going anywhere just yet. Since being scientifically identified in 1882, the disease has killed over 1 billion people – […]
Mar 25, 2026
San Francisco: Mutated viral variant found in US for first time in traveler
SFGate A mutated strain of the COVID-19 virus, first detected in the U.S. in a traveler to SFO, is increasingly appearing across the country. A March 19 report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detailed the rise of the COVID-19 BA.3.2 variant. This mutated version of the COVID-19 virus contains genetic changes on a key protein […]
Mar 25, 2026
5 things you need to know about meningitis
Washington Post Two people died in an outbreak of bacterial meningitis in England. The infection, which is rare, requires prompt medical treatment to avoid severe complications. Two young adults, an 18-year-old and 21-year-old, recently died, and 18 others were hospitalized, in an outbreak of meningitis in Kent, England. People in their teens and early 20s are considered […]
Mar 25, 2026
Digital early warning systems essential as old diseases like cholera resurge in global crisis zones
JMIR Publications JMIR Publications today released a critical analysis in its News and Perspectives section regarding the global resurgence of cholera and the vital role of digital surveillance in fragile settings. The article, “When Old Diseases Return: Cholera, Crisis, and Digital Surveillance in Fragile Settings,” examines how the convergence of climate change, economic collapse, and conflict is bringing […]
Mar 18, 2026
Cancer drug protein target may also help fight influenza
Medical Express A protein already targeted by FDA-approved cancer drugs may also help the body fight influenza, according to new research from The Jackson Laboratory (JAX). Published in Cell Reports, the study found that Programmed Death-Ligand 1 (PD-L1), a protein best known for helping tumors evade immune attack, instead helped immunocompromised mice clear flu-infected lung cells […]
Mar 18, 2026
FDA’s top infectious disease regulator to depart agency
STAT Adam Sherwat’s office has faced scrutiny from top FDA official Tracy Beth Høeg. The Food and Drug Administration official in charge of reviewing infectious disease products is leaving the agency, according to an email viewed by STAT. Adam Sherwat, the director of the Office of Infectious Diseases in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation […]
Mar 18, 2026
Recorded Cases of Meningitis Rise to 20 as UK Outbreak Worsens
EMJ CASES of meningococcal disease in Kent, UK, have risen to 20, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed today. As of 5pm on Tuesday, nine laboratory cases are confirmed and 11 notifications remain under investigation by UKHSA. Six of the confirmed cases have been identified as group B meningococcal disease. One individual who had […]
Mar 18, 2026
Everything you need to know about Ebola, Marburg disease and Lassa Fever
ECDC What do we know about haemorrhagic fevers like the Ebola, Marburg disease or Lassa fever?How does one get infected? In which parts of the world can that happen? What are the symptoms, and what does modern science and public health have in the arsenal to fight with these diseases?
Mar 18, 2026
How does Marburg virus enter cells so efficiently?
BioTechniques Original story from the University of Minnesota (MN, USA). The characteristics of the protein that allows Marburg virus to enter human cells so efficiently – 300 times more efficiently than Ebola – have been identified. University of Minnesota (MN, USA) researchers found that the Marburg virus, one of the world’s deadliest pathogens with an average […]
Mar 18, 2026