Candida Auris a “Perfect Storm” Superbug

Candida Auris a “Perfect Storm” Superbug

How an invasive fungus got health officials' attention. Try as they might, the infection control specialists at Royal Brompton Hospital could not eradicate the invasive fungus that was attacking already gravely ill patients... read more

Viral coinfection is shaped by host ecology and virus-virus interactions across diverse microbial taxa and environments

Infection of more than one virus in a host, coinfection, is common across taxa and environments. Viral coinfection can enable genetic exchange, alter the dynamics of infections, and change the course of viral evolution. Yet,... read more

Study Connects Maternal Response to Infection During Pregnancy with Increased Autism Risk

Study Connects Maternal Response to Infection During Pregnancy with Increased Autism Risk

A new study adds to a growing body of research aimed at understanding how a mother’s body’s response to infection influences a growing fetus. In research published this week in mSphere, researchers at Columbia University... read more

Candida Auris forms biofilms that enhance its virulence and resistance

Candida Auris forms biofilms that enhance its virulence and resistance

In three separate trials, eight samples of each strain of C. auris grew biofilms that constitute a key driver of Candida pathogenicity. C. auris first attracted attention in 2009 because of its resistance to azoles and amphotericin... read more

Scientist Invents Hand-Held Breath Monitor to Detect Flu

Scientist Invents Hand-Held Breath Monitor to Detect Flu

Dr. Perena Gouma, a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington, has published an article in the journal Sensors that describes her invention of a hand-held breath monitor designed to detect the flu virus. Gouma’s... read more

Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance

Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance happens when bugs, like bacteria, fungi or viruses, change, or evolve, when they’re exposed to drugs, like antibiotics, antifungals, or antivirals. Bugs that develop antimicrobial resistance are... read more

Epstein-Barr risk increased by Immune Molecule Deficiency

Epstein-Barr risk increased by Immune Molecule Deficiency

Researchers from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, or NIAID, have found a genetic immune disorder causing increased risk and poor control of Epstein-Barr virus and EBV-associated... read more

Bacteriophages may harbor antibiotic resistance genes

Bacteriophages may harbor antibiotic resistance genes

Scientists at the Catalan Institute for Water Research have carried out a comprehensive analysis of several viromes from different habitats to explore whether bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria) harbor antibiotic... read more

Non-antibiotic treatments for bacterial diseases in an antibiotic resistance era

Non-antibiotic treatments for bacterial diseases in an antibiotic resistance era

The progressive spread of antibiotic resistance genes is forcing us to reconsider our treatment options against some bacterial pathogens. Treating bacterial infections will likely become more challenging in the future. We... read more

The role of POC Diagnostics in Combatting Antibiotic Resistance

The role of POC Diagnostics in Combatting Antibiotic Resistance

During the winter months, patients frequently present with respiratory symptoms like coughing, sneezing and fever that could be caused by one of several bacterial and viral infections including influenza, respiratory syncytial... read more

Puerto Rico reports nearly 500 new Zika cases amid epidemic

Puerto Rico's health secretary says nearly 500 new cases of Zika have been reported in the U.S. territory in the past week. 34,562 cases of the mosquito-borne virus have now been registered.... read more

Zika: Researchers create powerful tool for vaccine, antiviral development

Zika: Researchers create powerful tool for vaccine, antiviral development

By stripping the Zika virus of structural genes, researchers create versions to help develop vaccines and therapeutics without using infectious virus. ... read more

Ebola adapted to better infect humans during 2013-2016 epidemic

Ebola adapted to better infect humans during 2013-2016 epidemic

Researchers have identified mutations in Ebola virus that emerged during the 2013-2016 Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa that increased the ability of the virus to infect human cells.... read more

FDA Warns About Hepatitis B Reactivation from Hepatitis C Antivirals

FDA Warns About Hepatitis B Reactivation from Hepatitis C Antivirals

The FDA issued a warning yesterday about the risk of hepatitis B virus becoming active again in patients with current or previous infection who received treatment with hepatitis C virus treatments.... read more