Infectious diseases

Analysis and Comment (26)

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The novel coronavirus is in the same family as the SARS virus, but has some different biological features and is not as infectious. Image from shutterstock.com

Explainer: what is the new coronavirus?

By Charles Watson, Curtin University

Ten years ago the world was gripped by the threat of SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), which was caused by a coronavirus. The outbreak infected more than 8,000 people and around 800 died. Over…
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Vaccines are one of the most effective public health measures ever introduced. Image from shutterstock.com

Six myths about vaccination – and why they’re wrong

By Rachael Dunlop, University of Technology, Sydney

Recently released government figures show levels of childhood vaccination have fallen to dangerously low levels in some areas of Australia, resulting in some corners of the media claiming re-ignition of…
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Bacteria can quickly adapt and overcome the antibiotics that used to kill them. Image from shutterstock.com

Superbugs, human ecology and the threat from within

By Jon Iredell

At the beginning of the 20th century, around one in three children in countries such as Australia and the United States died of infection before the age of five. But since Howard Florey first described…
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Around 180,000 hospital-acquired infections occur in Australia each year. Hospital image from shutterstock.com

Washing our hands of responsibility for hospital infections

By Frank Bowden, ACT Health

Infections, like taxes, are inevitable (to paraphrase Benjamin Franklin). Most are acquired in the community and the dangerous ones are, in the main, very difficult to prevent. But many infections are…
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You can’t catch warts from toads, but you can from other people. DaveHuth

Monday’s medical myth: warts aren’t contagious

By Michael Tam

As a general practitioner (GP), I see a lot of warts. They’re a common skin complaint that most people experience at least one in their lives. Common warts are small dome-shaped lumps on the surface of…
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Health-care workers who discover they are infected have an ethical obligation to seek professional advice about their work practise limitations. stevendepolo

Privacy vs safety: should doctors disclose their infectious diseases?

By Katrina Bramstedt

A drug-addicted Melbourne anaesthetist has been accused of infecting 56 of his patients with hepatitis C by injecting himself with opiate-filled syringes, before using them on his patients. While his gross…
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Animals and livestock are often the carriers of harmful viruses. AAP

Challenge 8: Tackling global disease threats

By Martyn Jeggo, CSIRO

In part eight of our multi-disciplinary Millennium Project series, Martyn Jeggo argues that we must search the animal world for clues if we are to react in time against the rise of new and emerging viruses…
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Viruses passed from animals to humans pose a risk in Asia and Australia. EPA/John Footy

Dealing with the threat of deadly viruses from Asia

By Martyn Jeggo, CSIRO

AUSTRALIA IN THE ASIAN CENTURY – A series examining Australia’s role in the rapidly transforming Asian region. Delivered in partnership with the Australian government. Here, Professor Martyn Jeggo looks…
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Jude Law as Alan Krumwiede in the thriller “Contagion”. Claudette Barius

Steven Soderbergh’s Contagion: sounding alarm for the next pandemic?

By Jesse Toe, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

One touch and you’re infected. By the next day your muscles ache, you have a fever and the beginnings of a headache. You don’t know it yet, but you only have a one in three chance of survival and you…
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Encephalitis lethargica seemed to take over its victims' mind with neurologic and psychiatric changes. Finizio

A viral infection of the mind? The curious case of encephalitis lethargica

By Paul Foley, Neuroscience Research Australia

Encephalitis lethargica, an infectious disorder that only once appeared in epidemic form (1916-1926), is largely forgotten now. But this curious illness provided significant insights into brain function…
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Only 2% of Australia’s TB is drug-resistant but this is much more common in PNG. Flickr/PACOM

Papua New Guinea, drug-resistant tuberculosis and Australia

By Guy Marks

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is currently in a battle with potentially preventable and treatable tuberculosis, as reported in today’s Age and Sydney Morning Herald newspapers. The disease has increased in the…
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Bird flu transmission to humans is rare and hasn’t occurred with this new strain. AAP

Explainer: should we be worried about the new strain of bird flu?

By Terry Nolan, University of Melbourne

The circulation of a new strain of the H5N1 avian flu virus from China and Vietnam has prompted calls from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN for health authorities to be ready for a possible…
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Legionella’s is rare but can have devastating effects on those with compromised immune systems. Flickr/Alex R

Hospital outbreak of legionella – should we be worried?

By Richard Bentham, Flinders University

Every few weeks or months we see another outbreak of the potentially deadly legionella bacteria. Today, it’s a regional South Australian hospital, where 36 aged residents have been exposed to a contaminated…
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It’s wise to rug up outdoors but it won’t stop you getting a cold. Flickr/foshydog

Monday’s medical myth: you can catch a cold by getting cold

By Merlin Thomas, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute

Colds are more common in the cold winter months. But does the weather have anything to do with why we get sick? These days, we use other terms such as “virus” or “the flu” to describe our sniffles because…
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People with chronic medical conditions and others in high-risk groups should get a flu shot. mcfarlandmo/Wikimedia Commons

Flu is on the rise, Australia … and that’s not to be sniffed at

By Robert Booy

The number of people suffering from influenza in Australia this year has soared compared to recorded numbers from previous years, with nearly 8,000 cases so far compared to about 2,000 last year. We don…
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Preventing infection with the Hendra virus remains the most effective measure against the virus. AAP

Hold your horses: Hendra treatment is no panacea

By Dominic Dwyer and Jen Kok

Queensland authorities came under attack yesterday for being unprepared for a Hendra virus outbreak after it was found that they’d only stocked 15 doses of virus antibodies. But the case for stocking…
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Vaccines are history’s best public health tools but developing countries give low priority to health in their budgets. AAP

Gus Nossal: we can win the war against infectious disease, and here’s how

By Gustav Nossal, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute

The Lancet, one of most prestigious medical journals in the world recently published a series of five papers on “the new decade of vaccines”. These were followed by a sixth paper – A call to action for…
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The vaccine – which will be given to horses – is currently 18 months away. AAP

Hope for Hendra virus vaccination … but not this year

By Deborah Middleton, CSIRO

As Queensland authorities confirm the third outbreak of Hendra virus within a week, researchers are moving to fast track a horse vaccination for the deadly virus, which can spread from horses to humans…
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If most people in a community are vaccinated, others are also protected. Sanofil Pasteur

Braving the jab for community immunity

By Tilman Ruff, University of Melbourne

Let’s be clear: immunisations matter. They matter a lot. We all have a complex and ever-changing ecology of microorganisms and parasites inside our bodies and in our community. A recent fatal case of…

Research and News (9)

Research Briefs (20)

Salmonella’s hypervirulent strains

University of California

New strains of salmonella that act like a Trojan Horse have been found, giving researchers a better chance at preventing…

Test spots golden staph infections faster

Georgia Institute of Technology, Centre for Disease Control and Prevention

Researchers have developed a faster and more effective method of detecting Staphylococcus aureus (golden staph) infections…

TB bacteria blocks immune cell production

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

The tuberculosis bacteria has a unique molecule on its surface that blocks a key part of the body’s defense. Research suggests…

Hendra virus: high mortality rate in humans

Australian Medical Association

The Hendra virus (HeV) infection has a high mortality rate in humans, killing four of the seven people who have ever contracted…

Tracing diseases through time

Ohio State University

Six Influenza A viruses that have a close genetic relationship to H1N1 (swine flu) have been identified using new mathematical…

New cell to fight what ails you

A new type of cell in the immune system that helps protect against infectious diseases has been discovered by researchers…

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