Norovirus, the winter vomiting bug, is highly infectious among people in confined places – like cruise ships. But not everyone is equally vulnerable. Your blood type may determine if you get sick.
The CDC just released a list of bacteria and fungi that pose, or have the potential to pose, a serious health threat. Here are four strategies for curbing the rise of these superbugs.
Spiny lobsters with deadly PaV1 virus are found in seagrass habitats more than any other - but the seagrass may actually be helping to combat the disease.
When people get sick, they often suspect bacteria and viruses as the cause. But now the CDC is asking physicians and patients to consider another culprit: fungi.
A challenge in eradicating polio comes from a version of the vaccine itself, which relies on live but attenuated virus. Rationally designing a new vaccine could help get rid of polio once and for all.
The white blood cells act as an army of fighting cells, protecting your body from bad cells known as germs. White blood cells can capture germs and even swallow them.
Monkeypox is very contagious and there is no cure. But the good news is the body can heal itself from the virus. Singapore is the first in Asia, where the monkey smallpox virus has infected humans.
The 2018-2019 flu season was less deadly than the last. But the pattern of infection was unusual, thanks to the various strains circulating and the way flu shots work over time.
Cholera kills fast, and outbreaks are common in war-torn regions and after natural disasters where clean water is scarce. A new strategy to prevent cholera infections is a ‘cocktail’ of live virus.
After the failure of multiple drug trials the outlook for an Alzheimer’s drug is bleak. This shouldn’t be a surprise. We don’t know the cause or even how to diagnose the disease.
Sheena G. Sullivan, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza and Rob Moss, The University of Melbourne
The 2018 flu season was mild, while 2017 was a particularly bad year. It’s impossible to predict what the 2019 flu season has in store, but we’ve seen more cases so far this year than usual.
Director, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital and Consultant Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital and Monash University, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity