Britain’s badgers stand on the brink of being shot, gassed or even forcibly fed oral contraceptives, all in the name of fighting the spread of tuberculosis in cattle. But what dangers does bovine TB (as…
The novel coronavirus is in the same family as the SARS virus, but has some different biological features and is not as infectious.
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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…
Vaccines are one of the most effective public health measures ever introduced.
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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…
An antibiotic commonly prescribed for infections including coughs and bronchitis is ineffective at relieving symptoms, and may actually be harmful if overused, according to a new European study. The study…
Bacteria can quickly adapt and overcome the antibiotics that used to kill them.
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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…
Around 180,000 hospital-acquired infections occur in Australia each year.
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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…
Immunology researchers have established there’s no evidence of an infectious cause behind the chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), prompting warnings an understanding of what triggers the debilitating illness…
You can’t catch warts from toads, but you can from other people.
DaveHuth
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…
Health-care workers who discover they are infected have an ethical obligation to seek professional advice about their work practise limitations.
stevendepolo
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…
Animals and livestock are often the carriers of harmful viruses.
AAP
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…
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…
Jesse Toe, WEHI (Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research)
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’ve…