For some children, ear infections will become a persistent problem.
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Middle ear infections (otitis media) are a common and often painful condition that
most children will experience at least once in their first year.
A digitally colorized cluster of norovirus virions.
CDC/ Charles D. Humphrey
There’s a norovirus outbreak at the Winter Olympics. Here’s what that means – and why it’s so hard to stop.
Once a respiratory virus like influenza has entered your home or workplace, it is wise to treat the space like a hospital and practice infection prevention and control.
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From face-touching to virus-contaminated electronic devices, a scientist offers some tips on eradicating the flu virus from your home.
The usual culprit is the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus , better known as “golden staph”.
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School sores usually clear up within a few weeks, without any scarring. Here’s what to do if you suspect your child has them.
Pills and ills.
Adul10
Antimicrobial stewardship is proving effective, but we’re not fully across what is happening.
Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight. Scientists believe flight may influence their immune responses to coronoviruses, which cause fatal diseases such as SARS and MERS in humans.
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Scientific studies show that bats may carry “coronoviruses” causing SARS and MERS - without showing symptoms of disease. Could the bat immune system be key to human survival in future pandemics?
Researchers have found Australia’s first confirmed case of tularemia in a ringtail possum.
Andrew Mercer/flickr
Tularemia is an animal disease that can be transmitted to humans. While it can be fatal, it is rare in Australia and can be treated with antibiotics.
People mainly think of GPs over-prescribing antibiotics, but ubiquitous use in farming and other areas also contributes to resistance in bacteria.
Reuters/Brian Snyder
We need a concentrated and coordinated effort by government and scientists if we’re to stave off the threat of antimicrobial resistant bacteria.
A hospital nurse checks the temperature of all visitors in Conakry (Guinea) in 2014, at the height of the Ebola epidemic.
Marie-Agnès Heine/OMS
One year after the end of the West African Ebola epidemic, a study of survivors in Guinea shows what has been learned about the deadly virus, and what remains unknown.
According to the World Health Organisation, antimicrobial resistance is now at crisis point.
from www.shutterstock.com.au
The US Centers for Disease Control has reported a woman in her 70s has died of overwhelming sepsis caused by a bacterium that was resistant to all available antibiotics.
Easy to transport and store, skin patches could soon replace needles for vaccination.
WorldBankPhotos/flickr
Postage-stamp sized patches that target vaccines to the immune system are now in clinical trials.
Trachoma disappeared from most of Australia 100 years ago as individual and community hygiene improved.
Trachoma easily spreads from one child to another through infected eye and nose secretions. A person may have up to 40 episodes of reinfection during childhood.
Next time just work with your body clock.
Marcos Mesa Sam Wordley
Stay away from viruses in the early morning – and in winter.
A Finnish family, pictured around the late 19th century.
Virpi Lummaa
Study investigates whether a decrease in serious childhood disease could be extending human lifespan.
Advances in computing make it possible to model the spread of disease on an individual level, in a population of millions of people.
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Millions of people die or suffer from infectious diseases each year. Computer modelling can now help simulate the impact of any spreading disease.
Virus spreading machines.
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When it comes to preventing the spread of germs, how you dry your hands can be just as important as how you wash them.
Nanotechnology that can detect illnesses will become available next year.
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A novel approach to detect bacterial infections in 10-15 minutes is expected to become commercially available next year.
People who have big weekends tend to take more sickies at work.
from shutterstock.com
There’s no doubt chronic alcohol abuse changes the body’s infection-defence system. But here’s what the research says on whether a binge-drinking weekend can make people more susceptible to illness.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are a leading cause of hospital infections.
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New research shows the best way to treat hospital infections caused by C. difficile may be with more of the bacteria.
We’re in a protracted war against superbugs because we’ve overused existing antibiotics: a key weapon against disease.
Nomadic Lass/Flickr
We’ve heard a lot lately about superbugs – bacteria that are resistant to current antibiotics. But as the threat of superbugs continues to rise, the number of new treatments available has flatlined. This…