• Anne J. Manning Potential New Weapon in Battle Against Superbugs

    By Anne J. Manning

    Harvard researchers have created an antibiotic that can overcome many drug-resistant infections, which have become a growing, deadly global health menace. The synthetic molecule is highly effective against drug-resistant bacteria.

  • EBOLAAs Ebola Spreads in Uganda, U.S. Imposes Traveler Screening

    The Biden administration announced last week that all travelers entering the United States from Uganda will be redirected to airports where they can be screened for Ebola virus disease (EVD). Ebola detection is not straightforward, as symptoms can lay dormant for two to 21 days, and during that time, the disease wouldn’t show up on a blood test, let alone a thermometer.

  • PathogenCritical Shortcut to Detect, Identify Known and Emerging Pathogens

    Researchers have developed a sophisticated new tool which could help provide early warning of rare and unknown viruses in the environment and identify potentially deadly bacterial pathogens which cause sepsis, among other uses.

  • Zoonotic DiseasesFocusing on Zoonotic Diseases

    Experts warn that zoonotic diseases—diseases caused by germs that spread from animals to people—are a growing and increasingly dangerous threat to global public health. Veterinarian and PNNL data scientist Lauren Charles talks animal-borne diseases—and how biosurveillance can help combat them

  • Public healthIs it a Virus or Bacteria? New Tech Rapidly Tests for Pathogens

    The first line of defense against pandemics is the ability quickly to detect the presence or absence of previously unknown pathogens. DHS S&T is exploring a new technology that can discriminate between bacterial and viral infections using only a single drop of blood per patient.

  • SuperbugsCountries' Shortcomings in Tackling Antibiotic Resistance Spotlighted

    By Chris Dall

    A new report indicates that while the world’s leading economies have been talking a good game when it comes to addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR), they have yet to translate that talk into substantive action.

  • EpidemicsMore Outbreak Details Emerge as COVID-19 Cases Top 70,000

    As cases passed the 70,000 mark today, China published a detailed picture of its COVID-19 outbreak, which now shows signs of declining; however, officials warned cases could rebound as people return to work and school after the extended Lunar New Year break.

  • EpidemicsChina nCoV Cases Top 40,000, with More Tied to French Cluster

    China’s daily total of 3,062 cases is up from 2,656 reported Sunday, boosting the country’s overall total to 40,171. Also, health officials reported 97 more deaths and 296 more serious cases, raising those totals to 908 and 6,484, respectively. More cases surface in more countries.

  • Truth decayBioweapons, Secret Labs, and the CIA: Pro-Kremlin Actors Blame the U.S. for Coronavirus Outbreak

    By Eto Buziashvili

    The Russia (earlier: Soviet) practice of spreading disinformation about public health threats is nothing new. During the Cold War, for example, a Soviet disinformation campaign blamed the United States for the AIDS virus. While epidemiologists work to identify the exact source of the Wuhan2019-nCov outbreak, pro-Kremlin actors are already blaming the United States for supposedly using bioweapons to disseminate the virus.

  • EpidemicsMainland China Reports New Coronanvirus Deaths, Cases

    The number of new cases and related deaths from the new coronavirus rose Wednesday in mainland China, Chinese health officials said, while the discovery of new cases outside the mainland indicated the increasing spread of the outbreak. However, despite its increasing detection in numerous countries, the World Health Organization said the outbreak of the new coronavirus has not yet reached the level of a pandemic.

  • EpidemicsAt Least Ten Chinese Cities on Lockdown; 830 Confirmed Coronavirus Cases

    The Chinese National Health Commission said Friday that there are 830 confirmed cases of the new coronavirus countrywide, while at least 25 people have died. At least 10 cities, and at least 33 million people, have been put on lockdown. Airports around the world have begun screening travelers for the coronavirus.

  • SuperbugsNew Agents to Fight Multidrug-Resistant Germs

    Resistance to antibiotics is on the rise worldwide. Fraunhofer scientists have joined forces with partners in the Phage4Cure project to explore alternatives to antibiotics. One objective is to vanquish multidrug-resistant pathogens with viruses called bacteriophages. Another is to see these phages approved to treat the dreaded hospital germ Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the most frequent bacterial cause of pneumonia.

  • SuperbugsAntibiotic-Resistant E coli Found in U.S. Veterinary Hospital

    Animals treated in Philadelphia veterinary hospital were found to be infected with a antibiotic-resistant strain of E coli. In the United States, the gene has been detected in only a few human bacterial infections, and never in companion animals. Only a handful of cases in dogs have been reported worldwide.

  • SuperbugsNovel Coronavirus in China's Outbreak

    As suspected, a novel coronavirus has been identified in some patients who are part of a cluster of unexplained pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. Experts say that the identification of what now appears to be a third novel coronavirus that can cause serious human disease in the last 20 years signals a paradigm shift for coronaviruses.

  • SuperbugsTackling the Problem of Antimicrobial Resistance

    The CDC recently announced in its latest report that each year 2.8 million Americans are infected with a drug-resistant organism, and that 35,000 of them would later die. The antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is not new, though, and the problem has been growing for decades, but now it seems that we’re starting to truly take it seriously.