U.S. public health officials have reported that Black communities are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with higher infection and mortality rates than the general population. Now as the number of COVID-19 cases across the U.S. surge, Mayo Clinic researchers are working closely with Black churches on disparities in emergency preparedness and providing access to culturally relevant, evidence-based health information.
Tag: Infectious Diseases
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AI platform developed by NUS researchers finds best combination of available therapies against COVID-19
Researchers from the National University of Singapore have utilised a ground-breaking AI platform to find an optimal combination of available therapies against COVID-19. The research team identified the drug combination from over 530,000 possibilities within two weeks, cutting down the number of tests typically needed by hundreds of thousands.
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Pacific Symphony working with UCI public health experts on COVID-19 plan
Irvine, Calif., Dec. 8, 2020 — University of California, Irvine public health experts are providing consulting services to Pacific Symphony to enable the Orange County ensemble to once again play music together – which hasn’t happened since early March because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the past months, Pacific Symphony has held online events – including virtual concerts, living room concerts on video, internet interview programs, and KCET and PBS SoCal’s “Southland Sessions Presents Pacific Symphony” series – featuring offerings from the orchestra’s archival vaults.
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Research News Tip Sheet: Story Ideas From Johns Hopkins Medicine
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johns Hopkins Medicine Media Relations is focused on disseminating current, accurate and useful information to the public via the media. As part of that effort, we are distributing our “COVID-19 Tip Sheet: Story Ideas from Johns Hopkins” every other Tuesday.
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Breaking It Down: How Cells Degrade Unwanted Micrornas
DALLAS – Nov. 12, 2020 – UT Southwestern researchers have discovered a mechanism that cells use to degrade microRNAs (miRNAs), genetic molecules that regulate the amounts of proteins in cells.
UCLA Health infectious disease experts tout critical role mask wearing plays in limiting spread of COVID-19
With thousands of new cases logged daily and a vaccine to fight COVID-19 still in development, UCLA Health infectious disease experts are encouraging people to continue to wear masks as the best method of protecting against virus transmission.
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Can Scientists take the STING out of Common Respiratory Viruses?
UNC-Chapel Hill scientists discovered that many rhinoviruses need a human protein called STING to make copies of its RNA, opening the door to a new strategy for controlling infection of these pesky and at times very dangerous pathogens.
UCLA Fielding School of Public Health experts available for media inquires regarding the COVID-19 pandemic
Dr. David Eisenman is director of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health’s Center for Public Health and Disasters and professor-in-residence of community health sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Dr. Jonathan Fielding is a distinguished professor…
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Population distribution can greatly impact COVID-19 spread, UCI-led study finds
Irvine, Calif., Oct. 1, 2020 — Uneven population distribution can significantly impact the severity and timing of COVID-19 infections within a city or county, leading individual communities to have vastly different experiences with the pandemic, according to a recent study led by the University of California, Irvine. Findings published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences show that the heterogeneous spatial features of interpersonal connections may produce dramatic local variations in exposures to those with the illness.
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Flu Season Returns As The COVID-19 Pandemic Continues
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues with no end in sight, the annual flu season emerges once again. Cases of the flu have already begun to surface around the nation, and there are some reports of co-infection with COVID-19. Johns Hopkins Medicine experts say now is the time to take action to fight against the flu. Doctors recommend that everyone age 6 months and older get the flu vaccine each year to prevent infection from the virus or reduce the severity of the illness.
Experimental vaccine that boosts antigen production shows promise against COVID-19
A bioengineering technique to boost production of specific proteins could be the basis of an effective vaccine against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, new research suggests.
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UCI researchers launch first-of-its-kind coronavirus statistics portal
Irvine, Calif., Aug. 10, 2020 — Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have unveiled a public website that provides up-to-date statistics on coronavirus infections in Orange County, with comparisons to neighboring and other California counties. The site displays information collected from the California Open Data Portal in an easily comprehended format, giving visitors quick access to the most relevant data on hospitalized patients with COVID-19, intensive care unit patients, new daily cases and new daily deaths caused by the disease.
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Texas Biomed adds International Global Health Expert to Leadership Team
The leadership team at Texas Biomedical Research Institute is excited to announce the addition of Akudo Anyanwu, M.D., M.P.H. to its administrative leadership team as Vice President of Development.
Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Global Climate Change Mortality Study
New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 3, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Robert E. Kopp is available to discuss a major study released today on the global consequences of climate change on death rates. The study by the Climate Impact Lab,…
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Different approach needed to ‘buy time’ and tackle COVID-19
A prominent Australian pharmacologist has called for a new approach to treating COVID-19 as hopes fade of finding an effective vaccine or antiviral before the end of the year.
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Does Blood Plasma from COVID-19 Survivors Help Patients Infected with Novel Coronavirus?
Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and UC San Diego Health have launched a clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma (CP) to prevent COVID-19 after a known exposure to the virus.
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FAU Now Offers COVID-19 Contact Tracing and Risk-Reduction Public Health Certificate
In response to the high demand for one of the fastest-growing jobs in the U.S., FAU has launched a new, online public health certificate course on COVID-19, contact tracing and risk-reduction. The five-week, 15-hour course does not require a college degree and is scheduled from June 29 to Aug. 7. The program is open to the general public for adults age 18 and older with a high school diploma or equivalent and a variety of work experiences and educational backgrounds.
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COVID-19: Antibody testing to reveal extent of infections across Va.
UVA Health has partnered with the Virginia Department of Health and other hospitals around the state to determine how many Virginians have been infected with COVID-19 – and how many remain at risk.
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Research and innovation as an essential function amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Necessity being the mother of invention, Houston Methodist clinicians, researchers and staff have collaborated on a number of clinical device and research innovations in response to COVID-19. Houston Methodist Academic Institute leadership has continually emphasized translational research in new technologies.
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Loss of Smell Associated with Milder Clinical Course in COVID-19
Researchers at UC San Diego Health report in newly published findings that olfactory impairment suggests the resulting COVID-19 disease is more likely to be mild to moderate, a potential early indicator that could help health care providers determine which patients may require hospitalization.
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Artificial Intelligence Enables Rapid COVID-19 Lung Imaging Analysis at UC San Diego Health
With support from Amazon Web Services, UC San Diego Health physicians are using AI in a clinical research study aimed at speeding the detection of pneumonia, a condition associated with severe COVID-19.
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Tested and Testing: UC San Diego Health Expands COVID-19 Diagnostics
UC San Diego Health makes measurable progress addressing COVID-19 testing shortage through multiple partnerships and rapidly growing in-house testing. Success has meant more testing for more patients, first responders and other health systems.
UC San Diego Health Launches Clinical Trial to Assess Antiviral Drug for COVID-19
Researchers at four University of California Health medical centers have begun recruiting participants for a Phase II clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of treating adult patients with COVID-19 with remdesivir, a drug that has shown promising activity against multiple viruses.
U.S. Workers Need Paid Sick Leave to Help Stop the Spread of Coronavirus
One-third of Americans do not have access to paid sick leave. Only the U.S. and Japan do not mandate a national sick leave benefit. Currently, seven states in the U.S. mandate that employers provide paid sick leave benefits. Given the latest information from the U.S. CDC regarding the potential impact that the coronavirus could have on the nation, researchers urge that it is critical to consider the role paid sick leave has in stopping the spread of a contagious virus.
As U.S. Struggles to Get Coronavirus Testing Up and Running, AACC Calls on FDA to Allow Clinical Labs to Develop Their Own Tests for the Virus
In a letter to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), AACC is urging the agency to allow clinical laboratories to develop coronavirus tests without going through FDA review. Lifting this regulatory requirement is key to ensuring that all patients have access to high-quality coronavirus testing and that healthcare workers have the tools they need to control the spread of this disease in the U.S.
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Thinking about a cruise in light of the novel coronavirus? Here are health tips from experts at University Hospitals Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine
Doctors from the University Hospitals (UH) Roe Green Center for Travel Medicine provide the following health tips for vacationers thinking about a cruise in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. 1. As always, the best infection control measure is…
New Tool for an Old Disease: Use of PET and CT Scans May Help Develop Shorter TB Treatment
Experts believe that tuberculosis, or TB, has been a scourge for humans for some 15,000 years, with the first medical documentation of the disease coming out of India around 1000 B.C.E. Today, the World Health Organization reports that TB is still the leading cause of death worldwide from a single infectious agent, responsible for some 1.5 million fatalities annually. Primary treatment for TB for the past 50 years has remained unchanged and still requires patients to take multiple drugs daily for at least six months. Successful treatment with these anti-TB drugs — taken orally or injected into the bloodstream — depends on the medications “finding their way” into pockets of TB bacteria buried deep within the lungs.
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UAB experts involved with COVID-19 vaccine research available to comment on outbreak, what’s being reported, where concerns lie
Experts from the University of Alabama at Birmingham are avaliable to comment on the state of COVID-19, including the development of an investigational compound at UAB, next steps for a vaccine, what the state of the outbreak looks like, what…
Gauging the threat posed by the coronavirus
Wearing a surgical mask is unlikely to protect healthy people from the novel coronavirus that originated in China, and influenza likely poses a much greater threat to Americans, according to José Cordero, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the University of Georgia’s College of Public Health.
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Announces Recipients of Nation’s First Gender Equity Grants
Annual Distinguished Scholar Award Aims to Break Down Barriers to Equity in Medical Research
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Most Rehabilitating Sea Turtles with Infectious Tumors Don’t Survive
Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is the most significant infectious disease affecting sea turtle populations worldwide. FB leads to tumors on the turtles’ eyes, flippers and internal organs and is widespread in warmer climates like Florida. A large-scale study evaluated tumor score, removal and regrowth in rehabilitating green sea turtles with FP in the southeastern U.S. from 2009 to 2017, and found that 75 percent did not survive following admission into a rehabilitation facility, irrespective of whether or not tumor regrowth occurred after surgery.
Johns Hopkins Researchers: Climate Change Threatens to Unlock New Microbes and Increase Heat-Related Illness and Death
The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) recently published “Viewpoint” articles by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine professors who warn that global climate change is likely to unlock dangerous new microbes, as well as threaten humans’ ability to regulate body temperature.
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Infectious disease expert able to discuss coronavirus
With the first U.S.-based case of coronavirus confirmed by the CDC, Jeanne Marrazzo, M.D., MPH, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, is avaliable for interviews and can discuss what coronavirus is, how…
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Zika Virus’ Key into Brain Cells ID’d, Leveraged to Block Infection and Kill Cancer Cells
Two different UC San Diego research teams identified the same molecule — αvβ5 integrin — as Zika virus’ key to brain cell entry. They found ways to take advantage of the integrin to both block Zika virus from infecting cells and turn it into something good: a way to shrink brain cancer stem cells.
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Taking One for the Team: How Bacteria Self-Destruct to Fight Viral Infections
UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers have discovered how a new immune system works to protect bacteria from phages, viruses that infect bacteria — new information that could be leveraged to improve treatment of multidrug-resistant bacterial infections by refining phage therapy.
FY 2020 Spending Bill Funds Critical Initiatives While Neglecting Urgent Priorities
The spending bill passed today is a welcome step forward. Allocations in the bill will strengthen public health and research efforts during the year ahead and will provide critical support for important goals. At the same time, the legislation in its final form also brings inadequate responses to current and urgent challenges with the potential for long-term and costly consequences.
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Researchers identify ‘Achilles’ heel’ of drug-resistant superbug
Researchers at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have identified a protein that allows vancomycin-resistant enterococci to defy antibiotic treatment and immune system attacks. Their discovery opens the door for future treatment options in the fight against antibiotic resistance.
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Media Advisory: Johns Hopkins Medicine to Host Maryland Hepatitis Summit
In the United States, hepatitis C virus kills more people than HIV and 59 other infectious diseases combined. Maryland is one of the states hit hardest by the hepatitis C epidemic.
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Texas Biomed Forms Scientific Advisory Board
As part of Texas Biomedical Research Institute’s strategic plan to grow the organization into the leading infectious disease research institute in the country, Texas Biomed has established a renowned external scientific advisory board. Five distinguished researchers have joined the newly-formed group to provide Texas Biomed with objective perspectives on matters relating to the Institute’s research progress and priorities .
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Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Infectious Diseases Researcher Awarded NIH Contract to Accelerate TB Vaccine Development
CWRU’s W. Henry Boom, MD, and a team of collaborators nationally received the first installment of a seven-year contract, totaling $30 million in its first year from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the NIH, to establish three immunology research centers to accelerate TB vaccine development.
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Flu Season Returns: Protect Yourself Now
Cases of the flu are already on the rise around the nation as flu season begins. Johns Hopkins Medicine experts say now is the time to fight against the flu as the number of people getting sick from the potentially life-threatening virus will increase in the coming months. Doctors recommend everyone 6 months and older get the flu vaccine each year to prevent the virus or reduce the seriousness if you do get sick.
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Flu Experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine
As the 2019–20 flu season gets underway, Johns Hopkins Medicine experts will be available throughout the season to talk with your newsroom about the epidemiology of this year’s virus, as well as provide important information about this year’s vaccine. Flu cases have already begun to appear in the U.S. Flu activity tends to increase in October and can run as late as May.
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Three UC San Diego Researchers Receive Top Honors with NIH Director’s Awards
Three University of California San Diego researchers have received prestigious awards through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program, including the Pioneer Award, the program’s top honor.
UC San Diego Researchers Isolate Switch that Kills Inactive HIV
University of California San Diego School of Medicine researchers have identified a switch controlling HIV reproduction in immune cells which can eliminate dormant HIV reservoirs.
UN Climate Action Summit Opens Opportunities for Action on Infectious Disease Impact
As government, business, and community leaders from around the world gather in New York today for the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, attention to the immediate and international threats posed by climate change to human health will be critical to achieving the summit’s goals of advancing from words to urgent action.
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Lung Lining Fluid Key to Elderly Susceptibility to Tuberculosis Disease
– Old lungs are not as capable as young lungs of fighting off an infection of the bacteria that causes tuberculosis (TB), placing seniors at a greater risk of developing TB. The microbe that causes this infectious disease, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), currently kills more people in the world than any other pathogen. Texas Biomed researchers published an article in the Journal of Infectious Diseases in July 2019. The study details an experiment that took place in vitro (in the lab) and in vivo (in animals) that showed fluid in the lining of the lungs plays a big role in the elderly’s susceptibility to infection with the bacterium Mtb.
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Finding Missing Network Links Could Help Develop New Drugs, Stop Disease, Ease Traffic
Sex, drugs and traffic: Search for missing links in networks could help uncover new cancer treatments, build more efficient traffic networks and stop the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. WASHINGTON, D.C., June 25, 2019 — A new mathematical model of…
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Video Games Offer Clues to Help Curb Animal Disease Outbreaks
As Asia and Europe battle African swine fever outbreaks, University of Vermont research shows how farmers’ risk attitudes affect the spread of infectious animal diseases and offers a first-of-its kind model for testing disease control and prevention strategies. Strengthening biosecurity…
No cell is an island – ‘doublet’ immune cells
LJI team finds that ‘doublet’ immune cells are much more common—and more important in disease—than previously thought. LA JOLLA, CA – Sorting through individual immune cells is a handy way to see how the body responds to disease. For years,…
Physicians, Health Providers and Researchers Call on Presidential Candidates to Back Funding, Preparedness and Evidence-based Responses to Infectious Diseases, HIV
In a bipartisan-aimed petition, more than 500 members of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, its HIV Medicine Association and the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society are calling on all presidential candidates to commit themselves to public health policies, programs, and…