Zoonotic & Vector-Borne Diseases

Researchers recently examined whether or not some virus families are better able to jump across species boundaries and emerge in new hosts than others.

In case you missed them, our top 5 articles for the week of March 12, 2017 are highlighted here.

The first international Open Science Prize has been awarded to Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and University of Basel researchers for a software tool that is capable of tracking viral disease outbreaks.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, residents in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties have been at an increased risk of contracting Zika virus, since June 15, 2016.

Researchers remind us that the Zika virus infection does not only cause complications in developing fetuses, after reports identified that nine patients from Venezuela presented with cardiovascular complications linked with the mosquito-borne infection.

The past few weeks have been busy with avian influenza activity from Tennessee to China.

Annelies Wilder-Smith, MD, PhD, professor at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore, examines the effectiveness of personal protection against Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya viruses.

In case you missed them, here is a round-up of the top 5 articles for the week of March 5, 2017.

A group of researchers used data from St. Luke’s hospital network’s Sentinel Enhanced Dengue Surveillance Systems to investigate the association of asthma and the development of severe Dengue. Their findings were presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

From pets at home to SeaWorld's main attraction, the threat of antimicrobial resistance in domesticated animals is flying under the radar amid concerns for livestock and human resistance.

Carmen Zorrilla, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, discusses the social stigma surrounding Zika- and HIV-positive women.

A yellow fever outbreak that started in December 2016 with only six human cases in just three states has now spread across the country, infecting thousands and killing hundreds.

At the American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene Conference in November 2016, scientists presented research indicating that infection with West Nile virus may be linked with a shorter lifespan.

David A. Schwartz, MD, MS Hyg, FCAP, clinical professor of pathology at Medical College of Georgia, explains how the Zika virus pandemic has brought about a new form of research sharing.

Did you read this week’s top infectious disease news coverage from Contagion®?

Up to 90% of some mammal populations in the Northeast are infected with the virus.

Robert W. Malone, MD, MS, has identified several already-licensed drugs that would be successful in blocking Zika virus replication in human tissues.

Adriano Schneider, MS, PhD Candidate, Bioinformatics and Genomics, UNC Charlotte, maps the evolution of the Zika virus.

Prenatal care for pregnant women with antenatal Zika-related microcephaly needs to be modified to include conversations that include pregnancy options as well as neonatal specialty consultations that will address infant special care needs, economic burden, and other factors.

Carmen D. Zorrilla, MD, professor of obstetrics and gynecology, University of Puerto Rico, School of Medicine, shared her research which aimed to evaluate the growth patterns of fetuses whose mothers acquired Zika virus during pregnancy “and showed no prenatally detectable structural anomalies or maternal conditions that could affect fetal growth.”

The need for continued surveillance to provide estimates on the rate at which the virus has impacted the incidence of birth defects has prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to award funding to five jurisdictions.

Pedro Fernando de Costa Vasconcelos, MD, PhD, director of the WHO Collaborating Center for Arbovirus and Research, Evandro Chagas Institute, took a closer look at the Zika virus in Brazil during his presentation at The First International Zika Conference.

Catch up on last month's top infectious disease news coverage from Contagion®.

A new diagnostics tool to detect Zika was developed to bring easy-to-use technology to remote locations where Zika diagnostics is not readily available.

At The First International Zika Conference, Lenore Pereira, PhD, discussed her research regarding the question of how Zika virus is able to spread from maternal blood to the placenta to reach the fetus.

At the First International Zika Conference, Viviane S. Boaventura, MD, PhD, researcher, Fiocruz-Bahia, Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Brazil, presented her research that depicting an association between Congenital Zika Syndrome and hearing loss.

At the First International Zika Conference, Dr. Bogoch, professor of Emergency Medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, chairman at Replikins LLC, Foundation for Research on the Nervous System, explained how Replikins can give advanced warning of outbreaks and their cessation.

Lenore Pereira, PhD, professor of Cell and Tissue Biology at University of California, San Francisco, discusses how Zika crosses the placenta.

Annelies Wilder-Smith, MD, PhD, professor at Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in Singapore, discusses why the Zika virus outbreak in Singapore did not reach such large proportions as those that occurred in the Americas.

At the First International Conference on Zika Virus, Alice Panchaud, PharmD, PhD, clinical pharmacist and pharmacoepidemiologist, CHUV, Lausanne University Hospital, Switzerland, discussed how an international registry can help estimate the risk of Zika virus associated with birth defects and abnormal pregnancy outcomes.