Zoonotic & Vector-Borne Diseases

With the 2016 Rio Olympic Games less than one month away, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a statement summarizing their assessment of the risk of Zika importation by those returning from the summer Games.

Abdulla Al-Khan, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, describes his learnings from delivering a baby with Zika-related microcephaly.

Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos, MD, PhD, director of WHO Collaborating Center for Arbovirus and Research, Evandro Chagas Institute, explains how the Zika virus affects fetuses of infected pregnant women.

A molecule in green tea, known as epigallocatechin (EGCG), blocks the entry of a Brazilian strain of Zika virus into host cells, and may hold potential benefit for prevention of Zika virus infections, a new study has found.

As Congress debates action to combat the virus, a patient in Salt Lake County, Utah has lost the fight against Zika.

According to a recent study, screening for microcephaly can no longer adequately determine whether or not a baby has suffered abnormalities due to a congenital Zika infection.

Abdulla Al-Khan, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, discusses the prognosis for babies born with Zika-linked microcephaly.

Abdulla Al-Khan, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, discusses the medical condition of the tri-state area's first Zika-linked microcephaly baby.

Because protection against this mysterious virus is essential, as is a need to understand it, researchers have been using the resources that are available to learn more about Zika and how to prevent infection.

Abdulla Al-Khan, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, discusses the diagnosis and delivery of the tri-state area’s first Zika-infected microcephaly baby.

Exactly how to screen for and, thus, diagnose Zika virus remains a bit of a moving target for clinicians as the risk for localized transmission of the mosquito-borne disease rises for some parts of the United States with the arrival of summer.

Abdulla Al-Khan, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, discusses the length of time during which a mother can pass on a Zika infection to her fetus with Contagion.

Researchers have found that Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with these bacteria were less likely to become infected with the Zika virus after feeding, and that those who did become infected were unable to transmit the virus in their saliva.

“We really won’t be able to protect the American people to the extent that we can, from the technology standpoint, without that funding.” states Stephen Redd, MD, director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Abdulla Al-Khan, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, explains whether or not someone can contract the Zika virus from an infected baby.

Abdulla Al-Khan, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, explains the threat of Zika, and when it is most harmful to a fetus.

When a health emergency erupts somewhere in the world, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) quickly sends its new Global Rapid Response Team (Global RRT).

Abdulla Al-Khan, MD, director of the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine and Surgery at Hackensack University Medical Center, describes the diagnosis of the tri-state area's first case of Zika-linked microcephaly in a newborn child.

On Thursday, June 23, 2016, House Republicans approved a bill which included a $1.1 billion fund to combat Zika. But, there’s one big drawback, according to Democrats.

A new case report about the death of a woman from rabies emphasizes the importance of rabies awareness and education among the public.

Justin R. Anderson, PhD, associate professor of biology at Radford University, describes his research on the effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals on mosquito-borne viruses.

On June 17, the CDC announced that 1% of all blood donations analyzed in the American territory had tested positive for Zika, and that this could be an indication that the outbreak is poised to reach dangerous proportions.

Administration of cholesterol-lowering statins to mice reduced the number of Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria in the rodents and helped to prevent the spread of Lyme disease, a new study has suggested.

A new study has suggested that Yersinia pestis—the causative agent of plague—likely entered Europe only once, and later spread to China where it has become the source of modern plague outbreaks.

With vaccine supplies at alarmingly low levels a potential public health emergency of global proportions may be on the horizon.