News

An estimated 722,000 healthcare-associated infections occurred in acute care hospitals in the United States in 2011, and roughly 75,000 patients who acquired them died while still in the hospital, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

On May 16, 2016, the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) announced that the country’s Olympic team members will receive Dual Protect VivaGel condoms, the world’s only antiviral condom, for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The Senate has voted to grant $1.2 billion in funding to fight the impending local transmission of the Zika virus in the United States.

In early April the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that most provinces in Angola have experienced a yellow fever outbreak. Now, scientists are calling this the country’s worst epidemic since 1986, urging WHO to take action.

New legislation designed to bolster food safety regulations in the United States largely hands increased power to state agencies overseeing the farming sector.

A recent study has shown that human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) enters cells throughout the entire female reproductive tract from the labia to the ovary—not just in the cervix, as previously thought.

A recent study has shown that stress and depression in adolescent females are linked to human papillomavirus (HPV)-related health problems—in particular, whether the viral infection persists long enough to increase the risk of cervical cancer.

Researchers from the National Infection Service at Public Health England (PHE) in the UK may have identified the perfect platform for trials of future vaccines and antivirals for the management of Zika.

Seven monkeys in Ceará, Brazil have tested positive for the Zika virus.

It would seem that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is not waiting for Congress to decide on Zika funding.

Opinion polls indicate the general public remains relatively unconcerned about the threat of Zika, despite the existence of confirmed cases in the United States.

Zoonotic diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi that are spread between animals and humans are quite common and scientists estimate that more than 60% of human infectious diseases are spread from animals.

For patients who suffer from certain uncomplicated infections such as, sinusitis, bronchitis, and uncomplicated urinary tract infections, the health risks associated with fluoroquinolone far outweigh the benefits.

It has been more than 50 years since an epidemic resulted in as many birth defects as the Zika virus. To address this epidemic, the second in a series of six teleconferences, hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), discussed Zika infection during pregnancy as well as subsequent birth defects.

Congress is in the midst of approving a bill that may grant over $1 billion in funds to combat the active transmission of the Zika virus in the United States.

Officers of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) presented recent research on tuberculosis (TB) on May 3 in a session at the 65th Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. A summary of the presentations is included in this article.

Evidence from a clinical trial has shown that a new vaccine protects adults against malaria infection for at least 14 months.

Contagion™ Editorial Board member, Charitha Gowda, MD, MPH breaks down the World Health Organization hepatitis C (HCV) guidelines update, and reminds healthcare professionals to build on these guidelines to advocate for the most effective and safest treatment options for our individual patients and all patients worldwide.

Older antibiotic agents show decreased potency due to overuse and the subsequent emergence of drug-resistant bacteria. This antimicrobial resistance has been predicted to have enormous consequences for human health, necessitating the development of new agents in the ongoing war between humans and the germs that attack us.

Public health leaders have serious concerns about influenza, according to Dan Jernigan, MD, MPH, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Influenza Division during a session on influenza on May 2nd during the 65th Annual Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

To inform Puerto Rico residents of the threat of the Zika virus, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) Foundation has launched a digital Zika education campaign.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released updated guidance for Zika diagnostic testing.

Margaret Honein, MPH, PhD, chief of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s Birth Defects Branch in the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities updated health professionals at a special session on Zika virus infection during the 65th Annual EIS Conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

An ongoing malaria outbreak in Colombia has been linked to illegal mining practices in the South American country.

Is the U.S. a Pandora's box of laboratory biosafety failures?

Executives at Dole Food Co. Inc. knew about an outbreak of Listeria at the company’s salad production plant in Springfield, Ohio for more than a year before shutting it down in January.

Officials are stating that although the first case of locally-acquired Zika virus in the United States may be weeks or months away, the time to prepare is now.

Antibiotic-resistant pathogens continue to make the management of some bacterial infections a significant clinical challenge.