News

The Joint Commission considers hand hygiene the most important intervention for preventing healthcare-associated infections, which are responsible for 75,000 deaths annually.

Consumer Reports recently evaluated more than 3,100 hospitals in the United States and found that about a third of them received a low rating for controlling infections from Clostridium difficile.

Following the recent United Nations General Assembly meeting to discuss the growing global threat of antimicrobial resistance, health experts are highlighting the role vaccines can play in preventing dangerous infections.

To assess factors associated with the likelihood that healthcare providers will accept seasonal influenza vaccine policy changes, Nova Scotia researchers examined the roles that their knowledge and attitude play in the matter.

Pharmacists are critical to expanding access to pandemic vaccination. However, little is known about the relationships and planning activities between public health programs and pharmacies.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently met to establish new guidelines for the Southern Hemisphere’s 2017 influenza virus vaccine.

Researchers have now identified virologic evidence of Zika virus in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome, showing that the onset of the neurologic disorder can parallel the onset of systemic manifestations of the mosquito-borne infection.

Recently, WHO published a paper outlining their decade-long initiative to increase access and regulate production of the influenza vaccine.

As antibiotic-resistant bacteria continue to endanger public health, greater attention from health officials and new US federal funding aimed at fighting superbugs, signal a new urgency in this battle.

Over-the-counter diagnostic tests for Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, and pathogens associated with upper respiratory tract infections such as influenza and Group A Streptococcus may soon gain approval; however, making these tests immediately available to the public would not be without challenges.

Thanks to the recently approved $1.1 billion in federal funding to support Zika virus-related efforts, various government agencies are ramping up efforts to develop novel vaccines designed to prevent infection.

The FDA has released a warning on the risk of reactivation of hepatitis B virus in some patients receiving direct-action antivirals to treat hepatitis C infection.

Gonorrhea may soon become untreatable with current antibiotics, according to recent research presented at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2016 STD Prevention Conference.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated its interim guidance for “pre-pregnancy counseling” for Zika virus, just as new information regarding sexual transmission of the infection has been made available.

Gilead Science’s hepatitis C (HCV) drugs are forecasted to plummet in future years, according to a recent report.

A 44-year-old man from Britain could become the first patient ever to be cured of HIV, thanks to a groundbreaking new therapy developed to eradicate the virus.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has provided funding of $24 million this year to the Adolescent Medicine Trials Network for HIV/AIDS Interventions, the first clinical research group that will focus on youth infected by HIV.

Current traditional culture methods can take up to three days to identify bacteria and test antimicrobial resistances from a urine sample.

Recent research suggests those who are physically active may have a lower risk of bacterial infections than those who live a sedentary lifestyle.

Researchers at the University of Zurich and the University Hospital-Zurich have made a discovery that may contribute to the development of an effective HIV vaccine.

Can a vaccine be developed for human rhinovirus in its many forms? A new study suggests that it is possible.

For the last six years Haiti has been fighting a severe cholera epidemic and it is unlikely that the fight will end soon.

According to newly published research, high levels of zinc changes microbiota in the gut decreasing resistance to infections from Clostridium difficile.

The transdermal vaccine route offers an opportunity to improve vaccine administration.

At this year’s annual National Foundation for Infectious Diseases news conference on influenza and pneumococcal disease, the message was clear as health experts issued a resounding call for all Americans 6 months of age and older to get their flu shot.

Just when residents in the Miami area thought the need to fear mosquito-borne viruses was over, Florida health officials revealed that they have identified a locally-transmitted case of Dengue virus.

Authors of a recent review article discuss how the Leishmania parasite interacts with the immune system of its mammalian host, and how these interactions affect both the parasite and the host.

As individual nations attempt to make meaningful progress on stemming antibiotic use, a troubling new study shows that hospitals in the United States have continued to dispense antibiotics at a steady rate in recent years.