Infectious Health

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

[infectioushealth]

Opinion: The Value of Collaborations in the Emerging and Developing World

Scientists can foster new talent, find new funding options, and tap into business opportunities by forging relationships between researchers in emerging, developing, and developed nations.

[pocketglobalhealth]

Ebola Outbreak in Central Africa Is ‘Largely Contained’

The first Ebola outbreak fought with a new vaccine is winding down, according to the World Health Organization. The outbreak lasted just seven weeks.

[infectioushealth]

The future of managing outbreaks using digital technologies - #hcsmSA

Moderator: Vanessa Carter Date: 26 June 2018 Time: 20:30 SAST | 14:30 EST Hashtag: #hcsmSA How to participate Facebook event reminder QUESTIONS: Start your answers with T1, T2, T3, T4 or CT for transcript purposes. Answer only after the moderator prompts. Questions will be prompted every 10 minutes, but keep answers coming using the relevant T and number. BothRead More...

Our first Twitter chat for the Outbreaks Team at FIND. Come join! 

[infectioushealth]

FDA just approved the first drug to prevent migraines. Here’s the story of its discovery—and its limitations

A new class of drugs is finally offering relief for some who frequently suffer these powerful headaches.

I realize it’s not infectious disease related but as a migraine suffer, this is some promising news. 

[engineeringworldhealth]

South Sudan Halts Spread of Crippling Guinea Worms

It has been 15 months — longer than the worm’s life cycle — since the last case of infection, which means the parasite is nearing eradication in the country.

[infectioushealth]

New diagnostic tools needed to stop antibiotic resistance

Rapid detection would reduce unnecessary use and make drugs effective for longer

[infectioushealth]

No One's Quite Sure Why Lassa Fever Is On The Rise

The virus is spread primarily by rats during dry season. The current outbreak in Nigeria has public health officials worried — and eager to find out what's behind it.

[nprglobalhealth]

Rapping Doc With A Reggae Beat Tells Jamaicans How To Fight Zika Virus

Jamaica has had only one confirmed case of the Zika virus, brought in by a traveler — and the government wants to keep it that way.

Last month, the government advised women to delay plans to become pregnant, since the the virus has been linked to the birth defect microcephaly. And government fliers warn: “Be Aware, ZIKA IS HERE” and “ZIKA ALERT!!!”

Now the Jamaican Ministry of Health has come out with a musical public service announcement to make sure there’s no chance of an outbreak: “We Nuh Want Zik V.”

The reggae video features Dr. Michael Abrahams — an OB-GYN who does music and stand-up comedy on the side.

Read the full story here. 

[infectioushealth]

Reblogging because the electric tennis racket for fly swatting is the most satisfying thing in the world. 

[infectioushealth]

Why scientists are worried about the growing epidemic and its effects on pregnant women, and advice on how to avoid the infection.

[discoverynews]

The Devastating Zika Virus Explained

The mosquito-borne virus is spreading through 24 regions around the world. What do we know about this strange illness?

[nprglobalhealth]

VIDEO: Syrian Refugees Experience Snow For The First Time

When my family first moved to the U.S. from Mumbai, India, the whole concept of snow boggled my 8-year-old mind. Little bits of ice falling from the sky? Would it feel like fluffy cotton or like sharp chips of shaved ice?

The first time I got to touch snow in Lake Tahoe, Calif. — it was pure glee.

Which brings us to this joyous video of a Syrian family tobogganing after finding refuge in Canada. The clip was uploaded by David McNab — one of the co-sponsors of the Syrian family in Petersborough, Canada — and it’s going viral, with over 100,000 views.

McNab, his wife, Kristy Hiltz, and 12 other Canadians pooled their resources to bring Amal Alkhalaf and her children Dalya, 8, Ansam, 13, and Ibrahim, 10, to Petersborough. This month, Maclean’s magazine profiled the family and its Canadian sponsors. The kids had never touched snow until they arrived in Petersborough last month.

-Maanvi Singh

[infectioushealth]

Joy is the same, no matter where you’re from :)

[theyuniversity]

[theyuniversity]

[infectioushealth]

FYI. 

[infectioushealth]

‘Victory’ in Guinea as W.H.O. Deems It Free of Ebola Transmissions

The country now enters a three-month period of heightened surveillance during which the virus could re-emerge, as it has done twice in Liberia after it ended transmission.

[infectioushealth]

FDA Lifts Lifetime Ban On Gay Men Donating Blood

Finally, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has taken on board scientific evidence and updated its blood donation policies regarding gay and bisexual men. From now on, men who have sex with men are no longer banned from donating their blood, and can do so one year after they last had sex with another man.

A great step forward! 

[infectioushealth]

This Holiday Season, Give The Gift Of World Disease

We played the latest version of Pandemic with four real-life epidemiologists. And it made them sweat!

I have never been more excited to play a board game in my life! 

[ucresearch]

A mosquito that does good for a change

Here comes news of a possible big win for the world: the eradication of malaria, a disease that causes one million deaths per year.

And this is all possible with the creation of malaria-blocking mosquitoes that are no longer a carrier and transmitter of the parasite.

Using the CRISPR gene-editing tool, researchers at UC Irvine and UC San Diego created a breed of mosquitoes that are resistant to malarial parasite and have the ability to pass on the anti-malarial gene to 99.5 percent of its offspring.

More testing needs to be done, but if the advancement could someday lead to the elimination of the disease, millions of people living in malaria zones around the world could sleep more peacefully knowing that the irritating whizzing sound is more of a “self-sustaining disease control tool” than a looming threat. 

Read more about the experiment.

GIF: TED-Ed

[infectioushealth]

CRISPR, the wave of the (biological) future! 

[txchnologist]

Laboratory in a Needle Promises Rapid Diagnosis

by Peter Gwynne, Inside Science

Researchers in the U.S. and Singapore have designed a miniature chemistry laboratory inside a needle that could yield almost instantaneous results from routine laboratory tests, potentially accelerating the diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions.

The prototype device, created by miniaturizing existing “lab on a chip” technology, has shown its capability in studies of mice with liver toxicity, a common side effect of cancer chemotherapy in humans.

“It really integrates the whole laboratory process in one testing without any human in between,” said Stephen Wong of Houston Methodist Research Institute and Weill Cornell Medical Center, who created the idea for the new technology.

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