Infectious Diseases
Novel approach for influenza vaccination shows promise in early animal testing
A new approach for immunizing against influenza elicited a more potent immune response and broader protection than the currently licensed seasonal influenza vaccines when tested in mice and ferrets. The vaccine ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
13 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
AIDS scientists optimistic of AIDS cure, for some
Top AIDS scientists were optimistic Wednesday of finding a cure for the disease that has claimed 30 million lives—but said it might not work for all people.
HIV & AIDS
15 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Estimates reveal low population immunity to new bird flu virus H7N9 in humans
The level of immunity to the recently circulating H7N9 influenza virus in an urban and rural population in Vietnam is very low, according to the first population level study to examine human immunity to the virus, which was ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 21, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
|
New test better detects elephantiasis worm infection
A new diagnostic test for a worm infection that can lead to severe enlargement and deformities of the legs and genitals is far more sensitive than the currently used test, according to results of a field ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 20, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Germ-fighting vaccine system makes great strides in delivery
A novel vaccine study from South Dakota State University (SDSU) will headline the groundbreaking research that will be unveiled at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists' (AAPS) National Biotechnology Conference ...
Medical research
May 20, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Novel mechanism allows Legionella to hide in body
(Medical Xpress)—The feared Legionella pneumophila is responsible for legionellosis, an infectious disease that can lead to pneumonia. To infect humans, this pathogen has developed a complex method that allows it to camouflage ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 20, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
AIDS science at 30: 'Cure' now part of lexicon
Big names in medicine are set to give an upbeat assessment of the war on AIDS on Tuesday, 30 years after French researchers identified the virus that causes the disease.
HIV & AIDS
May 18, 2013 |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
HIV no barrier to getting liver transplant, study finds
(HealthDay)—Liver transplants to treat a common type of liver cancer are a viable option for people infected with HIV, according to new research.
HIV & AIDS
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
New malaria test kit gives a boost to elimination efforts worldwide
A new, highly sensitive blood test that quickly detects even the lowest levels of malaria parasites in the body could make a dramatic difference in efforts to tackle the disease in the UK and across the world, according to ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
First influenza vaccine brought to clinical testing
Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) and Switzerland's Cytos Biotechnology AG today announced that the first healthy volunteer has been dosed in a Phase 1 clinical trial with their ...
Medications
May 17, 2013 |
5 / 5 (1) |
1
Twin epidemics: HIV and Hepatitis C in the urban Northeast
A new Yale study looks at the scope and consequences of a burgeoning health problem in the cities of the U.S. Northeast: concurrent infection with both HIV and Hepatitis C (HCV). The study appears online ...
HIV & AIDS
May 17, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Resistance to visceral leishmaniasis: New mechanisms involved
Researchers from CNRS, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier and IRD have elucidated new molecular mechanisms involved in resistance to visceral leishmaniasis, a serious parasitic infection. They have shown that dectin-1 ...
Immunology
May 16, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Human disease leptospirosis identified in new species, the banded mongoose, in Africa
(Medical Xpress)—The newest public health threat in Africa, scientists have found, is coming from a previously unknown source: the banded mongoose. Leptospirosis, the disease is called. And the banded mongoose ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 14, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
|
Effective vaccination against borreliosis possible
"Borreliosis" or "Lyme disease" is caused by the bacterium "Borrelia burgdorferi". In Austria approximately 16,000 people fall ill with borreliosis annually following a tick bite. Roughly every fifth tick in Austria carries ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 14, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
A handful of pathogens are causing most diarrhoeal deaths and illness in children worldwide and should be targeted
New research in The Lancet reports that just four pathogens—rotavirus, Cryptosporidium, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli producing heat-stable toxin, and Shigella—are causing most cases of moderate-to-severe diarrhoea among ...
Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes
May 13, 2013 |
not rated yet |
0
Infectious diseases, also known as contagious diseases or transmissible diseases, and include communicable diseases, comprise clinically evident illness (i.e., characteristic medical signs and/or symptoms of disease) resulting from the infection, presence and growth of pathogenic biological agents in an individual host organism. In certain cases, infectious diseases may be asymptomatic for much or all of their course. Infectious pathogens include some viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, multicellular parasites, and aberrant proteins known as prions. These pathogens are the cause of disease epidemics, in the sense that without the pathogen, no infectious epidemic occurs.
Transmission of pathogen can occur in various ways including physical contact, contaminated food, body fluids, objects, airborne inhalation, or through vector organisms. Infectious diseases that are especially infective are sometimes called contagious and can be easily transmitted by contact with an ill person or their secretions. Infectious diseases with more specialized routes of infection, such as vector transmission or sexual transmission, are usually regarded as contagious but do not require medical quarantine of victims.
The term infectivity describes the ability of an organism to enter, survive and multiply in the host, while the infectiousness of a disease indicates the comparative ease with which the disease is transmitted to other hosts. An infection is not synonymous with an infectious disease, as some infections do not cause illness in a host.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Latest Spotlight News
Slowing the aging process—only with antibiotics
Swiss scientists reveal the mechanism responsible for aging hidden deep within mitochondria—and dramatically slow it down in worms by administering antibiotics to the young.
Researchers complete largest genetic sequencing study of human disease
Researchers from Queen Mary, University of London have led the largest sequencing study of human disease to date, investigating the genetic basis of six autoimmune diseases.
Brain can be trained in compassion, study shows
Until now, little was scientifically known about the human potential to cultivate compassion—the emotional state of caring for people who are suffering in a way that motivates altruistic behavior.
Having both migraines, depression may mean smaller brain
(HealthDay)—Migraines and depression can each cause a great deal of suffering, but new research indicates the combination of the two may be linked to something else entirely—a smaller brain.
Novel approach for influenza vaccination shows promise in early animal testing
A new approach for immunizing against influenza elicited a more potent immune response and broader protection than the currently licensed seasonal influenza vaccines when tested in mice and ferrets. The vaccine ...
Enzyme-activating antibodies revealed as marker for most severe form of rheumatoid arthritis
In a series of lab experiments designed to unravel the workings of a key enzyme widely considered a possible trigger of rheumatoid arthritis, researchers at Johns Hopkins have found that in the most severe ...
Research shows how immune system peacefully co-exists with 'good' bacteria
The human gut is loaded with commensal bacteria – "good" microbes that, among other functions, help the body digest food. The gastrointestinal tract contains literally trillions of such cells, and yet the ...
Research offers promising new approach to treatment of lung cancer
Researchers have developed a new drug delivery system that allows inhalation of chemotherapeutic drugs to help treat lung cancer, and in laboratory and animal tests it appears to reduce the systemic damage ...
Overeating learned in infancy, study suggests
In the long run, encouraging a baby to finish the last ounce in their bottle might be doing more harm than good.
Researchers analyse hunting behaviour of fish larvae in virtual reality
Moving objects attract greater attention – a fact exploited by video screens in public spaces and animated advertising banners on the Internet. For most animal species, moving objects also play a major ...