https://medicalxpress.com/infectious-diseases-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Infectious diseases The pathogen Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is naturally present in the intestines of many people. When present in small numbers, it usually causes no symptoms. Treatment with broad-spectrum antibiotics can severely disrupt the balance of the healthy gut microbiome, allowing the bacterium to multiply unchecked. The result is acute intestinal inflammation, which can also become chronic. Such infections with C. difficile (CDI) are among the leading causes of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Since the bacteria release toxins that can lead to dangerous, sometimes life-threatening intestinal inflammation with high relapse rates, new therapeutic approaches are urgently needed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-natural-compound-difficile-largely-healthy.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:20:04 EDT news710693581 Malaria is one of the deadliest infectious diseases on the planet, afflicting people throughout recorded history. In places where malaria is most common, it's shaped human evolution by driving higher rates of a paradoxically protective genetic change. Two copies of the genetic change cause sickle cell disease, but one copy helps protect people from malaria. Understanding why could help researchers develop new ways to prevent malaria. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-distinct-malaria-parasites-sickle-cell.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 05:00:26 EDT news710611861 A common bacterium found in the mouth and airways may help the lungs better defend themselves against pneumonia, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-common-airway-bacterium-lungs-pneumonia.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:40:16 EDT news710611441 Vaccination against a common respiratory virus during pregnancy lowers the risk of severe disease in babies by 74%, but uptake in many countries remains low, a new review suggests. The report also reveals evidence of lower uptake of the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine among some socioeconomic and ethnic groups, those with reduced access to health care and younger mothers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-global-stark-differences-maternal-rsv.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:30:18 EDT news710592421 New research shows the efficacy and safety of hydroxyurea treatment for sickle cell anemia at four low-income sites in Africa, with no increase in clinically diagnosed infections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-children-sickle-cell-safely-hydroxyurea.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 18:30:11 EDT news710587862 For millions of years, parasitic worms have had to survive inside animals without being destroyed by their hosts' immune systems. To do that, they have evolved remarkably effective ways of dampening the immune response. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-parasitic-worms-key-immune-diseases.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 14:20:04 EDT news710596981 A new organoid model built with human lung fragments may help us answer key questions about one of the body's first lines of defense against respiratory pathogens. In a new study, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine elicited virus-specific immune responses from these organoids and showed that administering a virus booster weakened subsequent infections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-human-lung-organoids-built-immune.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:40:13 EDT news710596801 A research team led by Professor Sungsu Park of the School of Mechanical Engineering and Professor Byung Mook Weon of the School of Advanced Materials Science and Engineering at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) has developed a compact, centimeter-scale microfluidic "Herd-Immunity-on-a-Chip" platform that recreates key features of viral transmission in human societies within a controllable laboratory system. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-herd-immunity-chip-recreates-viral.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:40:10 EDT news710590861 It's recommended that all adolescents get vaccinated against human papillomavirus (HPV), as the infection can cause cancer. HPV causes nearly all cases of cervical cancer and about 70% of some forms of head and neck cancers. While some regions of the United States have relatively high rates of HPV vaccination, there are major vaccine shortages in much of the world. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hpv-method-stable-easier-vaccines.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:40:27 EDT news710496002 Antimalarial drugs are designed to protect people from malaria, but they may also affect the mosquitoes exposed to them during blood meals. A new Yale study, published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, investigates the impact of these medications on mosquitoes, laying the groundwork for future research into how the drugs may influence the malaria parasites developing within them. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-antimalarial-drug-persists-mosquitoes-days.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:20:04 EDT news710495761 Just days of e-cigarette vapor exposure can injure the lungs' most delicate tissue and leave it more vulnerable to viral infection, according to a study led by National Jewish Health researchers and published in JCI Insight. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-cigarette-lung-weaken-defenses-respiratory.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:00:18 EDT news710495461 Bloodstream infections are a persistent threat to hospitalized patients, and those caused by fungi are particularly dangerous. Candida species are responsible for most invasive fungal infections worldwide and rank among the leading causes of hospital-acquired bloodstream infections overall. Because different fungal species can respond differently to antifungal drugs, doctors strive to correctly identify the fungus responsible for a given infection before initiating treatment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-dna-sequencing-fungal-bloodstream-infections.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 10:40:10 EDT news710414402 Florida's current dengue outbreak appears to be the largest in several decades in the continental United States. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-florida-dengue-outbreak-largest-continental.html Sat, 03 Oct 2026 05:17:03 EDT news710223354 Heel-prick blood samples from newborns can be used to measure antibodies against group B Streptococcus, according to a new study from Aarhus University published in The Lancet Microbe journal. In the longer term, the method could contribute to the development of vaccines designed to protect infants against serious infections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-heel-blood-samples-newborns-important.html Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:40:05 EDT news710165341