https://medicalxpress.com/infectious-diseases-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Infectious diseases Europe must act now to strengthen maternal vaccination during pregnancy and ensure all women and babies can benefit from a new generation of vaccines to protect against serious infections. That is according to a new Lancet Regional Health - Europe series led by Professor Asma Khalil at City St George's, University of London, which is being launched and presented at the 2026 Global Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine Congress in Utrecht. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-maternal-vaccines-babies-infections-unequal.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 19:00:09 EDT news710692321 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 Fear of accusations of infidelity, the stigma surrounding HIV and concerns about causing conflict in a relationship might deter some Black women from using PrEP, a prescription medicine used to prevent HIV, according to a study led by Rutgers researchers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-prep-pill-hiv-partner-reactions.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 13:20:02 EDT news710675821 A new long-acting HIV treatment could expand options for people who have trouble taking daily pills and whose virus is resistant to some commonly used HIV drugs, according to a new UC San Francisco study. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hiv-drug-combo-tackles-resistance.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:00:48 EDT news710582951 Vaccine-hesitant adults were more likely to consider getting a COVID-19 vaccine when public health messages acknowledged distrust of government and affirmed values such as personal liberty, a new study found. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-aligned-messages-covid-vaccination-intentions.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:00:06 EDT news710664361 Through long-standing research supported by the National Institutes of Health, investigators at Johns Hopkins Medicine have advanced understanding of ways to better detect invasive aspergillosis (IA). Caused by mold, the infection is uncommon in the general population but can pose significant health risks for people with underlying conditions that affect or weaken their immune systems. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-fda-urine-results-invasive-aspergillosis.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 08:40:11 EDT news710659262 The plague, the rare bacterial infection infamously known for killing tens of millions in 14th-century Europe, never went away. It is now easily treated with antibiotics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-plague-cases-africa-year.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 05:20:01 EDT news710652837 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 top official with the World Health Organization said Wednesday it doesn't know how a lab worker in Siberia died, and she urged Russia to provide more information about a case that prompted global concerns about suspected pneumonic plague. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-health-agency-russia-pneumonic-plague.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 04:33:41 EDT news710652780 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 Flu season may be getting a head start this year, and experts say that's a good reason not to put off your flu shot. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-flu-season-early-experts-vaccinated.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:40:09 EDT news710594412 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 laboratory worker at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Research Institute in Siberia, Russia, has died just days after falling ill with an undisclosed illness. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-russian-plague-expert-panic.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:40:10 EDT news710596862 These findings were generated by the largest-ever study of "pooled" tuberculosis (TB) testing, carried out by Start4All, a partnership led by LSTM with the Stop TB Partnership and research partners in seven countries with a high TB burden. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-rapid-diagnosis-tuberculosis-millions.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:20:18 EDT news710595181 Climate does more than shape the weather. It can influence when and where infectious diseases emerge by changing how disease-carrying vectors and animal hosts survive and behave. Scientists use weather data to anticipate some disease risks days or weeks ahead. But forecasting how those risks will change across seasons and years remains difficult. We asked Adrià San José Plana, a researcher in infectious disease modeling, and Xavier Rodó, a research professor and founding director of the Catalan Institute of Climate Sciences in Barcelona, about their recent research. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-ocean-rainfall-parasitic-disease-patterns.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:00:02 EDT news710588702 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 The number of people sick with flu is starting to increase across the United States, with health authorities warning that in some western regions of the country, the 2026–27 flu season may be off to an early start. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-flu-season-vaccines.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 08:40:07 EDT news710576822 No hospitalized patient loves getting a urinary catheter. But if they must have one, the last thing they want is a urinary tract infection caused by bacteria that seize their chance to grow on the catheter. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hospitals-dont-utis-catheters.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:40:03 EDT news710572021 Researchers have identified patterns of gene activity associated with severe COVID-19 in children that are shared with other serious respiratory infections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-scientists-gene-signatures-children-severe.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 07:00:05 EDT news710571362 For patients with inflammatory arthritis, holding certain disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs), namely select biologic or Janus kinase inhibitor (JAKi) therapies, for two weeks at the time of a supplemental COVID-19 vaccine dose does not enhance humoral immunogenicity, according to a study published online Oct. 5 in JAMA Internal Medicine. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-arthritis-drugs-covid-vaccination-flare.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 17:00:13 EDT news710517421 Nearly half a century has passed since the first recognized case of AIDS in the U.K. in December 1981. During that time, perceptions of HIV and people living with HIV have been transformed by medical advances and changing cultural attitudes. Yet the stigma created during the early years of the epidemic has proved much harder to leave behind. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hiv-treatment-uk-stigma-lingers.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:40:11 EDT news710516522 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 Conflicting information about the death of a lab worker at a Russian plague research institute has fueled fears about the possibility of pneumonic plague spreading. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-death-russian-plague-microbiologist.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 07:40:05 EDT news710487541 Kenya has reported its first-ever Ebola death, the health minister announced Tuesday, after a Kenyan man who had been living in the Democratic Republic of Congo died after returning to the country. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-kenya-ebola-death.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 06:17:53 EDT news710486206 Pennsylvania has surpassed 1,000 measles cases this year, state health officials said Monday, making it the largest state outbreak in more than three decades. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-pennsylvania-measles-outbreak-largest-decades.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 02:50:01 EDT news710469848