Recent News

By Region: South America

Houston, We Have Dengue Fever

(NPR) Dengue fever is in Houston. And it turns out the mosquito-borne illness isn’t exactly a stranger there. Dengue has been roaming around the city since 2003, according to a study published Wednesday. “There was circulating, and we had no idea that it was here because we just weren’t looking,” says the study’s lead author  Read More »

Flu virus wipes out immune system’s first responders to establish infection

(ScienceDaily) Revealing influenza’s truly insidious nature, Whitehead Institute scientists have discovered that the virus is able to infect its host by first killing off the cells of the immune system that are actually best equipped to neutralize the virus. Confronted with a harmful virus, the immune system works to generate cells capable of producing antibodies  Read More »

Frankenskeeters: Scientists Using Genetically Altered Mosquitoes to Battle Disease

(RYOT) They’ve been called “suicide mosquitoes,” dead-end bugs and even Frankenskeeters. They’re gene-altered mosquitoes, and Panama is among a growing list of countries that are testing to see whether they have a place in the public health arsenal in the war against mosquito-borne diseases such as dengue fever. Dengue, which isn’t well-known outside tropical regions,  Read More »

How Far Are We From a Super-Pandemic?

(DiscoveryNews) Fall is flu season and this year, as usual, federal health officials are asking the public to get their annual flu vaccine shot. But scientists say there are much more deadly bugs lurking out there that could someday make the jump from local outbreak to a worldwide super pandemic that could wipe out people  Read More »

Bird flu viruses could re-emerge in upcoming flu season

(FAO) FAO has issued a new warning to the international community that the H7N9 and H5N1 avian influenza viruses continue to pose serious threats to human and animal health, especially in view of the upcoming flu season. “The world is more prepared than ever before to respond to bird flu viruses in light of a  Read More »

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