Author: Claudinne Miller
Australia’s having an intense flu season, and it could be a signal of what’s to come in the US
CNN It’s only June, but scientists in the US are already thinking about flu season. As always at this time of year, they’re keeping a close eye on Australia, which saw an early start to its flu season. Some parts of the country are seeing a spike in illness, and the highest number of cases are […]
Jun 13, 2023
MicroRNA May Explain Individual Differences in COVID-19 Severity
Neuroscience News Researchers uncovered an association between specific microRNAs and COVID-19 severity in a group of 259 unvaccinated patients. The team identified these microRNAs as crucial factors related to a weakened immune response and ICU admission. This study provides the first genomic picture of blood microRNAs in COVID-19 patients from the Middle East, North Africa, […]
Jun 13, 2023
Fungal meningitis outbreak death toll rises as officials rush to find patients at risk
NBC News Nearly 200 people in the U.S. may have been exposed to the deadly illness at two medical clinics in Mexico. A fungal meningitis outbreak linked to cosmetic procedures performed at clinics in Mexico has killed four patients from the U.S. and infected over two dozen others. Nearly 200 in the U.S. may have been exposed to the deadly […]
Jun 13, 2023
Vaccine Candidate for Chikungunya Virus Safe and Effective
MedPageToday A single dose of the live-attenuated vaccine candidate VLA1553 for the prevention of disease caused by chikungunya virus produced a strong immune response, a phase III randomized trial showed. At 28 days post-vaccine, 98.9% of participants in the per-protocol population who received the vaccine had seroprotective chikungunya virus neutralizing antibody levels (95% CI 96.7-99.8, P<0.0001), […]
Jun 13, 2023
Social media fueling risky bushmeat sales, study finds
Phys.org The use of social media by West African vendors to promote the illegal sale of bushmeat should be regulated to help prevent the emergence of diseases transmitted from animals to humans, a new study suggests. “Due to the widespread impacts of social media and evidence of the bushmeat trade in other countries such as in Europe, […]
Jun 13, 2023
Next COVID Vaccine Should Only Target XBB Strains, FDA Staff Says
MedPageToday The next COVID vaccines should exclude the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and exclusively target the Omicron XBB subvariants, according to FDA staff members. They unveiled their recommendation in a briefing document ahead of Thursday’s meeting of the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), stating that “the totality of available evidence suggests that a monovalent […]
Jun 13, 2023
Natural history of long-COVID in a nationwide, population cohort study
Nature Previous studies on the natural history of long-COVID have been few and selective. Without comparison groups, disease progression cannot be differentiated from symptoms originating from other causes. The Long-COVID in Scotland Study (Long-CISS) is a Scotland-wide, general population cohort of adults who had laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection matched to PCR-negative adults. Serial, self-completed, online questionnaires […]
Jun 13, 2023
Infant RSV Vax Heads to FDA for Review
MedPageToday An FDA advisory committee on Thursday will consider whether to recommend a shot of a monoclonal antibody against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to prevent lower respiratory tract disease in both infants and in at-risk children up to age 2 years. The Antimicrobial Drugs Advisory Committee will examine a biologics license application approval for nirsevimab, a long-acting […]
Jun 6, 2023
Why scientists have a hard time getting money to study the root causes of outbreaks
Popular Science Government and groups that award grants to scientists favor research that’s high tech and treatment oriented rather than studies that seek to understand why contagions leap from animals to people. The outbreaks keep coming. Mpox, the virus formerly known as monkeypox, last year crossed borders with unprecedented speed to infect nearly 90,000 people. […]
Jun 6, 2023
Contestants chase cheese wheel down a hill in chaotic UK race
AP The big cheese of extreme U.K. sports events is back. Hundreds of spectators gathered Monday to watch dozens of reckless racers chase a 7-pound (3 kilogram) wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down the near-vertical Cooper’s Hill, near Gloucester in southwest England. The first racer to finish behind the fast-rolling cheese gets to keep it. […]
Jun 6, 2023
