Category: Emerging Infectious Diseases
Stanford scientists uncover why mRNA COVID vaccines can trigger heart inflammation
Science Daily Stanford scientists have uncovered how mRNA COVID-19 vaccines can very rarely trigger heart inflammation in young men — and how that risk might be reduced. They found that the vaccines can spark a two-step immune reaction that floods the body with inflammatory signals, drawing aggressive immune cells into the heart and causing temporary […]
Dec 30, 2025
COVID-19 Leaves Lasting Changes in the Brain, Even After Full Recovery
SciTech Daily COVID-19 is widely recognized for its impact on the lungs, but growing evidence shows that the virus can also cause lasting changes in the brain, even in people who have fully recovered. These findings point to potential long-term neurological consequences that extend beyond the acute phase of the illness. In a new study, […]
Dec 30, 2025
DNA Study Reveals Carrier of World’s Earliest-Known Plague
Science Alert A plague that swept through Eurasia for 2,000 years – millennia before the Black Death of the Middle Ages – has only ever been detected in human remains, until now. For decades, it has been unclear how the Bronze Age plague spread so widely, but now we know which animal was a likely carrier. A team […]
Dec 30, 2025
Flu is surging nationwide, and doctors say we’re nowhere near the peak
NBC News The new variant of Influenza A, or H3N2, has been given the nickname ‘super flu.’ The fast-spreading virus has caused hospitalizations to nearly double in a week, the CDC reported. Flu is surging across the U.S., sending thousands more people to the hospital and hitting young children especially hard, as doctors warn the season […]
Dec 30, 2025
Indian scientists predict how bird flu could spread to humans
BBC For years, scientists have warned that bird flu – better known as H5N1 – could one day make the dangerous leap from birds to humans and trigger a global health crisis. Avian flu – a type of influenza – is entrenched across South and South-East Asia and has occasionally infected humans since emerging in […]
Dec 30, 2025
Europe ends 2025 with more than 700 avian flu outbreaks
Watt Poultry To date in 2025, a total of 699 outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) have been recorded in commercial poultry farms in 23 European countries. This is according to the Animal Disease Information System from the European Commission (EC; as of December 24). This database monitors outbreaks of listed animal diseases in European Union member states […]
Dec 30, 2025
A dozen swans have died at Lake Eola in the past week, leaving Orlando officials fearing another outbreak of bird flu at the city’s signature park.
Ohio News City Commissioner Patty Sheehan posted on Facebook that two dead swans were found on Dec. 23, with the number growing to 12 by Sunday. Due to the holidays the city’s specialized veterinarians weren’t available, Sheehan said, but the deceased swans are being stored in a secure area so necropsies can be performed. Prior […]
Dec 30, 2025
12 swans found dead at Florida park. Bird flu is suspected
Tampa News Prior to the recent deaths, the swan population at the park was estimated to be between 50 and 60. A dozen swans have died at Lake Eola in the past week, leaving Orlando officials fearing another outbreak of bird flu at the city’s signature park. City Commissioner Patty Sheehan posted on Facebook that […]
Dec 30, 2025
Measles’ Most Deceptive Trait
The Atlantic Most cases are mild, obscuring the disease’s worst outcomes. In the early 1960s, American childhood was not what it is today. Many children spent hours playing unsupervised in the streets; they rode around in cars without seat belts, then came home to frozen dinners, served in front of TVs blaring cigarette ads. And […]
Dec 30, 2025
Whooping Cough Deaths Rise in U.S. as Surge in Infections Continues
Scientific American The brutal respiratory infection has infected tens of thousands and killed at least 13 people in the U.S. in 2025 Whooping cough cases are sweeping in the U.S., with tens of thousands infected and at least 13 people dead from the bacterial infection this year. While the infection rate is lower than last year, […]
Dec 30, 2025