Infectious Diseases Stories
- Researchers analyzed Zika virus genomes to determine that the virus was likely introduced to the Americas as early as 2013.
- New York Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed a six-step plan to combat the spread of the Zika virus.
- A deadly blood disease first reported in Wisconsin has now spread to a second state.
- Risk of microcephaly is about 1 percent for a mother who becomes infected with Zika virus during her first trimester of pregnancy.
- Cape Verde has identified its first case of the neurological disorder microcephaly, thought to be linked to the Zika virus, in what would be a first for Africa.
- U.S. health regulators said a genetically engineered mosquito being used in the fight against Zika will not have a significant impact on the environment, possibly paving the way for the technique to be used in the country.
- An American doctor who was working with missionaries in West Africa is being moved to an isolation ward at an Atlanta hospital on Friday with a suspected case of Lassa fever, a deadly hemorrhagic disease similar to Ebola, officials said.
- Ianka Barbosa was 7 months pregnant when she found out her child had microcephaly. Before the baby was even born, the father had gone.
- Police shuttered the offices of the Liberian branch of the Red Cross on Thursday, days after the president dismissed its board of directors amid an investigation into the use of funds destined for the fight against recently ended Ebola outbreak.
- Two U.S. soldiers serving in South America contracted Zika but have fully recovered and returned to duty, while a third, pregnant service member left the region early for fear of contracting the virus, a top U.S. commander said on Thursday.
- Merck researchers have potentially discovered a new class of drugs capable of rendering MRSA vulnerable to antibiotics again.
- The daily use of antibiotics helps bacteria develop multi-drug tolerance, a new study finds.