#infectious-disease

#infectious-disease

Porpoises in UK waters are being found with record rates of mercury in their livers, scientists have found. New research has found that mercury levels in British waters have increased over time, and that animals with higher levels are more likely to die from infectious disease. Analysing liver samples form 738 harbour porpoises found stranded on UK coastlines between 1990 and 2021, scientists found mercury concentrations in porpoise livers rose by 1 per cent each year.

French health officials are working to trace all the contacts of two men who contracted Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), a potentially deadly disease that typically only occurs in the Middle East. These cases of the disease are the country's first in 12 years, according to the French health ministry. The men, both of whom are in their 70s, are in a stable condition.

termination of federal grant funding was rare prior to 2025.

Scientists have developed what they call a virus cocktail to fight superbugs in a major advance for infectious disease treatment. Researchers from Monash University and The Alfred, in Melbourne, Australia, have developed a product that uses bacterial viruses, known as bacteriophages', to combat antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The treatment, named Entelli-02, is a five-phage cocktail designed specifically to target Enterobacter cloacae complex (ECC), a group of bacteria responsible for severe, less treatable infections.

Flesh-eating screwworm larvae poised to invade the US have snuck into Maryland via the flesh of a person who had recently traveled to El Salvador, upping anxiety about the ghastly-and economically costly-parasite. Reuters was first to report the case early Monday, quoting Andrew Nixon, spokesperson for the US Department of Health and Human Services, who said in an email that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had confirmed the case on August 4 in a person who had returned from a trip to El Salvador.

The situation is so dire - the number of cases keeps increasing rapidly. Things are getting very challenging now.

Rodrigo Becerra, 26, died from hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare disease linked to rodents, just days before his birthday, prompting health officials to investigate.