A cluster of deaths in 1993 in the southwestern U.S. that were characterized by an acute respiratory failure and shock were determined to be due to hantaviruses, which are RNA zoonotic viruses typically transmitted by a rodent vector. Given a fatality rate ranging from 15% to 40% and capacity to potentially spread through human-to-human contact, it is possible that the public health risks posed by these agents have been underestimated.

Saturating bioactive glass with silver sustains the metal’s antimicrobial properties and reduces biofilm formation, researchers at the University of Birmingham, U.K., found. Their study, published in Biofilm, demonstrated that specific preparation, storage and application techniques minimize the transformation of silver ions to silver chloride that typically reduces silver’s healing properties over time.

Having caused over 6.2 million deaths globally ongoing, the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020 continues to pose a serious public health challenge. While the SARS-CoV-2 receptors angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and transmembrane protease serine 2 play requisite roles in permitting the initial infection, up to 10 proviral host factors have also been determined to play crucial roles in controlling the viral replication, but most are not pharmacologically targetable.

Acinetobacter baumannii is commonly isolated from organ fluids of infected patients. Given that A. baumannii is inherently resistant to multiple antibiotics, new categorical antibiotics are needed that target a narrow, not broad, spectrum of bacteria.

A new study has shown that a uterine bacterium is one cause of endometriosis and that preventing the infection could prevent development of the pathology, in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in the abdominal cavity.

Two new polio vaccine candidates designed to prevent the emergence of vaccine-derived virulent polioviruses have been shown to induce immune responses in mice, raising the possibility of eradicating the virus. For that to happen, the transmission of all poliovirus serotypes must be blocked. However, the vaccine used to control polio prevents disease but does not stop transmission, enabling the virus to mutate and regain virulence.

La Crosse virus (LACV) is one of the most common causes of arboviral encephalitis in children, which causes CNS damage owing to infection in children, but not adults. LACV pathology indicates significant breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, which is strengthened during developmental transition from child to adult.