Dengue vaccine could increase dengue’s virulence in some settings
The first approved dengue vaccine may increase the incidence of more severe disease if used in populations with low dengue transmission.
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UF researchers organize and participate in the eighth world melioidosis congress 2016
Melioidosis is a less-well known bacterial disease discovered just over 100 years ago in Burma (now Myanmar) in Southeast Asia. It is mostly a disease of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world and is associated with high mortality. Melioidosis is caused by the bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei that patients, particularly rice farmers, usually acquire from environmental sources such as contaminated soil and water. The disease affects mostly patients with underlying conditions, which include diabetes, malignancies such as cancer, and alcoholism. B. pseudomallei is scarcely transmitted from human-to-human and although it can infect many animals and insects, animal-to-human or insect-to-human transmissions have not been documented.
As zika spreads, UF/IFAS faculty on front lines battling the virus
Common Aedes Aegypti mosquito, magnified 2,000 times at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, 6/28, prepares to feed on human skin. After 15 years of test on more than 3,900 compounds, Jerry Bulter, professor of entomology, has developed a safe, natural insect repellent that protects people against everything from mosquitoes to ticks and tiny “no-see-ums.” Its the first effective alternative to products containing DEET, the most widely used ingredient in insect repellent now on the market. Butler’s new herbal repellent is patented by the UF and licensed to a commercial firm.
Flu vaccination programs have potential to be self-sustaining in Florida
School-located influenza vaccination programs led by local health departments could be cost-effective throughout the state of Florida, according to a study published recently in the journal Vaccine.
Mattia Prosperi and Volker Mai win illumina go mini scientific challenge
A Mini Cooper will soon be traveling Florida streets and highways as part of the University of Florida HealthStreet community engagement program, collecting bugs and bug “splats” on the bumper for a study of mosquito-borne viruses.
Zika present in Americas longer than previously thought
Virus-specific CPE in simian kidney cell line LLC-MK2. Non-inoculated cells (A) and cells inoculated with plasma specimen 1225/2014, 8 days post-inoculation (B). Perinuclear vacuoles are evident.
Non-travel zika cases in Fla. could approach 400 by summer’s end
Nearly 400 non travel-related Zika infections will occur in Florida before the end of the summer, according to a new study by biostatisticians at the University of Florida and other institutions.
Study finds elk habitat overlaps with potential anthrax reservoir in Montana
Multiple anthrax bacteria (green) are being enveloped by an immune system cell (purple) — Camenzind G. Robinson, Sarah Guilman and Arthur Friedlander, United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases.
UN’s interventions in Sierra Leone significantly slowed Ebola
The United Nations’ interventions in the Sierra Leone Ebola outbreak led to a dramatic drop in the transmission of the disease, according to a study led by a University of Florida Health researcher.
Long-term global threat posed by Zika virus remains unknown, review finds
The Zika virus could become endemic in parts of Central and South America, but the long-term global threat posed by the virus remains unclear without more research, according to the authors of a paper published online in today’s issue of the journal Science.
