Viral Infection

UF EPI researcher has published the first study on the role of breastmilk bile acids, showing how they affect newborn gut health and the severity of norovirus infections.

The UF Emerging Pathogens Institute has assembled a multidisciplinary working group to research a swiftly spreading bird flu strain and help prepare Florida’s response to potential outbreaks. 

From the beginning, the COVID-19 pandemic has been plagued by myths and misunderstandings about how the disease spreads and how people can protect themselves from the disease. We've come a long way in understanding COVID-19, but distrust of the vaccine prevails to the great detriment of public health.

Millions of Americans have chronical viral hepatitis and do not even realize it, according to the CDC. Dr. Robert Cook explains how people can have hepatitis without realizing it and answers other common questions about the disease.  

A new study published in Nature Microbiology reveals that bacteria present in different regions of the gastrointestinal tract either enhance or block murine norovirus infections. The startling findings expand our understanding of how the virus interacts with both its host immune system and the intestinal microbiome, which may one day be useful for developing an antiviral therapy.

UF researchers with Emerging Pathogens Institute affiliations have created a rapid, cost-effective point-of-care test for the Zika virus.

Study findings could aid in interrupting transmission chains and reducing severe illness

Spiny lobsters practice “behavioral immunity” to create safe havens that prevent them from contracting a lethal disease in the wild, an important finding for the $50 million annual spiny lobster fishery in Florida, according to a new study co-authored by a University of Florida scientist.