Florida is one of the 49 of 50 U.S. states with local rabies transmission. Rabies is an acute viral infection that is transmitted to humans by a bite or by exposure of broken skin to an infected animal's saliva. Human cases of rabies in the U.S. is rare. Recently, more cases of human rabies have been linked to bats and raccoons than the previous reservoir, dogs.
The UF Emerging Pathogens Institute becomes the newest addition to the Global Virus Network, an international coalition of eminent human and animal virologists
Florida typically sees increased dengue transmission compared to other states in the U.S. Female mosquitoes transmit this most common mosquito-borne disease in tropical and subtropical regions across the globe.
Avian influenza, also known as bird flu, is a disease that primarily affects birds. It is caused by a virus related to those that cause seasonal flu. A subtype of the bird flu virus known as H5N1 can infect mammals, including humans.
Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is a common, highly contagious virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages. In healthy adults and older children, RSV typically causes mild, cold-like symptoms.
University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine assistant scientist Jeff Gruntmeir, Ph.D., won first place in the early-stage investigator poster competition at EPI Research Day 2024.
Two UF EPI infectious disease experts are part of a new CDC-funded outbreak analytics and disease modeling network
Scientists have successfully tested a novel way of boosting honey bees’ immune systems to help them fend off deadly viruses, which have contributed to the major losses of the critical pollinator globally.
UF researchers collected the virus that causes COVID-19 from air within a car that was driven by someone with mild symptoms — but who was not wearing a face mask.
UF researchers Chang-Yu Wu, an engineer, and John Lednicky, a virologist, teamed up a decade ago to solve long-standing challenges in how air samples are collected and tested for viruses. Few people grasped the public health value of their work until a novel respiratory virus gave rise to the COVID-19 pandemic.
