Infectious Disease

Health & Safety

Newest doctors shun infectious diseases specialty

3:37pm December 12, 2022

by Pien Huang

The pandemic put infectious diseases doctors in the spotlight. The 'Fauci Effect' raised the number of fellowship applicants in 2020, but this year almost half of the training programs went unfilled.

From left: 1) Colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of a human cell infected with H3N2 flu virus (gold filamentous particles). 2) Scanning electron micrograph of human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) virions (colorized blue) that are shedding from the surface of human lung epithelial cells. 3) Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron virus particles (gold).

Health & Safety

Experts are concerned Thanksgiving gatherings could accelerate a 'tripledemic'

11:07am November 22, 2022

by Rob Stein

As the holiday approaches, infectious disease specialists are bracing for the possibility that big family get-togethers and travel will propel the spread of RSV, flu and COVID-19.

Health & Safety

Infectious disease expert Christopher Ohl reflects on COVID-19 past, present, and future

4:00pm November 18, 2021

by David Ford

It has been nearly two years since the deadly coronavirus arrived in North Carolina.

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A new study suggests that the white-tailed deer, pictured above, could carry SARS-CoV-2 indefinitely and spread it back to humans periodically.

How SARS-CoV-2 in American deer could alter the course of the global pandemic

5:32pm November 10, 2021

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Scientists have evidence that SARS-CoV-2 is circulating in white-tailed deer in the U.S. They say the findings could essentially dash any hopes of eliminating the virus in the U.S. — and the world.

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A long-running decline in COVID-19 cases nationally masks some trouble spots emerging in the upper half of the United States. The disease is hitting states in the Mountain West such as Colorado, Utah and Wyoming especially hard, but even parts of the Nort

Health & Safety

COVID is still crushing parts of the U.S. as the holiday season approaches

5:37pm November 04, 2021

by Will Stone

The U.S. is entering an uneasy stretch of the pandemic. Despite progress, the delta surge is dragging on in certain regions. Can vaccines ward off a big surge over the holidays?

Rochelle dos Santos helps her daughter with physical therapy. Many children with congenital Zika disorder are physically disabled.

Remembering Zika: Parents offered their kids for studies, then say they were forgotten

3:04pm October 21, 2021

by Mariana Lenharo

Years after agreeing to take part in research, families of children with congenital Zika syndrome are feeling abandoned.

Gloria Clemons gives a COVID-19 vaccine to Navy veteran Perry Johnson at the Edward Hines, Jr. VA Hospital in Hines, Ill., in September.

Health & Safety

Breakthrough infections might not be a big transmission risk. Here's the evidence

8:40pm October 12, 2021

by Joe Palca

Are vaccinated people who get COVID as likely to spread the infection as unvaccinated people? Scientists don't think so.

This photomicrograph depicts Leishmania donovani parasites contained within a canine bone marrow cell. One of the more dangerous of 20 different species of Leishmania, L. donovani is endemic to parts of India, Africa, and South-West Asia.

Flesh-Eating Parasites May Be Expanding Their Range As Climate Heats Up

5:00am June 25, 2021

by Agostino Petroni

Scientists caution that as the planet warms, more Americans could be exposed to disfiguring varieties of the Leishmania parasite. Overtreatment can be a problem, too, experts warn.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky is President-elect Joe Biden's pick to head the CDC. Here, she speaks at a 2006 HIV conference in Washington, D.C.

Biden Names Massachusetts Doctor to Lead CDC

2:46pm December 07, 2020

by Brakkton Booker

Dr. Rochelle Walensky is an infectious disease expert and teaches at Harvard Medical School. She will replace Robert Redfield, the current director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As we get closer to a COVID-19 vaccine, it's exciting to imagine a day when the virus is gone. But a vaccine will not be a magic bullet. In fact, it may be only about 50% effective.

A COVID-19 Vaccine May Be Only 50% Effective. Is That Good Enough?

12:30pm September 12, 2020

by Allison Aubrey

Scientists are racing to develop a vaccine that proves "safe and effective." It may not prevent infection in everyone who gets it, but it still could eventually stop the pandemic. Here's how.