All posts tagged: disease

A disease of deforestation: how Ebola is linked to the smartphone in your pocket | Ebola

A disease of deforestation: how Ebola is linked to the smartphone in your pocket | Ebola

Published by Sam Flores

For decades after the discovery of Ebolavirus in 1976, outbreaks of the disease were relatively small and contained, affecting a few hundred people at most. Not any more. In recent years, outbreaks of Ebola have been much larger, affecting thousands and even tens of thousands of people across multiple countries. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola in west Africa infected more than 28,000 people in 10 countries on three continents. The current eruption, which began in early May and shows no signs of abating, has caused 363 confirmed cases in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and has crossed into Uganda. The conventional explanation has to do with the larger and more interconnected human populations that pathogens can access. But there’s a more fundamental driver: the transformation of the underlying ecology of Ebola, which is being remade, in part, by the rising global hunger for minerals to power the hi-tech economy. Most of the time, viruses such as Ebola live quietly in the bodies of their animal hosts, widely understood to be bats, causing them little …

Common asthma drug may reverse dangerous fatty liver disease

Common asthma drug may reverse dangerous fatty liver disease

Published by Jenni Sidey

A medication long used to help people breathe may soon help protect the liver as well. Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina, or MUSC, have discovered that formoterol, a common asthma drug, may reverse key signs of MASH, a dangerous liver disease affecting millions worldwide. MASH, short for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, develops when excess fat builds up in the liver and triggers inflammation and injury. Over time, the disease can scar the liver, cause organ failure and increase the need for transplantation. Cases continue to rise alongside obesity and Type 2 diabetes, creating a growing global health burden. Despite the seriousness of the disease, treatment options remain limited. Researchers say the new findings, published in the journal npj Metabolic Health and Disease, could open the door to a new and potentially faster treatment path because formoterol already has a long safety history in humans. The discovery began almost by accident. Formoterol treatment attenuates steatosis in HFD mice. (CREDIT: npj Metabolic Health and Disease) An Unexpected Discovery During Kidney Research Scientists in the lab …

Los Angeles dog outbreak reveals how a preventable bacterial disease spread in plain sight

Los Angeles dog outbreak reveals how a preventable bacterial disease spread in plain sight

Published by Jenni Sidey

Dogs were showing up at West Los Angeles veterinary hospitals with the same alarming pattern: fever, vomiting, lethargy, damaged kidneys, and, in some cases, a fast slide toward death. Many had recently spent time at dog daycare. A new investigation led by the University of California, Davis, now suggests that a 2021 leptospirosis outbreak that sickened at least 201 dogs across Los Angeles County was fueled by conditions that many owners would have considered routine, crowded boarding and daycare settings where vaccination against the disease was uncommon. The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology, traced 59 confirmed cases seen at two specialty hospitals and compared them with more than 15,000 other canine patients. The analysis points to a major weakness in local prevention practices at the time: most infected dogs with known vaccine histories had never received a leptospirosis vaccine. “The outbreak was massive,” said lead author Jane Sykes, professor of small animal internal medicine at the UC Davis Weill School of Veterinary Medicine. “It might have been the biggest outbreak of leptospirosis …

Healthy diets may slow chronic disease and aging in older adults

Healthy diets may slow chronic disease and aging in older adults

Published by Jenni Sidey

Healthy eating in older age may do more than support general wellness. A long Swedish study found that diets tied to brain and heart health slowed the buildup of chronic disease, while inflammatory eating patterns appeared to push that burden higher. Growing older often brings new health challenges. Heart disease, dementia, depression and diabetes become more common with age. For many older adults, these conditions do not appear alone. They build over time, creating a complex web of chronic illness that affects daily life, independence and well-being. Now, a major long-term study from Sweden suggests that diet may influence how quickly those diseases accumulate. Researchers from Karolinska Institutet found that healthy eating patterns slowed the buildup of chronic diseases in older adults over 15 years. In contrast, diets linked to inflammation appeared to speed that process up. The findings followed more than 2,400 older adults and examined how four different dietary patterns affected aging and disease progression. “Our results show how important diet is in influencing the development of multimorbidity in ageing populations,” said co-first …

Midlife hobbies like travel and music may offset genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease

Midlife hobbies like travel and music may offset genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease

Published by José Betancourt

Engaging in stimulating hobbies during middle age tends to protect brain health better than minimizing medical risks alone, providing evidence of a strong defense against cognitive decline. Activities like playing the piano, traveling abroad, and socializing with friends emerged as powerful ways to reduce the risk of memory disorders, according to new research from Trinity College Dublin. The study was published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment & Disease Monitoring. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain condition that slowly destroys memory, thinking skills, and the ability to carry out simple tasks. It is the most common cause of dementia, a broader term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with daily life. The physical changes in the brain associated with this condition begin decades before any visible symptoms appear, making middle age an important window for potential prevention. Dementia currently affects about 48 million people worldwide, including nearly 1 million people in the United Kingdom and 65,000 in Ireland. Globally, dementia cases are projected to reach 150 million by the …

Major hantavirus update as UK makes key move responding to deadly rat disease | World | News

Major hantavirus update as UK makes key move responding to deadly rat disease | World | News

Published by Sam Flores

The UK has deployed a rapid response mobile laboratory to the island of St Helena following an outbreak of hantavirus on a cruise ship, health officials have said. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Friday evening that three team members of the the UK Public Health Rapid Support Team (UK-PHRST) had been sent to the UK overseas territories of St Helena and Ascension in the South Atlantic in response to a request for support from the island’s government. It comes after it was announced that 10 Britons from South Atlantic islands connected to the MV Hondius cruise ship outbreak are to be brought to the UK in case they develop the illness. The group, thought to be residents of St Helena and Ascension, are being “brought to the UK to complete their self-isolation as a precautionary measure”, the UK Health Security Agency said earlier this week. The deployed team includes two microbiologists, Clara Milroy and Kimberley Steeds, who will support with PCR testing for hantavirus as well as supporting testing to exclude other …

Why Are There So Many Disease Outbreaks On Cruise Ships?

Why Are There So Many Disease Outbreaks On Cruise Ships?

Published by Sam Flores

A recent outbreak of deadly hantavirus, a disease usually spread via rats, has been tied to cruise ship travel by the World Health Organisation. And France confined over 1,700 people to a cruise ship after a suspected norovirus outbreak occurred on board, though passengers have since been released. The thought of being stuck on a ship filled with a contaqgious virus is a pretty scary one. But how likely is it? We asked Professor of Medicine in Norwich Medical School, Prof Paul Hunter (whose research interests include the spread of infectious disease), whether and why cruise ships might be a hotbed for illnesses. “Cruises are well known to be associated with outbreaks [of] infectious disease” Professor Hunter told HuffPost UK that there’s a long-established link between cruise ships and the spread of infectious disease. America’s Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Yellow Book said the form of travel “presents a unique combination of health concerns”. Most commonly, Prof Hunter said, these diseases include norovirus and the ’flu. But outbreaks can include “a range of …

Hantavirus Outbreak: European Center for Disease Prevention and Control Says “Current Risk to the General Population Remains Very Low”

Hantavirus Outbreak: European Center for Disease Prevention and Control Says “Current Risk to the General Population Remains Very Low”

Published by Sam Flores

By May 6, the doctor on board the MV Hondius cruise ship had been infected with the disease and was transported to the hospital. That left Stephen Kornfeld, MD, an American tourist and oncologist vacationing aboard the cruise ship, in the position of de facto medical officer following a hantavirus outbreak on the ship. On that day, the MV Hondius,—which left on April 1 from Ushuaia, in Argentina’s Tierra del Fuego, bound for Cape Verde—brought aboard a new passenger: an infectious-disease expert from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, based in Sweden. The expert remained on board for a few days to personally monitor the situation and put in place the necessary protection protocols. He left the vessel Monday, May 11. We asked Gianfranco Spiteri, MD, head of the ECDC’s Global Epidemic Intelligence and Health Security Section, to explain the situation the expert found on board and what the initial response measures were. Vanity Fair Italia: When the doctor boarded the ship, what did he find? Gianfranco Spiteri: Our expert explained that, in …