Abstract Disease epidemics and outbreaks often generate conspiracy theories and misperceptions that mislead people about the risks they face and how best to protect themselves. We investigate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at combating false and unsupported information about the Zika epidemic and subsequent yellow fever outbreak in Brazil. Results from a nationally representative survey [...]

Iran today reported three more COVID-19 cases today, as the number of new infections jumped in South Korea and in Japan, amid several new Diamond Princess developments, including the first two deaths and a US government agency clash over the evacuation of infected passengers. Meanwhile, China reported 394 new cases of the new coronavirus illness, [...]

The current seasonal flu vaccine protects about 45% of recipients against the circulating strains, according to midseason estimates of vaccine effectiveness (VE) published today in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. A higher percentage, 58%, was seen in the first estimates on effectiveness during Canada’s flu season, which were [...]

Two studies this week in the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene are addressing some of the questions raised by a study that has linked mass distribution of an antibiotic to African preschool children to reduced childhood mortality. But the answers remain elusive. The studies are offshoots of the MORDOR (Macrolides Oraux pour Réduire les Décès [...]

Executive summary Following an urgent inquiry in ECDC’s EPIS AMR-HAI regarding an increasing number of cases of OXA-244-producing Escherichia coli and identification of a cluster of E. coli sequence type (ST) 38 in Germany, national public health reference laboratories in European Union/European Economic Area countries were invited to submit whole genome sequencing (WGS) data to [...]

CARB-X is awarding Lytica Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA, USA, up to US$5.3 million in non-dilutive funding to develop antibacterial peptides with broad activity against multidrug-resistant bacteria.  The company could receive up to $11.6 million in additional funding if the project achieves certain development milestones, for a potential total of $16.9 million. Credit: CDC Read more… The [...]

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is partnering with Sanofi Pasteur and Johnson & Johnson to develop vaccines and therapeutics to use against COVID-19, according to press releases from the drug makers and HHS today. Sanofi announced it will be revisiting previous development work for a SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) vaccine to examine [...]