News by Subject Medicine & Health

When the parasite Cryptosporidium enters the body, it's cells in the intestines that first recognize the invader, triggering an early immune response, according to a new study led by a team from the University of Pennsylvania. A leading cause of diarrheal disease in young children globally, the parasite generates an inflammatory response beginning in the intestines that exacerbates the effects of malnutrition.

An important new finding by University of Cincinnati researchers could help slow the transmission of HIV/AIDS and reduce pregnancies among adolescent girls in rural South Africa.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, tens of millions of children worldwide were not receiving basic doses of vaccines. New research finds there continue to be significant disparities in childhood vaccination, and poorer children from under-represented and minority groups in most countries are more likely to be less fully vaccinated with all the recommended immunizations. A special supplement to the American Journal of Preventive Medicine looks at the barriers and challenges that limit or prevent access to vaccines in vulnerable children.

Despite COVID-19 restrictions and the risk of animal to human disease transmission, illegal wildlife trade on social media networks has continued, with wild animals sometimes sold as 'lockdown pets'.

Australian researchers have revealed -- for the first time -- that people who have been infected with the COVID-19 virus have immune memory to protect against reinfection for at least eight months. The research is the strongest evidence for the likelihood that vaccines against the virus, SARS-CoV-2, will work for long periods.

University of Arkansas biologist Kristian Forbes is part of a global team of researchers developing a strategy to detect and intercept diseases emerging from wildlife in Africa that could eventually infect humans.