infectious disease, disease & medicine

See a news report on a study of expectant mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infections.

Compared with Zika and cytomegalovirus, the virus that causes COVID-19 appears to have a harder time penetrating the placenta and moving to a woman’s unborn baby.

The virus rarely spreads from mother to child before birth, but it can—and researchers are starting to investigate the path it takes.

As COVID-19 therapies get emergency-use green lights, the Biden administration must organize a therapeutic review board to help identify what’s working and what’s not.

Half a year after infection, people who had recovered from COVID-19 had robust antibodies, along with traces of the virus in their gut, which may drive long-lasting immunity.

A study explains how Zika was present among mosquitoes in Africa for decades without causing the harm to human health seen outside the continent in recent years.

A recent study elucidates some of the changes that occur in the body after inoculation with a tuberculosis vaccine.

J. Michael Lane was the director of the CDC’s successful program to eradicate smallpox.

We asked experts for measures people can take that may help boost defenses against COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.

Although scientists debate the ethics of deliberately infecting volunteers with SARS-CoV-2, plenty of consenting participants have been exposed to all sorts of pathogens in prior trials.

Lab and field experiments indicate that aquatic environments could act as reservoirs for the pathogens, which typically do not represent a direct risk to humans.

The COVID Symptom Study app aims to help patients and healthcare providers identify patterns in user-reported data.

Two gene variations might help explain why some people experience chronic wounds.

Take a break from the bench to puzzle and peruse.

A study of Nicaraguan children links prior Zika virus infection with aggravated dengue fever symptoms.

There have been no reports of health or environmental harm in other locations where genetically modified mosquitoes have been introduced over the last decade.

The four factors that drive contagion

Studies on SARS-CoV-2’s milder cousins hint that our immune systems are quick to forget the viruses, but it’s unclear whether the same is true for the agent that causes COVID-19.

UPenn’s Katharine Bar discusses ongoing clinical trials to explore the efficacy of treating patients with plasma from individuals who have recovered from an infection.