On May 15, 1850, effective treatment for the coronavirus and its infectious friends was put forward, subsequently ridiculed, and now ignored -- at our collective peril. Wash your hands. Fairly simple, yet so challenging to do. And a new study looks at how not washing your hands hastens global pandemics.
pandemic
New research into the 1918 and 2009 influenza pandemics reveal a potential warning sign: Mild cases of influenza that occur in the spring or summer may be a harbinger of a devastating pandemic to come in the autumn.
We want American scientists to know as quickly as possible when an unusual case of the sniffles occurs in Africa or Asia. From there, we could be able to model the likelihood of the disease spreading beyond its origin. Such a strategy could help prevent Ebola from making a return visit to the United States.
With the recent discovery of polymyxin-resistant infection here in the U.S., there's a renewed pledge among drug developers and the government to incentivize research for developing new antibiotics, previously a seemingly abandoned effort.