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Scientists at the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made another important advance in HIV vaccine design. The development was possible thanks to previous studies at TSRI showing the structures of a protein on HIV's surface, called the envelope glycoprotein. The scientists used these structures to design a mimic of the viral protein from a different HIV subtype, subtype C, which is responsible for the majority of infections worldwide.

Zika virus infection passes efficiently from a pregnant monkey to its fetus, spreading inflammatory damage throughout the tissues that support the fetus and the fetus’s developing nervous system, and suggesting a wider threat in human pregnancies than generally appreciated. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison infected four pregnant rhesus macaque monkeys at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center with a Zika virus dose similar to what would be transferred by a mosquito bite, and found evidence that the virus was present in each monkey’s fetus.

With mosquito season looming in the Northern Hemisphere, doctors and researchers are poised to take on a new round of Zika virus infections. Now, a new study by a large group of international researchers led by scientists at the Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) explains how Zika virus entered the United States via Florida in 2016 -- and how it might re-enter the country this year.

Whether it's soap-and-water handwashing or using an antiseptic hand wash, an alcohol-based handrub (ABHR), or a surgical hand antisepsis product, hand hygiene remains a cornerstone of infection prevention and control practice. Despite indications that hand hygiene can help control the transmission of infectious microorganisms as part of a multi-modal approach, as well as innovations in product and dispenser design to enhance the user experience, hand hygiene rates remain sub-optimally low.

A 12-month study mapping bacterial diversity within a hospital - with a focus on the flow of microbes between patients, staff and surfaces - should help hospitals worldwide better understand how to encourage beneficial microbial interactions and decrease potentially harmful contact.

Genetic analysis of samples collected as the Zika virus (ZIKV) spread throughout the Americas after its introduction in 2013 or 2014 has shown that the virus circulated undetected for up to a year in some regions before it came to the attention of public health authorities. Genetic sequencing has also enabled scientists to recreate the epidemiological and evolutionary paths the virus took as it spread and split into the distinct subtypes--or clades--that have been detected in the Americas. The research, published in Nature today, was supported in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

Botulinum neurotoxin is probably best known to Americans as BOTOX, a cosmetic medicine, rather than as a cause of potentially dangerous foodborne illnesses. Lesser known is that Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes the neurointoxication, produces one of the most potent toxins on earth and is classified as a potential bioterrorism threat.

A machine-learning algorithm has the capability to identify hospitalized patients at risk for severe sepsis and septic shock using data from electronic health records (EHRs), according to a study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference. Sepsis is an extreme systemic response to infection, which can be life-threatening in its advanced stages of severe sepsis and septic shock, if left untreated.

The influenza virus turns infected lung cells into factories that churn out thousands of copies of the virus to spread the infection. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists have reported a promising new approach that uses an investigational cancer drug to dial down viral production and dramatically increase survival of flu-infected mice. The findings appear today in the journal Cell Reports.

Cases of human infection with Powassan virus (POWV), which can cause fatal neuroinvasive disease and long-term neurological effects, appear to be increasing in the United States. POWV is transmitted by Ixodes tick species found in North America. A comprehensive review of this potential emerging public health threat, the most recent research on the virus and its tick vector, and the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of POWV disease is published in Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases.

Q:  I have been using steam tape to place indicator on paper i.e., count sheets, and instrument bags inside of surgical trays before sterilization. I have been doing this for a number of years. My manager informs me that you cannot use steam tape to hold an indicator in place, be-cause "there is no way to validate that the tape is sterile after sterilization." Please clarify or give justification for this statement.