Egypt, Algeria and Republic of South Africa are the African countries most at risk for coronavirus COVID-19 importation in the continent, due to high air traffic with the contaminated Chinese provinces. But these countries are also among the best equipped on the continent to quickly detect and deal with new cases. In other African countries, the risk of importation is lower, but health organization deficiencies raise concerns about rapid...
Malaria infection during pregnancy represents a major public health problem in the regions endemic for the disease, substantially increasing the risks to mothers and their unborn children. For newborns, malaria is linked to low birth weight and an excess risk of mortality. To protect this population, a team of researchers is developing a vaccine at the French National Institute of Blood Transfusion (INTS).
An Inserm team led by researcher Vittoria Colizza at Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Health (Inserm/Sorbonne Université) has modeled the potential spread of 2019-nCoV in order to orient prevention and surveillance policies. A model which comes with one caveat: derived from research, its purpose is not to make predictions but rather be used as a theoretical tool to aid public decision-making.
PREVAC-UP: The Partnership for Research on Ebola Vaccination extends follow-up and builds research capacity against deadly disease
In animals, a vaccine modifying the composition and function of the gut microbiota provides protection against the onset of chronic inflammatory bowel diseases and certain metabolic disorders, such as diabetes and obesity.
A study reveals that seasonal influenza vaccine coverage remains particularly low among pregnant women in France. Despite risks of severe complications, expectant mothers are often not offered the vaccine during their prenatal monitoring or, if they are, a large majority declines it.
Researchers have recently discovered a new candidate drug to control cryptosporidiosis, a severe intestinal disease in children, immunocompromised patients, and young ruminants. Beyond this disease, their research represents an opportunity to discover new therapeutic avenues for related infections, such as toxoplasmosis and malaria.
Researchers have shown that a commercially-available vaccine can overcome resistance to immunotherapy. Their study, published in Science Translational Medicine, shows that not only can gastroenteritis vaccines induce the immunogenic death of cancer cells in vitro, but also that combining them with immunotherapy triggers a potent anti-tumor immune response in vivo – where immunotherapy alone had failed.
Physical activity is thought to be our greatest ally in the fight against cardiovascular disease. But there may be significant variations in its protective effects across a range of different situations, such as regularly playing a sport, carrying heavy loads at work, or going for a walk with friends. These are the findings of a new study led by Inserm researcher Jean-Philippe Empana (U970 PARCC, Inserm/Université de Paris) in...
Thanks to antiretroviral therapies, it is possible to grow old with HIV under control. However, this chronic infection may not leave cognitive function unscathed. That is why Alain Makinson (Translational Research on HIV and Infectious Diseases unit, Montpellier University Hospital, Université de Montpellier, Inserm, IRD) and his team were interested in exploring the development of neurocognitive impairment (NCI), such as diminished attention, memory and motor capacity, in patients living...
Bacillary dysentery caused by the intestinal bacteria Shigella is a major health problem in tropical regions and developing countries. Complications from this infection lead to several hundred thousand deaths a year, primarily among infants. Researchers from Inserm and the Institut Pasteur have studied the mechanisms of Shigella virulence. They found that these bacteria are not only able to consume the oxygen in colonic tissue in order to grow and...
