Anchor lead: Last year’s flu season was bad. How can you protect yourself this year? Elizabeth Tracey reports In the wake of CDC data reporting 80,000 plus deaths last year due to the flu, your best strategy to avoid infection this year remains getting vaccinated. That’s according to Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection control […]…

Anchor lead: About 80,000 people died last year due to influenza infection, Elizabeth Tracey reports Influenza and its complications killed over 80,000 people last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported. Lisa Maragakis, senior director of infection control at Johns Hopkins Hospital, says that should motivate everyone ...…

Anchor lead: Taking a look at all the genes in tuberculosis can help design more effective treatments, Elizabeth Tracey reports A look at genes, mutations, and resistance to drugs in tuberculosis bacteria published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine should help design better diagnostic tests and lead to more efficacious treatments. ...…

Anchor lead: TB vaccines are needed for the minority of people who can’t fight the infection off, Elizabeth Tracey reports Most people are capable of fighting off tuberculosis infection on their own, but now a new vaccine offers hope to those who don’t have the ability, a recent study in the New England Journal of […]…

Anchor lead: A new vaccine against tuberculosis brings hope, Elizabeth Tracey reports A new tuberculosis vaccine protects about 50% of the people who receive it from contracting the infection, a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found. Richard Chaisson, a TB expert at Johns Hopkins, says this is actually very hopeful news. […]…

Anchor lead: Why should a promising treatment for sepsis be studied more? Elizabeth Tracey reports Sepsis is a killer. This overwhelming infection is implicated in one in three deaths in the hospital, CDC data indicate, with one recent study touting the combination of vitamin C, thiamine, and steroids to reduce deaths by a third. So […]…

Anchor lead: Why would vitamin C be important in treating sepsis? Elizabeth Tracey reports Sepsis, an overwhelming infection and inflammation that is the third leading cause of death, may respond to use of three drugs: vitamin C, thiamine, and steroids. That’s the hypothesis being tested in a randomized, prospective study underway now. Jeremiah ...…

Anchor lead: Can a three drug combination treat sepsis? Elizabeth Tracey reports Sepsis, where an infection spreads throughout the bloodstream, is the third leading cause of death. Now two new studies are examining whether a combination of vitamin C, a B vitamin called thiamine, and steroids can budge dismal mortality statistics relative to sep ...…

Anchor lead: As global warming expands mosquito territory, a vaccine for Dengue virus is a worldwide concern, Elizabeth Tracey reports Dengue is a viral infection transmitted by mosquitoes, and it can result in serious illness and death, especially if someone is experiencing their second infection. That’s because there are different strains of ...…

Anchor lead: What do skin infections and tumor responses have in common? Elizabeth Tracey reports You’ve probably heard of MRSA, a skin infection that can turn deadly for some people. This is just one strain of a bacterium that’s called staph aureus, with this group of bugs responsible for some half a million hospitalizations and […]…