166 papers
Infectious diseases represent one of the most dynamic frontiers in global health, covering everything from seasonal flu outbreaks to emerging viral threats that cross borders. This field focuses on how pathogens spread, how our immune systems respond, and the strategies scientists use to stop infections before they become epidemics. Because the science moves fast, waiting for traditional publication often means missing critical insights that could save lives.
At Gist.Science, we process every new preprint in this category directly from medRxiv to ensure you see the latest findings the moment they appear. Our team transforms these raw studies into both accessible plain-language explanations and detailed technical summaries, bridging the gap between complex research and public understanding. Below are the latest papers in infectious diseases, updated daily with fresh insights from the global research community.
The study introduces PvGAP, a cost-effective, globally applicable, and highly multiplexed microhaplotype amplicon panel designed to enhance *Plasmodium vivax* genomic surveillance by enabling robust genotyping of polyclonal infections for drug resistance monitoring, case classification, and distinguishing between reinfection, recrudescence, and relapse.
This qualitative study conducted in Uganda reveals that government health workers face critical gaps in training, resources, and standardized protocols for managing schistosomiasis-related chronic morbidity, highlighting the urgent need to integrate structured case management and practical training into routine health services to complement existing preventive chemotherapy efforts.
By analyzing over 85,000 SARS-CoV-2 genomes linked to epidemiological data from Massachusetts, this study reveals that viral transmission is highly structured by age and setting—particularly concentrated in schools, colleges, and nursing facilities with young adults acting as key drivers of spread—while also demonstrating the impact of vaccination and providing guidelines for effective genomic surveillance.
A prospective surveillance study in Kenyan pastoral health facilities revealed a high brucellosis prevalence of 15.2% among febrile patients, identifying school-age children (5–14 years) as a distinct high-risk group with a 31.0% prevalence rate, alongside significant geographic variation and associations with prolonged fever and muscle pain.
Genomic surveillance in Malawi and South Africa reveals that a specific XDR Salmonella Isangi ST335 clade drives hospital outbreaks through environmental persistence and inter-hospital transmission, posing a significant future threat due to its potential to transfer resistance genes to dominant invasive serovars.
Using a self-controlled case series analysis of over 268,000 older adults in England, this study demonstrates that influenza vaccination significantly reduces antibiotic prescribing, particularly for respiratory tract infections, during the peak influenza season.
This longitudinal ecological study of 148 English local authorities from 2015 to 2024 reveals that rising child poverty rates are significantly associated with declining measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccination uptake, suggesting that poverty reduction is essential for improving childhood immunization coverage.
This study demonstrates that East/Central/South African and West African lineages of Chikungunya virus elicit distinct transcriptional responses in primary human chondrocytes, with the West African lineage uniquely inducing gene expression patterns associated with chondrocyte de-differentiation, potentially explaining lineage-specific differences in joint pathology.
This case-control study of the Pakistani population found that while SP-A1 (rs1059047) and SP-D (rs3088308) polymorphisms are not significantly associated with overall tuberculosis susceptibility, the SP-D homozygous TT genotype may confer protection against latent TB infection.
This study conducted at SGT Hospital in Haryana identified 35 *Acinetobacter* isolates from 6673 clinical samples, revealing that the majority were *A. baumannii* primarily found in blood specimens and exhibiting high resistance to most antibiotics except for a high susceptibility rate to colistin.