242 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.
This study demonstrates that an interpretable Random Forest machine learning model, trained on k-mer features derived from whole-genome sequencing data of 1,424 Shigella isolates, can accurately and transparently predict ciprofloxacin resistance by integrating both chromosomal mutations and plasmid-mediated determinants.
This paper introduces the Multi-Clique network model to demonstrate that explicitly representing saturated within-group interactions and constrained between-group contacts reveals epidemic dynamics—such as slower growth and lower peaks—that are systematically underestimated by classical degree-matched random graph models.
This study presents a spatial metapopulation SEIR model that integrates recurrent mobility, household clustering, and age-stratified interactions to demonstrate how location connectivity and pathogen characteristics shape epidemic dynamics, thereby informing the timing and targeting of non-pharmaceutical interventions for diseases like COVID-19 and Ebola.
Post-hoc analyses of the AReSVi-006 trial demonstrate that a single dose of the adjuvanted RSVPreF3 vaccine provides sustained protection against RSV-related lower respiratory tract disease, acute respiratory illness, and complications over three consecutive seasons in medically stable adults aged 60 and older with underlying conditions such as COPD, asthma, diabetes, and obesity.
This study utilized whole-genome sequencing of 322 isolates from three Tunisian hospitals to reveal a diverse population of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant *Klebsiella pneumoniae* dominated by ESBLs and specific carbapenemases, characterized by sustained ward-level transmission and the emerging convergence of hypervirulence markers, thereby highlighting the critical need for targeted infection control and routine genomic integration in national surveillance.
This qualitative study across ten hospitals in Singapore, Nepal, and Thailand identifies structural deficiencies such as limited laboratory capabilities and weak guidelines, alongside clinician prioritization of short-term patient safety, as key drivers of broad-spectrum antibiotic overuse, highlighting the need for systemic improvements to support effective antimicrobial stewardship.
This study demonstrates that habitual short-range travel from low-prevalence inland villages to highly endemic Lake Victoria sustains *Schistosoma mansoni* transmission in Uganda, indicating that achieving transmission interruption requires integrated control strategies addressing human mobility and local transmission ecology rather than focusing solely on high-risk villages or individual behaviors.
This study reveals that antibiotic use among adults with productive coughs in Nairobi, Kenya, is widespread and largely empirical, driven by diverse seeking pathways including over-the-counter access and self-medication, which are significantly influenced by gender, income, and medical history, thereby highlighting an urgent need for stricter prescription enforcement and stewardship programs to combat antimicrobial resistance.
This study of adolescents and adults in Blantyre, Malawi, demonstrates that analyzing quantitative interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) responses rather than binary results reveals critical age- and sex-specific variations in *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* immunoreactivity and transmission risks that are otherwise obscured, particularly highlighting the impact of HIV and the potential for refined public health strategies in high-burden settings.
This study analyzes Global Burden of Disease 2021 data to reveal that while early-onset Group B Streptococcus mortality in neonates has declined by nearly 50% globally since 1990, significant disparities persist with slower progress in low-development regions and a concentration of the relative burden among the poorest populations despite narrowing absolute gaps.