📄 Category

infectious diseases

194 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.

📄 infectious diseases

Influence of microbial composition and sample type on antimicrobial resistance in urinary tract infections: a single-centre retrospective cohort study (2015-2023)

This single-centre retrospective study of nearly 190,000 urine cultures reveals that urine sample type and polymicrobial co-isolation significantly influence antimicrobial resistance patterns in urinary tract infections, suggesting that incorporating these contextual factors alongside pathogen identity could improve clinical reporting and empiric prescribing.

Dubey, A. K., Reyes, J., Rhiner, C., Drescher, K., Dunkel, J., McKinney, J. D., Egli, A.2026-03-02
📄 infectious diseases

Diagnostic Accuracy of an Immunoassay Using Avidity-Enhanced Polymeric Peptides for SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Detection

This study demonstrates that an optimized ELISA utilizing a polymeric peptide (S559) with avidity-enhanced epitope presentation achieves high diagnostic accuracy (up to 95.01% sensitivity and 100% specificity) for SARS-CoV-2 antibody detection, offering a promising low-cost alternative to whole-antigen assays for resource-limited settings.

Pollo, B. A. L. V., Ching, D., Idolor, M. I., King, R. A., Climacosa, F. M., Caoili, S. E.2026-03-02
📄 infectious diseases

Development of a Rapid Automated Point-of-Care Test for Mycobacterium tuberculosis Detection from Tongue Swabs and Sputum Specimens on the DASH(R) Rapid PCR System

This study reports the development and validation of a rapid, automated, battery-operated PCR assay on the DASH(R) system that detects *Mycobacterium tuberculosis* from both sputum and tongue swabs with high sensitivity and specificity, making it suitable for point-of-care diagnosis in resource-limited settings.

Butzler, M., Reed, J., Olson, A., Wood, R., Cangelosi, G. A., Luabeya, A. K., Hatherill, M., Chiwaya, A. M., Rockman, L. (…)2026-03-02
📄 infectious diseases

Inactivated Japanese encephalitis virus vaccination imprints fusion loop-biased antibody responses that are attenuated by repeated live-attenuated dengue vaccination

Prior inactivated Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) vaccination imprints a fusion loop-biased, low-potency antibody response with enhanced antibody-dependent enhancement risk, which can be mitigated by a complete series of live-attenuated dengue vaccination that redirects immunity toward non-fusion-loop epitopes.

Mpingabo, P. I., Adekomi, E. I., Ware, L. A., Hossain, M., Lu, J. Q., Friberg, H., Gromowski, G. D., Anderson, K. B., Th (…)2026-03-02
📄 infectious diseases

Digital health app data reveals an effect of ovarian hormones on long COVID and myalgic encephalomyelitis symptoms

A retrospective analysis of digital health app data reveals that menstruation significantly increases the frequency of symptom crashes and severity in Long COVID and ME/CFS, while combined hormonal contraception is associated with reduced symptom burden, suggesting a modulatory role of ovarian hormones in these conditions.

Goodship, A., Preston, R., Hicks, J. T., Getreu, N., O'Neill, H., Leeming, H., Morgenstern, C., Male, V.2026-02-27
📄 infectious diseases

Estimating malaria attributable fraction using quantitative PCR in a longitudinal cohort in Eastern Uganda

This longitudinal study in Eastern Uganda utilized quantitative PCR parasite density distributions to estimate the malaria attributable fraction (MAF), revealing that common parasite density thresholds significantly underestimate the true incidence of clinical malaria across all age groups, particularly in adults, and suggesting that future intervention studies should incorporate MAF corrections for more accurate outcome assessment.

Martin, A., Wang, Q., Babirye, S., Arinaitwe, E., Zedi, M., Ssewanyana, I., Namirimu, F. N., Nayebare, P., Olwoch, P., T (…)2026-02-27
📄 infectious diseases

Clinical validation of a novel metagenomic nanopore sequencing method for detecting viral respiratory pathogens: diagnostic accuracy study

This prospective diagnostic accuracy study validates a novel nanopore metagenomic sequencing workflow for detecting viral respiratory pathogens in nasopharyngeal swabs, demonstrating high specificity (99.8%) but limited sensitivity (51%) against routine PCR due to high host biomass, thereby highlighting the need for optimized use cases and rigorous bioinformatic thresholds to maximize clinical utility.

Sanderson, N. D., Dingle, K. E., Hopkins, K. M. V., Vaughan, A., Colpus, M., Parker, M. J., Dietz, E. V., Gentry, J., Ju (…)2026-02-26
📄 infectious diseases

Strengthening diagnostic capacity for viral hemorrhagic fevers in Forest Guinea: advances in case detection and surveillance

The establishment of permanent, locally embedded diagnostic laboratories in Forest Guinea significantly enhanced the detection, surveillance, and response capabilities for viral hemorrhagic fevers, including Ebola, Marburg, and Lassa fever, while providing critical epidemiological insights into previously underreported outbreaks.

Koundouno, F. R., Sidibe, Y., Millimono, S. L., Ifono, K., Hinzmann, J., Soubrier, H., Kourouma, K., Millimouno, T. E. (…)2026-02-26