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.
This longitudinal study of 245 infants reveals that waning maternal antibodies differentially interfere with early influenza vaccination responses, while subsequent infections and vaccine timing significantly shape the development of durable, strain-specific immunity during the first two years of life.
In a study of adults with diabetes in South Africa, symptom-based screening for tuberculosis demonstrated poor sensitivity, while chest X-ray screening offered improved but still suboptimal sensitivity and reduced specificity in individuals with a history of TB.
This paper presents an Ablative Polymer Coated (APC) filtration system that transforms passive air filters into active, low-resistance surfaces capable of inactivating airborne viruses like SARS-CoV-2 simulants through controlled chemical exposure, achieving high viral reduction efficiency without the aerodynamic penalties of conventional denser media.
This study utilizes the ERIC and FRAME-IS frameworks to systematically document and analyze 458 context-driven modifications to implementation strategies across four diverse hospital sites in the FIRST trial, revealing that organizational characteristics significantly influence the frequency and type of adjustments needed to maintain evidence-based practice fidelity.
Using mathematical modeling, this study finds that while South Africa is unlikely to meet the WHO End TB targets by 2030, the most effective way to reduce TB incidence and mortality is by increasing testing among symptomatic individuals, particularly through the implementation of new near-point-of-care technologies.
This electronic health record study of UK cancer patients and survivors identifies prior antimicrobial resistance as the strongest predictor of resistant bacteraemia, with prior antibiotic exposure, younger age, and lymphoid/haematopoietic malignancies also serving as significant risk factors.
A retrospective genotyping analysis of 457 *Pseudomonas aeruginosa* isolates from a large English children's hospital reveals the long-term persistence of specific bacterial clusters in the water system and their temporal overlap with clinical infections, underscoring the challenges of eradication and the critical need for rigorous water safety controls.
This cluster randomised controlled trial in Burkina Faso and the Democratic Republic of Congo demonstrated that a community-based behavioural intervention bundle significantly reduced Watch-group antibiotic use without negatively impacting patient management, offering a promising strategy to mitigate antimicrobial resistance in sub-Saharan Africa.
This pilot study in a London paediatric emergency department suggests that implementing a molecular point-of-care test for Group A Streptococcus could significantly reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing and enable immediate clinical decision-making, despite a low infection prevalence during the study period.
This mathematical modelling study demonstrates that ethnic inequalities in respiratory virus transmission in England are driven by distinct demographic characteristics and social mixing patterns, which result in varying attack rates across ethnic groups that are further modulated by local population structures and pathogen infectiousness.