- Infectious disease ×
-
Podcast: Inside the creeping threat of fungal infections
November 23, 2022
Some fungal infections, like athletes' foot or thrush, are relatively common and are usually not serious. But in those with underlying conditions or compromised immune systems, fungal infections can be deadly.
In recent weeks, the World Health Organisation has warned of the serious threat that fungi pose to humans with a new report and list of priority fungal pathogens. In this episode of Microbe Talk, Charlotte takes a look inside the creeping threat of fungal infections with guests Prof Kevin Kavanagh and Prof Neil Gow.
-
Avian Infectious Diseases 2021 – a view from Twitter
September 23, 2021
The Microbiology Society’s third Focused Meeting of the year, Avian Infectious Diseases 2021, took place digitally on 15–17 September 2021. The aim of the event was to bring together the scientific community to help find solutions to the biggest challenges in avian infectious diseases and provide a forum for discussion not only on individual pathogens, but also on cross-cutting areas of relevance to multiple infections. Here, we look back on the three-day event with a view from Twitter.
-
Microbiology Editor’s Choice: Vibrio cholerae; a siderophore pirate
December 1, 2020
Each month, a manuscript published in our flagship journal Microbiology is chosen by a member of the Editorial Board. This month, the paper is titled ‘Siderophore piracy enhances Vibrio cholerae environmental survival and pathogenesis’ and was chosen by Dr Andrew Preston.
-
Microbiology Editor’s Choice: how do flagella interact with host membranes?
November 3, 2020
Each month, a manuscript published in our flagship journal Microbiology is chosen by a member of the Editorial Board. This month, the paper is titled ‘The interaction of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella Typhimurium flagella with host cell membranes and cytoskeletal components’ and was chosen by Dr Hana Sychrová.
-
Developing a COVID-19 educational app
October 1, 2020
In June, Glasgow-based serious game studio Game Doctor was awarded a £50,000 grant from Innovate UK to develop a casual mobile game to educate young people on coronavirus. Over the last four months the team have been working flat out to design the game, with the beta version almost ready for soft launch. Here, Game Doctor founder and CEO Dr Carla Brown discusses the project and invites the microbiology community to test the game.
-
Life after a pandemic: What we can learn from the Spanish flu?
July 30, 2020
With the slow return to a new ‘normality’, it is hard to know what life will be like out of lockdown. A direct comparison to the current situation with SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918. Spanish flu affected a staggering one-third of the world’s population and killed 50 million. As much as the two viruses are very different, the societal reactions during both pandemics are similar, and our way of coping with COVID-19 can be understood by reflecting on the measures used 100 years ago.
-
FIS 2019: Improving the dialogue between health-related professionals and career scientists
December 19, 2019
Over 600 delegates attended the Federation of Infection Societies (FIS) 2019 in November this year. The meeting, hosted by the Microbiology Society, was held in Edinburgh and provided a unique interface for delegates from diverse backgrounds, all with an interest in infection, to interact.
-
To notify, or not to notify – that is the question
October 23, 2019
In this blog, Professor Garry Blakely, from the University of Edinburgh's School of Biological Sciences, discusses carbapenemase-producing bacteria and the importance of surveillance. In August 2019, Professor Blakely attended a Public Health England (PHE) steering group with a number of clinicians and diagnostic staff to discuss the limitations and effects that reporting infections from carbapenemase-producing bacteria could have on healthcare systems.
