Infectious Diseases

A 30000-year-old giant virus comes back to life
Finally, this study demonstrates that viruses can survive in permafrost (the permanently frozen layer of soil found in the Arctic regions) almost over geological time periods, i.e. for more than 30,000 years (corresponding to the Late Pleistocene). These findings have important implications in terms of public health risks related to the exploitation of mining and energy resources in circumpolar regions, which may arise as a result of global warming. The re-emergence of viruses considered to be eradicated, such as smallpox, whose replication process is similar to Pithovirus, is no longer the domain of science fiction. The probability of this type of scenario needs to be estimated realistically. BioScholar

Gonorrhea infections start from exposure to seminal fluid
Researchers have come a step closer to understanding how gonorrhea infections are transmitted. When Neisseria gonorrhoeae, the bacteria responsible for gonorrhea, are exposed to seminal plasma, the liquid part of semen containing secretions from the male genital tract, they can more easily move and start to colonize. The research, led by investigators at Northwestern University in Chicago, appears in mBio®, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology. Eurekalert!

Bugs in the Back: Is Lumbago an Infectious Disease?
Propionibacterium acnes is often dismissed as a contaminant, but during the past decade or so it has been recognized as an indolent pathogen that can cause problems such as ventriculoatrial shunt infection and perhaps prosthetic joint problems, especially in the shoulder. In addition, a small amount of supportive literature about P acnes infection in the spine has been published. This infection often is not typical; patients have no fever or elevated sedimentation rate. It seems to be fairly rare; however, one review^[1] found that 97% of 29 patients with this infection had previously undergone surgery.  Paul Auwaerter, from Johns Hopkins, speaking for Medscape Infectious Diseases.

Real-World HPV Study Finds Vaccine Protects Against Cervical Abnormalities
Vaccination with the quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was associated with reduced risk for cervical abnormalities in young women presenting for their first cervical screening in Australia. Findings from the case-control study appear in BMJ. Journal Watch

Can low-dose interferon prevent relapse of hepatitis C virus infection?
Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can lead to serious diseases such as cirrhosis and cancer of the liver, so viral clearance and prevention of relapse are important treatment goals. Low-dose oral interferon may reduce the risk of HCV relapse in patients with mild liver fibrosis according to a study published in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research website. Eurekalert!

Scientists identify significant increase in new MRSA strains in non hospital environment
Microbiologists from the Dental School in Trinity College Dublin in collaboration with the National MRSA Reference Laboratory at St. James's Hospital Dublin and Alere Technologies in Germany have identified significant increases in the prevalence, genetic diversity and antimicrobial resistance of PVL-positive MRSA circulating in Ireland in the ten years between 2002-2011. These findings have just been published in the March 2014 issue of a leading, peer reviewed international journal, The Journal of Clinical Microbiology. MedicalXpress