Cow udders may provide a hotspot for bird flu and human flu viruses to mingle. The prospect of an outbreak of avian influenza among dairy cattle triggering a pandemic in humans is one step closer than ...

Diabetes is a lifelong condition that occurs when the body fails to produce enough insulin, but the cause varies between different types of diabetes. Type one diabetes is an autoimmune disease where ...

While some health experts suggest that the next pandemic could be between five and 10 years away, what that pandemic could be caused by and if the U.S. will be ready for it are separate questions.

Viruses are entities that have to infect other cells in order to replicate. They may have genomes that are made of DNA or RNA. We are still discovering new types of RNA viruses, as shown in two new ...

Helen Branswell covers issues broadly related to infectious diseases, including outbreaks, preparedness, research, and vaccine development. Follow her on Mastodon and Bluesky. You can reach Helen on ...

Scientists who have studied viruses in Siberian permafrost say that the threat of new viral agents to humanity is significant as the region’s temperatures rise. As many as 13 viruses have been ...

A brand new virus, which may be able to jump to humans, has been detected in a mouse in Florida. The virus is a type of jeilongvirus, which have previously only been found in Africa, Asia, Europe, and ...

Hepatitis G is the former name for human pegivirus 1 (HPgV-1). It is typically transmitted through blood. Avoiding contact with blood products with the virus can help prevent it from transferring.

Scientists have discovered that H5N1, the strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza virus currently spreading in U.S. dairy cows, only needs a single mutation to readily latch on to human cells ...

Distinguishing between self and non-self is a critical ability of the immune system. Some pathogens have evolved proteins that resemble those of their host, a mechanism called molecular mimicry, in an ...