Tag: viruses
Social Distancing During the 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Lessons for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
This Month in Microbiology – February 2020
Why are pathogens rarely resistant to vaccines?
We have all heard the horrifying tales of incurable bacterial infections due to antibiotic resistance. But why don’t we see pathogens becoming resistant to vaccines? Intuitively, it seems that vaccines, like antibiotics, put selective pressure on pathogens. The selective force should drive the evolution of vaccine resistance, right? David Kennedy and Andrew Read explore this quandary in their recent publication in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.
Historically, when vaccine resistance arises, it takes much longer compared to antibiotic resistance. Vaccines created as early as the 1920s are still effective today while resistance to a new antibiotic can develop within a few years. Because the evolution of vaccine resistance is so rare, vaccines may be a solution to the drug resistance problems we face today. Vaccines reduce the need for antibiotic treatment and also decrease the number of cases and spread of infections. (more…)
Mosquito-borne illnesses may increase due to global warming
Mosquito bites are such a nuisance. They itch intensely for days, you can't help but scratch them, and you are left with a scar to remember them by. For much of the world, this is the aftermath of a mosquito bite. But in warm tropical climates, mosquitos are carriers of a variety of microbes pathogenic to humans. Dengue, malaria, West Nile, yellow fever, and Zika are all examples mosquito-borne illnesses. (more…)