“Stormy waters ahead”: global emergence of carbapenemases

“Stormy waters ahead”: global emergence of carbapenemases

Carbapenems, once considered the last line of defense against of serious infections with Enterobacteriaceae, are threatened with extinction. The increasing isolation of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative pathogens is forcing practitioners to rely on uncertain alternatives. As little as 5 years ago, reports of carbapenem resistance in Enterobacteriaceae, common causes of both community and healt...

Climate change and infectious disease: stormy weather ahead?

Extreme weather events are becoming more intense, and are likely to become more frequent as the world climate changes.1,2 For epidemiologists, one important aspect of these trends is their impact on infectious disease. In this issue of EPIDEMIOLOGY, Woodruff et al.3 demonstrate a strong association between heavy rainfall and outbreaks of Ross River virus disease. Ross River virus is mosquito bo...

Scenarios: Uncharted Waters Ahead

Global Polio Eradication – Way Ahead

In 1988, the World Health Assembly resolved to eradicate poliomyelitis by the year 2000. Although substantial progress was achieved by 2000, global polio eradication proved elusive. In India, the goal was accomplished in 2011, and the entire South-East Asia Region was certified as polio-free in 2014. The year 2016 marks the lowest wild poliovirus type 1 case count ever, the lowest number of pol...

Blue skies or stormy weather: what lies ahead for malaria research?

During the past ten years, our understanding of many aspects of the biology of malaria parasites has increased dramatically. In particular, the complete genome sequences of Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium yoelii, the availability of transcriptome and proteome profiles, and the establishment of transfection techniques for asexual-stage malaria parasites all represent major achievements from...