Zika virus Archives

Encephalitis – when viral infections attack the brain

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Professor Clayton Wiley from the University of Pittsburgh studies the emergence of new brain viral infections and their link to dementia. He examines encephalitis, an inflammation of the brain tissue that disrupts brain function and causes symptoms of variable severity, such as headache, fever, confusion, altered consciousness, loss of a sense, memory problems, trouble focusing or speaking, or even seizures. […]

Viral encephalitis and virus-mediated memory disorders

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Prof Klein researches viral infections that target neurons.

Viral encephalitis is a debilitating consequence of viral infections: invasion of the brain by viruses causes an inflammation that, even months or years after recovery from the viral infection, can impair cognitive functions such as learning and memory. Prof Robyn S. Klein from Washington University School of Medicine has developed novel animal models and approaches to study virus-mediated memory disorders, […]

Climate change impacts the transmission of vector-borne diseases

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Climate change is responsible for changes in temperature and rainfall patterns as well as more frequent extreme events such as floods. These changes may cause insect displacements to regions that are more favourable to them. This can prove to be problematic for local human populations as some of these insects carry diseases: vector-borne diseases are illnesses caused by parasites, viruses […]