Public HealthJune 16, 2017
Changes to Bird Flu Virus May Make Human Transmission More Likely
Hundreds of H7N9 infections have already occurred in humans this spring
Stories by Helen Branswell
Helen Branswell is STAT's infectious diseases and public health reporter. She comes from the Canadian Press, where she was the medical reporter for the past 15 years. Helen cut her infectious diseases teeth during Toronto's SARS outbreak in 2003 and spent the summer of 2004 embedded at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2010-11 she was a Nieman Global Health Fellow at Harvard, where she focused on polio eradication. Warning: Helen asks lots of questions.
Public HealthApril 12, 2017
New Report Charts Ways to Expedite Research During Epidemics
The work seeks to learn from the devastating Ebola outbreak
Public HealthMarch 30, 2017
Why Were There Fewer Microcephaly Cases from Zika Last Year?
A new study of 2016 has some surprising findings
Public HealthMarch 1, 2017
Human Cases of Bird Flu Are Surging
A wave of H7N9 infections in China is killing patients
Public HealthFebruary 27, 2017
WHO Releases List of World's Most Dangerous Superbugs
The U.N. agency’s first-ever such list names 12 bacterial threats as the highest-priority needs for antibiotics
Public HealthJanuary 27, 2017
Superbug Resistant to Last-Resort Antibiotic Arises in China
China has been using colistin to speed growth of farm animals
Public HealthJanuary 13, 2017
Woman Killed by a Superbug Resistant to Every Available Antibiotic
The “nightmare bacteria” could fend off 26 different drugs
Public HealthNovember 18, 2016
WHO Declares Zika Public Health Emergency Over
The disease threat still remains an enduring challenge
Public HealthSeptember 28, 2016
A Guide to the Changing Science of Flu Shots
Despite new findings, certain advice still holds true
Public HealthSeptember 23, 2016
2 Chemicals Together May Knock Out Zika-Carrying Mosquitoes
The CDC reports that spraying a controversial insecticide and applying larvicide may be best tools for combating local Zika
Public HealthSeptember 22, 2016
Gonorrhea May Become Resistant to All Antibiotics Sooner Than Anticipated
A cluster of cases in Hawaii show signs of resistance to the two drugs used to treat it
Public HealthSeptember 9, 2016
Investigators Find Another Superbug Case in the U.S.
This is the fourth time this new antibiotic-resistant bacteria has been detected domestically
Public HealthAugust 26, 2016
Stubborn Guinea Worm in Last-Gasp Fight against Eradication
Nearly vanquished, the terrifying meter-long parasites seem to have a new strategy
Public HealthAugust 19, 2016
Zika Virus Now Believed to Be Spreading in Miami Beach
The zone of transmission has widened into a major tourist hub
Public HealthAugust 12, 2016
Polio Rears Its Head in Nigeria, after Two Years with No Cases
Two children have been paralyzed by the disease in a region where Boko Haram has blocked access to vaccination
Public HealthJuly 22, 2016
Second Case of Zika in Florida May Have Come from Local Mosquitoes
Both investigations are underway with no official time line for answers
Public HealthJuly 19, 2016
Norovirus Outbreak Reported among GOP Convention Staffers
Highly contagious virus triggers explosive vomiting and diarrhea; most people recover quickly
MedicineJuly 15, 2016
Gonorrhea May Soon Be Resistant to all Antibiotics
The CDC says the sexually transmitted bacterial disease could become untreatable
Public HealthMarch 1, 2015
New Hope for Ebola?
How the largest outbreak on record jump-started the development of two experimental vaccines and a couple of promising treatments
HealthFebruary 19, 2015
Middle East Mystery Disease Triggers Early Resurgence
International health experts head to Saudi Arabia to help determine why MERS cases are soaring again
HealthDecember 4, 2014
Ebola Free-for-All Could Trigger Bad Science and Wasted Efforts
Everybody and his uncle, it seems, has an idea of something that might work to cure people infected with the deadly virus
HealthNovember 17, 2014
Improved Ebola Situation in Liberia May Complicate Vaccine Trials
As fewer people get sick, the trials may need to include more participants than planned to deliver usable results
HealthNovember 7, 2014
Infection Secrets of Ebola Explained
By attacking the body's first responders, the virus cripples the immune system before it can mount an effective defense
HealthJuly 14, 2014
Bio-Unsafety Level 3: Could the Next Lab Accident Result in a Pandemic?
So-called gain-of-function pathogen research will likely receive closer scrutiny after three U.S. biolab incidents