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Fiche maladie | 2016.07.08
Staphylococci
Staphylococci are pathogenic bacteria responsible for a broad spectrum of diseases with varying degrees of severity. They are one of the main causes of nosocomial infections (hospital-acquired infections) but can also be acquired outside hospitals. They are part of the natural skin flora, specifically colonizing external mucous membranes, but they are also often found in the environment (in...
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Fiche maladie | 2015.10.06
Sanfilippo syndrome
Sanfilippo syndrome is a rare and intractable neurological disorder of genetic origin. First manifestations in children are delayed cognitive development and behavioral disturbances, which further progressively evolve towards severe psychomotor retardation and polyhandicap. The disease is responsible for premature death in early adulthood.
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News | 2016.01.06
University of Maryland School of Medicine researcher Jacques Ravel receives prestigious international science award
Jacques Ravel, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, as well as Associate Director for Genomics at the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS), both at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has been named a 2015-2017 Blaise Pascal International Research Chair, one of the most prestigious European science awards. He is spending this year working at the Institut Pasteur in Paris, and...
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News | 2016.01.07
Neanderthal genes gave modern humans an immunity boost, allergies
When modern humans met Neanderthals in Europe and the two species began interbreeding many thousands of years ago, the exchange left humans with gene variations that have increased the ability of those who carry them to ward off infection. This inheritance from Neanderthals may have also left some people more prone to allergies. The discoveries add to evidence for an important role for...
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News | 2016.01.07
The Institut Pasteur in French Guiana publishes the first complete genome sequence of the Zika virus circulating in the Americas
Having confirmed the first cases of infection in Suriname then in French Guiana, the Institut Pasteur in French Guiana has sequenced the complete genome of the Zika virus, which is responsible for an unprecedented epidemic currently sweeping through the tropical regions of the Americas. Published in The Lancet medical journal today, the analysis of this sequence shows almost complete homology...
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News | 2016.01.31
Listeria: hypervirulent strains with cerebral and placental tropism
Researchers recently published a large-scale study based on almost 7,000 strains of Listeria monocytogenes — the bacterium responsible for human listeriosis, a severe foodborne infection. Through the integrative analysis of epidemiological, clinical and microbiological data, the researchers have revealed the highly diverse pathogenicity of isolates belonging to this bacterial species....
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News | 2016.01.26
Tuberculosis: discovery of a critical stage in the evolution of the bacillus towards pathogenicity
It is the disappearance of a glycolipid from the bacterial cell envelope during evolution that may have considerably increased the virulence of tuberculosis bacilli in humans. Scientists have shown that this disappearance modified the surface properties of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, favoring its aggregation in "cords" and increasing its pathogenicity. These findings, which enable a...
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News | 2016.02.15
The Institut Pasteur joins the Global Virus Network (GVN) Zika Task Force
Global Virus Network (GVN) launches Zika Task Force comprised of leading virus researchers from around the globe. GVN catalyzes international collaborations in an effort to address the urgent need to share information and research to better combat the global Zika outbreak.
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News | 2016.02.15
Calpains, key cellular enzymes for fighting influenza
Why not fight the influenza virus by blocking the cellular machinery it uses for replication? Researchers tested this hypothesis by specifically targeting the calpains, proteases involved in inflammatory mechanisms. Their results, obtained in animals, show that inhibiting these enzymes can not only reduce the symptoms of the disease, but also prevent infection by seasonal or pandemic influenza...
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News | 2016.02.29
Zika: Confirmation of a causal link between the Zika virus and Guillain-Barré Syndrome
Using data collected in French Polynesia, researchers from the Institut Pasteur, the CNAM (Conservatoire national des arts et métiers), the Institut Louis Malardé, the French Polynesia Hospital Centre, and the Public Hospitals of Paris (AP-HP), have shown that infection by the Zika Virus (ZIKV) increases the likelihood of contracting Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), a severe form of limb paralysis...
