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infectious disease

Prof. Roi Gazit, left, head of the stem cell laboratory at the Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics, at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Courtesy/Dani Michalis), and Dr. Ofir Cohen, also from BGU’s Shraga Segal Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Genetics.
July 18, 2026, 4:40 pm
Israeli study finds antibiotics can reverse salmonella damage to stem cells in mice
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers say findings may improve chances of success for some of the 90,000 stem cell transplants performed annually in humans worldwide
By Diana Bletter
A health official uses a thermometer to screen people in front of Kibuli Muslim Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, May 16, 2026. (Hajarah Nalwadda/AP)
June 23, 2026, 5:03 pm
Ebola suspicion ruled out, as expert says ‘very low’ chance current strain will reach Israel
However, Health Ministry is taking precautions as there are no vaccines yet for Bundibugyo virus; UN health agency reports 896 confirmed cases and 232 suspected deaths globally
By Diana Bletter
ARC Space Lab on the Rakia Mission (Courtesy/Eytan Stibbe)
July 31, 2025, 2:18 pm
Israeli experiment on bacteria heads to International Space Station
Sheba Medical Center launches experiment to explore how outer space affects virulence and antibiotic resistance, providing insights into astronaut health and infectious diseases
By Diana Bletter
In an attempt to battle the measles outbreak, some countries in Europe have enacted laws making vaccinating children mandatory. (Illustrative. Miriam Alster/FLASH90)
April 21, 2025, 9:54 am
Case of measles found in Tel Aviv area as virus resurges globally
Individual arrived in Israel on a flight from London on Friday, spent time in Herzliya and near Tel Aviv University; ministry recommends checking vaccine status
By ToI Staff
Illustrative: A view of people swimming in the Sea of Galilee, on June 12, 2024. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
July 25, 2024, 12:04 am
Child diagnosed with brain-eating amoeba weeks after man’s death; visited same waterpark
Health Ministry orders closure of Gai Beach in Sea of Galilee until further notice, as 2nd case of brain infection caused by Naegleria fowleri raises concern of contaminated pools
By Diana Bletter and ToI Staff
Swaths of sea urchin skeletons washed up on the shore. (Jean-Pascal Quod)
May 23, 2024, 8:15 pm
Deadly pathogen that wiped out Eilat’s sea urchins reaches Indian Ocean
Facing fears of global epidemic, Tel Aviv University scientists, who first identified local die-off and specific pathogen, are working with regional partners to understand more
By Sue Surkes
Illustrative: A brown rat (Heiko Kiera/Shutterstock.com)
March 16, 2024, 7:15 am
Rail construction in Tel Aviv may be behind a surge in rat-related disease cases
Patients diagnosed with flea-borne typhus and leptospirosis at area hospitals have reported seeing the rodents in their neighborhoods, and even in their homes
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Illustrative: A sandfly under a microscope. (Public Domain/World Health Organization )
January 2, 2024, 6:54 pm
Sandfly-borne parasitic disease has affected at least 100 IDF troops in Gaza
Contracted in southern Israel before entering the Strip, cutaneous ​leishmaniasis causes deep, ugly skin lesions — but in most cases doesn’t affect a soldier’s ability to fight
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Among key symptoms that together define long COVID are brain fog, memory loss, and malaise or fatigue (iStock illustration)
September 15, 2023, 11:47 am
As patients suffer, long COVID remains a collection of symptoms with no single cure
With COVID wards and post-COVID clinics in hospitals now closed, the 10-20% of COVID sufferers who have long-term debilitating condition seek help through community health services
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Illustrative: A baby receives a routine vaccine. (naumoid; iStock by Getty Images)
July 14, 2023, 8:49 am
Whooping cough outbreak spreads to north with new case in town near Nahariya
Infectious disease expert posits that post-COVID vaccine fatigue and skepticism, as well as ‘immunological debt,’ are at play
By Renee Ghert-Zand
Dr. Lalita Ramakrishnan, seen here with tanks of zebrafish, is a professor of microbiology at Cambridge University focused on tuberculosis. (Courtesy of MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)
May 6, 2023, 3:22 pm
Study: Gaucher disease, common among Ashkenazi Jews, protects against tuberculosis
Cambridge University team discovers that specific cellular-level lipids that accumulate in the genetic disease attack and kill deadly TB bacterium, hope to develop new treatment
By Renee Ghert-Zand
This undated electron microscope image made available by the US National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. (NIAID-RML via AP)
June 13, 2020, 5:43 pm
Study: Dominant form of virus ‘10 times’ more infectious than original strain
Researchers say mutation in Wuhan virus gave it sturdier spikes to latch onto cells, with lab tests showing it is far more contagious; but some scientists urge caution
By ToI Staff
Coronavirus's global spread (ChakisAtelier; iStock by Getty Images)
June 6, 2020, 4:03 am
What makes a superspreader? And how central are they to COVID-19’s growth?
A patient’s biology, environment and behavior can greatly affect their potential to infect; studies show a small percentage of the sick may be responsible for majority of cases
By Elizabeth McGraw
Ceremonial burning of last hut at Bergen-Belsen, Germany, 1945 (public domain)
April 17, 2020, 6:34 am
75 years ago this week, ‘typhus fever’ met its match at Bergen-Belsen
In ‘All the Horrors of War,’ a survivor’s daughter describes how H. L. Glyn Hughes, first Allied Medical Officer to enter Nazi ‘horror camp,’ strived to save lives after liberation
By Matt Lebovic
Dr. Martin Zand (left) works with Jiong Wang, B.Med, M.S., research assistant professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center. (Courtesy University of Rochester Medical Center)
March 31, 2020, 6:52 am
US expert: Israeli response to coronavirus crisis is ‘right on target’
Compared with the decentralized health system in the US, the Jewish state’s reaction to COVID-19 has been relatively swift and well-organized, says data scientist Dr. Martin Zand
By Rich Tenorio
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