Catch me if you can: how three infectious disease agents evade the immune system

NTU researchers are understanding how the respiratory syncytial virus, Chikungunya virus and malaria parasite escape being detected by the immune system. COVID-19 cast a glaring spotlight on the devastating impact that infectious diseases can have on human health and society. At the height of the global pandemic, most of the world came to a standstill, and millions of lives were lost to the disease. Although advances in health care have significantly reduced the global burden of infectious diseases, communicable diseases, like lower respiratory tract infections and malaria, remain among the top causes of premature death and ill health in developing countries. The growing threat of drug-resistant infections makes treating them more difficult, increasing the risk of disease spread and severe illness. At the same time, changes in weather patterns caused by climate change are expected to lead to conditions that promote the breeding of insects that transmit infectious diseases, and their incidence will...