Science Media Centre

MPI is responding to the discovery of a cattle disease on a South Canterbury farm. Mycoplasma bovis is common internationally but this is the first time it has been found in New Zealand. The SMC prepared a Q&A with an expert who has studied the disease overseas. Feel free to use these comments in your reporting. Dr Fernanda Castillo […]

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is calling on soap manufacturers to come clean about how effective antibacterial hands washes really are. The government watchdog this week issued a statement saying they expected manufacturers to prove that soaps labelled ‘antibacterial’ provide clear health benefits to balance any potential risks. The FDA said there currently […]

An extensive analysis of New Zealand hospital records has found that admissions for serious infectious diseases increased 51 per cent in the last two decades. The research, published in the leading international medical journal The Lancet and undertaken by Dr Michael Baker and his colleagues from the University of Otago, Wellington, also shows that Maori, […]

New research has found that the incidence of a tissue damaging bacterial infection – necrotising fascitits – is rising in New Zealand. National media have been quick to report on the increases in cases of ‘flesh-eating’ bacteria. The research, published in the Journal of Infection, shows that necrotising fascitits has risen from fewer than 10 […]

Cattle infected with foot and mouth disease (FMD) are only infectious for a brief window of time, around half what was previously thought, according to a study published today in the journal Science. Outbreaks of the devastating virus, which affects cattle, sheep, pigs, deer and other animals, led to mass culling of livestock in the UK in […]

What is immunisation? Immunisation is a way of preventing infectious diseases through the use of vaccines. How does the immune system fight infection? When a pathogen (such as a bacterium or virus) enters the body, the immune system recognises that the pathogen is foreign and prepares to fight the intruding organism using antibodies. If the […]