Coronavirus News and Research

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Clinical trial begins enrollment to test safety of experimental MERS treatments

Enrollment has begun in an early-stage clinical trial testing the safety of two human monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) designed to treat people infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

18 May 2018

Researchers explore whether MERS-CoV is a threat for Africa

Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) is a lethal disease in humans, caused by a coronavirus (MERS-CoV). It was first identified in man in 2012, in the Arabian Peninsula.

15 Mar 2018

Mystery 'disease X' warnings from WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned about a mysterious disease X that is caused by a virus and can cause a worldwide pandemic in the near future. WHO has come up with a list of diseases that can cause an outbreak or epidemic among the general population, mainly because of the lack of resources for fighting them.

12 Mar 2018

Scientists evaluate reliability of Zika virus diagnostics

Globally, Brazil has been the hardest hit by the current Zika outbreak. Almost all cases of Zika-associated malformations in newborns have been reported from this country

2 Mar 2018

Study provides insight into adaptive evolution of common cold viruses

Common cold season is back, which has people wondering why we catch the same virus, year after year. Why don't we ever develop immunity against the common cold? Professor Pierre Talbot at INRS has known about the incredible variability of coronaviruses for some time.

28 Nov 2017

New research helps unravel ecological interplay of African bat, novel virus and a parasite

If there is anything scientists are certain of when it comes to bats and their supposed role in causing human disease, it is that they still have a lot to learn.

13 Jul 2017

New antiviral drug candidate effective against broad range of coronaviruses

A new antiviral drug candidate inhibits a broad range of coronaviruses, including the SARS and MERS coronaviruses, a multi-institutional team of investigators reports this week in Science Translational Medicine.

29 Jun 2017

Researchers find new evidence to support structure-based classification system for viruses

Professor Robert Sinclair at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University and Professor Dennis Bamford and Dr. Janne Ravantti from the University of Helsinki have found new evidence to support a classification system for viruses based on viral structure.

23 Feb 2017

Johns Hopkins researchers uncover mechanism in chikungunya virus that controls disease severity

Researchers led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have identified a mechanism by which the chikungunya virus infects healthy cells and controls how severe the disease it causes will be, a mechanism they believe can be found in a number of other related viruses for which there are no treatments or licensed vaccines.

31 Jan 2017

Sudden drop in temperature kickstarts flu and other respiratory tract infections

You can pretty much put a mark in your calendar for when the annual flu epidemic begins. Using 20,000 virus samples and weather statistics, researchers have now discovered more details about how outdoor temperature and flu outbreaks are linked.

11 Jan 2017

Scientists find evidence of link between coronavirus and neurological disease

For the first time, researchers have found proof of a direct association between strain OC 43 of the human coronavirus (HCoV) and neurological disease in humans.

3 Oct 2016

Common cold virus actually transmitted from camels to humans

There are four globally endemic human coronaviruses which, together with the better known rhinoviruses, are responsible for causing common colds. Usually, infections with these viruses are harmless to humans.

18 Aug 2016

Study: New SARS-like WIV1-CoV virus poised to infect humans

A SARS-like virus found in Chinese horseshoe bats may be poised to infect humans without the need for adaptation, overcoming an initial barrier that could potentially set the stage for an outbreak according to a study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

16 Mar 2016

Researchers solve structure of key protein in coronaviruses, like MERS and SARS

When the respiratory illness SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) emerged in 2003, it killed at least 775 people before it was contained. Nine years later, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) began circulating in the human population—and has gone on to have a 36 percent case fatality rate.

7 Mar 2016

Researchers identify, isolate and characterize two Ebola virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies

The Institute for Research in Biomedicine, affiliated to the Università della Svizzera italiana, and Humabs BioMed SA, a Swiss antibody therapeutics company, have identified, isolated and characterized two Ebola virus neutralizing monoclonal antibodies from the blood of a survivor of an Ebola infection.

27 Feb 2016

Cryo-electron microscopy helps analyze infection mechanisms of coronaviruses in detail

High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy and supercomputing have now made it possible to analyze in detail the infection mechanisms of coronaviruses. These viruses are notorious for attacking the respiratory tract of humans and animals.

27 Feb 2016

WRAIR begins Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate MERS vaccine candidate

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research began vaccinations today in a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and immune response of a vaccine candidate to prevent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS).

17 Feb 2016

New case of MERS CoV confirmed in Thailand, other states in WHO South-East Asia Region cautioned to remain vigilant

Thailand today confirmed Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus disease in a traveler, the second such case in the country in the last seven months, as WHO cautioned other member states in its South-East Asia Region against the continuing risks and the need to remain vigilant.

27 Jan 2016

New vaccine shows promise against Middle East respiratory syndrome in dromedary camels

An international research project with the involvement of Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the Animal Health Research Centre (IRTA-CReSA), has designed a vaccine shown to be effective in protecting dromedaries against the coronavirus (CoV) that causes Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

18 Dec 2015

SLU infectious diseases experts answer flu season questions

A cure for the common cold isn't in the crystal ball of an infectious diseases researcher and physician at Saint Louis University's Center for Vaccine Development.

23 Nov 2015