Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

New guidelines integrate biomedical advances and behavioral interventions for HIV people

In an innovative approach to HIV prevention, an interdisciplinary group of experts has come together for the first time to lay out a framework of best practices to optimize the role of the clinician in achieving an AIDS-free generation.

21 Jul 2014

Annual HIV diagnosis rate in the U.S. decreases more than 30%: Study

The annual HIV diagnosis rate in the U.S. decreased more than 30 percent from 2002-2011, with declines observed in several key populations, although increases were found among certain age groups of men who have sex with men, especially young men, according to a study in the July 23/30 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on HIV/AIDS.

21 Jul 2014

Discovery presents new challenges for HIV eradication efforts

The most critical barrier for curing HIV-1 infection is the presence of the viral reservoir, the cells in which the HIV virus can lie dormant for many years and avoid elimination by antiretroviral drugs. Very little has been known about when and where the viral reservoir is established during acute HIV-1 infection, or the extent to which it is susceptible to early antiretroviral therapy (ART).

21 Jul 2014

HPV testing may provide better reassurance against cervical cancer than Pap testing

In the US, cotesting for human papilloma virus (HPV) and Pap testing for cervical cancer every 5 years for women aged 30-65 years is now recommended. However, HPV testing alone may provide better reassurance against cervical cancer than Pap testing alone and similar reassurance to cotesting, according to a study published July 18 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

19 Jul 2014

Chikungunya virus transmission occurs in Florida for the first time

The chikungunya virus, which is transmitted to people by mosquitoes (Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus), was found for the first time in the Americas on islands in the Caribbean in December 2013. Yesterday, the first case of chikungunya in the continental United States was reported in a man from Florida who had not recently travelled outside the United States.

18 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 18, 2014

Today's headlines include reports from the marketplace, including UnitedHealthcare's move toward the health law's insurance marketplaces and the latest on the Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into insider trading related to a health policy change.

18 Jul 2014

Researchers find viable immunotherapy option for HIV-1 using fossil virus

The road to finding a cure for HIV-1 is not without obstacles. However, thanks to cutting-edge research by Douglas Nixon, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues, performed at the George Washington University (GW), Oregon Health & Science University, the University of Rochester, and UC San Francisco, the scientific community is one step closer to finding a viable immunotherapy option for HIV-1, using an immune attack against a fossil virus buried in the genome.

18 Jul 2014

Researchers identify key explanation for why immune system unsuccessful in killing HIV virus

Our immune system contains CD8+ T cells which protect us from various diseases such as cancer and viruses. Some of them are specifically tasked with killing cells infected with the HIV virus - and researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, together with international colleagues, have for the first time identified a key explanation for why these cells are unsuccessful in their task.

18 Jul 2014

Phase II study reveals potential biomarker for HIV vaccine

Further analysis of a Phase II study of therapeutic HIV vaccine candidate Vacc-4x revealed a potential biomarker associated with participants who experienced a more profound viral load reduction after receiving the vaccine.

18 Jul 2014

Starvation can affect health of descendants of famished individuals

Evidence from human famines and animal studies suggests that starvation can affect the health of descendants of famished individuals. But how such an acquired trait might be transmitted from one generation to the next has not been clear.

18 Jul 2014

UH Case Medical Center signs agreement with ARUP to offer DEEPGEN-HIV test

University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center has signed an agreement with ARUP Laboratories, a major national clinical reference laboratory that offers an extensive menu of highly complex and unique medical tests to hospitals, medical schools, and other nonprofit and commercial organizations throughout the United States.

18 Jul 2014

Current recommendations advise prompt antiviral treatment for high-risk patients with influenza

Patients likely to benefit the most from antiviral therapy for influenza were prescribed these drugs infrequently during the 2012-2013 influenza season, while antibiotics may have been overprescribed.

17 Jul 2014

GSK begins shipment of flu vaccines to U.S. for the upcoming 2014-15 season

GSK announced today it has begun shipping FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Vaccine) doses to U.S. healthcare providers. This is the first shipment of GSK’s U.S. flu vaccine supply for the flu season, following licensing and lot-release approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

17 Jul 2014

Researchers discover how dengue suppresses human immune system

Scientists have discovered a new pathway the dengue virus takes to suppress the human immune system. This new knowledge deepens our understanding of the virus and could contribute to the development of more effective therapeutics.

17 Jul 2014

USAMRIID provides on-site laboratory support to current Ebola outbreak

Analysis of clinical samples from suspected Lassa fever cases in Sierra Leone showed that about two-thirds of the patients had been exposed to other emerging diseases, and nearly nine percent tested positive for Ebola virus.

16 Jul 2014

Research reveals why HIV remains a long-lasting infection

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has the ability to integrate into the human genome, making it extremely difficult to cure the infection. A new study by scientists at Seattle Children's Research Institute, University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that when HIV integrates into genes involved with cancer, these cells tend to reproduce to a greater extent than others HIV-infected cells.

16 Jul 2014