Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Epidemiology model supports 20:80 transmission rule in HCV

A new hepatitis C virus transmission model combining genetic and epidemiologic data reveals that the majority of transmission of the virus is by a minority of intravenous drug users.

4 Feb 2013

Measles: an interview with Dr. Robert Perry, World Health Organization

Measles is a disease marked by fever, rash, and cold symptoms (red eyes, cough, runny nose) that results in a temporary suppression of the immune system and a drop in vitamin A levels.

4 Feb 2013

Two new methods could accelerate development of improved antisense drugs

Powerful antisense drugs that target disease-associated genes to block their expression can be used to treat a broad range of diseases. Though antisense therapy has been proven effective, challenges remain in ensuring that the drugs reach their intended targets.

2 Feb 2013

Scientists produce monoclonal antibody in tobacco plants that neutralizes rabies viruses

Smoking tobacco might be bad for your health, but a genetically altered version of the plant might provide a relatively inexpensive cure for the deadly rabies virus. In a new research report appearing in The FASEB Journal, scientists produced a monoclonal antibody in transgenic tobacco plants that was shown to neutralize the rabies virus.

2 Feb 2013

Study offers new evidence of natural emission of influenza

A new study suggests that patients with influenza can emit small virus-containing particles into the surrounding air during routine patient care, potentially exposing health care providers to influenza. Published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, the findings raise the possibility that current influenza infection control recommendations may not always be adequate to protect providers from influenza during routine patient care in hospitals.

2 Feb 2013

DHEA-S may prevent neurocognitive impairment that affects AIDS patients

A team of scientists from Canada, Thailand and Morocco have found that DHEA-S may prevent neurocognitive impairment that affects a significant percentage of AIDS patients. In a report appearing in the February 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, they describe how a network of steroid molecules found in the brain, termed "neurosteroids," is disrupted during HIV infection leading to brain damage.

2 Feb 2013

Ten common notions concerning colds and flu

The cold and flu season has hit early and hard this year. As the number of people infected continues to increase, so does the number of internet searches for ways to prevent or limit the duration of viral illnesses. But, what is fact and what is fiction?

1 Feb 2013

Current recommendations for infection control among health care providers may not be adequate

Some people with the flu emit more of the air-borne virus than others, suggesting that the current recommendations for infection control among health care providers may not be adequate, according to a new study from researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

1 Feb 2013

Over half of countries struggling to prevent and manage cancer

More than half of all countries worldwide are struggling to prevent cancer and provide treatment and chronic care to cancer patients, warns a recent World Health Organization (WHO) survey for World Cancer Day. This means, currently many of these countries do not have a functional cancer control plan that includes prevention, early detection, treatment and care. There is an urgent need to help countries to reduce cancer deaths and provide appropriate long-term treatment and care to avoid human suffering and protect countries’ social and economic development.

1 Feb 2013

Moderate gum disease causes severe infection and inflammation in AIDS animal model

Texas Biomed scientists in San Antonio have found that moderate gum disease in an animal model exposed to an AIDS- like virus had more viral variants causing infection and greater inflammation. Both of these features have potential negative implications in long term disease progression, including other kinds of infections, the researchers say in a new report.

1 Feb 2013

Merck full-year 2012 worldwide sales decrease 2% to $47.3 billion

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2012.

1 Feb 2013

Northeast Ohio Medical University, CEL-SCI produce new investigational breast cancer vaccine

CEL-SCI Corporation announced that its longstanding collaboration with Northeast Ohio Medical University has produced a new investigational breast cancer vaccine which prevents and treats a HER-2/neu expressing breast cancer tumor in a mouse model of the disease.

31 Jan 2013

Positive results from PaxVax's Ad4-H5-Vtn vector vaccine Phase 1 trial on avian flu

PaxVax, Inc., which develops and commercializes innovative vaccines against infectious diseases in a socially responsible manner, today announced positive results in a Phase 1 clinical trial for its oral, replicating adenovirus serotype 4 (Ad4) vector vaccine for H5N1 (avian flu).

31 Jan 2013

Interferon retreatment of chronic hepatitis C may be harmful

People with hepatitis C and chronic liver disease who relapsed or failed to respond to initial treatment are unlikely to improve on interferon retreatment. In fact, they may face an increased risk of dying sooner, and are likely to experience a variety of adverse effects, according to an updated systematic review published in The Cochrane Library.

31 Jan 2013

GSU associate professor receives federal grant to bolster flu vaccine research

Sang-Moo Kang, associate professor at Georgia State University's Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection, has received a federal five-year, $3.4 million grant to bolster research that will lead to better flu vaccines and vaccines against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a disease for which there is no immunization.

31 Jan 2013

Government mistrust and conspiracy fears deter older adults from getting tested for HIV

One out of every four people living with HIV/AIDS is 50 or older, yet these older individuals are far more likely to be diagnosed when they are already in the later stages of infection. Such late diagnoses put their health, and the health of others, at greater risk than would have been the case with earlier detection.

31 Jan 2013

Guidelines to help people with allergies during bad weather

As this winter continue to take many parts of the country on a temperature roller coaster ride—from seasonal bone-chilling cold to springlike warmth and then back again—many people find themselves reaching for pain relievers or other remedies to deal with runny noses and other symptoms associated with sinus and allergy problems.

31 Jan 2013

Sydney 2012 norovirus strain continues to spread globally

A new strain of norovirus known as Sydney 2012 has caused a significant number of acute outbreaks of the infection during the 2012–2013 winter season and continues to spread worldwide.

30 Jan 2013

New clue to why some people fight infections better than others

As influenza spreads through the northern hemisphere winter, Dr Linda Wakim and her colleagues in the Laboratory of Professor Jose Villadangos from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, believe they have a new clue to why some people fight infections better than others.

30 Jan 2013

Low-income and minority parents/guardians receptive toward vaccinating boys against HPV

A new Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) study has found that low-income and minority parents/guardians were receptive toward vaccinating boys against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). However, racial/ethnic differences emerged in attitudes regarding school-entry mandates. The findings appear online in the journal Clinical Pediatrics.

30 Jan 2013

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Epidemiology model supports 20:80 transmission rule in HCV

Measles: an interview with Dr. Robert Perry, World Health Organization

Two new methods could accelerate development of improved antisense drugs

Scientists produce monoclonal antibody in tobacco plants that neutralizes rabies viruses

Study offers new evidence of natural emission of influenza

DHEA-S may prevent neurocognitive impairment that affects AIDS patients

Ten common notions concerning colds and flu

Current recommendations for infection control among health care providers may not be adequate

Over half of countries struggling to prevent and manage cancer

Moderate gum disease causes severe infection and inflammation in AIDS animal model

Merck full-year 2012 worldwide sales decrease 2% to $47.3 billion

Northeast Ohio Medical University, CEL-SCI produce new investigational breast cancer vaccine

Positive results from PaxVax's Ad4-H5-Vtn vector vaccine Phase 1 trial on avian flu

Interferon retreatment of chronic hepatitis C may be harmful

GSU associate professor receives federal grant to bolster flu vaccine research

Government mistrust and conspiracy fears deter older adults from getting tested for HIV

Guidelines to help people with allergies during bad weather

Sydney 2012 norovirus strain continues to spread globally

New clue to why some people fight infections better than others

Low-income and minority parents/guardians receptive toward vaccinating boys against HPV

Small solutions for big problems in drug discovery and delivery

Professor Nancy Ip: Pioneering New Paths in Neurodegenerative Therapy

Utilizing process Raman in optimizing cultivated meat production