Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

PEPFAR partners with BD to improve blood collection safety in Africa

PEPFAR and the global medical technology company BD announced an iniative Tuesday that will work to improve blood collection safety in clinics and hospitals in sub-Saharan Africa – an issue that PANA/Afrique en ligne reports has "become more critical than ever in sub-Saharan nations and other developing countries severely impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic" (8/12).

16 Aug 2009

New biomarker predicts response to hepatitis C treatment

Researchers have identified the first genetic marker that predicts response to hepatitis C treatments, and a single letter of DNA code appears to make a huge difference. Duke University Medical Center scientists says the biomarker not only predicts who is most likely to respond to treatment and who isn't, but also may explain why there are such different rates of response among racial and ethnic groups, a phenomenon that has puzzled physicians for years.

16 Aug 2009

New strategy for inhibiting virus replication

Viruses need living cells for replication and production of virus progeny. Thus far, antiviral therapy primarily targets viral factors but often induces therapy resistance. New improved therapies attempt to targets cellular factors that are essential for viral replication.

16 Aug 2009

Updated, evidence-based guidelines highlight primary care needs of HIV patients

With HIV patients living longer thanks to advances in treatment, the primary care needs of those living with HIV have never been more important. Updated, evidence-based guidelines from the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) are designed to help providers manage the care of those living with this complex chronic infection.

14 Aug 2009

Mumbai closes schools, some businesses in effort to fight H1N1 spread

Beginning on Thursday, "Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, will shut schools and movie theaters as swine flu-related deaths jumped, ignoring federal government advice to keep educational institutions open," Bloomberg reports. Schools will close for seven days and malls and cinemas for three in an effort to contain the virus, Prajakta Lavangare, a director general of the Maharashtra state government, explained Wednesday (Jatakia/Chatterjee, 8/12).

13 Aug 2009

Health officials gather in South Africa to discuss H1N1 in Africa

On Tuesday, South African Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi cautioned that Africa might be hit harder by H1N1 (swine) flu than other parts of the world, the Associated Press reports (8/11).

12 Aug 2009

Nanoviricides herpes study discussed on CBS News report

NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB: NNVC.OB), reported today that the CBS affiliate TV station WBRZ interviewed Professor K. Gus Kousoulas , PhD, in which he explained the potential implications of the Company’s nanoviricides™ anti-Herpes drug candidates.

12 Aug 2009

Past flu pandemics help predict the future course of 2009 H1N1 virus

A commonly held belief that severe influenza pandemics are preceded by a milder wave of illness arose because some accounts of the devastating flu pandemic of 1918-19 suggested that it may have followed such a pattern.

12 Aug 2009

Pennsylvania's first case of West Nile in 2009 confirmed

State Health Secretary Everette James today reported this year's first confirmed human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania. The individual is a 21-year-old woman from Luzerne County.

12 Aug 2009

Inhibitex reports Q2 2009 financials

Inhibitex, Inc. (Nasdaq: INHX), today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009. The Company held cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $24.5 million at June 30, 2009, as compared to $33.1 million at December 31, 2008.

12 Aug 2009

Retrovirox receives another NIH grant for novel inhibitors of HIV entry

RetroVirox, Inc., a biotechnology company specializing in the development of novel antivirals, announced today that it has received a grant award of $296,875 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This is the second award to RetroVirox from the NIH in less than six months. In March 2009 the company received its first grant to develop novel inhibitors of HIV entry.

12 Aug 2009

Britain's first swine flu vaccine trials start

Britain's first swine flu vaccine trials, led by the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, are taking place at the Leicester Royal Infirmary.

11 Aug 2009

U.S., Mexico, Canada vow to work together against H1N1

President Obama together with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper "vowed on Monday to fight the spread of the H1N1 swine flu," during their summit in Guadalajara, Mexico, Reuters reports.

11 Aug 2009

AIDS Research Center earns $7.5 million grant renewal

The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Center for AIDS Research (CFAR) has won a $7.5 million grant to continue its work in the research, prevention and treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

11 Aug 2009

PTC Therapeutics achieves milestone in Schering-Plough hepatitis C collaboration

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (PTC) today announced that it has reached a major research milestone in its collaboration with Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP) receiving a $2 million payment in connection with the designation of a development candidate for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

11 Aug 2009

Obama to discuss combating H1N1 at North American Leaders Summit

President Obama arrived in Guadalajara, Mexico, Sunday for a two-day North American Leaders Summit with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the Wall Street Journal reports. The leaders "are discussing efforts to stem the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, economic competitiveness, national security, and global climate change," according to White House officials (Williamson, 8/9).

11 Aug 2009

H3N2 influenza unlikely to spread between humans

Seeing animals up close is an integral part of experiencing the state and county fairs that take place around the country each summer and fall. And with good hygiene, Kansas State University veterinary experts say fair visitors shouldn't worry about contracting diseases from animals.

11 Aug 2009

Eiger Biopharmaceuticals starts CLEAN-1 HCV phase 1B trial

Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., a biotechnology company developing antiviral therapies, announced today that the first patients have been dosed in an innovative clinical trial in patients chronically infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The trial, run in centers in Australia and New Zealand, will investigate the antiviral effect of clemizole monotherapy in the absence of interferon.

10 Aug 2009

New hope for sufferers of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and the University of Florida in Gainesville have safely given new, functional genes to patients with a hereditary defect that can lead to fatal lung and liver diseases, according to clinical trial findings slated to appear this week in the online early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

10 Aug 2009

Aethlon Medical tests Hemopurifier against H1N1 virus

Aethlon Medical, Inc. today disclosed that researchers have initiated testing of its Hemopurifier(R) as a candidate treatment against the H1N1 Swine Flu Virus. The Hemopurifier(R) is the first-in-class medical device to selectively adsorb viruses and immunosuppressive toxins from the bloodstream.

10 Aug 2009