Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Forget swine flu - whooping cough far more of a worry!

Queensland Health authorities say there has been a surge in the number of whooping cough cases in far north Queensland - according to health officials there have been 205 cases of the disease in the state's far north already this year, seven times higher than the same time last year and Dr. Steven Donohue at the Tropical Population Health Service is warning parents to have their children immunised.

24 Jun 2009

Swine flu tally has U.S. top and Australia 6th

The latest update, # 52, from the World Health Organisation on the influenza A H1N1 pandemic (swine flu), says as of the 22nd of June the grand total of those infected is now 52,160 including 231 deaths.

23 Jun 2009

H1N1 spread continues worldwide; first death in Asia confirmed

The H1N1 (swine flu) virus has now infected more than 52,000 people, leaving 231 dead, the WHO said Monday, AFP/Washington Post reports.

23 Jun 2009

Number of Polio cases in Nigeria decreases, some states still showing low immunizations rates

The number of polio cases in Nigeria has gone down from 799 in 2008 to 353 this year, according to the country's National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Africa Science News Service reports.

23 Jun 2009

Scientists block Ebola infection in cell-culture experiments - could lead to first therapy

Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston have discovered two biochemical pathways that the Ebola virus relies on to infect cells.

23 Jun 2009

Microbial and maternal influences on allergic sensitization during childhood

When infected, the body has two types of immune defence to deploy - innate immunity and acquired immunity. In her dissertation, Shanie Saghafian Hedengren studies monocytes, a type of white blood corpuscles that are part of the innate immune system.

23 Jun 2009

Cryo-electron tomography shows immature HIV in 3D

Scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the University Clinic Heidelberg, Germany, have produced a three-dimensional reconstruction of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), which shows the structure of the immature form of the virus at unprecedented detail. Immature HIV is a precursor of the infectious virus, which can cause AIDS.

23 Jun 2009

Ban Ki-Moon calls on governments to eradicate polio

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday at the Rotary International (RI) Annual Convention in Birmingham, U.K., said that governments worldwide should continue to work towards eradicating polio, BBC reports.

22 Jun 2009

Transplant drug Rapamycin stimulates immune memory

Rapamycin, a drug given to transplant recipients to suppress their immune systems, has a paradoxical effect on cells responsible for immune memory, scientists at the Emory Vaccine Center have discovered.

22 Jun 2009

Discovery on HIV replication may lead to new therapies

Researchers from the newly-established VGTI Florida and the University of Montreal have uncovered a possible method for eradicating HIV infection in the human body.

22 Jun 2009

Questions raised over Australia's first swine flu related death

According to the latest update (51) on the swine flu pandemic (influenza A H1N1), from the World Health Organisation (WHO), as of the 19th of June 2009 there have now been 44,287 laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu worldwide and 180 deaths.

21 Jun 2009

Experts warn swine fever could devastate Australian pig population

Australian experts are warning that an outbreak of the pig disease 'swine fever' could easily and rapidly spread across Australia.

21 Jun 2009

HIV antibody tests unreliable for early infections in teens

A previously healthy teenager shows up at the doctor's office with a sore throat, fever, aches and general malaise. Routine blood tests are normal, an HIV test comes back negative, and the pediatrician sends the patient home with a diagnosis of acute viral infection.

21 Jun 2009

Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline will donate influenza vaccines to WHO

The drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis will donate millions of doses of a vaccine that offers protection against the H1N1 (swine flu) virus to the WHO once the vaccine is ready, the company's chief executive officer announced Tuesday, Reuters reports (Elsner, Reuters, 6/17).

18 Jun 2009

$7.7 billion for H1N1 included in “House War-Spending Bill”

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday narrowly passed a $106 billion war-funding bill, which "included 7.7 billion to help the nation prepare for an outbreak of the H1N1 virus, the so-called swine flu," the Washington Times reports (Rowland, Washington Times, 6/17). The spending bill will now move to the Senate for consideration (Pelofsky, Reuters, 6/16).

18 Jun 2009

Research uncovers clues to the development of cancers in AIDS patients

In a series of recently-published articles, a research team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center has uncovered clues to the development of cancers in AIDS patients.

17 Jun 2009

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the current swine flu.

17 Jun 2009

Household structure and infectious disease transmission

Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research at the University of Warwick funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help control the spread of pandemics such as the current swine flu.

17 Jun 2009

U.N. Secretary-General, WHO Director-General appeal for continued investment in global health

Despite the current global economic crisis, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for a continued international commitment to investing in health, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.

17 Jun 2009

Trial of new ‘combo’ treatment for hepatitis C

In a multi-center trial led by a Saint Louis University researcher, investigators found that a new combination therapy of daily consensus interferon and ribavirin helps some hepatitis C patients who have not responded to previous treatment.

17 Jun 2009