Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

18 in Turkey with bird flu

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the number of people who have now fallen victim to the deadly bird flu virus in Turkey has risen to 18 from 15, and most of them are children.

16 Jan 2006

Centrally coordinated control campaign crucial to battle bird flu

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned today that the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza virus H5N1 could become endemic in Turkey and poses a serious risk to neighbouring countries.

11 Jan 2006

Protein finding could lead to new topical treatment for inflammatory diseases

A protein that undesirably shields a skin poxvirus from the immune system may become the key ingredient in a new topical treatment for inflammatory diseases, say medical researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

11 Jan 2006

Vaccine candidate for hepatitis C

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan's Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) have developed a vaccine candidate for hepatitis C, leading to hope in the fight against a disease for which no vaccines are yet available.

11 Jan 2006

Study explains complex infection fighting mechanism

Yale School of Medicine researchers report in Nature Immunology how infection fighting mechanisms in the body can distinguish between a virus and the healthy body, shedding new light on auto immune disorders.

11 Jan 2006

Turks calm and positive in dealing with bird flu outbreak

The positive response on the part of the Turkish authorities to the outbreak of avian flu has been commended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

11 Jan 2006

Lives will be saved as early signs of meningitis now identified

Scientists in the UK say they have identified the early signs of meningitis and blood poisoning which should improve detection of the disease and save lives.

11 Jan 2006

Tobacco plant-derived vaccines safeguard against Yersinia pestis

Through an innovative feat of plant biotechnology and vaccine design, researchers in the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University have successfully turned tobacco plants into vaccine production factories to combat the deadliest form

10 Jan 2006

Viral 'fitness' explains different resistance patterns to AIDS drugs

Some HIV medications lead to the development of drug-resistant HIV when patients take as few as two percent of their medications. For other medications, resistance occurs only when patients take most of their pills.

10 Jan 2006

Russia ups the ante against bird flu yet again

As the avian bird flu virus continues its sweep across neighbouring Turkey, spreading panic in it's wake, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed his government to take measures to prevent a new outbreak of bird flu in Russia.

10 Jan 2006

As Turks struggle with bird flu experts say it will be controlled

As local officials were sealing off parts of the major cities of Ankara and Istanbul and thousands of birds were being culled, Guenael Rodier, head of a World Health Organization (WHO) team sent to investigate the outbreak said he believes the outbreak can be brought under control relatively easily.

10 Jan 2006

European Medicines Agency receives first pandemic influenza vaccine application

The European Medicines Agency has received the first application for a pandemic influenza vaccine, submitted by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.

10 Jan 2006

Turks panic as bird flu sweeps across the country

Fears continue to grow in Turkey as more reports of suspected bird flu cases among people sweep across the country.

10 Jan 2006

HHS awards $56.9 million to tackle health disparities

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced the awarding of $56.9 million by the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD).

10 Jan 2006

Genetic mutation that protects against HIV increases the risk of West Nile Virus infection

A genetic mutation that protects against HIV increases the risk of developing clinical West Nile Virus infection, according to a new study appearing online on January 9th in The Journal of Experimental Medicine.

9 Jan 2006

AIDS drugs from sunflowers

Sunflowers can produce a substance which prevents the AIDS pathogen HIV from reproducing, at least in cell cultures. This is the result of research carried out by scientists at the University of Bonn in cooperation with the caesar research centre.

9 Jan 2006

Turkey on alert as bird flu spreads

As the numbers of suspected bird flu cases in Turkey rises there is concern that the deadly virus is rapidly spreading across the country and is heading for mainland Europe.

9 Jan 2006

Travelers in Russia warned about bird flu in Turkey

Following the confirmation by officials that two children and one adult have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in Turkey's capital Ankara, Russians are being warned against traveling to Turkey.

8 Jan 2006

New technique points to safer, more efficient vaccination

Researchers have demonstrated a technique that has the potential to reduce the toxicity of vaccines and to make smaller doses more effective, according to a study published in PLoS Pathogens.

6 Jan 2006

Largest post-mortem study of SARS deaths teaches scientists about the disease

Led by John Nicholls of Hong Kong University, researchers from Hong Kong and from Toronto (two of the cities worst affected by the 2003 SARS outbreak) joined forces for a large and detailed study of the bodies of 32 patients who had died from SARS.

6 Jan 2006