Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

DR Congo reports Ebola outbreak near Uganda border

"Nine people have died in an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Health Minister Felix Kabangue said on Saturday," Agence France-Presse reports.

21 Aug 2012

Declining rates of circumcision in US infant males could add billions to health care costs

A team of disease experts and health economists at Johns Hopkins warns that steadily declining rates of U.S. infant male circumcision could add more than $4.4 billion in avoidable health care costs if rates over the next decade drop to levels now seen in Europe.

21 Aug 2012

BioDiem and French partner VIVALIS a step forward in developing vaccines for diseases and related cancers

Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company BioDiem Ltd (ASX: BDM) announced today successful results from two programs of work carried out by French partner VIVALIS (NYSE Euronext: VLS), confirming the ability of BioDiem’s Live Attenuated Influenza Virus (LAIV) to grow in VIVALIS’ proprietary EB66® cell line.

20 Aug 2012

Cervical cancer screening: an interview with Alastair Atkinson, CEO of DySIS Medical Ltd

Cervical Cancer is a tragic disease. First and foremost, because it is entirely preventable if the early symptoms are detected in a timely manner

20 Aug 2012

CDC: Baby boomers should be tested for Hep C

Americans born between 1945 and 1965 are at particularly high risk for Hepatitis C and should be tested, according to new recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

18 Aug 2012

CDC reports worst West Nile virus outbreak in the U.S.

This past year's mild winter and wet spring could be contributing to the worst West Nile virus outbreak since the disease was first detected in the United States in 1999. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been more cases of the virus so far this year than any year. As of August 14, almost 700 cases had been reported across the nation, including 26 deaths. This year also marks the earliest reported case of West Nile virus in New Jersey.

18 Aug 2012

Pennsylvania Department of Health reports four confirmed and six probable cases of H3N2v flu

The Pennsylvania Department of Health today reported four confirmed and six probable human cases of influenza due to a new strain of the flu known as H3N2v.

18 Aug 2012

First Edition: August 17, 2012

Now on Kaiser Health News' blog, Jenny Gold reports on a new survey about accountable care organizations: "Few hospitals interested in becoming accountable care organizations are ready to take on financial risk, according to a survey released Friday from The Commonwealth Fund."

17 Aug 2012

Study helps explain how large DNA viruses undergo rapid evolution

Scientists have discovered that poxviruses, which are responsible for smallpox and other diseases, can adapt to defeat different host antiviral defenses by quickly and temporarily producing multiple copies of a gene that helps the viruses to counter host immunity.

17 Aug 2012

Curcumin shows promise in fighting devastating viruses

The popular spice turmeric packs more than just flavor - it shows promise in fighting devastating viruses, Mason researchers recently discovered.

17 Aug 2012

Researchers identify molecular and protein signatures that predict HCV virus-induced liver injury

Researchers have discovered molecular and protein signatures that predict rapid onset of liver damage in hepatitis C patients following a liver transplant. The markers appeared soon after transplant and well before clinical evidence of liver damage.

17 Aug 2012

CDC recommends hepatitis C screening for all patients born from 1945-1965

Without other risk factors, all Americans born between 1945 and 1965 should have a one-time screening for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) according to new recommendations being published early online today in Annals of Internal Medicine, the flagship journal of the American College of Physicians. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also recommends that all persons identified with HCV should receive a brief alcohol screening and intervention and be referred to appropriate care and treatment services for HCV and related conditions.

17 Aug 2012

Human milk oligosaccharides may reduce risk of mother-to-child HIV transmission

An international team of researchers has found that certain bioactive components found in human milk are associated with a reduced risk of HIV transmission from an HIV infected mother to her breast-fed infant. Their study will be published in the August 15 online edition of American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

16 Aug 2012

Scientists researching Ebola virus say vaccine 'unlikely' due to funding restraints

"Scientists researching the lethal Ebola virus have told [BBC News] that a commercial vaccine to prevent the onset of infection may never be developed," the news service reports.

16 Aug 2012

Medicago, IDRI receive FDA approval to commence Phase 1 H5N1 vaccine trial

The Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a Seattle-based non-profit research organization that is a leading developer of adjuvants used in vaccines combating infectious disease, and Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus-Like Particles (VLPs), announce that they have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial for an H5N1 Avian Influenza VLP vaccine candidate.

16 Aug 2012

Genocea commences GEN-003 Phase 1/2a study in moderate-to-severe HSV-2 infection

Genocea Biosciences announced today that it has initiated a Phase 1/2a clinical study with its lead candidate, GEN-003. GEN-003 is an investigational vaccine designed to stimulate T cell and B cell immune responses to potentially reduce the frequency and severity of clinical outbreaks associated with moderate-to-severe Herpes Simplex Virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection.

16 Aug 2012

CSIS report examines global polio eradication efforts

The Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) on Monday released a report called "Eradicating Polio in Afghanistan and Pakistan." According to the report summary, efforts to eradicate the virus globally "have proved largely successful, in part thanks to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), launched by the international community in 1988," and "[t]he number of new cases has dropped in the past decade, even in countries where the virus has never been eradicated."

15 Aug 2012

Universal HIV treatment, if achieved, would not mean eradication of AIDS

In this post in BMJ's "Yankee Doodling," Douglas Kamerow, chief scientist at RTI International and an associate editor for the journal, reflects on the possibility of achieving an AIDS-free generation "if somehow we succeeded in getting all HIV positive people in the world identified and under long term treatment."

15 Aug 2012

Catechins may help reduce neurological complications linked to HIV

Current drug therapy for patients with HIV is unable to control the complete replication of the virus in the brain. The drugs therefore do not have any effect against the complications associated with neurocognitive impairment in patients with HIV. New research by Joseph Steiner and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University has discovered that a group of plant polyphenols known as catechins, which naturally occur in green tea and the seed of the cacao tree, may help in the prevention of these neurological complications.

15 Aug 2012

Six manufacturers receive FDA approval to produce 2012-2013 flu vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it has approved the 2012-2013 influenza (flu) vaccine formulation for all six manufacturers licensed to produce and distribute the vaccines in the United States.

14 Aug 2012