Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

RSV found to cause more emergency department visits and hospitalizations than seasonal flu

Influenza, particularly H1N1, has understandably captured the attention of public health officials, the media and the public. However, an analysis from Children's Hospital Boston, based on patients seen in its emergency department (ED) during several recent flu seasons, shows that another virus - respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) - takes a substantially greater disease toll among young children than does seasonal flu.

23 Nov 2009

Discovery holds promise in fighting cancer, AIDS and autoimmune disorders

21 Nov 2009

Compliance directive issued to protect health care workers from 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus

For the protection of frontline health care and emergency medical workers at high risk of infection, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) today issued a compliance directive to ensure uniform procedures when conducting inspections to identify and minimize or eliminate high to very high risk occupational exposures to the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus.

21 Nov 2009

Rates of infection by the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus may have peaked in late October: Quest Diagnostics

Rates of infection by the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus may have peaked in late October, but the pandemic flu virus continues to be a potential source of illness in all age groups, including the elderly, according to a new report by Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services.

From Quest Diagnostics 21 Nov 2009

Evidence does not connect H1N1 vaccine to patient deaths, WHO says

The deaths of 41 people from six countries who had received the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine were not directly linked to the vaccine, the WHO said Thursday, the Associated Press/MSNBC reports (11/19).

20 Nov 2009

Inovio Biomedical announces positive test results of its consensus influenza vaccines

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today that a combination of its synthetic consensus H1N1, H2N2, H3N2, and H5N1 influenza vaccine candidates achieved protective antibody responses against several different influenza sub-types and strains in ferrets.

20 Nov 2009

Physicists observe experimental evidence for directed percolation

A team of physicists has, for the first time, seen convincing experimental evidence for directed percolation, a phenomenon that turns up in computer models of the ways diseases spread through a population or how water soaks through loose soil. Their observation strengthens the case for directed percolation's relevance to real systems, and lends new vigor to long-standing theories about how it works. Their experiment is reported in Physical Review E and highlighted with a Viewpoint in the November 16 issue of Physics (http://physics.aps.org).

20 Nov 2009

LAIV and TIV vaccines appear to offer protection against A/H1N1 virus

Immunization with either live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV, also known as FluMist®), or trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine (TIV), appears to offer a protection (~ 45%) against the novel A/H1N1 virus, the cause of the present influenza pandemic. However, the benefit was largely attributed to the youngest age group. The finding emerges from an evaluation of medical encounters and seasonal influenza immunization of U.S. military service members.

20 Nov 2009

University of Michigan scientists discover how SEVI works

Since the discovery in 2007 that a component of human semen called SEVI boosts infectivity of the virus that causes AIDS, researchers have been trying to learn more about SEVI and how it works, in hopes of thwarting its infection-promoting activity.

20 Nov 2009

Scientists anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection

The regulating protein Srebp2 drives cholesterol formation, which prions need for their propagation, in prion-infected neuronal cells. With these findings, published in the current issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry, scientists of Helmholtz Zentrum München and Technische Universität München anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection.

20 Nov 2009

Discoveries on anti-HIV antibodies may help researchers create an effective HIV vaccine

New discoveries about anti-HIV antibodies may bring researchers a step closer to creating an effective HIV vaccine, according to a new paper co-authored by scientists at the Vaccine Research Center of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

20 Nov 2009

Pediatric immunologist receives prestigious annual award from American Philosophical Society

A pediatric immunologist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has received a prestigious annual award from the American Philosophical Society, an organization founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin. Jordan S. Orange, M.D., Ph.D., received the Society's Judson Daland Prize on Nov. 13 for his contributions to research and treatment of inherited immune deficiency diseases.

20 Nov 2009

H1N1: Bridging the knowledge gap

A commentary in the December issue of The Lancet Infectious Diseases brings to light the gaps in knowledge on the transmission of a common pathogen - the influenza virus - and its impact on decisions about how best to protect health care workers. Infectious diseases specialist Leonard Mermel, DO, medical director of infection control for Rhode Island Hospital, looks at the ongoing debate in light of the H1N1 pandemic, what past research tells us about the spread of influenza, and what is missing in the debate. His commentary is currently available in an online first edition.

20 Nov 2009

Researchers to discover new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease

A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites.

20 Nov 2009

Adamas Pharmaceuticals expands its Phase 2 TCAD therapy study for influenza A

Adamas Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held company, announced today that it has expanded its Phase 2 clinical study of a proprietary investigational triple-combination antiviral drug therapy for influenza to include centers in the United States, Canada and Europe. The study, which was initiated in August 2009 in the Southern Hemisphere, is designed to investigate Adamas' triple combination antiviral drug (TCAD) therapy as a treatment for influenza A, including novel influenza A/H1N1, the cause of the current flu pandemic.

19 Nov 2009

SinoFresh Nasal Spray effective against 'swine flu' in animal study

SinoFresh Healthcare Products, Inc. announced today the successful results of its initial pilot animal study testing the efficacy of the SinoFresh Nasal Spray product when used on animals infected with the H1N1 virus. The study data suggests that treatment with SinoFresh allowed the infected animals to recover more rapidly from H1N1 infection than did untreated animals. In addition, pre-treatment with SinoFresh Nasal Spray decreased the severity and/or incidence of infection.

19 Nov 2009

Exaggerated responses of immune system explain elders’ susceptibility to viral infections

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have found that exaggerated responses of the immune system explain why the elderly succumb to viral infections more readily than younger people. Published in the November 19 Cell Host & Microbe, the study bucks the general belief that declining immune responses are to blame for susceptibility to viral infections.

19 Nov 2009

NPSF supports obligatory flu vaccination for healthcare workers

The National Patient Safety Foundation recognizes vaccine-preventable diseases as a matter of patient safety and supports mandatory influenza vaccination of health care workers to protect the health of patients, health care workers, and the community.

19 Nov 2009

Genetic identity of cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody discovered

Researchers at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) have uncovered the genetic identity of a cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody, a discovery that sheds new light on infection control and immune disorders. The discovery is such a crucial part of immunology that UAB researchers, in conjunction with Japanese researchers, are asking that the gene linked to this antibody receptor be renamed to better describe its role in early immune responses.

19 Nov 2009

Why avian flu virus has not caused a pandemic?

Bird flu viruses would have to make at least two simultaneous genetic mutations before they could be transmitted readily from human to human, according to research published today in PLoS ONE.

19 Nov 2009

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

RSV found to cause more emergency department visits and hospitalizations than seasonal flu

Discovery holds promise in fighting cancer, AIDS and autoimmune disorders

Compliance directive issued to protect health care workers from 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus

Rates of infection by the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus may have peaked in late October: Quest Diagnostics

Evidence does not connect H1N1 vaccine to patient deaths, WHO says

Inovio Biomedical announces positive test results of its consensus influenza vaccines

Physicists observe experimental evidence for directed percolation

LAIV and TIV vaccines appear to offer protection against A/H1N1 virus

University of Michigan scientists discover how SEVI works

Scientists anticipate new approaches in drug development to combat prion infection

Discoveries on anti-HIV antibodies may help researchers create an effective HIV vaccine

Pediatric immunologist receives prestigious annual award from American Philosophical Society

H1N1: Bridging the knowledge gap

Researchers to discover new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease

Adamas Pharmaceuticals expands its Phase 2 TCAD therapy study for influenza A

SinoFresh Nasal Spray effective against 'swine flu' in animal study

Exaggerated responses of immune system explain elders’ susceptibility to viral infections

NPSF supports obligatory flu vaccination for healthcare workers

Genetic identity of cellular receptor for the immune system's first-response antibody discovered

Why avian flu virus has not caused a pandemic?

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

A new way of characterising biomolecules eBook

Clue's CEO Rhiannon White on the Future of Femtech and PCOS

Freezing Point Osmometry in Life Science Applications

Precision in every drop: Inside Hamilton’s syringe technology

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