Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

CDC says 1.1 million people living with HIV

CDC on Friday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report released updated estimates of HIV prevalence in the U.S., saying that 1.1 million people were living with the virus at the end of 2006, Bloomberg reports.

5 Oct 2008

New test for rapid detection of influenza

The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the development of a new test for influenza, which received 510(k) clearance today by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

30 Sep 2008

A DNA-based vaccine shows promise against avian flu

Though it has fallen from the headlines, a global pandemic caused by bird flu still has the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on high alert. Yet, to date, the only vaccines that have proven even semi-effective are produced in chicken eggs, take five to six months to prepare and act against a single variant of the H5N1 virus, which mutates incredibly quickly.

30 Sep 2008

Deadly virus scrumpox a threat to rugby players wrestlers

Rugby players and wrestlers may be at risk of a potentially serious skin disease called "scrumpox".

29 Sep 2008

Existing anti-obesity drugs may be effective against flu, hepatitis and HIV

Viruses dramatically increase cellular metabolism, and existing anti-obesity drugs may represent a new way to block these metabolic changes and inhibit viral infection, according to a study published today in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

29 Sep 2008

Leaders of Kenya's Luo ethnic group embrace male circumcision after meeting with medical experts, lawmakers

An advisory board made up of Luo leaders from the Nyanza region of Kenya on Monday gave their support for a voluntary medical male circumcision program, a decision that Kenyan officials say is a significant step in the region's fight against HIV/AIDS, Kenya's Daily Nation reports.

29 Sep 2008

Prisons in North Carolina to begin testing all inmates for HIV

Prisons in North Carolina will start screening all inmates for HIV beginning in November, the Raleigh News & Observer reports.

29 Sep 2008

Senate approves bill that would require HIV testing in federal prisons

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved by voice vote a House-approved bill (HR 1943) that would require HIV/AIDS testing for inmates upon arrival in federal prisons, CQ Today reports.

29 Sep 2008

Scrumpox - deadly rugby virus spreads in sumo wrestlers

Rugby players may get more than just the ball out of a scrum - herpes virus can cause a skin disease called "scrumpox" and it spreads through physical contact. Researchers have studied the spread of the disease among sumo wrestlers in Japan and have discovered that a new strain of the virus could be even more pathogenic, according to an article published in the October issue of the Journal of General Virology.

28 Sep 2008

New way to control protein activity could lead to cancer therapies

Investigators at the Stanford University School of Medicine have found a way to quickly and reversibly fine-tune the activity of individual proteins in cells and living mammals, providing a powerful new laboratory tool for identifying - more precisely than ever before - the functions of different proteins.

28 Sep 2008

Catholic school refuses to allow girls to have cervical cancer vaccine on school grounds

A Catholic school in Britain has refused to allow girls attending the school to have the cervical cancer vaccination on its premises.

25 Sep 2008

HIV infection rates rising among self-injecting drug users

According to new research HIV infection rates amongst people who inject themselves with drugs appear to be on the rise and there are huge discrepancies worldwide.

24 Sep 2008

Newsweek examines the effect of aging on people living with HIV/AIDS

Newsweek on Thursday examined the effects of aging on HIV-positive people older than age 50, who currently comprise the fastest-growing group of people living with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. From 1990 to 2005, the number of HIV cases among people older than 50 increased by more than 700%, according to local Department of Health studies.

22 Sep 2008

Supply shortages, poverty interrupt antiretroviral treatments in Swaziland

Health facilities in Swaziland are experiencing shortages in antiretroviral drugs and other medications despite insistence from the country's health department that the shortage has been resolved, IRIN/PlusNews reports.

22 Sep 2008

China should provide medical care, compensation to HIV-positive blood donors, Piot says

UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot on Thursday encouraged the Chinese government to provide compensation and medical care to thousands of people who contracted HIV through the government-supported blood transfusions in the late 1990s and early 2000s, AFP/AsiaOne News reports.

22 Sep 2008