Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Vaccine that protects mice against 1918 influenza virus developed

Federal scientists have developed a vaccine that protects mice against the killer 1918 influenza virus. They also have created a technique for identifying antibodies that neutralize this virus, a tool that could help contain future pandemic flu strains.

17 Oct 2006

Chikungunya fever in India

From February 2006 to 10 October 2006, the WHO Regional Office for South-East Asia has reported 151 districts in 8 states/provinces of India affected by chikungunya fever.

17 Oct 2006

Four more test positive for deadly flesh eating bug in NZ hospital

Four more cases of a deadly bug which has already killed three people since September 29 people, have been discovered in a New Zealand hospital.

17 Oct 2006

Discovery of mechanism by which Ebola and Marburg viruses cause disease

Researchers in the Greene Infectious Disease Laboratory at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Caribbean Primate Research Center have discovered a key mechanism by which the Filoviruses, Ebola and Marburg, cause disease.

16 Oct 2006

Study points to new strategy for AIDS vaccination

A new HIV study shows how competition among the human immune system's T cells allows the virus to escape destruction and eventually develop into full-blown AIDS.

16 Oct 2006

New technique allows partial-match cell transplants for children with most resistant leukemia

Clinicians at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have successfully demonstrated an improved technique for blood stem cell transplantations in children that shows promise for those most likely to fail standard treatment for leukemia.

16 Oct 2006

DNA-based computer that could lead to faster West Nile virus detection

New technique detects signature of metastasizing melanoma with as few as 10 cancer cells present in blood sample.

16 Oct 2006

Bird flu death toll in Indonesia reaches 55

There have been another two confirmed deaths from bird flu in Indonesia which has taken the death toll there to 55.

16 Oct 2006

Ohio wild bird samples undergo additional bird flu testing

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of the Interior (DOI) has announced a detection of H5 and N1 avian influenza subtypes in samples from apparently healthy wild Northern pintails in Ottawa County, Ohio, that were killed by a hunter.

16 Oct 2006

Updates on pandemic flu vaccine trials to be presented at 44th Annual IDSA meeting

Preliminary results from clinical trials testing two different pandemic flu vaccine approaches - one a prime-boost strategy using different subtypes of H5N1 vaccines, the other an H5N1 vaccine delivered into the skin (intradermal) rather than the muscle - will be presented at the 44th Annual Meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.

16 Oct 2006

Indonesia confirms three more cases of bird flu

The Ministry of Health in Indonesia has confirmed an additional three cases of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus. All three cases were fatal.

16 Oct 2006

Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan key to eradicating polio

The world's success in eradicating polio now depends on four countries - Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan - according to the Advisory Committee on Polio Eradication (ACPE), the independent oversight body of the eradication effort.

16 Oct 2006

Boy's death takes Indonesia's bird flu death toll to 53

The death toll in Indonesia from bird flu has now reached 53 with the death of an 11-year-old boy on Saturday from the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

16 Oct 2006

Bird flu back again in Egypt

According to the World Health Organisation, Egypt has reported it's first case of bird flu in five months.

11 Oct 2006

Another case of bird flu strikes Indonesia

Indonesian officials say a woman from Bandung has tested positive for bird flu and is being treated in hospital.

11 Oct 2006

Chikungunya adds to Dengue scare in India

The situation in the Indian city of Delhi, which is battling to control an outgreak of dengue fever now approaching epidemic proportions, has been exacerbated by an outbreak of another mosquito bourne disease, Chikungunya.

10 Oct 2006

Generic hypertension drug a suspect in 19 deaths in Panama

As a result of a mystery illness that has claimed the lives of 19 people, officials in Panama have withdrawn all stocks of a hypertension drug used by thousands to treat high blood pressure.

9 Oct 2006

South Carolina legislature allocates $1M to state churches for HIV prevention programs

The South Carolina Legislature has allocated $1 million to 24 churches statewide to participate in an HIV prevention pilot initiative, the Columbia State reports.

8 Oct 2006

Kaiser summarizes editorials on CDC routine HIV testing recommendations

Two newspapers recently published editorials regarding the new CDC HIV testing recommendations.

8 Oct 2006

Los Angeles group launches HIV/AIDS prevention campaign targeting homosexual men

The L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center has launched an advertisement campaign that describes HIV as a "gay disease" in an effort to target men who have sex with men who have become complacent about HIV/AIDS, the Los Angeles Times reports.

5 Oct 2006