Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Bird flu in Asia - tourists not bothered!

Despite concern on the part of the tour industry, the spread of bird flu in Asia does not appear to be putting tourists off visiting the area.

11 Dec 2005

WHO suspects bird flu may go undetected in China's villages

The World Health Organization (WHO) says there had been no reports of bird flu in the Chinese village where a 10-year-old girl has fallen ill with bird flu, and they are concerned that poultry outbreaks may be going undetected or unreported in China.

7 Dec 2005

One more human bird flu case found in China

According to Chinese health officials, a 10-year-old girl has been infected with the bird flu virus.

7 Dec 2005

Disaster or pandemic - U.S. needs to get real!

According to a report by the organization Trust for America's Health (TFAH), hospitals in the U.S. are not properly prepared to handle patients who would arrive after a disaster or a pandemic.

7 Dec 2005

Nasal flu vaccine just as safe as a jab

According to U.S. government researchers, a new nasal vaccine against influenza, which helps patients avoid the needle, has caused no unexpected side-effects.

7 Dec 2005

22,000 birds seized as Ukraine fears spread of bird flu

Government ministers in the Ukraine are concerned that Avian flu which has been killing birds in the Crimean peninsula could spread to other parts of the country.

6 Dec 2005

Local health officials don't rate U.S. government bird flu plans

Health officials in the U.S. have predicted, in the event of a bird flu pandemic, businesses and government can expect 40 percent of their employees to be absent during it's peak.

6 Dec 2005

Top vet in Ukraine sacked over bird flu

One of the Ukraine's top veterinarian officers has apparently been dismissed over the delayed reporting of an outbreak of bird flu.

5 Dec 2005

Emergency measures in Ukraine after 2000 birds die

In what appears to be the biggest outbreak yet in Europe of the deadly strain of bird flu, more than 2,000 domestic birds have died in a remote region of the Crimean peninsula in the Ukraine.

5 Dec 2005

LEDGF protein controls the location of HIV integration in human cells

A human DNA-associated protein called LEDGF is the first such molecule found to control the location of HIV integration in human cells, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

5 Dec 2005

Bats possible carriers of Ebola virus

According to recent research scientists say that three species of bats that are eaten by people in central Africa may be carriers of the Ebola virus that has killed hundreds of humans and great apes.

2 Dec 2005

Real numbers of HIV/AIDS in China hard to confirm

The real scale of the AIDS epidemic in China is obscured by poor monitoring and official obstruction say China's top AIDS official who says a confirmed rise of 50% in cases is an underestimation.

30 Nov 2005

Two more cases of bird flu in China makes experts jumpy

The confirmation of two new outbreaks of the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu in poultry in China is causing concern among health experts as the virus continues to take its toll on Asia, and the world searches for ways to contain it.

29 Nov 2005

Door knock HIV tests to deal with AIDS in Lesotho

Lesotho, the tiny African kingdom is about to launch its own campaign to mark World AIDS Day.

29 Nov 2005

Vaccinating chickens shown to halt the spread of bird flu

Dutch scientists say that vaccinating chickens against avian flu can prevent a major outbreak of the disease by stopping birds from passing on the virus.

29 Nov 2005

Two more bird flu outbreaks in China - WHO investigating

Chinese authorities have confirmed two new bird flu outbreaks in poultry in the northwestern region of Xinjiang and in central Hunan province.

29 Nov 2005

Let's all have a go - Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Taiwan to make their own Tamiflu

Drug giant Roche, the makers of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu, say that both Thailand and the Philippines are free to begin making their own versions of the drug.

29 Nov 2005

Drug partners in fight against AIDS say measles shot could be the answer!

Major drug company GlaxoSmithKline is hoping to develop an experimental AIDS vaccine by "piggy-backing" on a shot against measles.

29 Nov 2005

Completion of the genetic sequencing of the 1918 influenza A virus

An article by Robert Belshe, M.D., of Saint Louis University School of Medicine in the New England Journal of Medicine reviews recent "spectacular achievements of contemporary molecular biology" that hold great importance as the world prepares for a possible flu pandemic.

28 Nov 2005

Contact with pigs increases risk of animal flu viruses

Farmers, veterinarians and meat processors who routinely come into contact with pigs in their jobs have a markedly increased risk of infection with flu viruses that infect pigs, according to a study funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

28 Nov 2005