Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Combo of testing and vaccines a winner in fight against cervical cancer

According to experts in reproductive health, the combination of HPV testing with HPV vaccines is the best hope for preventing cervical cancer.

1 May 2006

Bird flu hits British farms

According to British environment officials a strain of bird flu has now been detected at three poultry farms at North Tuddenham, near Norwich, Norfolk. Norfolk has some of Europe's biggest poultry farms.

1 May 2006

New theory on how the brain detects motion

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a neural circuit that is likely to play an important role in the visual perception of moving objects. Their finding, published in the April issue of the journal Neuron, forces neurobiologists to rethink the neural pathways that our brain relies on to detect motion.

28 Apr 2006

Enzyme discovery could reduce Kaposi sarcoma tumour growth and lead to drugs suitable for treating other viral cancers

A report in the Journal of Biological Chemistry shows that inhibition of heme oxygenase-1, an enzyme involved in iron metabolism, reduces Kaposi sarcoma tumor growth. This discovery could result in the production of new drugs to treat this and other viral cancers.

28 Apr 2006

Protein made by cancer virus explains how the virus spreads

New research shows that a protein made by a cancer virus causes infected immune cells to cling to other immune cells, enabling the virus to spread.

26 Apr 2006

Potential vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis developed

Development of a fundamentally new "candidate," or potential, vaccine for visceral leishmaniasis (LEASH-ma-NIGH-a-sis), a parasitic disease that kills about 60,000 people annually, is reported in the current issue of ACS Chemical Biology. Spread by the bite of infected female sand flies, visceral leishmaniasis infects about 500,000 people annually, with the majority of cases occurring in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sudan and Brazil.

26 Apr 2006

New Hybrid virus may aid treatment of cancer

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have created a new class of hybrid virus and demonstrated its ability to find, highlight, and deliver genes to tumors in mice.

26 Apr 2006

European flu pandemic plans show gaps and inconsistencies

A report reveals marked discrepancies in pandemic preparedness across Europe. The authors conclude that further planning and implementation is needed so that governments can effectively respond in the event of a pandemic, recommending action by the European Union to ensure governments work together towards a coordinated approach.

26 Apr 2006

Avian flu vaccine to be developed by Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Bionostra

The Mount Sinai School of Medicine will collaborate with the prestigious Bionostra Group of Spain to develop an avian flu vaccine. The vaccine will protect against the lethal infection of the H5N1 virus.

26 Apr 2006

'Resonance' may be the reason for virologic failure in STI drug therapy

Researchers have been puzzled over why HIV-positive patients who have periodic, built in interruptions in their drug therapy reach a point where the therapy no longer reduces their viral loads, even in the absence of any evidence of acquired drug resistance.

25 Apr 2006

Vaginal gel zaps AIDS virus - gives women control

According to the researchers if current trials are satisfactory, a safe and effective gel which protects women from the AIDS virus may be available by 2010.

24 Apr 2006

Birth defects from rubella almost eradicated in the USA

Congenital rubella syndrome, a birth defect caused by the rubella virus (also known as German measles), has practically been eliminated in the U.S., according to a statement published in the April 2006 issue of Birth Defects Research Part A, the official journal of The Teratology Society.

23 Apr 2006

Sudan latest bird flu victim

According to the Health Ministry in Sudan a farmer and five of his chickens are the latest victims of bird flu and the first to be reported in the country to date.

19 Apr 2006

Western Australia measles warning

The West Australian Department of Health has issued an alert following notification of five cases of measles in Western Australia over the Easter period.

19 Apr 2006

Will we ever be rid of bird flu?

Experts say that the rapid spread of bird flu in India will be impossible to eradicate and is certain to remain a long-term threat in many areas.

18 Apr 2006

Role of migratory birds in the spread of avian influenza amongst bird populations in the European Union

European Food Safety Authority - EFSA has published a scientific statement on the role of migratory birds in the spread of avian influenza amongst bird populations in the European Union.

18 Apr 2006

Mass vaccination in Bangladesh to halt the spread of Polio

The recent re-emergence of polio in Bangladesh has prompted a vaccination campaign aimed at as many as 18 million children the age of 5.

17 Apr 2006

First gene therapy human trial in the United States for a form of muscular dystrophy under way

The clinical trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) tests the safety and effectiveness of a therapy that was developed over two decades by scientists at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill's School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh.

16 Apr 2006

Concern over spread of Mumps in the U.S.

Health officials in the United States have voiced concern about an outbreak of mumps in the Midwest and say they believe some people may have become infected on airline flights.

16 Apr 2006

U.S. pandemic response plan - a license to print money

The U.S. government plans to deal with a bird flu pandemic would apparently expand the Internet and possibly allow other countries to print U.S. money.

16 Apr 2006