Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Reliability of HIV viral load tests for CAB-LA PrEP questioned in new study

A single laboratory-based HIV viral load test used by U.S. clinicians who provide people with long-acting, injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) did not reliably detect HIV in a multi-country study.

23 Jul 2024

More types of lung cells can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 than previously thought, scientists report

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys, University of California San Diego and their international collaborators have reported that more types of lung cells can be infected by SARS-CoV-2 than previously thought, including those without known viral receptors.

23 Jul 2024

Abacavir linked to increased cardiovascular risk in HIV patients, study finds

CJ Fichtenbaum et al. Abacavir is associated with elevated risk for cardiovascular events in the REPRIEVE trial. International AIDS Conference. Friday, July 26, 2024

23 Jul 2024

Long-acting injectable CAB-LA safe for HIV PrEP during pregnancy, study finds

Long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) was safe and well tolerated as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) before and during pregnancy in the follow-up phase of a global study among cisgender women.

23 Jul 2024

Evaluation and treatment of early Lyme disease

Every year in the United States, an estimated 476,000 people are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease. The estimate comes from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

23 Jul 2024

PrEPVacc HIV vaccine trial shows no reduction in infections

The results of the PrEPVacc HIV vaccine trial conducted in Eastern and Southern Africa, which ran between 2020 and 2024, show conclusively that neither of the two experimental vaccine regimens tested reduced HIV infections among the study population.

23 Jul 2024

New method can rapidly determine virus infectivity

A new method that can rapidly determine whether a virus is infectious or non-infectious could revolutionize the response to future pandemics.

23 Jul 2024

‘A catalyst for revolution’: Launch of Thrive looks to safeguard public health

Brisbane is positioned to become the global hub for healthy buildings with today's launch of the ARC Training Centre for Advanced Building Systems against Airborne Infection Transmission (Thrive).

23 Jul 2024

COVID-19's impact on maternal mortality demands rethink of public health strategies

During the peak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, there was an increase in maternal mortality in Chile. This is confirmed by a natural population experiment based on data from the Department of Health Statistics and Information (DEIS) of the Chilean Ministry of Health. The research was published in PLOS Global Public Health.

23 Jul 2024

Researchers discover new target for treating diseases linked to T-cell leukemia virus type 1

A team of researchers from Penn State College of Medicine found a new target for treating diseases associated with human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1).

22 Jul 2024

Efficacy and safety of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir in treating COVID-19: A systematic review

SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, remains in circulation.

22 Jul 2024

Research uncovers dengue’s surprising invasion strategies

Mosquito-borne viral infections once confined to tropical regions are spreading. Dengue virus infects up to 400 million people worldwide each year according to World Health Organization estimates, and no available treatments exist for this disease.

22 Jul 2024

Long-term immune changes persist in unvaccinated COVID-19 patients

Study reveals that unvaccinated individuals experience significant long-term changes in immune parameters up to ten months post-COVID-19 infection, with a shift towards a Th2 cytokine profile.

21 Jul 2024

High mutation count in new COVID-19 variants does not increase immune evasion, study finds

New research from UNC Charlotte's Center for Computational Intelligence to Predict Health and Environmental Risks (CIPHER) has found that the two recent and prevalent strains of the virus that cause COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 variants BA.2.86 and JN.1, are not significantly better than their predecessor Omicron at evading immune responses and causing infections despite having a high number of mutations compared to Omicron.

19 Jul 2024

New national guidelines for anal cancer prevention in HIV patients based on UCSF research

New recommendations for screening and treatment are based on the results of a major national study led at UCSF.

19 Jul 2024

Discovery of key RSV immune evasion mechanism offers hope for new treatments

Irish scientists led by a group from Trinity College Dublin have discovered how the dangerous Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) defuses our immune response and, in doing so, they have pinpointed an exciting new target for drug developers.

19 Jul 2024

Unexpected T-cell reactions to adenoviral COVID-19 vaccines discovered

Researchers from the University of Liverpool's Centre for Drug Safety Science have identified unpredicted T-cell immune responses to the adenoviral (Oxford/AstraZeneca and Janssen) COVID-19 vaccines, but not to the mRNA vaccines.

19 Jul 2024

Study reveals a promising approach to developing universal influenza vaccine

New research led by Oregon Health & Science University reveals a promising approach to developing a universal influenza vaccine -; a so-called "one and done" vaccine that confers lifetime immunity against an evolving virus.

19 Jul 2024

Elite Controllers: Do their genomes hold the key to curing HIV?

Although South Africa has the largest number of people living with HIV worldwide, strides have been made in controlling the epidemic, especially in the reduction of HIV incidence, testing, and treatment. Equipped with MGI’s advanced sequencing tools and technologies, researchers from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) are inching closer to finding the answer to the natural control of HIV infection, leading to improved health outcomes and quality of life amongst South Africans.

From MGI 19 Jul 2024

Modulating T-cell response: Innovations in AAV8 gene therapy for retinal diseases

A new study shows that subretinal adeno-associated virus 8 (AAV8) injections cause proinflammatory T-cell immune response against the transgene product.

19 Jul 2024