Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Expert warns of the continuous dangers posed by polio and other enteroviruses

Consistently high vaccination rates and global health surveillance programs have helped eliminate poliomyelitis (polio) in almost all countries of the world, except Afghanistan and Pakistan.

28 Apr 2024

Study rethinks immune system strategies to boost vaccine effectiveness

A recent Cell journal review explores key immunological assumptions to enhance our understanding of vaccine design, autoimmune responses, and immune system pathology, aiming to refine intervention strategies and theoretical frameworks in immunology.

28 Apr 2024

Ohio State study reveals bacterial defense mechanism against phages

One of the many secrets to bacteria's success is their ability to defend themselves from viruses, called phages, that infect bacteria and use their cellular machinery to make copies of themselves.

26 Apr 2024

Novel SYBR green-based RT-qPCRs developed for lone star virus detection

Announcing a new article publication for Zoonoses journal. Lone Star virus (LSV) is a newly characterized arbovirus with pathogenic potential.

26 Apr 2024

Did California's pediatric COVID-19 vaccination program reduce reported cases and hospitalizations?

Changes in the incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and related hospitalizations.

26 Apr 2024

New study offers promising targets for universal influenza B vaccine

In a milestone study led by the Peter Doherty Institute of Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), researchers have identified fragments from influenza B viruses that the immune system consistently recognize, offering promising targets for a universal influenza B vaccine

26 Apr 2024

Improving public health communication in African epidemics: Lessons learned and future directions

During epidemics of Ebola, COVID-19, Zika and other public health emergencies, effective communication of public health messages is crucial to control the spread of disease, maintain public trust, and encourage compliance with health measures.

25 Apr 2024

Personalized risk prediction tool helps prioritize high-risk infants for RSV prevention

A new tool to identify infants most at risk for severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) illness could aid pediatricians in prioritizing children under 1 to receive a preventive medication before RSV season (October-April), according to Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) research published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases and to be presented at the American Thoracic Society 2024 International Conference.

25 Apr 2024

Genetically modified mice reveal key players in immune defense against viruses

Chemokines are signaling proteins that orchestrate the interaction of immune cells against pathogens and tumors.

25 Apr 2024

MIT study reveals circadian impact on drug metabolism in engineered livers

Giving drugs at different times of day could significantly affect how they are metabolized in the liver, according to a new study from MIT.

25 Apr 2024

Putting genomic surveillance of pathogens at the forefront of future pandemic preparedness

The Covid-19 pandemic turned the world upside down. In fighting it, one of our most important weapons was genomic surveillance, based on whole genome sequencing, which collects all the genetic data of a given microorganism.

25 Apr 2024

Bivalent COVID-19 vaccine boosts immunity but needs to be updated

A major bivalent COVID-19 vaccine induces production of neutralizing antibodies against the coronavirus that circulated at the start of the pandemic as well as subvariants of omicron, albeit less abundantly, according to a Brazilian study reported in the Journal of Medical Virology.

25 Apr 2024

154 million lives saved: Landmark study highlights power of vaccination

A major landmark study to be published by The Lancet reveals that global immunization efforts have saved an estimated 154 million lives – or the equivalent of 6 lives every minute of every year – over the past 50 years.

25 Apr 2024

Paclitaxel treatment found to directly promote HBV replication and transcription

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation is commonly observed in individuals with chronic HBV infection undergoing antineoplastic drug therapy.

24 Apr 2024

Giant virus takes down deadly brain parasite

The single-celled organism Naegleria fowleri ranks among the deadliest human parasites. Researchers around Matthias Horn and Patrick Arthofer from the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna, in an international collaboration, have discovered viruses that infect this harmful microbe.

24 Apr 2024

MSU team creates a promising vaccine candidate for antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Driven by the overuse of antimicrobials, pathogens are quickly building up resistances to once-successful treatments.

24 Apr 2024

New tARC-seq method enhances precision in tracking SARS-CoV-2 mutations

A tARC-seq approach to precisely determine SARS-CoV-2 mutation frequency.

24 Apr 2024

Repurposed nasal antibiotic neomycin shows promise in preventing and treating respiratory viral infections

Intranasal administration of neomycin sulfate in murine models shows promise as a prophylactic and therapeutic agent against respiratory viruses like influenza A and SARS-CoV-2 by inducing interferon-stimulated gene (ISG) expression, independent of microbiota and interferon activation.

24 Apr 2024

Innovative peptide-based hydrogel therapy for virus prevention

Vaccines remain the gold standard of protection against dangerous pathogens, but take considerable time and vast resources to develop.

23 Apr 2024

Research highlights best window for paxlovid administration in COVID-19 patients

Researchers have described the optimal timing for COVID-19 patients to take the antiviral, Paxlovid, to get the most benefit from the treatment, according to a study published April 16 in eLife.

23 Apr 2024