Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Study suggests patients with severe long COVID present with variable symptoms, do not cluster in relation to organs affected or immunological states

A new preprint reports significantly associated findings that may help predict severe long COVID and understand what causes it.

16 Feb 2024

Urgent call for increased measles vaccination in the EU/EEA

Measles cases are expected to continue increasing in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) in the coming months due to sub-optimal vaccination coverage for measles-containing vaccines (MCV) in a number of EU/EEA countries, the high probability of importation from areas experiencing high circulation and the fact that the coming months represent the seasonal peak of the virus.

16 Feb 2024

COVID-19 impacts the brain through body inflammation, research finds

Scientists still are not sure how neurological symptoms arise in COVID-19. Is it because SARS-CoV-2 infects the brain? Or are these symptoms the result of inflammation in the rest of the body?

16 Feb 2024

Maternal mRNA COVID-19 vaccination shields infants for six months

Women who receive an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination or booster during pregnancy can provide their infants with strong protection against symptomatic COVID-19 infection for at least six months after birth, according to a study from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

15 Feb 2024

HBO's 'The Last of Us' fungal apocalypse, science fiction, not future reality

Researchers in "Emerging Infectious Diseases" debunk the scenario of a global fungal pandemic as depicted in HBO's 'The Last of Us,' citing slow fungal evolution and current pathologies as barriers to such an event.

15 Feb 2024

Chula researchers develop wireless hepatitis B test kit for rapid diagnosis

Chula researchers have developed a remarkable wireless hepatitis B virus test kit to screen for infection and collect data for an online database that's fast and complete in one step. Industrial production is targeted for use throughout the country.

15 Feb 2024

Women with HIV experience accelerated DNA aging, study shows

Women with HIV experience accelerated DNA aging, a phenomenon that can lead to poor physical function, according to a study led by Stephanie Shiau, an assistant professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the Rutgers School of Public Health.

15 Feb 2024

Study points to herpes simplex virus as a risk factor for dementia

People who have had the herpes virus at some point in their lives are twice as likely to develop dementia compared to those who have never been infected.

15 Feb 2024

Combination therapy shows promise in targeting latent HIV reservoirs

Antiretroviral therapies (ART) stop HIV replication in its tracks, allowing people with HIV to live relatively normal lives.

15 Feb 2024

U of M research offers new avenue of hope in the fight against chronic HIV

Published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases Oxford Academic, research led by the University of Minnesota Medical School offers a new avenue of hope in the fight against chronic human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

14 Feb 2024

Rising mammal infections signal alarm for potential H5N1 pandemic

Comprehensive review highlights the increasing trend of mammal-to-mammal transmissions of H5N1 avian influenza, emphasizing the need for vigilant surveillance to prevent a potential pandemic.

14 Feb 2024

Researchers develop 20 new recombinant rabies viral vectors for brain circuit mapping

A research team led by the University of California, Irvine has created 20 new recombinant rabies viral vectors for neural circuit mapping that offer a range of significant advantages over existing tools, including the ability to detect microstructural changes in models of aging and Alzheimer's disease brain neurons.

14 Feb 2024

Study attributes West Nile virus expansion in Europe to climate change

West Nile virus is an emerging pathogen in Europe and represents a public health threat in previously non-affected European countries. Occurring in a cycle involving transmission between bird and mosquito species, this virus can be transmitted to humans by mosquitoes and induce West Nile fever.

14 Feb 2024

Study reveals the long-term effects of smoking on immunity

Like other factors such as age, sex and genetics, smoking has a major impact on immune responses. This is the finding recently made by a team of scientists at the Institut Pasteur using the Milieu Intérieur cohort of 1,000 healthy volunteers, established to understand variability in immune responses.

14 Feb 2024

Fluid-filled lung sac found to be the hub for virus-eating cells

Scientists have long thought of the fluid-filled sac around our lungs merely as a cushion from external damage. Turns out, it also houses potent virus-eating cells that rush into the lungs during flu infections.

14 Feb 2024

Home-administered COVID-19 rapid antigen tests show comparable accuracy to clinician-performed tests

In a study involving nearly 1,000 patients seen at the Baltimore Convention Center Field Hospital (BCCFH) during a five-month period in 2022 - researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine, the University of Maryland School of Medicine and five other collaborators report that a rapid antigen test (RAT) for detecting SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can be used at home with accuracy comparable to the same test being administered by a health care professional.

13 Feb 2024

Study shows ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir remains effective against new omicron variants in the U.S

The effectiveness of ritonavir-boosted nirmatrelvir (NMV-r) against Omicron variants.

13 Feb 2024

Cytokine interferon-gamma can be a disease-modifying therapeutic target in multiple system atrophy

Multiple system atrophy is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease, where insoluble inclusions of the protein alpha-synuclein appear in oligodendrocyte cells of the brain.

12 Feb 2024

Promising new CMV vaccine shows stronger immune response

An experimental mRNA vaccine against human cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus that can infect babies during pregnancy, elicited some of the most promising immune responses to date of any CMV vaccine candidate, according to a study by Weill Cornell Medicine investigators.

12 Feb 2024

PulmoBioMed raises £1.4m for innovative lung test commercialization

PulmoBioMed - a Northumbria University spin-out which has developed a new lung test that could lead to earlier diagnosis of asthma and other conditions - has raised £1.4m to help commercialize its technology.

12 Feb 2024