West Nile Virus News and Research

Latest West Nile Virus News and Research

West Nile virus' spread through nerve cells linked to serious complication

Scientists believe they have found an explanation for a puzzling and serious complication of West Nile virus infection.

19 Oct 2007

Breakbone fever a growing public health threat

Dengue fever, known as “breakbone fever” because of the excruciating back and joint pain that accompanies this infectious disease, is a growing public health threat for people living in tropical countries, as well as travelers to destinations such as Thailand, Brazil and Puerto Rico, according to research being presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (ASTMH), Nov. 4-7.

17 Oct 2007

Factor MIF a potential target for West Nile virus

Infection with West Nile Virus (WNV) can cause lethal encephalitis and there are currently no vaccines or specific therapeutics for use in humans.

2 Oct 2007

Brooklyn woman infected with West Nile virus

According to health officials in New York a 41-year-old woman from Brooklyn has become the year's first known human case of the West Nile virus in New York State.

10 Sep 2007

Equine flu highlights issue of biosecurity

Not long before the equine flu outbreak, Dr Phil McManus from the University of Sydney School of Geosciences sent out an Australia-wide questionnaire to thoroughbred horse breeders. He asked them what they thought was the biggest threat to their industry.

5 Sep 2007

FDA approves cobas TaqScreen WNV test for West Nile virus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced approval of a second test for the detection of West Nile virus (WNV) in blood and organs.

29 Aug 2007

FDA approves new Roche direct detection of West Nile Virus in donated human blood

Roche Diagnostics announced that the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its biologics license application for the company's test for direct detection of West Nile Virus in donated human blood and plasma.

From Roche Sequencing and Life Science 29 Aug 2007

Discovery may lead to fast and cheap method of making vaccines

Researchers may be able to tinker with a single amino acid of an enzyme that helps viruses multiply to render them harmless, according to molecular biologists who say the discovery could pave the way for a fast and cheap method of making vaccines.

29 Aug 2007

Academic comments on horse flu scare

We should not be shocked that equine influenza has emerged in Australia. What is surprising is that we kept it out for so long. The Australian thoroughbred breeding and racing industry has received huge financial benefits from globalisation, but this process carries enormous risks. Foremost is the risk of disease.

28 Aug 2007

First confirmed human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania

State Health Secretary Dr. Calvin B. Johnson has reported this year's first confirmed human case of West Nile virus in Pennsylvania. The individual, a 56-year-old Clearfield County man, is recovering and has been discharged from the hospital.

3 Aug 2007

MacroGenics investigational new drug for West Nile vrus monoclonal antibody is active

MacroGenics has announced that the company's investigational new drug (IND) application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its monoclonal antibody targeted to West Nile Virus is now active.

10 Jul 2007

Warning on Chikungunya virus

Fever, arthritis, and other symptoms occurring in people to who have recently traveled to islands in the Indian Ocean may signal infection with an imported virus called "chikungunya," reports a study in the May/June issue of the journal Medicine, published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, a part of Wolters Kluwer Health.

9 Jul 2007

Spectral launches rapid West Nile test in U.S.

Spectral Diagnostics has announced the conclusion of an agreement with Fisher Healthcare, a division of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., for the distribution of its RapidWN West Nile Virus Test in the United States.

From Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. 4 Jul 2007

Summertime is tick time and Lyme disease is on the rise

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the United States says cases of the tick borne illness Lyme disease are on the rise across the country.

18 Jun 2007

Aerial mosquito treatment in Philadelphia to start this week

The Department of Environmental Protection announced today that it will conduct aerial spraying to control large populations of mosquito larvae in Philadelphia on Monday, June 4.

3 Jun 2007

Biologist hopes mosquito can break viral chain

Most people do their best to avoid mosquitoes. But this summer Rollie Clem will play the wary host to his own homegrown swarm of Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito. He's made a room ready for them, and even a menu.

22 May 2007

Large trial to identify the long-term health effects of West Nile virus infection

UT Southwestern Medical Center has joined a national clinical trial to identify the long-term health effects of West Nile virus infection and to learn more about the disease's progression, symptoms and mortality.

18 May 2007

Demand for VScan diagnostic test kits increases

Medical Services International Inc (Pink Sheets: MSITF) wishes to announce that as the mosquito season begins in different parts of the world; demand for the VScan diagnostic test kits that detect mosquito borne diseases is increasing. In particular, the demand is for VScan test kits that detect Malaria, Dengue Fever and West Nile.

18 May 2007

West Nile virus case in court in Canada

Just as the first mosquitoes are appearing in parts of the United States carrying the West Nile virus, a court in Canada has ruled that an insurance company must pay a man compensation after he was bitten by a mosquito at work and developed the West Nile virus.

15 May 2007