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Arenaviruses are enveloped viruses (about 120 nm diameter) with a bi-segmented negative strand RNA genome. The typical image in electronic microscopy showing grainy ribosomal particles (“arena” in latin) inside the virions gave the name to this family of viruses.
Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses must be designated as emerging diagnoses

Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses must be designated as emerging diagnoses

The Ebola, Marburg and Lassa viruses are commonly referred to as emerging diseases, but leading scientists say these life-threatening viruses have been around for centuries. [More]
Inovio awarded U.S. DOD grant to advance non-invasive surface electroporation delivery device

Inovio awarded U.S. DOD grant to advance non-invasive surface electroporation delivery device

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today it has received a U.S. Department of Defense Small Business Innovation Research Grant to advance the development of a low-cost, non-invasive surface electroporation (EP) delivery device and test its utility in combination with Inovio's novel synthetic DNA vaccines against viruses with bioterrorism potential, including hanta, puumala, arenavirus and pandemic influenza. [More]
Scientists determine atomic structure of Lassa fever viral protein

Scientists determine atomic structure of Lassa fever viral protein

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the atomic structure of a protein that the Lassa fever virus uses to make copies of itself within infected cells. [More]
Organ transplant deaths investigated

Organ transplant deaths investigated

Three women died within one week of each other after they received diseased organs in transplant procedures at the Austin and Royal Melbourne hospitals according to an ongoing inquest. [More]
Researchers create biyouyanagin compound library

Researchers create biyouyanagin compound library

Using chemical compounds found in a Japanese plant as a lead and the clever application of ultraviolet light, a Scripps Research Institute team has created a unique library of dozens of synthetic compounds to test for biomedical potential. Already, one of the compounds has shown great promise in inhibiting replication of HIV particles and fighting inflammation. [More]
Scientists solve structure of key protein from Lassa virus

Scientists solve structure of key protein from Lassa virus

Scientists at Emory University and the University of St. Andrews have solved the structure of a key protein from Lassa virus, which is endemic to West Africa and can cause a deadly hemorrhagic fever. [More]

Virus related organ recipient deaths to be examined

After the death of three organ transplant recipients, a Victorian coroner will examine if it is possible to screen for a particular virus before donation. [More]
Update on suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in Republic of the Congo

Update on suspected Acute Haemorrhagic Fever in Republic of the Congo

Blood samples taken from one of the suspected cases in Sangha Region, Republic of Congo, tested negative for several viral haemorrhagic fevers (Ebola, Marburg, CCHF, Arenavirus). [More]
Novel interventions for New World hemorrhagic fevers needed

Novel interventions for New World hemorrhagic fevers needed

New World hemorrhagic fevers are emerging infectious diseases found in South America that can cause terrible, Ebola-like symptoms. Current treatments are expensive and only partially effective. [More]
Discovery of new arenavirus associated with hemorrhagic fever – first identified in nearly four decades

Discovery of new arenavirus associated with hemorrhagic fever – first identified in nearly four decades

Scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, the South African National Institute for Communicable Diseases of National Health Laboratory Service (NICD-NHLS), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Roche's 454 Life Sciences Corporation have discovered the new virus responsible for a highly fatal hemorrhagic fever outbreak in Zambia and South Africa in late 2008. [More]
Chapare virus, a newly discovered arenavirus

Chapare virus, a newly discovered arenavirus

A team of Bolivian health authorities, U.S. Navy health experts based in Lima, Peru, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has characterized "Chapare arenavirus," a previously unrecognized arenavirus, discovered in serum samples from a patient in rural Bolivia who eventually died of the infection. [More]
Organ-recipients' deaths prompt call for suppliers of pet rodents to screen for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

Organ-recipients' deaths prompt call for suppliers of pet rodents to screen for lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus

A case involving seven transplant recipients killed by a rodent-borne virus that they apparently acquired from donated and infected human organs has prompted a recommendation that regulatory authorities require suppliers of pet rodents to screen their colonies for the virus. [More]