Hemorrhagic Fever News and Research

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Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) refer to a group of illnesses that are caused by several distinct families of viruses. In general, the term "viral hemorrhagic fever" is used to describe a severe multisystem syndrome (multisystem in that multiple organ systems in the body are affected). Characteristically, the overall vascular system is damaged, and the body's ability to regulate itself is impaired. These symptoms are often accompanied by hemorrhage (bleeding); however, the bleeding is itself rarely life-threatening. While some types of hemorrhagic fever viruses can cause relatively mild illnesses, many of these viruses cause severe, life-threatening disease.

New drug discovery tool against Ebola virus

University of Utah biochemists have reported a new drug discovery tool against the Ebola virus. According to a study published in this week's online edition of Protein Science, they have produced a molecule, known as a peptide mimic, that displays a functionally critical region of the virus that is universally conserved in all known species of Ebola.

8 Oct 2014

Viewpoints: Mergers causing health costs to rise; reauthorize CHIP; Obamacare's influence on politics

Health care costs are going up, and there's a lot of debate about why. Is it the high cost of drugs or our aging population?

1 Oct 2014

New research identifies novel cellular factors vital for CCHFV infection

New research into the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV), a tick-borne virus which causes a severe hemorrhagic disease in humans similar to that caused by Ebolavirus, has identified new cellular factors essential for CCHFV infection.

22 Sep 2014

Globavir plans to seek approval, launch novel drug for treatment of Ebola infection

Globavir Biosciences, Inc., a biotechnology company developing therapeutics to treat infectious diseases, has announced intentions to develop its lead drug candidate, GBV006, for the treatment of the current Ebola Virus outbreak in West Africa. Globavir will seek approval for the use of GBV006, a combination of Food and Drug Administration approved drugs, through an established compassionate use regulatory pathway.

19 Aug 2014

Researchers plan to develop vaccine into a type of antibody serum therapy

By many estimates, an Ebola vaccine could be available in humans as early as next year. But will it be the right one? There are a number of vaccines in development and each is in a race to prove that it is most effective, safe and that it will protect the largest number of people.

7 Aug 2014

USAMRIID provides on-site laboratory support to current Ebola outbreak

Analysis of clinical samples from suspected Lassa fever cases in Sierra Leone showed that about two-thirds of the patients had been exposed to other emerging diseases, and nearly nine percent tested positive for Ebola virus.

16 Jul 2014

Scientists develop chip for detection of RNA strand of dengue fever virus

Scientists at the Center for Research and Advanced Studies (Cinvestav) in Mexico developed a chip (also known as cDNA microarray) that allows detection of the RNA strand of the dengue fever virus.

7 Jul 2014

Lassa virus uses two-step process to invade cells, shows study

Scientists have discovered that the Lassa virus, which is endemic to West Africa, uses an unexpected two-step process to enter cells.

28 Jun 2014

Interferon Type I immune proteins key drivers of human hemorrhagic fevers

Hemorrhagic fevers caused by Lassa, dengue and other viruses affect more than one million people annually and are often fatal, yet scientists have never understood why only some virus-infected people come down with the disease and others do not.

5 Jun 2014

EcoHealth Alliance examines the origins of Ebola virus outbreaks

EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization that focuses on conservation and global public health issues, published a comprehensive review today examining the current state of knowledge of the deadly Ebola and Marburg virus.

21 Apr 2014

UTMB experts honored with Lifetime Achievement Award for contributions to study of deadly diseases

The global experts who study the deadliest infectious diseases recognized the contributions of Frederick A. Murphy and Thomas G. Ksiazek, professors at the University of Texas Medical Branch, with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 6th annual International Symposium on Filoviruses. The filoviruses include Ebola and Marburg viruses that cause death in 50 to 90 percent of people infected. The current outbreak of Ebola virus raging in West Africa has caused more than 100 deaths so far.

16 Apr 2014

Scientists seek broad, versatile countermeasures effective against several kinds of viruses, other pathogens

A group of University of Washington scientists is seeking broad, versatile countermeasures effective against several different kinds of viruses and other pathogens. The investigators are part of a national push for faster responses to unexpected infectious agents.

9 Apr 2014

NIH awarded five-year grant of up to $28 million to fight deadly Ebola virus

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a five-year grant of up to $28 million to establish a new center for excellence to find an antibody "cocktail" to fight the deadly Ebola virus.

21 Mar 2014

NIH awards $28M grant to establish new center for excellence to find treatment for Ebola virus

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $28 million grant to establish a new center for excellence to find an antibody "cocktail" to fight two types of viruses that cause severe hemorrhagic fever, including the deadly Ebola virus. The project involves researchers from 15 institutions, including Kartik Chandran, Ph.D., and Jonathan Lai, Ph.D., at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University. Einstein will receive approximately $4 million of the total grant.

21 Mar 2014

Researchers awarded $26M NIH grant to advance treatments for Ebola and Marburg

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, Profectus Biosciences, Tekmira Pharmaceuticals and the Vanderbilt University Medical Center have been awarded up to $26 million to advance treatments of the highly lethal hemorrhagic fever viruses Ebola and Marburg.

6 Mar 2014

Small-molecule drug effective in protecting nonhuman primates from lethal Marburg virus

For the first time, scientists have demonstrated the effectiveness of a small-molecule drug in protecting nonhuman primates from the lethal Marburg virus. Their work, published online in the journal Nature, is the result of a continuing collaboration between Army scientists and industry partners that also shows promise for treating a broad range of other viral diseases.

5 Mar 2014

Researchers discover new target for human antibodies that holds key to vaccine for dengue

Creating a vaccine that protects people from all four types of dengue virus has frustrated scientists for decades. But researchers at the University of North Carolina have discovered a new target for human antibodies that could hold the key to a vaccine for the world's most widespread mosquito-borne disease.

27 Feb 2014

New research may provide insight on how dengue virus gains entry into cells

Dengue fever, an infectious tropical disease caused by a mosquito-borne virus, afflicts millions of people each year, causing fever, headache, muscle and joint pains and a characteristic skin rash. In some people the disease progresses to a severe, often fatal, form known as dengue hemorrhagic fever.

18 Feb 2014

Sarepta Therapeutics reports positive safety results from AVI-7288 Phase I study

Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc., a developer of innovative RNA-based therapeutics, today announced positive safety results from a Phase I multiple ascending dose study of AVI-7288 in healthy volunteers.

10 Feb 2014

European Medicines Agency awards orphan drug designation to NanoViricides' DengueCide

NanoViricides, Inc. announced today that the European Medicines Agency, has awarded orphan drug designation to DengueCide, the Company's drug candidate for the treatment of dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever.

11 Nov 2013