immunity News and Research

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COVID-19 could compromise key element of immune response

Researchers at the University of Melbourne have made the unsettling discovery that infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) might compromise the activation of the CD8+ T-cell responses that would usually ameliorate disease and drive recovery in cases of respiratory disease.

20 Aug 2020

Yellow fever vaccination campaign launched to target 1.6 million people in the West-Nile region of Uganda

Mr Mark Oguma Oguti and his daughter Claudia are thrilled about the launch of the Yellow Fever Vaccination campaign.

20 Aug 2020

Researchers develop vaccine for human herpesvirus 6B

A research group led by Professor MORI Yasuko (of the Division of Clinical Virology, Center for Infectious Diseases, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine) has revealed that the HHV-6B glycoprotein complex gH/gL/gQ1/gQ2 is an effective vaccine candidate for human herpesvirus 6B (HHV-6B).

20 Aug 2020

Lab-on-a-chip technology detects COVID-19 antibody

A robust, low-cost imaging platform utilizing lab-on-a-chip technology created by University of California, Irvine scientists may be available for rapid coronavirus diagnostic and antibody testing throughout the nation by the end of the year.

20 Aug 2020

Researchers identify mechanism that explains lower-quality immune response in COVID-19 patients

The release of massive amounts of proteins called cytokines can lead to some of the most severe symptoms of COVID-19.

20 Aug 2020

Could the high rate of mutations bring about SARS-CoV-2's extinction in India?

A new study published on the preprint server bioRxiv in August 2020 shows the importance of uncovering the dynamics of the virus with particular attention to geographic variation.

19 Aug 2020

Cytokine storms may prevent the development of long-term immunity to SARS-CoV-2

Shiv Pillai, MD, PhD, investigator in the Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard and professor at Harvard Medical School (HMS), recently published a paper in Cell showing that that high levels of some cytokines seen in COVID-19 patients, as part of a cytokine storm, may prevent the development of long-term immunity to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.

19 Aug 2020

Genomics study shows multiple and diverse SARS-CoV-2 introductions in the US capital region

A recent study led by the researchers from Johns Hopkins University reveals multiple and diverse introductions of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the United States National Capital Region during the initial phase of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study is currently available on the medRxiv* preprint server.

19 Aug 2020

Mathematical modeling helps researchers track and tackle COVID-19 pandemic

The Editor-in-Chief Vitaly Volpert of the Institut Camille Jordan, University ofLyon, France, reviews how the public's new favourite scientific discipline, mathematical modelling, is being used to track and tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 Aug 2020

Single-dose adenovirus-vectored vaccine protects mice against SARS-CoV-2

The researchers selected the human adenovirus type 5 on which to base their vaccine because this replication-defective vector had already been used in their Ebola vaccine, with an excellent safety and immunogenicity profile in a phase 1 trial. The current study aimed to produce a vaccine that could offer mucosal vaccination and enhanced protection against this respiratory virus.

19 Aug 2020

Winter is not the time to become complacent about COVID-19

We are delighted to see the reduction in the number of cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection occurring in the United Kingdom in recent weeks, with currently 1 in 1900 people in the UK having coronavirus infection.

19 Aug 2020

Large SARS-CoV-2 outbreak on a fishing boat - neutralizing antibodies prevent infection

Now, a team of researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine has found evidence that SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies can prevent infection in people, as they conducted a study before and after a COVID-19 outbreak on a fishing vessel.

19 Aug 2020

The world is 'nowhere near herd immunity,' WHO says

Now, the World Health Organization (WHO) says that the world is nowhere near the amount of coronavirus immunity needed to induce herd immunity, where enough people would develop the antibodies to stop the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

19 Aug 2020

Routine BCG immunization in infancy and COVID-19 containment in Japan

. A new study explores whether and how the practice of routine BCG vaccination of infants may have curbed the initial spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in Japan. The research is published in the Journal of Infection.

19 Aug 2020

Antibody and cellular immunity in severe vs. mild COVID-19

Now, a new study published in the journal Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy in August 2020 shows that while humoral and T-cell immune responses are more robust in severe infection, the disease activates memory T cells as part of the adaptive immune system in COVID-19 patients irrespective of disease severity.

18 Aug 2020

Research shows how smell loss linked to Covid-19 differs from the common cold

New research from a European group of smell disorder experts, including Prof Philpott at the University of East Anglia, shows how smell loss associated with Covid-19 infection differs from what you typically might experience with a bad cold or flu.

18 Aug 2020

COVID immunity related to how bad you get it

Researchers at Stanford University in California have shown that severely ill patients hospitalized with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection develop significantly higher levels of antibodies against the virus than asymptomatic individuals and outpatients.

18 Aug 2020

Rare COVID-19 related illness in children causes profound immune changes

Researchers have uncovered how the immune system is altered in a rare COVID-19 related illness in children referred to as paediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS-TS).

18 Aug 2020

Multivitamin, mineral supplements may bolster the immune system of older adults

Older adults who took a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement with zinc and high amounts of vitamin C in a 12-week study experienced sickness for shorter periods and with less severe symptoms than counterparts in a control group receiving a placebo.

18 Aug 2020

When a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine arrives, who should be vaccinated first?

This new study by the researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington, Tacoma and published on the preprint server medRxiv in August 2020 describes one viewpoint concerning the optimized allocation of the vaccine, showing that under different efficacy scenarios, either the old or the young may be the best candidates for initial vaccination.

18 Aug 2020