Arenavirus News and Research

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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.

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.

3 Mar 2011

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.

19 Jan 2011

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.

18 Nov 2010

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.

15 Sep 2010

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).

5 Jul 2010

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.

9 Mar 2010

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.

2 Jun 2009

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.

17 Apr 2008

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.

1 Jun 2006