Respiratory Virus News and Research

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COVID-19 may increase risk of pregnancy complications through placental DNA changes

DNA changes consistent with life-threatening pregnancy complications have been found in the placentas of pregnant women infected by COVID-19, according to University of Queensland researchers.

8 Feb 2024

Gut microbiome may hold key to fighting common respiratory viruses

The composition of microbiota found in the gut influences how susceptible mice are to respiratory virus infections and the severity of these infections, according to researchers from the Center for Translational Antiviral Research in the Institute for Biomedical Sciences at Georgia State University.

30 Jan 2024

Impact of nirsevimab immunization on pediatric RSV-related hospitalizations in Luxembourg

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the main reasons leading to hospitalization among young children worldwide and each year, an estimated 101,000 children below the age of 5 years die due to RSV infections.

30 Jan 2024

Large UK study highlights gaps in COVID-19 vaccine coverage

The first research study of the entire UK population highlights gaps in COVID-19 vaccine coverage. Between a third and a half of the populations of the four UK nations had not had the recommended number of COVID vaccinations and boosters by summer 2022.

16 Jan 2024

JN.1 variant's spread not due to enhanced immune escape, study suggests

Study finds the JN.1 variant of SARS-CoV-2 may not have increased immune escape ability compared to its predecessor BA.2.86, suggesting other factors for its rapid spread.

14 Jan 2024

Study: Respiratory syncytial virus directly infects nerve cells and causes inflammation

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a common infection in children and senior adults, can also infect nerve cells and trigger inflammation leading to nerve damage, according to a new Tulane University study.

10 Jan 2024

Stapled lipopeptides show promise as broad-spectrum antiviral agents

Compounds that obstruct the "landing gear" of a range of harmful viruses can successfully protect against infection by the virus that causes COVID-19, a study published today and led by Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists shows.

5 Jan 2024

RSV vaccines would dramatically reduce disease burden if widely adopted like flu shots

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccines recently approved for people 60 and older would dramatically reduce the disease's significant burden of illness and death in the United States if they were widely adopted like annual influenza vaccines, a new study has found.

2 Jan 2024

New study reveals how travel patterns shaped COVID-19 transmission

Elucidating human contact networks could help predict and prevent the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and future pandemic threats.

15 Dec 2023

Hospitalized influenza patients can also suffer long-term, negative health effects

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, extensive research has emerged detailing the virus's ability to attack multiple organ systems, potentially resulting in a set of enduring and often disabling health problems known as long COVID.

14 Dec 2023

Survey: Over a third of Americans worry about the "tripledemic" of respiratory illnesses

Over a third of American adults are worried that they or someone in their family will get the seasonal flu, Covid-19, or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) in the next three months, according to a new health survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

20 Nov 2023

Experts question Pfizer's failure to inform pregnant women of safety signal in GSK RSV vaccine trial

A debate has broken out over whether Pfizer should have told pregnant women taking part in its maternal respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine trial that a trial of a similar GSK vaccine was stopped over a safety signal around preterm birth, an investigation by The BMJ can reveal.

15 Nov 2023

A new RSV shot could help protect babies this winter — if they can get it in time

Emily Bendt was in her third trimester of pregnancy when she first heard the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had approved a new shot for infants to protect them from the respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV.

9 Nov 2023

Masking up matters: High-quality studies confirm face masks significantly curb COVID-19 spread

This 'Special Communication' article in JAMA Network Open compiles high-quality studies to underline the effectiveness of face masks in curbing community-level transmission of SARS-CoV-2. The article emphasizes that surgical masks are more effective than cloth masks, and that mask-wearing is a vital public health tool, both in conjunction with and independent of other measures like vaccination and social distancing.

1 Nov 2023

Study reveals how SARS-CoV-2 alters mitochondria, leading to energy outages and organ failure

The lungs were once at the forefront of SARS-Cov-2 research, but as reports of organ failure and other serious complications poured in, scientists set out to discover how and why the respiratory virus was causing serious damage to the body's major organs, including the lungs.

31 Oct 2023

Brain clues in the battle against long COVID: study pinpoints neuroinflammation

The relationship between circulating markers of vascular dysfunction and neuroinflammation.

25 Oct 2023

Paxlovid treatment provides protection against COVID-19 for both mother and child

A new mouse model of infection with the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus during pregnancy tracks closely the disease course doctors have observed in SARS-CoV-2-infected pregnant patients, and suggests that treatment with the antiviral Paxlovid provides protection for both mother and child.

16 Oct 2023

Commonly used anti-viral drugs reduce risk of hospitalization, death in patients with mild COVID-19

New Cleveland Clinic-led research shows commonly used COVID-19 anti-viral drugs Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir) and Lagevrio (molnupiravir) reduce risk of hospitalization and death in high-risk patients with mild disease, even with Omicron subvariants.

28 Sep 2023

As covid infections rise, nursing homes are still waiting for vaccines

"Covid is not pretty in a nursing home," said Deb Wityk, a 70-year-old retired massage therapist who lives in one called Spurgeon Manor, in rural Iowa. She twice contracted the disease and is eager to get the newly approved vaccine because she has chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which weakens her immune system.

27 Sep 2023

UKHSA's flagship SIREN study enters new phase to continue surveillance of respiratory pathogens

The next phase of the study will be known as SIREN 2.0 and began in September 2023.

14 Sep 2023