Viral Disease News and Research

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Number of fully-immunized Australian kids hits record high

New data for the March quarter in 2019 revealed the immunization rates for all five-year-old children in the country increased to 94.78 percent from the previous record of 94.67 percent in December 2018.

7 Jul 2019

Nitrogen-rich diet reduces mosquitoes' ability to transmit Zika

Feed mosquitoes more nitrogen when they're young, and the adults are less likely to transmit the Zika virus, University of Florida scientists say. Now, researchers want to know why, and they're determined to discover how the findings can help further their research into the dangerous virus.

24 Jun 2019

FDA approves first vaccine for prevention of dengue disease in endemic regions

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today the approval of Dengvaxia, the first vaccine approved for the prevention of dengue disease caused by all dengue virus serotypes (1, 2, 3 and 4) in people ages 9 through 16 who have laboratory-confirmed previous dengue infection and who live in endemic areas.

6 Jun 2019

Study sheds light on the burden of dengue in Bangladesh

Dengue, also known as dengue fever, is a viral disease transmitted to humans by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes.

24 May 2019

Experts Suggest Compulsory Measles Vaccination in Children Could Prevent Epidemic

Experts have suggested that compulsory measles vaccines before children start attending school may be necessary to prevent increasing disease incidence rates worldwide.

17 May 2019

Globally measles at an all time high

In the United States, the number of cases of vaccine-preventable viral disease measles is on a 25-year record high. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the main reason behind this is inadequate vaccination of the general population. Spread of misinformation regarding vaccine safety is to be blamed for inadequate vaccination of the population says the agency.

30 Apr 2019

Measles vaccination rates are a 'public health time bomb'

The number of measles cases is on the rise globally, with many countries seeing rates that surpass annual rates for the past century. Public health officials are calling it a 'time bomb'.

25 Apr 2019

Measles epidemic kills over 1,200 in Madagascar

There have been a reported over 115,000 cases and over 1,200 deaths due to measles in Madagascar according to reports. This is one of the largest epidemics of a vaccine preventable viral disease in the recent times, say experts.

15 Apr 2019

New Zealand faces dangerous measles outbreak with 25 confirmed cases

New Zealand is facing a serious outbreak of measles with 25 confirmed cases. A nationwide alert has been sounded and vaccines against the viral disease are being sent to the affected areas.

12 Mar 2019

Measles alert at Sydney airport

Passengers passing through or visiting the Sydney airport last week were warned about a possible exposure to highly contagious viral illness measles after one of them tested positive for the disease.

11 Feb 2019

Misinformation is causing measles cases to rise worldwide

Misinformation and anti-vaccination groups have caused a rise in cases of vaccine-preventable viral disease measles around the world, according to the WHO.

8 Feb 2019

Human 'common cold' virus continues to spread in wild chimpanzees

Less than two years after the first report of wild chimpanzees in Uganda dying as a result of a human "common cold" virus, a new study has identified two other respiratory viruses of human origin in chimpanzee groups in the same forest.

22 Jan 2019

New vaccine shows effective protection in animal models of Lassa fever

Lassa fever belongs to the same class of hemorrhagic fevers as Ebola. Like Ebola, it has been a major health threat in Western Africa, infecting 100,000-300,000 people and killing 5,000 per year.

11 Oct 2018

Discovering Prion-like Proteins in Eukaryotic Viruses

Dr. George Tetz discusses the discovery of prion-like domains in eukaryotic viruses, and the implications of this study on gene therapies and common neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease.

6 Sep 2018

Study shows efficacy, safety of AAV5-based gene therapy to treat sheep model of achromatopsia

A study of a large animal model of achromatopsia caused by a mutation in the CNGA3 gene that was treated with a single injection of CNGA3 gene therapy delivered using an AAV5 vector revealed findings reported long-term follow-up findings that show promise for the efficacy and safety of this therapeutic approach.

15 Aug 2018

New model for eradicating peste des petits ruminants

Eradicating peste des petits ruminants is an ambitious objective that is neveretheless looking increasingly realistic, notably thanks to a targeted vaccination strategy centring on production systems that act as a virus reservoir.

31 Jul 2018

Gene therapy offers potential cure for patients with lipoprotein lipase deficiency

During the first 18 months after treatment with ali-pogene tiparvovec, a gene therapy recently approved in Europe to treat lipoprotein lipase deficiency (LPLD), the first patient to receive the treatment had no abdominal pain or episodes of pancreatitis, following a history of 37 pancreatitis attacks.

2 May 2018

Repurposing existing antiviral drugs for multiple infections

Zika virus. Ebola virus. Influenza. SARS and MERS corona viruses. Existing and emerging viral diseases are an increasing problem, particularly in developing countries. The World Health Organization has called for better control of viral diseases, but developing drugs for this purpose can be challenging.

25 Apr 2018

Researchers develop new animal model to study Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever is a viral disease spread by ticks in the Middle East, Asia, Africa and parts of Europe. Infection with CCHF virus is fatal in nearly one of every three cases.

9 Apr 2018

Antibiotic use linked to higher risk of severe viral disease in mice

People infected with West Nile virus can show a wide range of disease. Some develop life-threatening brain infections. Others show no signs of infection at all. One reason for the different outcomes may lie in the community of microbes that populate their intestinal tracts.

27 Mar 2018