Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus senses and reacts to host cell's impending death

A research team led by Children's National Medical Center has identified a trigger that causes latent Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) to rapidly replicate itself. KSHV causes Kaposi's sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma, and other cancers that commonly affect immunocompromised patients, including those with AIDS.

18 Apr 2012

Allied Healthcare announces Coridon license to vector technology

Allied Healthcare Group (ASX: AHZ) has announced an update on the progress of Coridon, its investment company founded by Professor Ian Frazer and working on developing the next generation of vaccines. Included in these activities, Cordon has entered into a license agreement with Nature Technology Corporation (NTC) and has contracted VGXI Inc. in the US for production of clinical material for the Phase I study scheduled to begin later this year.

17 Apr 2012

Flu outbreak at veterans home

State Veterans' Affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz told The Associated Press that the veterans were taken to Hartford Hospital after a number began complaining of flu-like symptoms. The 18 men live at the Connecticut State Veterans Home in either the Sgt. John L. Levitow Veteran's Health Center or a residential facility.

17 Apr 2012

Canadian docs recommend HPV vaccine for boys

Girls have had access to free HPV vaccinations for five years - administered to protect them against cervical cancer - and this week, the Canadian Cancer Advocacy Coalition called on provincial governments to pay for the vaccine for boys as well. In January, the National Advisory Committee on Immunization recommended HPV vaccination for males aged nine to 25.

16 Apr 2012

Rotavirus infects certain blood types

Whether you become infected by some strains of rotavirus may depend on your blood type.

16 Apr 2012

UTMDACC to offer free head and neck cancer screening exams on April 27

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center will offer free head and neck cancer screening exams to the public on Fri., April 27 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Cancer Prevention Center at the Cancer Prevention Building, 1155 Pressler Street, Floor 2.

16 Apr 2012

Bat on a plane gives rise to rabies exposure risk: CDC report

On 5th August 2011, a bat flew through the cabin of a commercial airliner minutes after takeoff during an early morning flight from Wisconsin to Georgia. This potentially exposed the passengers and flight crew to rabies virus. Three days later, the Wisconsin Division of Public Health (WDPH) requested assistance from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct a rabies risk assessment for those on board and the ground crew.

15 Apr 2012

Flu shots offered to populations at risk at the beginning of season

All Care Inala Medical Centre doctor Michael Ho said flu shots were becoming more popular each year. “Flu seasons tends to begin in late March early April to June,” he said. “More and more people are opting to get vaccinations because they are promoted well within the community.” He added, “It is particularly important for elderly people to be immunized because their immune system is already not at its best…This is also the case for people who have chronic medical conditions like diabetes, severe asthma, or heart disease. With their current condition, if they catch the flu they can end up with a worse outcome.”

12 Apr 2012

IPS examines how HIV/AIDS affects women in western Nepal

Inter Press Service examines how HIV/AIDS is affecting women in western Nepal, where life in the poor region "is getting worse thanks to HIV infection brought back by men who go to neighboring India for seasonal work."

12 Apr 2012

Guardian examines Swaziland's HIV epidemic

The Guardian examines the HIV epidemic in Swaziland, writing, "While neighboring countries have made inroads against the disease, the mountain kingdom of one million people continues to suffer setbacks, partly due to cultural norms around sexuality being exacerbated by a financial crisis." According to the news service, Swaziland has "the highest HIV rate in the world, with more than one in four adults estimated to be carrying the virus."

12 Apr 2012

Financial Times analysis examines efforts to address dual risk research

A Financial Times analysis examines how the international community is working "to ensure scientific work can proceed without falling prey to accidental leaks or malevolent intent," following controversy surrounding two studies on the H5N1 bird flu virus.

12 Apr 2012

Researchers discover a lead on the origin of chronic lymphatic leukaemia

Up until now the causes of the development of chronic lymphatic leukaemia, the most common form of cancer of the blood in Europe, have been unknown. At present a cure is not possible. A research group at the MedUni Vienna led by Christoph Steininger of the University Department of Internal Medicine I has now however discovered a lead on the origin of this disease. Says Steiniger: "This could influence the therapy approach taken in treating chronic lymphatic leukaemia."

12 Apr 2012

ISS recommends Illumina shareholders to vote against Roche's nominees

Roche released the following statement in response to a report issued by Institutional Shareholder Services recommending that shareholders of Illumina, Inc. vote against the election of Roche's independent director nominees to Illumina's Board of Directors.

From Illumina, Inc. 7 Apr 2012

State roundup: Health costs cloud forecast for state budgets; Minnesota to use HMO refund on personal care

U.S. state and local governments' fiscal situations have improved recently but will still deteriorate through 2060, the Government Accountability Office said on Thursday. ... The outlook remains gloomy for the future, with healthcare costs, both for public employees and for the Medicaid insurance program for the poor, swelling and weighing on budgets, GAO said.

7 Apr 2012

First Edition: April 6, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations, including the Obama administration's response to a federal court about the Supreme Court's power.

6 Apr 2012

Key data from Boehringer Ingelheim's hepatitis C virus clinical trial programme

Key data from Boehringer Ingelheim's hepatitis C virus (HCV) clinical trial programme, HCVerso, focusing on interferon-free treatment, has been selected for inclusion in the official European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) press office activities.

6 Apr 2012

2-day meeting examining issues of censorship of scientific studies leaves questions unanswered

A two-day Royal Society meeting held this week in London -- which examined "whether scientific journals should occasionally publish censored versions of papers because the full ones might prove useful to terrorists" -- "brought scientists no closer to resolving the question of whether there are any kinds of experiments whose results should be kept from the public," the Washington Post reports.

6 Apr 2012

Vaccine injections given directly into pancreatic cancer tumors associated with stable disease

Research from The Cancer Institute of New Jersey (CINJ) shows that a series of vaccine injections given directly into a pancreatic cancer tumor is shown to be associated with stable disease in patients who are not candidates for surgery.

5 Apr 2012

Results from Abbott’s multiple interferon-free Phase 2 HCV studies to be presented at ILC 2012

Abbott will present clinical trial results from two different interferon-free, Phase 2 studies for the treatment of hepatitis C (HCV) at the International Liver Congress 2012 (ILC 2012), the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), April 18-22 in Barcelona, Spain.

5 Apr 2012

Scripps Florida scientists to create new screening tests for HCV treatment discovery

Scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute have been awarded just over $1 million from the National Institutes of Health for a three-year study to develop new high-throughput screening tests to find compounds that disable a protein essential to hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication.

5 Apr 2012