Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Abbott RealTime PCR assay for measuring HCV viral load receives FDA marketing approval

Abbott announced today that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its RealTime PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test for measuring the viral load of hepatitis C (HCV), the leading cause of liver cancer in the United States.

19 May 2011

Epstein-Barr virus might cause multiple sclerosis, study confirms

The Epstein-Barr (EVB) virus -belonging to the herpesviruses family, which also includes the herpes simplex virus and the cytomegalovirus- is one of the environmental factors that might cause multiple sclerosis, a condition affecting the central nervous system, which causes are unknown.

18 May 2011

New experimental vaccine prevents infection of horses with deadly Hendra virus

CSIRO scientists have shown that a new experimental vaccine helps to protect horses against the deadly Hendra virus. Dr Deborah Middleton from CSIRO's Australian Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) will announce the successful progress to develop the vaccine at the Australian Veterinary Association conference in Adelaide today.

18 May 2011

Bill Gates urges wiser vaccine coverage worldwide to save millions

Tuesday this week, Bill Gates called for strengthened immunization programs against infectious diseases to save 4 million lives by 2015 and 10 million lives by 2020, calling it the best possible investment in global health. He was addressing the annual assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, attended by health ministers from the U.N. agency's 193 member states.

17 May 2011

Decision on destroying last of the stored small pox virus samples

Health experts from all over the world are to decide this week whether to hold on to the last remaining stockpiles of smallpox, one of the deadliest diseases in history – or to proceed with their destruction.

17 May 2011

World Health Assembly begins in Geneva

As the 64th World Health Assembly gets underway in Geneva, the body will consider "an array of subjects pertaining to reforms of the organisation and its financing, vaccines, fake medicines, and influenza pandemic preparedness, as well as communicable and non-communicable diseases," Intellectual Property Watch reports.

17 May 2011

Novel topically-applied molecular microbicide protects women against HIV infection

Using a technique that silences genes promoting infection, researchers have developed a novel, topically-applied molecular microbicide capable of preventing HIV transmission.

17 May 2011

Pediatric researchers find potential tools for controlling cytokine storm

By analyzing complex interactions of the immune system in an animal study, pediatric researchers have found potential tools for controlling a life-threatening condition called a cytokine storm that may strike children who have juvenile arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.

17 May 2011

Super-resolution microscopy technique reveals how and why cell's defenses fail against plague

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a super-resolution microscopy technique that is answering long-held questions about exactly how and why a cell's defenses fail against some invaders, such as plague, while successfully fending off others like E.coli.

17 May 2011

Viewpoints: Ryan on 'shared scarcity'; Romney fallout; Baltimore's ambitious health plan

Too many in Washington remain fixated on the next election, at the expense of the next generation. But there is a hidden cost to the shared scarcity mentality — a cost measured in lost prosperity and lost freedom. We face a choice between two futures. We can continue to go down the path toward shared scarcity, or we can choose the path of renewed prosperity.

17 May 2011

FDA nod for hepatitis C drug

Merck & Co have finally won the Food and Drugs Administration – FDA’S approval on Friday to sell a new drug considered a major advance against the liver-destroying hepatitis C virus. The drug brand named, Victrelis is expected to help transform treatment of the potentially fatal disease with higher cure rates and shorter courses of therapy for some patients. Merck shares rose 0.6 percent in after-hours trading to $37.33, up from their $37.08 close on the New York Stock Exchange. Approval of Victrelis was widely expected after a FDA advisory panel recommended the drug in an 18-0 vote in April.

17 May 2011

Hendra virus vaccine to be released soon

According to CSIRO’s early success with testing, the Hendra virus vaccine for horses could be available as early as next year. Hendra virus affects horses and is contracted through contact with flying foxes.

16 May 2011

Study: HIV treatment drugs slash transmission risk

AIDS researchers offered evidence backing up the long-standing idea that people infected with HIV who are being treated are much less likely to transmit the virus than those who are not on drugs. This finding is being hailed as a breakthrough.

16 May 2011

Computationally designed antiviral proteins may fight against influenza

A research article May 12 in Science demonstrates the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules.

16 May 2011

Early HIV treatment can reduce transmission risk by 96%, preliminary study results show

Preliminary results from a multicountry clinical trial, sponsored by the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), show that HIV-positive people who take combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) can reduce the risk of transmitting the virus to their HIV-negative partners by 96 percent, U.S. researchers announced on Thursday " in what is being hailed as a breakthrough in HIV prevention," the Los Angeles Times reports.

16 May 2011

Merck receives FDA approval for Victrelis to treat chronic hepatitis C

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Victrelis (boceprevir) to treat certain adults with chronic hepatitis C. Victrelis is used for patients who still have some liver function, and who either have not been previously treated with drug therapy for their hepatitis C or who have failed such treatment.

16 May 2011

AIDS spread prevention by vaccine and anti HIV drugs

A latest vaccine against HIV/AIDS has shown to be effective in monkeys and has protected macaques the most widespread primate genus, against the monkey equivalent of HIV, Simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV). This could provide a fresh approach to an HIV vaccine, a study suggests. US researchers say the vaccine offered protection to 13 of 24 Rhesus macaques treated in the experiment. In 12 of the monkeys, the vaccine was still effective 12 months later.

15 May 2011

MRSA superbug detected in bed bugs and supermarket meats: Report

Scientists have made an alarming discovery. They have found that bedbugs can carry the staph “superbug” MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus).

15 May 2011

Early treatment of HIV makes infection transmission less likely: Study

“It's a game-changer,” Michel Sidibe, executive director of UNAIDS, said. “I am completely amazed.” It was noted that anti-HIV drugs called antiretroviral drugs can suppress HIV in an infected patient and also help to prevent its spread through intercourse, he said. He predicted a rethink of the strategies that have evolved since the first cases of AIDS were recorded in June 1981. “The implications are multiple,” said Mr Sidibe. “However, money will be the major challenge.”

15 May 2011

AgenoLAB acquires Roche´s RTCA Cardio Instrument

AgenoLAB, the Stuttgart-based service provider, is the first company in Germany to expand its service offering with the latest cell analysis technology from Roche. The company will use the RTCA Cardio Instrument to complement their analytical service portfolio for drug development.

13 May 2011