Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Age-prioritized use of antivirals during an influenza pandemic

A model of influenza transmission and treatment suggests that, if the current swine flu pandemic behaves like the 1918 flu, antiviral treatment should be reserved for the young.

27 Jul 2009

Antiretroviral syrup for babies, mothers safely reduces HIV transmission

Giving daily antiretroviral syrup to breastfeeding infants or treating their HIV-infected mothers with highly active antiretroviral drugs is safe and effective in preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission through breast milk, a study led by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill investigators has found.

27 Jul 2009

Scientists say each person with swine flu will infect two others

Scientists in New Zealand who have been examining the spread of the new H1N1 flu (swine flu), say the virus appears more infectious than previously thought and a person who becomes ill with the new strain will on average infect almost two others.

27 Jul 2009

Sticky protein protects cells from mechanical stress

A new study by scientists at the University of Iowa shows why muscle membranes don't rupture when healthy people exercise.

26 Jul 2009

Global health officials working to prevent H1N1 spread

"Global health officials are scrambling to try to prevent the spread of the H1N1 swine flu virus, with U.S. officials moving Thursday with a recommendation that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve or license a [new H1N1] vaccine," without waiting on the results from "clinical trials to test its safety and efficacy," Wall Street Journal reports (Dooren/Winning, 7/24).

24 Jul 2009

FDA authorizes emergency use of another test for H1N1 flu virus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a another diagnostic test for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, whose spread has caused the virus to be characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

24 Jul 2009

Swine flu pandemic could overwhelm critical care beds in England, especially children’s units

Experts in intensive care and anaesthesia have predicted that the current swine flu pandemic could overwhelm critical care beds and ventilators in England, with hospitals on the South East Coast, and in the South West, East of England and East Midlands, being worst hit.

24 Jul 2009

New software provides a better understanding of how viruses evolve

Computer scientists and biologists at the University of Southampton have used the combined power of computing resources within the institution to develop software which provides a better understanding of how viruses evolve.

23 Jul 2009

Copper could be used to inhibit swine flu

A leading microbiologist from the University of Southampton has told a conference that his research has found copper is effective in inhibiting the influenza A H1N1 virus.

23 Jul 2009

Brits get direct access to a pandemic flu service

Brits will soon have direct access to a pandemic flu service which will make drugs for swine flu available without needing to consult a doctor.

22 Jul 2009

H1N1 death toll doubles over last month; first vaccine trial begins

The worldwide death toll from the H1N1 (swine flu) virus has doubled in the past month, reaching over 700, the WHO announced Tuesday, the AP/Google.com reports.

22 Jul 2009

Swine flu vaccine trials begin in Australia as death toll tops 700

As Australian scientists embark on the first trials of a swine flu vaccine the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the H1N1 virus (swine flu) has now killed more than 700 people around the world since the outbreak began four months ago.

22 Jul 2009

NIAID to launch 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine trials

Scientists in a network of medical research institutions across the United States are set to begin a series of clinical trials to gather critical data about influenza vaccines, including two candidate H1N1 flu vaccines. The research will be under the direction of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

22 Jul 2009

Hepatitis C infection: Treatment options equally effective, likelihood of success known early on

Results of a long-awaited study of 3,070 American adults at Johns Hopkins and 118 other U.S. medical centers show that treatment with either of the two standard antiviral drug therapies is safe and offers the best way for people infected with hepatitis C to prevent liver scarring, organ failure and death.

22 Jul 2009

IAS Conference begins, report says economic crisis forcing Africans living with HIV/AIDS off life-saving medications

At a news conference opening the 5th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention on Sunday in Cape Town, South Africa, Julio Montaner, president of the International AIDS Society, expressed disappointment that the "G8 ignored the HIV-AIDS issue at its annual summit this month," which was "just four years after pledging at the 2005 Gleneagles [G8] summit to fight for universal access to AIDS treatment by 2010," the Globe and Mail reports.

20 Jul 2009

Researchers decipher special role of the messenger Beta-interferon for immune responses

Researchers from the Molecular Immunology group at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany have now shown that Beta-Interferon also plays a crucial role during an immune response: without Beta-Interferon immune cells are unable to show "wanted posters" of pathogens to other cells.

20 Jul 2009

Gene variants associated with survival advantage in African Americans with HIV

From the start of the HIV epidemic, it appeared that some of the people who were infected with the virus were able to ward off the fatal effects of the disease longer than others.

20 Jul 2009

FDA approves vaccine for 2009-2010 flu season

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved a vaccine for 2009-2010 seasonal influenza in the United States.

20 Jul 2009

Airlines blocking travellers suspected of having swine flu

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the H1N1 influenza A pandemic (swine flu) has killed around a total of 430 people and as health officials worldwide grapple to deal with rapid rise in the number of cases, airlines in Britain are blocking travellers suspected of having swine flu.

20 Jul 2009

Swine flu jab may be available sooner

The Australian government is planning to spend $44 million over a four year period on extra vaccinations for seasonal flu - this will provide enough vaccinations for another 2.2 million people which will be available from January 1st next year.

20 Jul 2009