Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Update on investigation of workers involved in the Holton avian flu outbreak

Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) has now completed the first stage of the public health follow up in relation to the outbreak of avian flu on a poultry farm in Holton, Suffolk.

27 Feb 2007

First 3-D structure from key influenza protein revealed

In 1918, 50 million people died during a worldwide influenza pandemic caused by mutation of a bird-specific strain of the influenza virus. Recently H5N1, another highly infectious avian strain has caused outbreaks of bird flu around the world.

27 Feb 2007

Injection drug use fueling spread of HIV in Mauritius

Injection drug users have become one of the groups most at risk of HIV transmission in Mauritius, prompting the governments to establish a needle-exchange program in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus, Inter Press Service reports.

25 Feb 2007

Herpes treatment could slow HIV progression in people living with both viruses

Treatment of genital herpes could slow the progression of HIV in people living with both viruses, according to a study published in the Feb. 22 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

25 Feb 2007

Call for herpes simplex virus control measures for prevention of HIV transmission

Experts call for HSV control measures, including vaccine, to rank high on international HIV prevention and research agenda as exciting trial findings are published.

22 Feb 2007

Exchange of E. coli between humans and chimps in Uganda

Scientists from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana have found that people employed in chimpanzee-focused research and tourism in a park in western Uganda are exchanging gastrointestinal bacteria - specifically Escherichia coli - with local chimpanzee populations. And some of the E. coli strains migrating to chimps are resistant to antibiotics used by humans in Uganda.

22 Feb 2007

Project Ubuzima to continue trials of microbicide Dapirivine

Project Ubuzima, an international not-for-profit group conducting clinical trials of microbicides, last week "assured the public" it will continue its trial of the microbicide Dapirivine in Rwanda, the New Times/AllAfrica.com reports.

22 Feb 2007

Experimental vector vaccine reduces stillbirths from cytomegalovirus

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have developed an experimental vaccine that reduces stillbirths among rodents born to mothers infected with cytomegalovirus (CMV) - a common virus that can also cause mental retardation and hearing loss in newborn children who were infected in early fetal life.

21 Feb 2007

Entire genetic blueprints of more than 2,000 human and avian influenza viruses completed and made public

The Influenza Genome Sequencing Project, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), announced today that it has achieved a major milestone.

21 Feb 2007

More Moscow suburbs affected by bird flu

Russian officials say two more localities near Moscow have reported what appears to be the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu.

21 Feb 2007

siRNA delivery into human T cells and primary cells with carbon-nanotube transporters

A promising approach to gene therapy involves short DNA fragments (interfering RNA) that bind to specific genes and block their "translation" into the corresponding, disease-related protein.

20 Feb 2007

Britain tests human influenza plan

The British Government's response to a human flu pandemic was tested in Exercise Winter Willow on Monday 19th and Tuesday 20th February.

20 Feb 2007

Popular Russian pet market the source of latest bird flu outbreak

Russian veterinary officials have closed down a popular pet market in Moscow after the recent outbreaks of the deadly bird flu were all traced back to the market.

19 Feb 2007

RNAi shows promise in gene therapy

Three years ago Mark Kay, MD, PhD, published the first results showing that a biological phenomenon called RNA interference could be an effective gene therapy technique. Since then he has used RNAi gene therapy to effectively shut down the viruses that cause hepatitis and HIV in mice.

19 Feb 2007

Search for vaccine to prevent Chlamydia

It's the most common bacteria-related sexually transmitted disease in the United States, so researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio's South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases (STCEID) and The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center have partnered to discover a vaccine that will prevent Chlamydia.

19 Feb 2007

More evidence that inflammation can fuel cancer

As evidence mounts that the body's normally protective inflammation response can drive some precancerous tissues to become fully malignant, UCSF scientists report discovering an apparent trigger to this potentially deadly process.

19 Feb 2007

Scientists discover vulnerable area on HIV that could lead to development of HIV/AIDS vaccine

Scientists on Wednesday announced they had identified a vulnerable area on HIV that might be susceptible to antibodies and could prevent the virus from infecting human cells, Reuters Health reports. The findings are published in the Feb. 15 issue of the journal Nature.

19 Feb 2007

Norwalk virus closes Canadian hospital

A hospital in Toronto, Canada has been closed to patients and visitors following an outbreak of the Norwalk virus.

18 Feb 2007

Fourth outbreak of bird flu threatens Moscow

According to Russian authorities a fourth outbreak of the H5N1 bird-flu virus has been discovered in suburban Moscow.

18 Feb 2007

The present and future for influenza vaccines

The near inevitability that influenza will explode into a pandemic in the coming few years has kept researchers searching for a way to prevent the worst effects of infection. The ultimate prize is a highly effective vaccine that could be produced and deployed rapidly.

18 Feb 2007