Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

DNA vaccine for H5N1 avian influenza enters human trial

The first human trial of a DNA vaccine designed to prevent H5N1 avian influenza infection began on December 21, 2006, when the vaccine was administered to the first volunteer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD.

3 Jan 2007

Herpes appears to play a role in bringing about Alzheimer's disease

A gene known to be a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease puts out the welcome mat for the virus that causes cold sores, allowing the virus to be more active in the brain compared to other forms of the gene.

3 Jan 2007

Scientists visualize influenza virus particles

Scientists at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), and colleagues at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville have succeeded in imaging, in unprecedented detail, the virus that causes influenza.

2 Jan 2007

Bird flu doing the rounds in South Korea

Authorities in South Korea say they have found another case of a highly pathogenic bird flu in North Cholla province south of Seoul.

12 Dec 2006

FDA investigates norovirus linked to frozen oysters

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently working with five states and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate an outbreak of norovirus which has been associated with raw, frozen oysters on the half shell from South Korea.

12 Dec 2006

New vaccines against HPV could save hundreds of thousands of lives if delivered effectively

The introduction of new vaccines against Human Papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that causes cervical cancer, could have a major impact on the health of women in the developing world. More than 250 000 women died from cervical cancer in 2005 - the vast majority in developing countries.

12 Dec 2006

AIDS and malaria go hand in hand

Researchers believe they may well be a link between two of the biggest killers in Africa, Malaria and AIDS.

11 Dec 2006

Bird flu vaccine ready in a year but who will get it first?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says a vaccine against the killer H5N1 bird flu virus could be licensed for humans within a year.

11 Dec 2006

Substantial new scientific evidence supports medics in Libyan HIV court case

A team of international scientists have produced new information that questions the evidence against the six medics on trial in Libya accused of deliberately infecting Libyan children with HIV.

11 Dec 2006

Chinese province to require couples to receive HIV tests before marriage

China's Yunnan Province beginning Jan. 1, 2007, will require couples to receive HIV tests before getting married, Xinhua/People's Daily reports.

5 Dec 2006

Biofunctional organic nanocrystals for quantitative detection of pathogen deoxyribonucleic acid

Waiting a day or more to get lab results back from the doctor's office soon could become a thing of a past.

4 Dec 2006

Weight determination of individual viruses with a miniature ion trap

Viruses are the simplest life forms on our planet, consisting of only DNA or RNA and a shell. After the prokaryotes (bacteria and archebacteria), viruses are the second most common type of organism. In our oceans they are the most common life form.

4 Dec 2006

Compound from olive oil slows down spread of HIV

Olive oil has become part of the fight against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - the cause of AIDS - thanks to research carried out by the Bionat team, from the University of Granada , headed by Prof. Andres García-Granados, senior lecturer in Organic Chemistry.

2 Dec 2006

Australia to provide Gardasil at no cost to girls and women ages 12 to 26

Australian Prime Minister John Howard on Wednesday announced that the government will provide about $342 million for a program that will offer Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil at no cost to girls and women ages 12 to 26 living in the country, Bloomberg reports.

2 Dec 2006

New Hampshire to provide Gardasil at no cost to girls

New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services officials on Wednesday announced plans to become the first state to provide Merck's human papillomavirus vaccine Gardasil at no cost to girls ages 11 to 18 as part of a state program that offers immunizations to minors, the AP/Nashua Telegraph reports.

2 Dec 2006

Governments, donors falling short of antiretroviral treatment goals

Governments and international donors are falling short of their goals of providing antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people in developing countries who need them, according to a report released on Tuesday by the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition, the International Herald Tribune reports.

2 Dec 2006

Advocates in India shift focus toward preventing spread of HIV among injection drug users

Some HIV/AIDS advocates in India are shifting their approach to fighting the country's epidemic from promoting condom use and safer-sex practices among commercial sex workers, truck drivers and migrant laborers to largely targeting injection drug users, the AP/International Herald Tribune reports.

2 Dec 2006

New approaches to expanding HIV testing

Nearly 300 U.S. physicians, government health officials and HIV/AIDS advocates on Wednesday gathered in Washington, D.C., for a two-day meeting that focuses on new approaches to expanding HIV testing in the nation and its potential effect on the health system, Reuters Health reports.

2 Dec 2006

India's law criminalizing homosexuality is undermining the fight against HIV/AIDS

The law, enacted in 1861 and known as Section 377, makes "carnal intercourse against the order of nature with man, woman or animal" punishable by up to 10 years in prison and, when strictly interpreted, makes it illegal to distribute condoms to gay men and men in prison.

2 Dec 2006

How to save a million lives a year

A promise of $200 million from some of the world's richest nations to fight diseases in poor countries will save more than a million children's lives a year.

1 Dec 2006