Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

Study is the first to show that there are mechanisms in place for the immune system to identify cancer cells

A study undertaken by biologists at the University of California, Berkeley, has found that damage to a cell's DNA sets off a chain reaction that leads to the increased expression of a marker recognized by the body's immune system.

6 Jul 2005

HIV testing of all pregnant women recommended

In an update of its 1996 guidelines for HIV screening, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is now recommending that all pregnant women be tested for the virus.

5 Jul 2005

Mass vaccination of poultry needed to prevent bird flu pandemic

At the start of a three-day UN conference in Kuala Lumpur on the bird flu virus, health and animal experts have called for mass vaccination of poultry to prevent bird flu from becoming a human pandemic

4 Jul 2005

After four years, Angola reports its first case of polio

After four years, Angola has reported its first case of polio. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday that the crippling disease polio has also spread within Indonesia to Sumatra island.

4 Jul 2005

Research sheds light on why cervical precancers disappear in some women and not in others

New research sheds light on why cervical precancers disappear in some women and not in others. Scientists say the reason many of these lesions persist is an unlikely mix of human papilloma virus (HPV) strain and a woman’s individual immune system.

4 Jul 2005

New law will take away vital medications from AIDS sufferers in Mississippi

Medicaid beneficiaries living with HIV/AIDS in Mississippi are about to be denied access to medications they need to stay alive.

1 Jul 2005

Medicaid beneficiaries living with HIV/AIDS in Mississippi are about to be denied access to medications

A law that takes effect tomorrow, July 1, limits Mississippi Medicaid beneficiaries to two brand-name drugs. But controlling HIV infection requires three drugs, and all of them are brand name.

30 Jun 2005

Threat from Avian Influenza remains

At the request of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, World Health Organization (WHO) sent a team of international experts to Viet Nam last week to assess laboratory and epidemiological data on recent cases and determine whether the present level of pandemic alert should be increased.

30 Jun 2005

Bird flu pandemic no longer imminent

In the best news yet in the bird flu scenario, international scientists have now downgraded the risk of an imminent pandemic, saying the indications are that the virus has not mutated.

30 Jun 2005

Studies compare hepatitis B drugs

According to a new study Roche's brand of interferon can help control the potentially deadly liver infection, hepatitis B, better than a competitor's drug.

30 Jun 2005

California reports first case of West Nile virus this year

The first human case of West Nile virus infection in California this year has been reported in a 47-year-old Tulare County man.

30 Jun 2005

Conservatives and sexual abstinence groups battle with FDA over condoms - they offer little protection against STD's

Although condoms are an effective method of contraception and stop the spread of AIDS, evidence that they protect against other sexually transmitted diseases is scant.

30 Jun 2005

Another death takes Vietnam's bird flu toll to 39

The death of a 73-year-old Vietnamese from bird flu, has taken the country's death toll from the epidemic to 39.

30 Jun 2005

Another 10 children with polio in Indonesia

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says another ten children have contracted polio in Indonesia, which brings the number affected by the outbreak of the paralysing disease to 65.

30 Jun 2005

New drug candidate against HIV-infection

As a part of a research collaboration, scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy at Gotenborg University, Sweden, have developed a new drug candidate against HIV-infection. The new substance, named alphaHGA, will be tested on patients this year.

30 Jun 2005

Experimental drug for diabetes looks promising

Encouraging results in a small study, with a new experimental treatment, promises help for certain diabetics to retain some ability to make their own insulin.

29 Jun 2005

Scientists aim to mislead malaria mosquitoes with odours

An international team of scientists will in the coming five years set up a research project on developing diversions to mislead malaria mosquitoes with odours.

29 Jun 2005

Grand Challenges in Global Health awards $450m to top scientists

Grants totalling U.S $450m were awarded yesterday to some of the world's most inventive scientists to enable them to turn their novel ideas into practical solutions to the 14 greatest problems plaguing human health today.

28 Jun 2005