Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

$20.7 million to make smallpox vaccine safer

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded a five-year, $20.7 million grant to National Jewish Medical and Research Center to lead a consortium of academic medical centers trying to make smallpox vaccines safer for millions of people with atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema.

19 May 2004

WHO experts and the Chinese authorities are still trying to determine the exact cause of the recent SARS outbreak

The investigation has centred primarily on the National Institute of Virology in Beijing where experiments using live and inactivated SARS coronavirus have been carried out. Two researchers at the Institute developed SARS in late March and mid-April. The outbreak was reported on April 22 and the Institute was closed a day later.

19 May 2004

Multimillion-dollar electron microscope unveils shapes of viruses and proteins

With a multimillion-dollar electron microscope and computer programs that can pick out the shapes of structures only six atoms wide, Dr. Wah Chiu and his colleagues at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston are attempting to explain the intricate structures of viruses and proteins.

19 May 2004

Latest SARS outbreak contained, but biosafety concerns remain

It has been more than three weeks since the last case was placed in isolation in China's latest SARS outbreak, prompting the World Health Organization to declare that the chain of human-to- human transmission appears to have been broken.

18 May 2004

Benitec acquires Avocel to focus on rapid development of hepatitis C therapeutics

Benitec Ltd. today announced the acquisition of Avocel, Inc. of Sunnyvale, CA, a leading RNAi therapeutics company, and the establishment of its wholly-owned US subsidiary, Benitec, Inc. Through the acquisition, Benitec gains its first in-house advanced therapeutic development program using DNA-directed RNAi (ddRNAi) to target the Hepatitis C virus.

18 May 2004

Manipulation of the body’s own natural killer cells to destroy cells containing the HIV virus

Current treatments for HIV block the virus from replicating, but don’t kill the cells that contain HIV. The existence of these HIV-harboring cells -- often called the “latent” or “resting reservoir” -- is regarded by many to be the main obstacle to finding a cure for HIV.

18 May 2004

Research suggests that weanling pigs are susceptible to West Nile virus infection

Since the emergence of West Nile virus in the Western Hemisphere in 1999, health care personnel have been on the lookout for signs of infection in people and animals. Recent research suggests that food processing personnel should beware of the presence of the virus in swine and a potential health risk to employees in pork processing plants.

17 May 2004

HHS to ensure safe, effective drugs delivered to developing countries under the President's $15 billion plan for AIDS relief

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced an expedited review process to ensure that the United States is providing safe, effective drugs to developing countries under the President's $15 billion Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

16 May 2004

The federal government should expand its role in the financing of HIV/AIDS treatment for low-income Americans

The federal government should expand its role in the financing of HIV/AIDS treatment for low-income Americans to ensure that the thousands of HIV-infected people currently not receiving care through existing programs gain access to the services they need, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

16 May 2004

Genetically engineered viruses may create new class of cancer therapies

A genetically engineered virus can selectively kill cancerous cells in the lung and colon while leaving healthy cells intact, according to new research published today in Cancer Research by William Wold and colleagues at Saint Louis University School of Medicine.

15 May 2004

West Nile virus found in Arizona

Mosquito samples collected by Maricopa County health officials in the East Valley have tested positive for the West Nile virus, marking the arrival of the virus in the state in 2004.

15 May 2004

3 people with drug-resistant HIV become first to undergo a new form of gene therapy

The idea is to use a modified form of HIV to deliver an "antisense" gene to the immune cells that HIV infects. This is integrated into the cells' genome, and stays there until a cell is infected. Then it is switched on, and produces RNA complementary to the "sense" RNA encoding a viral protein. In theory, the RNAs should bind together, blocking viral replication.

14 May 2004

Largest study comparing leading hepatitis C treatments

Medical centers, hospitals, clinics and other treatment sites across the country are actively enrolling Americans with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in a nationwide study that will for the first time determine which of the two FDA-approved pegylated interferon therapy regimens offers patients the best chance to eliminate the virus.

14 May 2004

Genomed treatment helps bald eagles with West Nile virus encephalitis

GenoMed, Inc. a Next Generation Disease Management company that uses its expertise in genomics to improve clinical outcomes in as many species as possible, announced today that two non-profit groups which care for wild birds with West Nile virus encephalitis, including American bald eagles, will be using the Company's patent-pending treatment this season.

13 May 2004

Cholesterol-lowering drugs could treat multiple sclerosis

Drug treatments for MS are expensive and only partially effective. Recent knowledge that statins promote an anti-inflammatory response from the immune system suggest a potential in the treatment of MS.

13 May 2004

West Nile virus found in Illinois mosquitoes

A dead crow and two pools of mosquitoes collected in DuPage County have been identified with West Nile virus, the first positive test results in Illinois this year for the mosquito-borne disease, Dr. Eric E. Whitaker, state public health director, today announced.

13 May 2004

WHO reports on dengue haemorrhagic fever in Indonesia

From January 1 to April 30 2004, a total of 58,301 cases of dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF) and 658 deaths have been registered with the Indonesian Ministry of Health (see previous report ). The case-fatality rate of 1.1% is lower this year than in previous years.

12 May 2004

Illinois spends $2.3 million to fight West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases

Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich today announced the state has awarded grants to local health departments totaling $2.3 million as part of this year's efforts to detect and control mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus or other mosquito-borne diseases.

12 May 2004

Critical moment in the history of HIV/AIDS, more money, more political will, more deaths

This is a critical moment in the history of HIV/AIDS. There is more money, more political will and more attention being paid to this killer disease than ever before. And yet, more people than ever are dying of AIDS and becoming infected with HIV.

11 May 2004

Botswana begins massive emergency polio campaign

The Minister of Health of Botswana today kicked off a massive emergency immunization campaign in the southern African nation of Botswana, following the re-introduction of poliovirus into the country from Nigeria in February.

10 May 2004

Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

$20.7 million to make smallpox vaccine safer

WHO experts and the Chinese authorities are still trying to determine the exact cause of the recent SARS outbreak

Multimillion-dollar electron microscope unveils shapes of viruses and proteins

Latest SARS outbreak contained, but biosafety concerns remain

Benitec acquires Avocel to focus on rapid development of hepatitis C therapeutics

Manipulation of the body’s own natural killer cells to destroy cells containing the HIV virus

Research suggests that weanling pigs are susceptible to West Nile virus infection

HHS to ensure safe, effective drugs delivered to developing countries under the President's $15 billion plan for AIDS relief

The federal government should expand its role in the financing of HIV/AIDS treatment for low-income Americans

Genetically engineered viruses may create new class of cancer therapies

West Nile virus found in Arizona

3 people with drug-resistant HIV become first to undergo a new form of gene therapy

Largest study comparing leading hepatitis C treatments

Genomed treatment helps bald eagles with West Nile virus encephalitis

Cholesterol-lowering drugs could treat multiple sclerosis

West Nile virus found in Illinois mosquitoes

WHO reports on dengue haemorrhagic fever in Indonesia

Illinois spends $2.3 million to fight West Nile virus and other mosquito-borne diseases

Critical moment in the history of HIV/AIDS, more money, more political will, more deaths

Botswana begins massive emergency polio campaign

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

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