Virology News and Research

Latest Virology News and Research

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

Indicators identify shingles patients who have an increased risk of developing persistent pain

Researchers have recently confirmed a set of indicators that, alone and in combination, identify shingles patients who have an increased risk of developing persistent pain after the shingles rash heals. Results and implications of their study will be presented in the May 11 issue of Neurology, the scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

10 May 2004

The outbreak of SARS is under control in China's eastern province of Anhui

A labratory worker who was China's first SARS patient in the recent outbreak has fully recovered and has been discharged from hospital today as Chinese health officials claimed success in controlling the disease in eastern Anhui province.

10 May 2004

Bone marrow and stem cell transplantation rejection averted by UV light exposure

One of the unfortunate side effects of bone marrow and stem cell transplantation is that the newly implanted cells often stage an internal attack against the patient they're intended to help.

10 May 2004

Alternative vaccine to Dryvax for smallpox

Not everybody can safely be vaccinated against smallpox using the current FDA-approved vaccine. Scientists hope another study vaccine, now undergoing its first testing in the United States at Saint Louis University, will give a choice to people who can't be given the current vaccine, known as Dryvax®.

10 May 2004

China recognizes 10 million Chinese may be HIV-positive by 2010

The Official Chinese News Agency reported today that the Chinese cabinet has admitted that AIDS epidemic is out of control and spreading rapidly through the country. They have also recognized the need for urgent measures to be put into place to change the situation.

9 May 2004

Reports of actor trying to break HIV quarantine

As reported by The Adult Video Industry News, sources in the Czech Republic have confirmed that veteran performer/director Jay Ashley has been attempting to work over there even though he is among the 53 performers quarantined by the AIM Healthcare Foundation because they may have been exposed to the HIV virus.

8 May 2004

Update AIDS Quarantine list

As of 4/13/04, the AIM Healthcare Foundation found a positive detection for the HIV Virus of an actor named Darren James. We have taken confirmatory tests which validate his positive status. The following people are on quarantine from working in the industry until they retest!

8 May 2004

Retrial for grievous biological harm HIV case

Mohammed Dica from south London, has had his conviction overturned after an appeal yesterday based around legal error found at his trial on the 14th October 2003.

8 May 2004

Study has found the Sars virus in sweat glands and the intestine

Pathologists from the First Military Medical University in Guangzhou, southern China, warn that if further research proves that Sars can be transmitted by these unexpected routes, the implications for public health are major.

7 May 2004

Britain debates whether to create DNA registry of newborn babies

In a White Paper published last year the Government asked the Human Genetics Commission and the National Screening Committee to consider the case for screening every baby at birth and storing their genetic profile for future use.

7 May 2004

Belarus to collaborate with GenoMed on West Nile virus encephalitis

GenoMed, Inc. has announced that the leading experts in West Nile virus encephalitis in Belarus will collaborate with the Company in treating cases of suspected West Nile virus encephalitis this summer. Belarus, formerly part of the USSR, is now a democratic country of 10.5 million people lying between Poland and Russia; its capital is Minsk.

7 May 2004

West Nile treatment showing 100% response rate among immunocompetent patients

GenoMed, Inc. has announced that it will be limiting its treatment for West Nile virus encephalitis to immunocompetent patients only, where it has posted a 100% success rate.

7 May 2004

West Nile virus found in Arizona mosquito samples

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

6 May 2004

7 health workers face firing squad after being detained for over 5 years

A Libyan court has sentenced six Bulgarian health workers and a Palestinian doctor convicted of spreading AIDS to death by firsing squad. The seven were originally arrested in February 1999 and have since been incarcerated in an inconspicuous grey compound in Tripoli's chaotic western suburbs.

6 May 2004

Experts conclude plans to control zoonoses, diseases transmitted from animals to humans

International experts today concluded a three-day international consultation on zoonoses, held by the World Health Organization (WHO) together with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE), in collaboration with the Dutch Health Council.

6 May 2004

Investigation to find the source of the current SARS outbreak

Investigation of the source of the current outbreak, first reported on 22 April, continues to focus on the National Institute of Virology in Beijing. The institute is known to have conducted experiments using the live SARS coronavirus during February and March.

5 May 2004