Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Drug-resistant HIV viruses can spread rapidly, shows study

Drug-resistant HIV viruses can spread rapidly. This is the conclusion of a study conducted as part of the SWISS HIV Cohort Study, which is supported by the SNSF. Only the continuous introduction of new drugs can stop the virus from getting the upper hand.

2 Feb 2015

Researchers gain new insight on immune cells that harbor latent HIV virus

Drugs for HIV have become adept at suppressing infection, but they still can't eliminate it. That's because the medication in these pills doesn't touch the virus' hidden reserves, which lie dormant within infected white blood cells. Unlock the secrets of this pool of latent virus, scientists believe, and it may become possible to cure - not just control - HIV.

2 Feb 2015

Immunization can prevent measles

The recent measles outbreak linked to Disney amusement parks in southern California should not be a concern for anyone who has had measles in the past or who has received two doses of the measles vaccine.

2 Feb 2015

Cities with Super Bowl teams see big spike in flu illness, deaths

Boston and Seattle football fans beware! Cities with teams in the Super Bowl see a big spike in flu deaths, according to a new Tulane University study.

31 Jan 2015

Blood tests for Chikungunya virus and rheumatoid arthritis could produce similar results

A mosquito-borne virus that has spread to the Caribbean and Central and South America and has caused isolated infections in Florida often causes joint pain and swelling similar to that seen in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

31 Jan 2015

Rare respiratory virus could be linked to severe neurological illness in children

A cluster of children from Colorado in the USA have been treated for muscle weakness or paralysis that may be connected to a nationwide outbreak of a usually rare respiratory virus called enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), one of more than 100 non-polio enteroviruses.

31 Jan 2015

AbbVie releases Phase 3 results from all-oral OBV/PTV/r treatment for GT1b chronic HCV infection

AbbVie released top-line Phase 3 results for its investigational, all-oral, ribavirin (RBV)-free, two direct-acting antiviral treatment with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir (OBV/PTV/r) in patients with genotype 1b (GT1b) chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in Japan.

31 Jan 2015

Research shows effectiveness of Tamiflu

Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the use of antiviral drugs to help treat influenza, in a year when the available vaccine is not a good match for the current strain.

30 Jan 2015

Immunotherapy expert discusses the concept of precision immunology and personalized medicine

With President Obama's recent State of the Union speech addressing the launch of a national precision medicine initiative to further tackle cancer and other diseases, a leading immunotherapy expert from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey weighs in on where we stand with precision immunology and personalized medicine and what needs to be accomplished.

30 Jan 2015

Study shows only 15% of newly diagnosed adults seek HIV care

Between December 2009 and February 2011, health workers with the AMPATH Consortium sought to test and counsel every adult resident in the Bunyala subcounty of Kenya for HIV.

29 Jan 2015

UCSD professor wins 2015 Japan Prize

Theodore Friedmann, MD, professor in the Department of Pediatrics at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine was named today one of three recipients of the 2015 Japan Prize, a prestigious international award honoring laureates whose "original and outstanding achievements in science and technology have advanced the frontiers of knowledge and served the cause of peace and prosperity for mankind.

29 Jan 2015

Scientists publish catalog of genetic mutations found in head and neck cancers

Scientists have published the first comprehensive catalog of genetic mutations and other abnormal changes found in 279 cancers of the head and neck, and have identified several broken molecular pathways that might be targeted by existing and future cancer drugs.

28 Jan 2015

Age and HBsAg level predict NA-induced HBeAg seroconversion durability

The combination of age and baseline hepatitis B s-antigen level can help predict hepatitis B virus relapse in patients who achieve hepatitis B e-antigen loss or seroconversion following nucleos(t)ide analogue (NA) treatment, researchers report.

28 Jan 2015

Tenofovir stems treatment-induced kidney toxicity in HBV-related chronic hepatitis

Switching to tenofovir may stave further kidney and bone impairment in patients with hepatitis B virus-related chronic hepatitis taking adefovir-based therapy, retrospective study findings suggest.

28 Jan 2015

Long-term TDF therapy offers sustained HBV suppression without resistance

Patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection can achieve sustained viral suppression with long-term tenofovir disoproxil fumarate treatment without developing resistance, shows a 7-year study.

28 Jan 2015

Paragon Bioservices receives CMO Leadership Awards for 2015

Paragon Bioservices, Inc., a leader in the manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, has announced today that it has received the CMO Leadership Awards for 2015. Paragon is a leading contract manufacturing organization (CRO-CMO) whose customer base includes global pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, NGOs and government agencies—including the Department of Defense, the National Cancer Institute and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

28 Jan 2015

Case Western researchers awarded NSF grant to develop new method to reduce risk of Ebola virus

Health care workers must diagnose and isolate Ebola victims at an early stage to have a chance to save them and prevent the virus from spreading. But the most sensitive and quickest diagnostic test produces a small percentage of false negative results that undermine efforts to control the deadly agent.

27 Jan 2015

Imperial College professor honored with Helmholtz International Fellow Award

The British cell biologist Professor Amanda Gay Fisher of Imperial College London has been honored with the Helmholtz International Fellow Award for her excellent research. Fisher is one of seven outstanding researchers from abroad who received the award, each of which is endowed with 20,000 euros. According to the Helmholtz Association, Germany's largest scientific organization, the award also includes an invitation to visit one or several Helmholtz research centers.

27 Jan 2015

Efficacy of ebola vaccine to be assessed in large-scale clinical trial

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announced today that they will soon be commencing the first large-scale clinical trial to assess the efficacy of an experimental ebola vaccine.

23 Jan 2015

Inherited factors linked to head and neck cancers in young adults

An article published online today in the International Journal of Epidemiology pools data from 25 case-control studies and conducts separate analyses to show that head and neck cancers (HNC) in young adults are more likely to be as a result of inherited factors, rather than lifestyle factors such as smoking or drinking alcohol.

23 Jan 2015