Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Researchers discover how dengue suppresses human immune system

Scientists have discovered a new pathway the dengue virus takes to suppress the human immune system. This new knowledge deepens our understanding of the virus and could contribute to the development of more effective therapeutics.

17 Jul 2014

Isis earns $1 million payment from GSK related to advancement of ISIS-TTRRx

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has earned a $1 million milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) related to the advancement of the Phase 2/3 study of ISIS-TTRRx in patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP).

16 Jul 2014

USAMRIID provides on-site laboratory support to current Ebola outbreak

Analysis of clinical samples from suspected Lassa fever cases in Sierra Leone showed that about two-thirds of the patients had been exposed to other emerging diseases, and nearly nine percent tested positive for Ebola virus.

16 Jul 2014

Research reveals why HIV remains a long-lasting infection

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has the ability to integrate into the human genome, making it extremely difficult to cure the infection. A new study by scientists at Seattle Children's Research Institute, University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that when HIV integrates into genes involved with cancer, these cells tend to reproduce to a greater extent than others HIV-infected cells.

16 Jul 2014

Majority of oral health patients willing to undergo HIV testing in dental settings, study finds

More than 80 per cent of oral health patients are willing to receive rapid HIV-testing in dental settings, which could help reduce the spread of the HIV according to a groundbreaking study revealed today at a Sydney University HIV Testing Symposium.

16 Jul 2014

Johnson & Johnson sales increase 9.1% to $19.5 billion in second quarter 2014

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $19.5 billion for the second quarter of 2014, an increase of 9.1% as compared to the second quarter of 2013. Operational results increased 9.4% and the negative impact of currency was 0.3%.

15 Jul 2014

CDC closes labs after anthrax, flu accidents

Federal government labs in Atlanta were temporarily shut after it was discovered they had improperly sent potentially deadly pathogens, including anthrax, botulism and virulent bird flue virus, to other labs.

15 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 14, 2014

Today's headlines include coverage of Medicare, the health law and veterans' care policy issues as well as reports from the campaign trail.

14 Jul 2014

New genetic programs for taking blank-slate stem cells and turning them into human blood

The ability to reliably and safely make in the laboratory all of the different types of cells in human blood is one key step closer to reality.

14 Jul 2014

Research roundup: Clinics and electronic records; young adults baffled by exchange; Medicare spending slowdown

We found that in 2012 nine out of ten health centers had adopted a EHR system, and half had adopted EHRs with basic capabilities. Seven in ten health centers reported that their providers were receiving meaningful-use incentive payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

14 Jul 2014

Extra dose of polio vaccine boosts immunity in children under 5 years old

Giving children under 5 years old an extra dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) helps to boost their immunity to the poliovirus and should be added to vaccination programmes in polio-endemic countries and those facing a high risk of imported cases, suggests new research published in The Lancet.

14 Jul 2014

HIV detected in Mississippi baby after apparent cure

In November 2013, it was reported that an infant (known as the “Mississippi baby”) had been in prolonged remission from HIV and was apparently cured. However, after 2 years without taking antiretroviral therapy and having no evidence of the virus, the child now has detectable levels of HIV.

11 Jul 2014

Mississippi baby: Infant seemingly cured of HIV has detectable levels of HIV

The child known as the "Mississippi baby"-an infant seemingly cured of HIV that was reported as a case study of a prolonged remission of HIV infection in The New England Journal of Medicine last fall-now has detectable levels of HIV after more than two years of not taking antiretroviral therapy without evidence of virus, according to the pediatric HIV specialist and researchers involved in the case.

11 Jul 2014

Bacterial respiratory tract colonization before catching influenza may protect against severe disease

Many studies have shown that more severe illness and even death are likely to result if you develop a secondary respiratory infection after developing influenza. Now, however, a team of researchers based at The Wistar Institute has determined that if you reverse the order of infection, the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae (often called pneumococcus) may actually protect against a bad case of the flu.

11 Jul 2014

Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes increase risk of West Nile virus

Mosquitoes infected with the bacteria Wolbachia are more likely to become infected with West Nile virus and more likely to transmit the virus to humans, according to a team of researchers.

11 Jul 2014

Study reveals how HIV virus spreads infection

Research led by the University of Adelaide has provided new insights into how the HIV virus greatly boosts its chances of spreading infection, and why HIV is so hard to combat.

10 Jul 2014

National Gay Blood Drive to take place on July 11, 2014

On Friday, July 11, the second annual nationwide National Gay Blood Drive (NGBD) will take place to raise public awareness and increase pressure on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to change its policy on the long-standing ban on blood donation by men who have had sex with other men (MSM) – a restriction that has been in place since 1983.

10 Jul 2014

Pathogen and ranavirus also contribute in amphibian extinctions

Amphibian declines and extinctions around the world have been linked to an emerging fungal disease called chytridiomycosis, but new research from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) shows that another pathogen, ranavirus, may also contribute.

10 Jul 2014

Viewpoints: Misreading Hobby Lobby; calmer climate for ACA; danger of tuberculosis, measles

Liberals should spend less time lauding the dissents in last week's Hobby Lobby decision by the U.S. Supreme Court and more time reading them.

9 Jul 2014

FDA approves Protein Sciences' strain change amendment for Flublok influenza vaccine

Protein Sciences Corporation announced today that the FDA has approved the Company's strain change amendment for its seasonal influenza vaccine, Flublok.

9 Jul 2014