Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Global health community reacts to CIA's faux vaccine operation in Pakistan

After the Guardian broke the story that the CIA organized a fake vaccination program in Pakistan in an effort to confirm the location of Osama bin Laden and obtain DNA from his family members, several writers and health experts reacted to the situation, noting the possible implications for health.

14 Jul 2011

Studies show AIDS drugs can prevent heterosexuals from acquiring HIV

Two new studies released early Wednesday show that AIDS drugs can prevent heterosexuals from acquiring HIV, adding to a growing number of new methods to slow the spread of the virus world-wide.

14 Jul 2011

Positive data from Inovio's VGX-3400X Phase I study against H5N1 influenza

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a leader in the development of therapeutic and preventive vaccines against cancers and infectious diseases, announced today that significant T cell and antibody responses were generated in its Phase I clinical study of VGX-3400X, a SynCon DNA vaccine for the prevention of avian H5N1 influenza delivered using intramuscular (IM) electroporation.

14 Jul 2011

'Sex' between viruses can create new influenza pandemic

A new University of Maryland-led study finds that 'sex' between the virus responsible for the 2009 flu pandemic (H1N1) and a common type of avian flu virus (H9N2) can produce offspring -- new combined flu viruses -- with the potential for creating a new influenza pandemic.

14 Jul 2011

Five-year research initiative to cure HIV disease

A team of AIDS experts at Johns Hopkins and other institutions have embarked on a joint five-year research initiative to cure HIV disease by finding ways to completely purge the virus from the body in people already successfully suppressing the virus with antiretroviral drug therapy.

14 Jul 2011

Arabidopsis thaliana helps scientists to solve puzzles in human health

A tiny plant called Arabidopsis thaliana just helped scientists unearth new clues about the daily cycles of many organisms, including humans. This is the latest in a long line of research, much of it supported by the National Institutes of Health, that uses plants to solve puzzles in human health.

14 Jul 2011

Chimerix initiates CMX001 Phase 2 study for prevention of adenovirus disease following HSCT

Chimerix, Inc., a biotechnology company developing orally-available antiviral therapeutics, today announced that patient dosing has begun in the AdV HALT Trial (A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Multi-site Phase 2 Study Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Preemptive Treatment with CMX001 for the Prevention of Adenovirus Disease Following Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation [HSCT]).

14 Jul 2011

Adamis receives European patent for novel cell-based cancer vaccine technology

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, today announced the technology which constitutes the basis of a novel cell-based cancer vaccine, TeloB-VAX, was recently granted a patent in Europe.

14 Jul 2011

Melbourne bat-bourne virus warning

A Melbourne discovery of a flying fox carrying the deadly Lyssavirus has prompted a warning from health authorities about handling the animals. A resident of East Kew discovered the infected flying fox this week. It is the 10th case of the virus being discovered in flying foxes in Victoria since 1996. The virus has been found in four species within Australia, including the Grey-headed flying fox which is prevalent in Melbourne.

13 Jul 2011

Swine flu vaccine and risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome

In a large five nation study from Europe it was seen that the use of adjuvanted vaccines against the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus probably did not increase the risk of Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS), but the investigators could not firmly rule out a slightly greater chance of suffering the paralytic condition.

13 Jul 2011

Daily pill ‘combo’ prevents HIV transmission: New African study

According two studies in Africa, taking a daily pill containing either one or two anti-HIV drugs can reduce transmission of the virus by as much as three-quarters among heterosexual couples. This is an encouraging finding that could help focus on AIDS prevention. The results were so compelling that the larger study was halted early and the drugs given to all the participants, researchers said Wednesday.

13 Jul 2011

First Edition: July 13, 2011

Today's headlines detail the next moves in the ongoing budget discussion, including a "last-choice option" proposed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and reports about how the health industry is lining up against possible cuts.

13 Jul 2011

NIH grants $70M over five years to help search for HIV cure

NIH announced on Monday it will provide $70 million over five years to three collaborations searching for an HIV/AIDS cure, making it "the largest single investment yet … into finding a way to rid the virus from the body or at least reduce levels to the point that infected people can stop taking anti-HIV drugs - which many researchers until recently viewed as a hopeless quest," ScienceInsider reports.

13 Jul 2011

Elsevier introduces new journal, 'Current Opinion in Virology'

Elsevier has announced the publication of the first issue of Current Opinion in Virology - a new journal in its prestigious Current Opinion series, publishing six issues a year.

13 Jul 2011

Sexually transmitted diseases more common in women age 40

A Johns Hopkins infectious disease expert is calling for all sexually active American women age 40 and older to get tested for the parasite Trichomonas vaginalis after new study evidence found that the sexually transmitted disease (STD) is more than twice as common in this age group than previously thought.

12 Jul 2011

Rapid method can predict immune responses against flu vaccines

Researchers at the Emory Vaccine Center have developed a method for predicting whether someone will produce high levels of antibodies against a flu shot a few days after vaccination.

12 Jul 2011

HIV patients with mental illness can benefit from APRN care management

In a four-year study, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have found that assigning adults with serious mental health illness who are HIV positive to the care of advanced practice nurses (APRN) to help navigate the health care system and maintain adherence to drug regimens reduced depression and improved their overall physical health, indicating that healthcare policy should be revamped to provide this support.

12 Jul 2011

UNC receives $32 million federal grant to eradicate HIV infection

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have been awarded a $32 million, five-year federal grant to develop ways to cure people with HIV by purging the virus hiding in the immune systems of patients taking antiretroviral therapy.

12 Jul 2011

Type-3 polio virus case in Pakistan raises concerns of disease spreading, WHO says

Pakistan has reported the first case of the type-3 wild polio virus in six months, raising concerns that the disease may spread to other parts of Asia and beyond, the WHO said on Thursday, Bloomberg/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

12 Jul 2011

New research strategy for eradicating HIV from the body

An international team led by researchers from the University of California, San Francisco and the nonprofit Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute of Port St. Lucie, Fla., has received a major grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a strategy to eradicate HIV from the body.

12 Jul 2011