Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

AARP recommends older adults to get seasonal flu vaccination this year

With the thermometer dropping and the onset of flu season upon us, AARP is reaching out to their membership and the public to encourage them to get a seasonal flu vaccine this year.

7 Oct 2009

Health educator stresses the importance of sinus cleansing

With fall allergy season underway and Americans concerned about keeping their family safe from H1N1 and other flu viruses, health educator and fitness trainer Isabella "Betti" Jones is urging Americans to take a proactive, natural approach to staying healthy - the important step of daily sinus cleansing.

6 Oct 2009

PDS Biotechnology's Versamune-based immunotherapy drug demonstrates safety in preclinical studies

PDS Biotechnology Corporation today announced that the company has completed GLP toxicology studies of its lead HPV-cancer product. The studies, which included pharmacokinetic (PK) and adsorption, bio-distribution and excretion (ADE) studies in addition to the evaluation of toxicity, all demonstrated a very safe profile of the drug and PDS Biotech's platform Versamune((TM)) technology.

6 Oct 2009

Hepatitis B Foundation calls for consistent monitoring and referral of HBV infected children

An expert panel of nationally recognized pediatric liver specialists convened by the Hepatitis B Foundation is calling for more consistent monitoring and referral of children chronically infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The panel's recommendations for pediatricians and other primary care practitioners stress the need for routine monitoring of children with chronic HBV infections, and timely consultation with a pediatric liver specialist.

6 Oct 2009

HIV prevalence high among African Americans

HIV prevalence among African Americans is ten times greater than the prevalence among whites. This racial disparity in HIV prevalence has persisted in the face of both governmental and private actions, involving many billions of dollars, to combat HIV.

6 Oct 2009

Gene therapy to improve ailing heart's contractions of muscle cells

Scientists from the Universities of Michigan and Minnesota show in a research report published online in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org) that gene therapy may be used to improve an ailing heart's ability to contract properly. In addition to showing gene therapy's potential for reversing the course of heart failure, it also offers a tantalizing glimpse of a day when "closed heart surgery" via gene therapy is as commonly prescribed as today's cocktail of drugs.

6 Oct 2009

Vivaldi receives US patent for live attenuated influenza vaccines

Vivaldi Biosciences Inc. (Vivaldi), a biotechnology company focused on development of vaccines for influenza, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued US Patent 7,588,768 covering live attenuated influenza vaccines (LAIVs) with modifications to the viral NS1 gene, and methods for producing the vaccines in cell culture systems.

6 Oct 2009

Emergency preparedness and business continuity planning to prevent and manage H1N1 virus

This fall the CDC estimates that upwards of 50 percent of Americans could come down with the H1N1 virus, killing as many as 1.2 million people. Additionally, there are estimates that many companies will experience between 30-50 percent absenteeism due to employee illness.

6 Oct 2009

Inviragen, SingVax merge their complementary vaccine pipelines

Inviragen and SingVax have merged their complementary vaccine pipelines and their international product development capabilities to create a company that is developing a wide range of vaccines for infectious diseases prevalent in emerging economies.

6 Oct 2009

Fresenius Medical Care to offer seasonal influenza and H1N1 flu vaccines

As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) predicts a more severe flu season this year, people with chronic health conditions are especially at risk and can develop a more severe illness from any influenza infection, including the H1N1 virus.

6 Oct 2009

Two-thirds of tonsil tumour samples show evidence of HPV-16 gene: Study

It is estimated that more than 7,000 people are diagnosed with head and neck cancer each year in the UK and approximately 3,500 cases result in death. These cancers include tumours of the mouth, lips, throat and voice-box, and some have been linked to the sexually transmitted infection, HPV-16. Scientists at Liverpool analysed the DNA of more than 90 cancerous tissue samples to look for genes that indicated infection.

6 Oct 2009

HIV prevalence among African Americans is ten times greater than the prevalence among whites

6 Oct 2009

Drivers with Parkinson's disease at greater risk of crashes on foggy days

Drivers with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease may be at higher risk of crashes on foggy days and other times of low visibility. The research, involving a driving simulation test, is published in the October 6, 2009, print issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

6 Oct 2009

U.N. officials highlight need for vaccine assistance to poor countries

U.N. officials on Sunday said that the H1N1 (swine flu) virus had arrived in poorer countries, highlighting a growing need for financial assistance and H1N1 vaccines for such regions, SAPA/News24.com reports.

6 Oct 2009

Research reveals that 52% Americans are not worried about H1N1 virus and its impact

As the first recipients of the H1N1 vaccine are vaccinated, more than half of Americans surveyed (52 percent) do not believe the H1N1 virus, or Swine Flu, will have a major impact in the United States compared to 44 percent who believe it will, according to the results of a new Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey.

6 Oct 2009

AVI BioPharma receives $11.5M DTRA fund to develop AVI-7012 for treating Junin virus infection

AVI BioPharma, Inc. a developer of RNA-based drugs, announced today that it has received expanded contract funding of approximately $11.5 million from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's (DTRA) Transformational Medical Technologies Initiative (TMTI) to support development of the Investigational New Drug (IND) data package for its candidate drug, AVI-7012, to treat Junin virus infection.

5 Oct 2009

Majority of Americans believe they are well-protected from H1N1

A new Harris poll, commissioned by SCA Tissue North America’s Tork® brand, reveals that 74 percent of U.S. adults say it is unlikely they will contract H1N1 this year.

5 Oct 2009

Preclinical study results of AVL-181 protease inhibitor presented

Avila Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing novel covalent drugs that treat diseases through protein silencing, presented results of preclinical studies on its highly selective, pan-genotype, small molecule Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) protease inhibitor, AVL-181.

5 Oct 2009

Theraclone and Zenyaku Kogyo sign multi-year research and development agreement

Theraclone Sciences, Inc., a Seattle-based biotechnology company, and Zenyaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., a pharmaceutical company based in Tokyo, today announced that they have entered into a multi-year research and development agreement.

5 Oct 2009