Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

16% of all new HIV cases reported in Canada linked to immigrants

About 16% of all new HIV cases reported in Canada in 2005 were linked to immigrants from countries where HIV is prevalent, according to a report recently released by the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the CP/Toronto Star reports.

22 Jul 2008

Southern U.S. not receiving adequate Federal funding to provide HIV/AIDS prevention, support, report says

The Southern U.S. is not receiving enough federal funding to provide adequate HIV prevention, treatment and support programs, according to a report scheduled to be released on Monday by the Southern AIDS Coalition, the Birmingham News reports.

22 Jul 2008

Tobacco plant vaccine a cure for cancer?

Scientists in the U.S. say the tobacco plant could be used to "grow" key components of a cancer vaccine; they suggest that the same plant which is responsible for causing cancer may offer a way to treat the disease.

22 Jul 2008

Laser treatment the best fix for wrinkles

According to dermatologists in the U.S. laser treatment is a more effective way of removing wrinkles than some newer procedures.

22 Jul 2008

Study outlines measures to limit effects of pandemic flu on nursing homes

The greatest danger in a pandemic flu outbreak is that it could spread quickly and devastate a broad swath of people across the United States before there is much of a chance to react. The result could be a nation brought to its knees by a disease run rampant.

21 Jul 2008

First human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants

Plants could act as safe, speedy factories for growing antibodies for personalized treatments against a common form of cancer, according to new findings from the Stanford University School of Medicine. The findings came in the first human tests of an injectable vaccine grown in genetically engineered plants.

21 Jul 2008

Viral recombination another way HIV fools the immune system

When individuals infected with HIV become infected with a second strain of the virus, the two viral strains can exchange genetic information, creating a third, recombinant strain of the virus. It is known that the presence of multiple viral strains, called superinfection, frequently leads to a loss of immune control of viral levels.

21 Jul 2008

UK's national HPV vaccination programme extended

The UK's national vaccination programme against HPV is being extended to offer protection to an additional 300,000 girls aged 17-18, starting in September, Public Health Minister Dawn Primarolo announced today.

21 Jul 2008

Evolutionary back-and-forth for humans and viruses

For millennia, humans and viruses have been locked in an evolutionary back-and-forth - one changes to outsmart the other, prompting the second to change and outsmart the first.

21 Jul 2008

UK report casts doubt on pandemic response effectiveness

A new report from the UK says far more needs to be done to protect against outbreaks of infectious diseases.

21 Jul 2008

Tests for Hendra virus on seven north Queenslanders negative

According to health authorities in north Queensland tests on seven people tested for the Hendra equine virus have been negative.

21 Jul 2008

Trial of new AIDS vaccine bites the dust

Plans to conduct a large-scale human trial of an experimental HIV/AIDS vaccine in the United States have bitten the dust.

21 Jul 2008

Outbreak of potentially deadly Hendra virus in Queensland still a cause for concern

An outbreak of Hendra virus at a Brisbane veterinary clinic has resulted in the deaths of two horses, one died from the virus, another was put down and a third horse has recovered.

20 Jul 2008

HIV-I damages the immune system early than originally thought

New research into the earliest events occurring immediately upon infection with HIV-I shows that the virus deals a stunning blow to the immune system earlier than was previously understood. According to scientists at Duke University Medical Center, this suggests the window of opportunity for successful intervention may be only a matter of days - not weeks - after transmission, as researchers had previously believed.

19 Jul 2008

NIAID will not conduct the PAVE 100 HIV vaccine study

After soliciting and considering broad input from the scientific and HIV advocacy communities, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has determined that it will not conduct the HIV vaccine study known as PAVE 100.

17 Jul 2008

Genetic resistance to HIV

Some people may be naturally resistant to infection with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The results of a study conducted by Dr. Nicole Bernard of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) bring us closer to a genetic explanation. Her study findings were published on July 16 in the journal AIDS.

17 Jul 2008

EpiCept and GNI partner to develop anti-viral hepatitis drug in Asia

GNI Ltd and EpiCept Corporation have announced that they have reached agreement to develop a new therapeutic drug, EP1013, in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand, for late-stage viral infection-induced hepatitis. EpiCept will retain the rights in the rest of the world. GNI’s wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Genomics, will start preparation for pre-IND and clinical development in China immediately.

17 Jul 2008

Cure for bird flu a step closer

Scientists and researchers have taken a big step closer to a cure for the most common strain of avian influenza, or "bird flu," the potential pandemic that has claimed more than 200 lives and infected nearly 400 people in 14 countries since it was identified in 2003.

15 Jul 2008

Virus injection could offer long term relief for Parkinson's

Gene therapy could offer a new, long-lasting way to treat Parkinson's disease, research results announced Tuesday 15 July at FENS 2008 suggest. Dr Deniz Kirik of the University of Lund in Sweden has been using viruses to insert a new combination of genes into animals' brains, where they help produce the dopamine that is lacking in Parkinson's disease. The results suggest the treatment is very effective in animal models for several months, possibly years.

15 Jul 2008

Health partnership expands cancer screening services

The Health Partnership of Monroe County, which evolved from the Women's Health Partnership, has expanded its free cancer screenings for women and men and now offers coverage for the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine.

15 Jul 2008