Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Humans not the major target of Shiga toxin

If you've survived Shiga toxin and the after-effects of food poisoning, you may have been the innocent victim of a battle for survival between predator and prey.

4 Dec 2007

Vaccination against hepatitis B does not seem to increase the risk of a first episode of MS in childhood

Vaccinating against the hepatitis B virus does not appear to be associated with the risk of developing multiple sclerosis in childhood, according to a report in the December issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

4 Dec 2007

Theory applied to fate

Why does it take so long for soul mates to find each other? How does disease spread through a person's body? When will the next computer virus attack your hard-drive?

4 Dec 2007

Inhaled immune system stimulant launches immune response in lungs to wipe out lethal infections

An inhaled immune system stimulant protects mice against lethal pneumococcal pneumonia and other deadly bacterial, viral and fungal infections of the lungs, a research team led by scientists at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports at a major scientific meeting.

4 Dec 2007

Tainted spinach reveals treatment possibilities

A discovery by University at Buffalo biologists that may explain the evolution of a lethal toxin is providing new information that could lead to more effective treatments for humans who fall victim to it.

3 Dec 2007

Frightening new Ebola strain ravages remote Congo area

An outbreak of a new strain of the deadly Ebola virus in a remote area near the Democratic Republic of Congo is causing considerable concern.

3 Dec 2007

The true picture of AIDS in the U.S. yet to be revealed

Despite widespread reports in the U.S. media concerning the sharp rise in the number of annual infections from HIV/AIDS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is yet to confirm that is the case.

3 Dec 2007

New drug, eltrombopag boosts platelets in hepatitis C patients

It's not a cure, but this may be some of the best news patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) have heard in a long time: A new drug, eltrombopag, appears to be effective in boosting low platelet counts, one of the major reasons why patients can't endure antiviral treatments.

29 Nov 2007

New figures show an alarming incidence of HIV in MSM

On World AIDS Day 2007, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of men who have sex with men (MSM) will become infected with HIV in cities across the Asia Pacific, becoming the latest statistics in an almost unrecognized but ever-growing crisis that many governments in the region are only just beginning to grapple with.

29 Nov 2007

Simple measures such as hand washing better than drugs in dealing with flu viruses

Scientists say using physical barriers, such as regular hand washing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns, may be far more effective than drugs to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses such as influenza and SARS.

27 Nov 2007

HIV in Thailand appears more deadly

Two studies led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health found that people infected with HIV in Thailand die from the disease significantly sooner than those with HIV living in other parts of the world.

27 Nov 2007

Oncolytics Biotech issued new U.S. patent - reovirus for the treatment of neoplasia

Oncolytics Biotech Inc. has announced that it has been granted U.S. Patent 7,300,650 entitled "Reovirus for the Treatment of Neoplasia."

27 Nov 2007

Alcohol and tobacco use doesn't boost HPV-related cancer risk

Heavy smoking and drinking are known to cause head and neck cancer. Infection with human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16), a common strain of the sexually-transmitted HPV virus, is another known risk factor for head and neck cancer, which affects about 500,000 people each year worldwide.

27 Nov 2007

Blood-vessel blocker aids cancer-killing virus

Cancer-killing viruses are a promising therapy for incurable brain tumors, but their effectiveness has been limited in part because immune cells rapidly move in and eliminate them.

27 Nov 2007

Bird flu in South Korea prompts culling of 17,000 ducks

A bird flu scare in South Korea has prompted Japan to ban all imports of poultry from there.

27 Nov 2007

Bill finds another $200m to beat polio

The fight against polio has had an enormous boost by way of a grant of $200m from Bill Gates and Rotary.

27 Nov 2007

Do rural and non-rural single, young adults differ in their risk and protective HIV/STD behaviors?

Single young adults living in rural areas are no more inclined to engage in safe sex behaviors than their non-rural peers, according to a new analysis by Indiana University sexual health experts of a nationally representative survey.

27 Nov 2007

Deeper insights into the workings of the immune system

The first lines of defense in our immune systems are specialized mobile units that check the identity of cells to determine whether they are 'self' or 'foreign.'

27 Nov 2007

Washington D.C. a hotbed for AIDS

According to a recently released report Washington, D.C. has the highest rate of AIDS in the United States.

27 Nov 2007

Indonesia refuses again to share bird flu samples

The nation's health minister Siti Fadilah Supari says before any bird flu specimens are sent to the WHO, Indonesia needs assurances that poorer nations will have affordable access to any pandemic vaccines developed from the virus and they are not only available to the rich

26 Nov 2007