Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Antivirals reduce deaths from flu in hospitalized patients

Adults with influenza infections serious enough to require hospitalization are much less likely to die from the disease if they are given antiviral medications, according to a new study published in the December 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, currently available online.

13 Nov 2007

Seattle Post-Intelligencer examines reactions of people who participated in Merck's canceled HIV vaccine

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer on Friday examined the reaction of volunteers in the Seattle arm of Merck's recently halted HIV vaccine trial. According to the Post-Intelligencer, participants who were interviewed on the condition of anonymity have voiced "decidedly mixed feelings" about participating in the trial because of safety concerns (Paulson, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 11/9).

12 Nov 2007

Dengue fever vaccine looks very promising

The vaccine Tetravalent is manufactured by drug company Sanofi who say it will be ready to be submitted for approval by the year 2012.

7 Nov 2007

Researchers neutralise the HIV virus

With the latest advances in treatment, doctors have discovered that they can successfully neutralise the HIV virus.

6 Nov 2007

Remote sensing technology used to predict future pandemics

With the help of 14 satellites currently in orbit and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Applied Sciences Program, scientists have been able to observe the Earth's environment to help predict and prevent infectious disease outbreaks around the world.

6 Nov 2007

Hepatitis C treatment reduces the virus but serious liver problems may progress

Patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced liver disease who did not respond to previous standard therapy experienced significant decreases in their liver enzymes, viral levels, and liver inflammation following treatment with long-term pegylated interferon.

6 Nov 2007

Novel approaches to hypertension control

A hypertension vaccine could be an important alternative to conventional drug therapy because of patients' inconsistent drug intake - if further research supports results from a small study testing the safety and tolerability of a vaccine.

6 Nov 2007

Baltimore Sun series examines link between commercial sex work, HIV transmission in Baltimore

The Baltimore Sun this week published a two-part series examining the link between commercial sex work and HIV transmission in Baltimore.

6 Nov 2007

Washington Post examines reaction to study tracking HIV's arrival in U.S. from Haiti

The Washington Post on Monday examined reaction to a recent study that found that HIV likely arrived in the U.S. from Haiti about a decade earlier than previously believed (Stein, Washington Post, 11/5).

5 Nov 2007

Testing delays cause severe AIDS complications

Despite the availability of life-saving antiretroviral treatment, people infected with HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) continue to die and suffer from complications of AIDS, mainly due to delayed diagnosis and initiation of treatment.

5 Nov 2007

Hepatitis C virus found to spread directly from cell to cell by-passing antibodies

Scientists looking for an effective treatment for Hepatitis C may face an even bigger task than anticipated. Recent studies looking into how the virus spreads in liver tumour cells have demonstrated that the virus uses two different routes, which may explain why the body's natural occurring antibodies are ineffective at controlling the virus.

5 Nov 2007

Hairpin peptide mimetics show promise as new drugs to fight HIV

When a host cell is infected with HIV, the virus brings its own genetic material into the host cell. This cell then replicates, reads the viral RNA, and uses it as a blueprint to produce more viral proteins.

5 Nov 2007

TB vaccine can be a killer for babies with HIV

Experts in South Africa say a vaccine which was meant to protect children in developing countries from tuberculosis (TB)may in fact be killing them.

4 Nov 2007

The PIN codes of the immune system can be hacked

There are several reasons why the world is still plagued by diseases we cannot treat or vaccinate against, one of them being the vast complexity of the human immune system.

2 Nov 2007

Genes identified to protect brassicas from damaging disease

Scientists have identified a new way to breed brassicas, which include broccoli, cabbage and oilseed rape, resistant to a damaging virus.

2 Nov 2007

Panzem (2-methoxyestradiol ) drug a possible candidate for breast cancer treatment

A Mayo Clinic study of a drug that has shown promise in treating sarcoma, lung and brain cancers, demonstrates that the drug may also be effective in treating breast cancer, in particular the spread of breast cancer.

2 Nov 2007

Review of controversy surrounding the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine

In an article appearing in the current issue of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics, experts from the University of Pennsylvania Center for Bioethics and Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics review the controversy surrounding the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine debate, and its effects on ethical and public health issues.

2 Nov 2007