Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Cases of HIV infections with multiple strains more common than previously thought

Cases in which an HIV-positive person is infected with more than one strain of the virus are more common than previously believed, Canadian and U.S. scientists said Monday at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, CanWest News Service/Vancouver Sun reports.

17 Aug 2006

Few children in need of HIV/AIDS medications receiving them

Five percent of the children who urgently need HIV/AIDS medications are receiving them, according to research released Tuesday by Medecins Sans Frontieres at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Reuters AlertNet reports.

17 Aug 2006

China taking steps to control the spread of HIV

Zunyu Wu, director of the National Center for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention at China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto said the country plans to continue taking steps to control the spread of HIV in the country, AFP/Today Online reports.

17 Aug 2006

Indonesia confirms 58th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus

The case occurred in a 9-year-old girl from a remote village in Garut district, West Java Province. She developed symptoms on 1 August, was hospitalized on 14 August, and died on 15 August. Recent chicken deaths were reported in her household.

17 Aug 2006

The endocannabinoid system controls key epileptogenic circuits in the hippocampus

The same brain machinery that responds to the active substance in marijuana provides a central "on-demand" protection against seizures, researchers have found. They said their discoveries suggest that the "endocannabinoid" system might constitute a prime target for drugs against seizures of epilepsy and other neurodegenerative diseases.

16 Aug 2006

Racial differences in hepatitis C viral responses

African American patients with hepatitis C (HCV) infections experience a lower response rate to the peginterferon alfa-2a and ribavirin combination treatment than Caucasian Americans, according to a study published in the August issue of Gastroenterology.

16 Aug 2006

Long-term health effects from West Nile illnesses

More than a year after being diagnosed with a West Nile virus infection, half of the patients have ongoing health complaints including fatigue, memory problems, headaches, depression, and tremors, according to an article in the Sept. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases.

16 Aug 2006

Natural HIV immunity

An international, multi-institutional research consortium is seeking to discover how a few HIV-infected individuals are naturally able to suppress replication of the virus.

16 Aug 2006

GenoMed's West Nile treatment speeds up Texas policeman's recovery from paralysis

GenoMed has announced that a Texas policeman with paralysis from the waist down due to West Nile virus has accelerated his recovery since starting GenoMed's treatment last week.

16 Aug 2006

AIDS vaccine still long way off

Researchers are optimistic about a potential HIV/AIDS vaccine, even though none of the vaccines in development is likely to completely protect people from HIV transmission, participants at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto said at a news conference Tuesday, Reuters reports.

16 Aug 2006

Elite suppressors of HIV to change how scientists monitor spread of disease

Scientists at Johns Hopkins have found that 1 percent to 2 percent of those infected with HIV in Baltimore apparently suppress the virus to nearly undetectable levels on their own, confounding public health efforts to accurately monitor the pandemic's spread, now in its 20th year.

15 Aug 2006

Researchers find precise location where an antibody binds to the West Nile virus

Researchers have learned the precise location where an antibody binds to the West Nile virus, and they have suggested a mechanism for how this antibody neutralizes the virus to prevent infection.

14 Aug 2006

Avian influenza update - situations in Indonesia and China

The Ministry of Health in China has confirmed the country's 21st case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

14 Aug 2006

Wild swans in the U.S. found to have strain of H5N1 bird flu

Officials at the Agriculture Department in the United States have found two swans in a Michigan gaming area with possibly another strain of the bird flu virus.

14 Aug 2006

Bill Gates says protecting against HIV/AIDS can't be left to men

Microsoft founder Bill Gates says all the money in the world will not conquer HIV/AIDS unless more progress is made in preventing new infections. Gates says women and other high-risk groups must be given the ability to protect themselves.

14 Aug 2006

Bird flu doing the rounds in Cambodia again

According to officials in Cambodia a second outbreak of bird flu has occurred there this year in southeast Prey Veng, the same province where the H5N1 virus killed a boy in April, about 20 km from the Cambodia-Vietnam border.

14 Aug 2006

Thailand finds another 46 suspected human bird-flu cases

According to health officials in Thailand another 46 people are under observation after developing symptoms similar to bird flu.

14 Aug 2006

740,000 vaccines urgently needed to control outbreak of Japanese encephalitis

According to official sources Japanese encephalitis has to date claimed 19 lives in the northern Chinese city of Yuncheng in the Shanxi province.

14 Aug 2006

We need to put the power of HIV prevention in the hands of women

Bill and Melinda Gates has called upon world leaders to "put the power to prevent HIV in the hands of women" by accelerating the search for microbicides and other new HIV prevention tools.

14 Aug 2006

USDA, DOI and state partners begin monitoring wild migratory birds in lower 48 states

Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne today announced that their departments are expanding wild bird monitoring for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza.

9 Aug 2006