Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

CDC experts update on monkeypox in the United States

Scientists working with the CDC provide the latest information about monkeypox in the U.S.

19 Jul 2022

COVID-19 vaccine-boosted neutralizing antibody levels decrease substantially within 3 months

Although COVID-19 booster vaccinations in adults elicit high levels of neutralizing antibodies against the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, antibody levels decrease substantially within 3 months, according to new clinical trial data.

19 Jul 2022

Gut-lung axis: Using commensal bacteria to reinforce mucosal immunity

A recent study discusses the use of commensal bacteria in the gut and/or respiratory tract to deliver viral antigens to the host, thus acting as vaccines

19 Jul 2022

Molnupiravir does not induce resistance mutations in SARS-CoV-2 genome

A new study has pointed out that Molnupiravir treatment increases the ratio of transition to transversion mutations in COVID-19 patients and that the treatment does not appear to induce resistance mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 genome.

19 Jul 2022

Study shows how a critical Lassa virus protein drives infection

Lassa fever is a viral illness that is far too common in West Africa. Although it can have a mortality rate of 15 percent in severe cases, up to 90% in pregnant women, and causes deafness in a quarter of survivors, there is no vaccine or antiviral to protect against Lassa virus.

19 Jul 2022

Researchers discover new key protection against COVID-19 in saliva

The novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has spread around the world at an unprecedented rate, evading containment countermeasures.

19 Jul 2022

The known and proposed interactions of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 with DNA damage response pathways

Researchers reviewed the consequences of infection with sSARS-CoVs on the host DNA damage response.

19 Jul 2022

Influence of chr12q24.13 domain on COVID-19 severity

Researchers evaluated the probable impact of the chr12q24.13 domain on the outcomes of laboratory-validated SARS-CoV-2 infection.

19 Jul 2022

What were the drivers of influenza decline during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Researchers investigated the potential drivers of a global decline in influenza virus circulation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

19 Jul 2022

What is the efficacy of the second, third, and fourth dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine?

Investigators examined the effectiveness of two, three, and four SARS-CoV-2 vaccine doses during the Omicron prevalent phases.

19 Jul 2022

Six-country African study highlights the potential dangers of getting COVID-19 during pregnancy

A new study involving hospitalized women in six African countries from the University of Maryland School of Medicine's (UMSOM) Institute of Human Virology (IHV) showed that pregnant women with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, had double the risk of being admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and four-times the risk of dying in-hospital than pregnant women who did not have COVID-19.

19 Jul 2022

Should siRNA-based antivirals be added to the COVID toolbox?

A recent study reviewed the existing treatment modalities, including vaccines and antivirals, for SARS-CoV-2 infection.

19 Jul 2022

Fighting monkeypox, sexual health clinics are underfunded and ill-equipped

Clinics that treat sexually transmitted diseases — already struggling to contain an explosive increase in infections such as syphilis and gonorrhea — now find themselves on the front lines in the nation's fight to control the rapidly growing monkeypox outbreak.

19 Jul 2022

Research describes one of the ways the SARS-CoV-2 virus recruits cells to replicate

An article published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology reports a study by researchers at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) and the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil showing how a human protein interacts with a SARS-CoV-2 protein, and describing one of the ways the virus that causes COVID-19 recruits cells to replicate.

18 Jul 2022