Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

New evolutionary analysis provides insights into how Zika virus spreads between populations

In a study published in Pathogens and Global Health, researchers have modelled the evolutionary development and diversity of the Zika virus to better understand how infection spreads between populations and how the virus reacts with the immune system.

13 Oct 2016

Community outreach workers may help increase HBV vaccination rates to cut risk of liver cancer

Liver cancer is more common among Asian Americans in part because they are at high risk of HBV infection.

12 Oct 2016

Research findings provide new avenues to target virus infection

Viral infection is one of the leading medical challenges of the 21st Century, ranging from the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) epidemic affecting 3% of the global population, to recent outbreaks of West Nile, Zika, and Ebola viruses.

12 Oct 2016

Fighting malaria by altering human flavor

A new study by Johns Hopkins researchers suggests that a specialized area of the mosquito brain mixes tastes with smells to create unique and preferred flavors. The findings advance the possibility, they say, of identifying a substance that makes “human flavor” repulsive to the malaria-bearing species of the mosquitoes, so instead of feasting on us, they keep the disease to themselves, potentially saving an estimated 450,000 lives a year worldwide.

11 Oct 2016

Study provides new insights into Zika's rapid infection and risk for transmission

Though first documented 70 years ago, the Zika virus was poorly understood when it burst onto the scene in the Americas in 2015.

7 Oct 2016

Study provides important insights into impact of late HIV testing

An estimated 1.2 million people live with HIV in the United States, with nearly 13 percent being unaware of their infection.

7 Oct 2016

IDRI awarded two-year NIH grant to develop novel RNA-based Zika virus vaccine

As Zika cases continue to rise around the world -- and in the United States -- with associated increases in Guillain-Barre syndrome and congenital birth defects, the need for a safe and effective vaccine to protect against Zika virus is greater than ever.

6 Oct 2016

Research gains new insights into how virus that causes cervical cancer evades immune system

Researchers from New Zealand's University of Otago have gained fresh insights into how one of the main viruses that cause cervical cancer evades its hosts' immune systems.

6 Oct 2016

Rowan Family Medicine physician shares thoughts on myths about flu

It's the drumbeat you hear every year - time to roll up your sleeve for your annual flu vaccination. But, is it really worth the effort? Does the flu vaccine really work?

6 Oct 2016

Researcher investigates ethics of maternal immunization

Vaccination during pregnancy can protect women, foetuses and newborn children against infectious diseases - especially in developing countries. Maternal immunisation however also raises ethical questions.

6 Oct 2016

Researchers find biological evidence linking Zika virus infection and Guillain-Barré syndrome

In a collaborative effort with scientists at six Colombian hospitals, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers report what they believe to be the strongest biological evidence to date linking Zika virus infection and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

5 Oct 2016

Many gay and bisexual men unaware that PrEP medication may reduce HIV risk

Only four in 10 gay and bisexual men in Baltimore without HIV are aware that pre-exposure prophylaxis medication (PrEP) may significantly reduce their risk of contracting the virus, even those who had recently visited a doctor or been tested for a sexually transmitted disease, new Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research suggests.

5 Oct 2016

Culex mosquitoes not involved in transmission of Zika virus, study finds

A Biosecurity Research Institute study has found important results in the fight against Zika virus: Culex mosquitoes do not appear to transmit Zika virus.

5 Oct 2016

Two Zika vaccine candidates protect newborn mice against neurological damage

Two vaccines against Zika virus developed at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine have successfully conveyed immunity from female mice to pups conceived weeks after the mother's vaccination.

4 Oct 2016

Researchers confirm long persistence of Zika virus in semen and reveal its presence within spermatozoa

Recent work has shown that Zika virus persists in semen for up to 6 months after infection. In a correspondence published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the researchers, in addition to confirming its long persistence in semen (in this case for more than 130 days, i.e., over 4 months), reveal the presence of the virus even within spermatozoa.

4 Oct 2016

Can vitamin D reduce asthma attacks? An interview with Professor Adrian Martineau

In the past vitamin D was just thought to be important in regulating calcium homeostasis and bone health as vitamin D deficiency is best known for causing rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.

4 Oct 2016

Discovery of rare flu-thwarting mutation could provide new strategy for live influenza vaccines

A rare and improbable mutation in a protein encoded by an influenza virus renders the virus defenseless against the body's immune system. This University of Rochester Medical Center discovery could provide a new strategy for live influenza vaccines in the future.

4 Oct 2016