Virus News and Research

Latest Virus News and Research

Researchers find viable immunotherapy option for HIV-1 using fossil virus

The road to finding a cure for HIV-1 is not without obstacles. However, thanks to cutting-edge research by Douglas Nixon, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues, performed at the George Washington University (GW), Oregon Health & Science University, the University of Rochester, and UC San Francisco, the scientific community is one step closer to finding a viable immunotherapy option for HIV-1, using an immune attack against a fossil virus buried in the genome.

18 Jul 2014

Researchers identify key explanation for why immune system unsuccessful in killing HIV virus

Our immune system contains CD8+ T cells which protect us from various diseases such as cancer and viruses. Some of them are specifically tasked with killing cells infected with the HIV virus - and researchers from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden, together with international colleagues, have for the first time identified a key explanation for why these cells are unsuccessful in their task.

18 Jul 2014

Phase II study reveals potential biomarker for HIV vaccine

Further analysis of a Phase II study of therapeutic HIV vaccine candidate Vacc-4x revealed a potential biomarker associated with participants who experienced a more profound viral load reduction after receiving the vaccine.

18 Jul 2014

Starvation can affect health of descendants of famished individuals

Evidence from human famines and animal studies suggests that starvation can affect the health of descendants of famished individuals. But how such an acquired trait might be transmitted from one generation to the next has not been clear.

18 Jul 2014

UH Case Medical Center signs agreement with ARUP to offer DEEPGEN-HIV test

University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center has signed an agreement with ARUP Laboratories, a major national clinical reference laboratory that offers an extensive menu of highly complex and unique medical tests to hospitals, medical schools, and other nonprofit and commercial organizations throughout the United States.

18 Jul 2014

Current recommendations advise prompt antiviral treatment for high-risk patients with influenza

Patients likely to benefit the most from antiviral therapy for influenza were prescribed these drugs infrequently during the 2012-2013 influenza season, while antibiotics may have been overprescribed.

17 Jul 2014

GSK begins shipment of flu vaccines to U.S. for the upcoming 2014-15 season

GSK announced today it has begun shipping FLUARIX QUADRIVALENT (Influenza Vaccine) doses to U.S. healthcare providers. This is the first shipment of GSK’s U.S. flu vaccine supply for the flu season, following licensing and lot-release approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.

17 Jul 2014

Researchers discover how dengue suppresses human immune system

Scientists have discovered a new pathway the dengue virus takes to suppress the human immune system. This new knowledge deepens our understanding of the virus and could contribute to the development of more effective therapeutics.

17 Jul 2014

Isis earns $1 million payment from GSK related to advancement of ISIS-TTRRx

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has earned a $1 million milestone payment from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) related to the advancement of the Phase 2/3 study of ISIS-TTRRx in patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP).

16 Jul 2014

USAMRIID provides on-site laboratory support to current Ebola outbreak

Analysis of clinical samples from suspected Lassa fever cases in Sierra Leone showed that about two-thirds of the patients had been exposed to other emerging diseases, and nearly nine percent tested positive for Ebola virus.

16 Jul 2014

Research reveals why HIV remains a long-lasting infection

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has the ability to integrate into the human genome, making it extremely difficult to cure the infection. A new study by scientists at Seattle Children's Research Institute, University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center found that when HIV integrates into genes involved with cancer, these cells tend to reproduce to a greater extent than others HIV-infected cells.

16 Jul 2014

Majority of oral health patients willing to undergo HIV testing in dental settings, study finds

More than 80 per cent of oral health patients are willing to receive rapid HIV-testing in dental settings, which could help reduce the spread of the HIV according to a groundbreaking study revealed today at a Sydney University HIV Testing Symposium.

16 Jul 2014

Johnson & Johnson sales increase 9.1% to $19.5 billion in second quarter 2014

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $19.5 billion for the second quarter of 2014, an increase of 9.1% as compared to the second quarter of 2013. Operational results increased 9.4% and the negative impact of currency was 0.3%.

15 Jul 2014

CDC closes labs after anthrax, flu accidents

Federal government labs in Atlanta were temporarily shut after it was discovered they had improperly sent potentially deadly pathogens, including anthrax, botulism and virulent bird flue virus, to other labs.

15 Jul 2014

First Edition: July 14, 2014

Today's headlines include coverage of Medicare, the health law and veterans' care policy issues as well as reports from the campaign trail.

14 Jul 2014

New genetic programs for taking blank-slate stem cells and turning them into human blood

The ability to reliably and safely make in the laboratory all of the different types of cells in human blood is one key step closer to reality.

14 Jul 2014

Research roundup: Clinics and electronic records; young adults baffled by exchange; Medicare spending slowdown

We found that in 2012 nine out of ten health centers had adopted a EHR system, and half had adopted EHRs with basic capabilities. Seven in ten health centers reported that their providers were receiving meaningful-use incentive payments from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

14 Jul 2014

Extra dose of polio vaccine boosts immunity in children under 5 years old

Giving children under 5 years old an extra dose of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) helps to boost their immunity to the poliovirus and should be added to vaccination programmes in polio-endemic countries and those facing a high risk of imported cases, suggests new research published in The Lancet.

14 Jul 2014

HIV detected in Mississippi baby after apparent cure

In November 2013, it was reported that an infant (known as the “Mississippi baby”) had been in prolonged remission from HIV and was apparently cured. However, after 2 years without taking antiretroviral therapy and having no evidence of the virus, the child now has detectable levels of HIV.

11 Jul 2014

Mississippi baby: Infant seemingly cured of HIV has detectable levels of HIV

The child known as the "Mississippi baby"-an infant seemingly cured of HIV that was reported as a case study of a prolonged remission of HIV infection in The New England Journal of Medicine last fall-now has detectable levels of HIV after more than two years of not taking antiretroviral therapy without evidence of virus, according to the pediatric HIV specialist and researchers involved in the case.

11 Jul 2014