Noninfluenza respiratory viral infections (NIRV) are associated with illness and death rates similar to influenza in hospitalized adults, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). In a study of 2119 adults admitted to two hospitals over three seasons (2015-2018) in Edmonton, Alberta, and Toronto, Ontario, with confirmed…
New drug target for Ebola, Marburg viruses
Ebola and Marburg are among the most deadly viruses, with mortality rates from these infections ranging from 25% to 90%. While no drugs currently are available on the market to prevent infection from these viruses—they belong to a category of viruses called filoviruses, which are known to cause hemorrhagic fever—researchers…
How viruses trick us into spending more time socialising
Can viruses change our behaviour? From Covid-19 to colds, the astonishing truth of how infections trick us into spending more time socialising (and spreading germs!) Can viruses such as the one that causes Covid-19 attack our brains and change our behaviour — thereby prolonging an outbreak? That’s the suggestion from…
Immunologist: How the body’s defense system takes on viruses, and why sometimes it loses
You’ve probably heard that your best defenses against the coronavirus are washing your hands, practicing social distancing, and having a healthy immune system. It’s that last part—the part you can’t really control for sure—that may have you crossing your fingers. A dysfunctional immune system, experts say, is one reason that…
Gut microbes protect against neurologic damage from viral infections
Gut microbes produce compounds that prime immune cells to destroy harmful viruses in the brain and nervous system, according to a mouse study published today in eLife. The findings suggest that having a healthy and diverse microbiota is essential for quickly clearing viruses in the nervous system to prevent paralysis…
Can transfer lip balms Herpes?
Can lip-care products actually transmitted Herpes? According to experts, about two out of three people are infected with herpes viruses. Many do not realize this but even. Therefore, it can easily happen, others unconsciously with the virus to infect. It is often said that Herpes can also be lip balms…
With viruses, drug-resistant infections treat?
Genetically modified viruses against antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be used It is now managed, in the case of a young girl with a life-threatening and against drug-resistant infection with Mycobacterium abscessus-to treat by means of genetically modified viruses. In a recent study by the University of Pittsburgh is managed by the…
Groundbreaking study could lead to fast, simple test for Ebola virus
In a breakthrough that could lead to a simple and inexpensive test for Ebola virus disease, researchers have generated two antibodies to the deadly virus. The antibodies, which are inexpensive to produce, potentially could be used in a simple filter paper test to detect Ebola virus and the related Marburg…
Experts sound alarm as mosquito- and tick-borne diseases set to flourish in warmer climate
New research presented at this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Amsterdam, Netherlands (13-16 April) shows that the geographical range of vector-borne diseases such as chikungunya, dengue fever, leishmaniasis, and tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is expanding rapidly. Spurred on by climate change and international travel and…
How viruses outsmart their host cells: Scientists decipher protein structure after more than fifty years of research
Viruses depend on host cells for replication, but how does a virus induce its host to transcribe its own genetic information alongside that of the virus, thus producing daughter viruses? For decades, researchers have been studying a type of bacteriophage known as ‘lambda’ to try and find an answer to…
Mathematicians develop model of spatial distribution of HIV and other viruses in the body for the first time
RUDN mathematicians created a mathematical model to describe spatial distribution of viruses in the body. It analyzes the growth of a virus population in space and time and evaluates the influence of their reaction with the immune system on the course of the disease. The results may be useful for…