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“This is a virus transmitted by mosquitoes that circulates between birds. It can attack the nervous system of certain birds, such as blackbirds, and cause significant mortality. It was first observed in southern Africa, in Swaziland, in 1959,” says Serafin Gutierrez, a virology researcher with CIRAD”S ASTRE research unit. The virus, called Usutu, belongs to the genus Flavivirus, which includes […]
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Protein fragments, called amyloid fibrils, in human semen significantly increase Ebola virus infection and protect the virus against harsh environmental conditions such as heat and dehydration. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania report these findings in a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). Although Ebola is […]
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(HealthDay)—The first confirmed human case of Keystone virus has been diagnosed in a Florida teen, but it’s likely that infection with the mosquito-borne disease is common among state residents, researchers report. The virus can cause a rash and mild fever. It’s named after the location in the Tampa Bay area where it was first identified in 1964. It has been […]
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Zika virus is an arbovirus transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, but it can also be transmitted by sexual contact and blood transfusion. Adult patients infected by Zika usually present only mild symptoms over a few days, such as rashes, conjunctivitis, arthralgia and mild fever. However, the outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil in 2015 first showed the world that […]
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A little-known virus discovered 20 years ago could become the next global pandemic. A recent outbreak in South India has renewed interest in Nipah virus, a disease that generally spreads from bats or pigs to humans and kills nearly three-quarters of those infected. It has no vaccine and no cure. The virus has so far killed 11 in the current […]
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An outbreak of a deadly virus has not spread beyond two areas in south India, officials said, but they have issued a series of warnings to people living in the stricken towns. A total of 12 people have died of Nipah virus since the outbreak began a few weeks ago in the state of Kerala, an unidentified senior Health Ministry […]
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A deadly virus carried mainly by fruit bats has killed at least three people in southern India, sparking a statewide health alert Monday. Eight other deaths in the state of Kerala are being investigated for possible links to the Nipah virus, which has a 70 percent mortality rate. Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged citizens to stay vigilant and […]
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(HealthDay)—Screening blood donations for Zika virus (ZIKV) in the United States is costly with low yield, according to a study published in the May 10 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Paula Saá, Ph.D. from the American Red Cross in Gaithersburg, Md., and colleagues implemented investigational screening of donated blood for ZIKV RNA with transcription-mediated amplification (TMA). Repeat […]
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Researchers have been able to capture images of measles viruses as they emerge from infected cells, using state of the art cryo-electron tomography techniques. The new images will help with a greater understanding of measles and related viruses, and could give hints on antiviral drug strategies likely to work across multiple viruses of this type. The results were published Monday, […]
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The deadly yellow fever virus has the potential to spread into cities around the world where it previously hasn’t been seen, according to a new study led by St. Michael’s Hospital. Researchers led by Dr. Kamran Khan of St. Michael’s have mapped the worldwide pathways through which yellow fever virus could spread by analyzing global patterns of airline travellers, the […]
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