Ineffective – HIV Vaccine Trial Discontinued

27 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has announced that it will halt its HVTN 505 HIV vaccine

trial due to a perceived lack of efficacy. A scheduled review by an independent data and safety monitoring board found that the vaccine regimen neither prevented HIV infection nor reduced viral load in vaccine recipients who became infected with HIV.

The announcement will come as a blow to those hoping the HVTN 505 would be an effective intervention to stem the HIV pandemic.

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

And another one bites the dust…not only not effective, suspected of increasing infection rates.  VERY sad!

See on blogs.terrapinn.com

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Hepatitis A virus discovered to cloak itself in membranes hijacked from infected cells

12 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

Viruses have historically been classified into one of two types – those with an outer lipid-containing envelope and those without an envelope.

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

…and hep A steals membranes from liver cells to circulate as an enveloped particle(s) in blood. This is a fascinating find, and doubtless will be followed by similar for other viruses.

 

The commentary has some speculation as to how vacciens work, if antibodies can’t see the virus – but they forget the virus has to get INTO the host in the first place, and environmental forms are non-enveloped, AND that the vaccine may well elicit some degree of cell-mediated immunity, which would target infected cells displaying degraded protein on tehir surfaces via MHC I-type receptors.

See on medicalxpress.com

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Mississauga Article: Making vaccine for new bird flu virus could be a challenge

12 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

TORONTO — Making a vaccine to protect against the new bird flu virus that has emerged in eastern China could prove to be problematic, influenza experts acknowledged yesterday.

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

"…clinical trials of vaccines made to protect against other viruses in the H7 family have shown the vaccines don’t induce much of an immune response, even when people are given what would be considered very large doses."

This is a little worrying – and possibly a spur to making universal vaccines!

See on www.mississauga.com

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Autism risk isn’t increased by the use of recommended childhood vaccines

11 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

Autism risk isn’t increased by the use of recommended childhood vaccines, U.S. health officials found in a study addressing parent concerns that too many immunizations may cause the disorder.

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

A-frakkin’-men….

See on www.linkedin.com

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Who can catch which flu?

11 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

Imgur is used to share photos with social networks and online communities, and has the funniest pictures from all over the Internet.

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

Excellent graphic!

See on imgur.com

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Chicken Virus Attacks Cancer Cells | The Scientist Magazine®

9 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

Researchers have genetically engineered a virus that is deadly to chickens and found that it can kill prostate cancer in vitro.

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

OK, not new nws, but something I will pay attaention to, at my age…B-)

See on www.the-scientist.com

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[Video] The Peter Wildy Prize for Microbiology Education 2013

5 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

Full length video of this great talk – make sure you watch this!

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

Virus Rules OK!  Thanks @AJCann.

See on www.microbiologybytes.com

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A Brief History of Influenza

5 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

I am TRYING to write an eBook on influenza, which stubbornly refuses to be finished – as part of a sabbatical project, which finished in December 2010.  So, like my History of Virology, I am triall…

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

I will reprise this post, given a considerable recent spike in interest in it as the new H7N9 Shanghai bird flu starts.  Hopefully to fizzle out, but you never know….

Incidentally, I have an almost-finished iBook (for iPad) on influenza: the first five respondents to this post can trial it for free!

See on rybicki.wordpress.com

Posted in Evolution, Influenza viruses, Vaccines: General, Viruses | 3 Comments »

China culls birds as bird flu deaths mount | Reuters

5 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

SHANGHAI/HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese authorities slaughtered over 20,000 birds on Friday at a poultry market in the financial hub Shanghai as the death toll from a new strain of bird flu mounted to six,…

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

"The gene sequences confirm that this is an avian virus, and that it is a low pathogenic form (meaning it is likely to cause mild disease in birds)," said Wendy Barclay, a flu virologist at Britain’s Imperial College London.

"But what the sequences also reveal is that there are some mammalian adapting mutations in some of the genes."

 

Sinister…but interesting that a LPAI should be so lethal in humans??

See on in.reuters.com

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China closes markets, culls birds to curb H7N9 virus

5 April, 2013

See on Scoop.it – Virology News

SHANGHAI – Shanghai on Friday ordered the closure of all live poultry markets in the city and culled more than 20,000 birds to curb the spread of the H7N9 flu virus which has killed six people in China.

Ed Rybicki‘s insight:

And so it begins…hopefully NOT!

See on www.abs-cbnnews.com

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