Virology News

Microbiologist Maurice Hilleman saw it coming, so the country made 40 million doses of the vaccine within months.

To compensate for a lack of ventilators during the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have started to convert anesthesia machines into breathing machines.

A look back at the economic effect of past pandemics shows that we could be facing COVID-19's impact for years and years to come.

As an island and a former British colony, Sri Lanka is a case of special interest for the study of 1918–1919 influenza pandemic because of its potential for isolation from as well as integration into the world epidemiologic system.To estimate ...

The Hong Kong Hospital Authority made the discovery after observing the first wave of discharged patients in the city.

World War II vet Bill Lapschies was feted on his 104th birthday Wednesday, also celebrating his recovery from the coronavirus.

Government will spend $220m to upgrade the Geelong lab currently testing two vaccines for COVID-19, Science Minister Karen Andrews will announce Saturday.

Saskatchewan lab finding ways to fast-track research amid COVID-19 pandemic...

Amid a barrage of research on finding treatment for new coronavirus, Australian scientists have found that a common anti-parasitic drug killed SARS-CoV-2 virus, growing in cell culture, within 48 hours in lab settings. Ivermectin is an FDA-approved anti-parasitic drug that has also been shown to be effective in vitro against a broad range of viruses including HIV, dengue, influenza and zika virus. Published in the journal Antiviral Research, the study from Monash University showed that a single dose of Ivermectin could stop the coronavirus growing in cell culture -- effectively eradicating all genetic material of the virus within two days. "We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it," said study lead author Dr Kylie Wagstaff. Dr Wagstaff, however, cautioned that the tests conducted in the study were in vitro and that trials needed to be carried out in people. "Ivermectin is very widely used and seen as a safe drug. We need to figure out now whether the dosage you can use it at in humans will be effective - that''s the next step," Wagstaff informed. In times when we're having a global pandemic and there isn't an approved treatment, "if we had a compound that was already available around the world then that might help people sooner". "Realistically it's going to be a while before a vaccine is broadly available," she said. Although the mechanism by which Ivermectin works on the virus is not known, it is likely, based on its action in other viruses, that it works to stop the virus ''dampening down'' the host cells' ability to clear it. Dr Wagstaff made a previous breakthrough finding on Ivermectin in 2012 when she identified the drug and its antiviral activity with Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute's Professor David Jans, also an author on this paper. Professor Jans and his team have been researching Ivermectin for more than 10 years with different viruses. Dr Wagstaff and Professor Jans started investigating whether it worked on the SARS-CoV-2 virus as soon as the pandemic was known to have started. The use of Ivermectin to combat COVID-19 depends on pre-clinical testing and clinical trials, with funding urgently required to progress the work, the researchers noted. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)

Testing for the new coronavirus in wastewater to trace its prevalence in US communities could help public health officials better prepare for the future.

"A prison in a pandemic becomes akin to a cruise ship—people are crowded into a shared space that they cannot leave." Here are prisons' COVID-19 options.

You've heard of the tiger who tested positive for COVID-19. In 1969, a flu pandemic might have infected three killer whales here.

Why does COVID-19 affect men more than women? It could be related to the hormones that cause hair loss in men, a new hypothesis suggests.

The developers of Avigan have increased production and announced a Phase III clinical trial testing its efficacy against COVID-19.

Scientists have now published the first peer-reviewed study on a potential vaccine against SARS-CoV-2. They've tested the microneedle array on mice.

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc.INO Stock Message Board: A potential coronavirus vaccine funded by Bill Gates...

The oldest human genetic data ever recovered could shed light on the evolution of our ancestors and clarify the branches of the human family tree.

Ultra-low freezers hum and beep continuously in the biorespository room, supporting the non-stop diagnostic activities at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory in Gaduwa, Abuja, on a relatively quiet Friday afternoon.

A look back at the economic effect of past pandemics shows that we could be facing COVID-19's impact for years and years to come.

While the U.S. flu season is ebbing, it’s still not over.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, an infectious disease expert on the White House task force, said Sunday it is likely that coronavirus will become a seasonal illness.

Investigation of all 243 cases of COVID-19 reported in Singapore during January 23–March 16 identified seven clusters of cases in which presymptomatic transmission is the most likely explanation for the occurrence of secondary cases.

The institute's director told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the vaccine was being readied for testing in animals.