Virology News

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Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition with a chronic relapsing course that can negatively impact a patient's quality of life. Various triggering factors can cause the flare-up of psoriasis, which also include vaccination.

Duck circovirus (DuCV) infection occurs frequently in ducks in China and is generally believed to lead to immunosuppression and secondary infection, though there has been a lack of detailed research and direct evidence.

The outbreak of COVID-19 has significantly changed the epidemiology of respiratory tract infection in several ways.The implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) including universal masking, hand hygiene, and social distancing not only resulted in a decline in reported SARS-CoV-2 cas...

Trends in excess winter mortality (EWM) were investigated from the winter of 1900/01 to 2019/20. During the 1918-1919 Spanish flu epidemic a maximum EWM of 100% was observed in both Denmark and the USA, and 131% in Sweden.

Measures to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2 have also been effective in reducing the transmission of other endemic respiratory viruses.1,2 As many countries decrease the use of such measures,2 we expect that SARS-CoV-2 will circulate with other respiratory viruses, increasing the probability of...

France faces its worst bird flu crisis in history and has killed over 11 million birds - Animal News...

H3N2 canine influenza virus (CIV) emerged in dogs in China or Korea around 2005 and was first reported in 2008. In 2015, H3N2 CIV was detected in the United States and caused a huge outbreak. To date, H3N2 CIV is continuously circulating in dog populations in China, Korea, and the United States.

Porcine circovirus type 3 (PCV3) is a non-enveloped, circular, single-stranded DNA virus in the family Circoviridae.This member of the genus Circovirus was initially described as affecting swine in 2016, and new research has provided further insight into its structural characteristics, disease pres...

Let It Burn Out: The 1957 Flu Pandemic and Decolonisation in Singapore...

Owen DyerMontrealA unique plant based coronavirus vaccine newly approved in Canada is unlikely to be listed for emergency use by the World Health Organization, a WHO official has warned, because a tobacco company is a major shareholder in the company that developed it.Philip Morris Investments, a subsidiary of Marlboro cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris International, holds around one third of the equity in Medicago, a Quebec based vaccine maker. Medicago’s vaccine Covifenz, which uses virus like particles assembled from plant proteins, was approved by Health Canada on 24 February.With Canada’s population already largely vaccinated, the government had hoped that Covifenz would form a major part of the 200 million vaccine doses it has pledged to ship to poorer countries this year, many of them through the Covid-19 Vaccines Global Access (Covax) mechanism. But Covax will not accept vaccines without a WHO listing.“Because of its connections—it’s partially owned by Philip Morris—the process is put on hold,” said Mariangela Simao, WHO’s assistant director general for drug access, vaccines, and pharmaceuticals. “WHO and the UN have a strict policy regarding engagement with the tobacco and arms industries, so it’s likely it won’t be accepted for emergency use listing.”Canada, which has invested CA$173m in the company, still intends to offer the two dose shot domestically. Uptake is likely to be low, but the government hopes it may tempt people who have specific concerns about mRNA vaccines.Canada has not ruled out direct shipments to other countries, a spokesman told The BMJ in an email. “Health Canada is prepared to work closely with regulatory authorities in other regions to share information on the health department’s review of Covifenz and support authorisation in other countries, as well as enable other countries access to Covifenz vaccine supplies that may become available in the coming months.”He added, “The government of Canada has studied the matter of its investment in Medicago carefully and considers that it is compliant with its treaty obligations related to tobacco control under the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco. The convention requires parties to specifically protect ‘public health policies with respect to tobacco control’ from ‘commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.’ As such, the convention does not preclude the government of Canada from working with Medicago on vaccine development and procurement.”The plant used to create Covifenz, Nicotiana benthamiana, sometimes called benth or benthi, is a close relative of the tobacco plant, and is often used in plant virology research. In its phase 3 trial, not yet published in a peer reviewed journal, Covifenz achieved an efficacy of 71.0% (95% confidence interval 58.7 to 80.0), mostly against the delta variant.1 It has yet to be approved outside Canada, though applications have been filed with regulators in the US and the UK.Besides Covifenz, the coronavirus vaccine Nuvaxovid, made by US based Novavax, was expected to account for many of Canada’s vaccine shipments abroad this year. Canada pre-ordered 56 million doses but remains reliant on production in India as a facility in Montreal is not yet ready. Nuvaxovid was approved in Canada on 17 February. Canada’s government says it still expects to meet its goal of shipping 200 million vaccine doses abroad this year.Asked by The BMJ if Medicago would consider restructuring its ownership to comply with WHO policy, a spokesman for the company said it was awaiting official communication of WHO’s position, and will then “review the rationale and continue to discuss potential next steps with our board and shareholders.”References↵National Advisory Committee on Immunization. Recommendations on the use of Medicago covid-19 vaccine (Covifenz). 11 March 2022. www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/immunization/national-advisory-committee-on-immunization-naci/recommendations-use-medicago-covid-19-vaccine/recommendations-use-medicago-covid-19-vaccine.pdf.

Increasing evidence suggests that climate change affects the incidence of influenza, however, no reviews have evaluated this evidence across the entir…...

National Treasury of South Africa, the National Department of Health, Solidarity Response Fund NPC, The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, The Elma Vaccines and Immunization Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.