Virology News

The breast milk of mothers who received a COVID-19 vaccine contains antibodies that fight the illness and can protect babies, researchers say.

An on again-off again approach to masks is probably here to stay, but basic risk assessment skills can help weigh the pros and cons of changing conditions.

Fine aerosols generated from talking and singing contain more viral particles than coarse aerosols, research finds.

Porcine circovirus type 4 (PCV4), a recently reported circovirus, was first identified in pigs with clinical signs similar to porcine dermatitis nephropathy syndrome (PDNS), in Hunan province, China, in 2019.

VMIC is evaluating whether a single-jab model would work in a bid to cut down on manufacturing time and make roll-outs ­easier...

Analysis by PMOI/MEK Iran, August 16, 2021—In an unannounced televised speech Iranian regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei acknowledged that the Covid-19 outbreak has become a "savage disease" that "has become the first and foremost issue before the state today" and is an "urgent matter." ...

Around 54,000 people die in South Africa every year from non-natural causes. On an annualised basis, confirmed Covid-19 deaths have breached that level.

While millions of us have been focused on the deadly threat of COVID, something curious has happened in Australia with another dangerous virus.

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD), which is caused by single-stranded DNA begomoviruses, severely limits cassava production across Africa. A previous study showed that CMD symptom severity and viral DNA accumulation increase in cassava in the presence of a DNA sequence designated as SEGS-2 (sequence...

Those who dispute that the Covid vaccines used in South Africa are safe and effective are just wrong.

"The new pterosaur, which we named Thapunngaka shawi...was essentially just a skull with a long neck, bolted on a pair of long wings."...

More than 8,000 mostly elderly people are urged to get vaccinated again as a nurse is questioned.

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 20) — A former US Food and Drug Administration official believes the COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese firm Sinovac would require boosters in the future. Ex-US FDA Associate Commissioner Peter Pitts told CNN Philippines that booster shots for Sinovac doses are "absolutely, positively, without any doubt" needed due to the vaccine's reported 50% efficacy. "One of the issues with the Sinovac vaccines is that the Chinese government did not really share full data sets...but if you say 50% (efficacy), absolutely, positively without any doubt a booster shot is going to be necessary," Pitts said. "If it is necessary for mRNA vaccines that are 95% effective and the J&J (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine that is 65-70% effective, any vaccine that is below that - like the Sinovac vaccine - is absolutely going to need a booster shot," he added. In the Philippines, there's no clear decision yet on whether boosters will be offered anytime soon. Local health experts have also pointed out that vaccines remain "highly effective" against the coronavirus despite calls for the government to purchase booster shots as soon as possible to secure supply for the country. Early this week, US health officials announced that booster shots will be offered to Americans beginning September 20. This will serve as an added protection against the feared Delta variant, which now accounts for almost 99% of cases in the US. Pitts said this will also prevent more breakthrough infections, which may be the way forward from now on for the US. While there are no guidelines yet on boosters, Americans will most likely receive the same dose of the vaccine initially administered to them, according to Pitts.

By NewsDesk  @infectiousdiseasenews For the third time in a week, Hong Kong health officials report monitoring a human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) on the Chinese mainland. The latest case involves a 55-year-old man living in Liuzhou, Guangxi.

An expert in air quality is warning Australia's reticence to improve ventilation and acknowledge airborne spread of COVID-19 is leading to lockdowns that could have been avoided.

Recent studies about the transcriptome-wide presence of RNA modifications have revealed their importance in many cellular functions. Nevertheless, information about RNA modifications in viral RNA is scarce, especially for negative-strand RNA viruses.

Penn Medicine researchers have found that middle-aged individuals — those born in the late 1960s and the 1970s — may be in a perpetual state of H3N2 influenza virus susceptibility because their antibodies bind to H3N2 viruses but fail to prevent infections.

Scientists starved 100 populations of different bacteria, giving them no access to external food for 1,000 days. Almost all of them survived.

A new study of 17,000 pregnant people who got the COVID-19 vaccine shows they had no worse symptoms than non-pregnant people.

"The biological mechanism of how they were doing this remained elusive for 20 years....We always knew we were missing something."...

Chandigarh: After the decline in Covid infections, cases of H1N1 and other tropical illnesses (influenza-like) are being reported in the city.

Access to the flu vaccine is being restricted due to a nationwide shortage.Just a week into the official flu season, the Ministry of Health says nearly 1...

NewsDesk @bactiman63 The Hong Kong Centre for Health Protection (CHP) announced an additional human case of avian influenza A(H5N6) in the Mainland, the 38th human case reported in China since 2014 and the 12th case in 2021.