A slightly altered HIV-1 strain can infect pig-tailed macaques in the first animal model for human immunodeficiency virus infection. – By altering just one gene in HIV-1, scientists have succeeded in infecting pig-tailed macaque monkeys with a human version of the virus that has until now been impossible to study directly in animals.
Human vaccine against bird flu a reality with new discovery – A vaccine to protect humans from a bird flu pandemic is within reach after a new discovery by researchers at the University of Melbourne, Australia.
Meningitis bacteria dress up as human cells to evade our immune system – The way in which bacteria that cause bacterial meningitis mimic human cells to evade the body’s innate immune system has been revealed by researchers at the University of Oxford and Imperial College London.
Research: Relation of study quality, concordance, take home message, funding, and impact in studies of influenza vaccines: Systematic review, BMJ Online – Industry-sponsored studies on influenza vaccines are published in journals with higher rankings (impact factors) and are cited more than studies with other sponsors, but this is not because they are bigger or better, finds a study published on bmj.com today.
Statement of Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health – The scourge of HIV/AIDS, which continues to affect the African-American community disproportionately, highlights the importance of a comprehensive strategy to address the U.S. epidemic.
Results published in New England Journal of Medicine resolve questions about pediatric vaccine’s efficacy in preventing spread of the pneumococcal meningitis disease to adults. – A standard pediatric vaccine used to prevent several common types of life-threatening infections also effectively reduced the rates of another disease, pneumococcal meningitis, in children and adults, according to a multi-center study led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
Merck & Co., Inc. Receives Complete Response Letter from the Food and Drug Administration for Use of GARDASIL? in Women Ages 27 through 45 – Merck & Co., Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued a second complete response letter regarding the supplemental biologics license application (sBLA) for the use of GARDASIL [Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, 18) Vaccine, Recombinant] in women ages 27 though 45.
Researchers have identified a set of three genes that helped underpin the extraordinary virulence of the 1918 virus. – By mixing and matching a contemporary flu virus with the “Spanish flu” – a virus that killed between 20 and 50 million people 90 years ago in history’s most devastating outbreak of infectious disease – researchers have identified a set of three genes that helped underpin the extraordinary virulence of the 1918 virus.
Allergy and immunology consultant Liew Woei Kang and colleagues found that true hypersensitivity to the quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine was uncommon, and most girls in Australian schools tolerated subsequent doses. – Hypersensitivity reactions to the quadrivalent HPV vaccine (4vHPV, Gardasil) are uncommon and most schoolgirls can tolerate subsequent doses, finds the first evaluation of the quadrivalent HPV vaccine published on bmj.com.
109 medicines and vaccines now in development for HIV/AIDS by America?s pharmaceutical research companies. – America’s pharmaceutical research companies are testing 109 medicines and vaccines to treat or prevent HIV/AIDS and related conditions, according to a report released by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
