The other day I noted the 100th anniversary of the discovery of poliovirus. In the event that you were wondering what was the first virus identified, here is a list of early virus discoveries. Remember, these viruses were certainly around long before humans found them. 1892 – Dimitrii Ivanovsky observed that agent of tobacco mosaic …
President-elect Barack Obama has named Harold Varmus as a co-chair of the Presidents’ Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), a team that will work with White House science adviser John Holdren. Varmus won a Nobel Prize in 1989 for his work on elucidating how retroviruses cause transformation of cells. He is currently president and chief executive …
The CDC has issued a health advisory which indicates that a high number of currently circulating H1N1 influenza viruses are resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir. Fifty H1N1 isolates obtained in the U.S. since October 2008 were examined for drug sensitivity; 98% of these isolates are resistant to oseltamivir. Influenza H3N2 isolates, however, are still susceptible …
Oseltamivir resistance in current H1N1 influenza virus strains Read More »
This Week in Virology #12 has been posted at twiv.tv. Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #12 In this episode, Vincent, Alan, and Angela discuss Kuru, prions in milk, ancient lentiviruses found in the chromosomes of lemurs, a respiratory syncytial virus vaccine failure in the 1960s, and recent outbreaks of H5N1 …
TWiV # 12: Prions in milk, lemur lentiviruses, RS virus vaccine, H5N1 Read More »
Yesterday, 18 December, marked 100 years since Karl Landsteiner, MD and his assistant E. Popper, identified the viral etiologic agent of poliomyelitis. According to A History of Poliomyelitis by JR Paul: …at a medical meeting in Vienna on December 18, 1908, the immunologist Landsteiner and his assistant Popper were able to demonstrate microscopic …
100th anniversary of the isolation of poliovirus Read More »
We previously discussed infection of zoo elephants with endotheliotropic elephant herpesvirus in This Week in Virology episode #7. A recent report in Emerging Infectious Diseases indicates that another herpesvirus, equine herpesvirus 9, is also infecting zoo animals. In July 2007, a polar bear in the San Diego Zoo developed encephalitis and was subsequently euthanized. Polymerase chain reaction …
