A new bivalent poliovirus vaccine, consisting of infectious, attenuated type 1 and type 3 strains, has been deployed in Afghanistan. The use of this vaccine was recommended by the Advisory Committee on Poliomyelitis Eradication, the global technical advisory body of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. Considering the polio experience in Nigeria, the elimination of type 2 …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit Vincent, Alan, and Rich discuss ten compelling virology stories of 2009. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV064.mp3″] Click the arrow above to play, or right-click to download TWiV #64 (68 MB .mp3, 94 minutes) Subscribe to TWiV (free) in iTunes , at the Zune Marketplace, by the RSS feed, or by …
In healthy individuals, the first encounter with a virus leads to a primary antibody response. When an infection occurs with the same or a similar virus, a rapid antibody response occurs that is called the secondary antibody response. Antibodies are critical for preventing many viral infections, including influenza. But reinfection may occur if we encounter the same …
In the wake of a British Medical Journal article which concludes that Tamiflu has at best a modest effect, many readers have asked if influenza neuraminidase inhibitors function at all. If you’d like a good critique of this study, I suggest reading Paul Revere’s analysis at Effect Measure. For our part, we’ll examine some of …
Millions of New Yorkers were immunized against smallpox within a few weeks in April 1947. The stimulus for this mass immunization was the importation of smallpox by a businessman who had acquired the disease during his travels. While we are in the middle of a massive influenza immunization campaign, it is useful to review the …
Hosts: Vincent Racaniello, Alan Dove, and Rich Condit On episode 63 of the podcast This Week in Virology, Vincent, Alan, and Rich talk about US government contract for freeze-dried smallpox vaccine, red squirrels in the UK threatened by poxvirus, and Marseillevirus, another DNA virus from amoebae built for comfort and speed. [powerpress url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/twiv/TWiV063.mp3″] Click the …
