Virology
Would we have an Ebola virus vaccine if not for NIH cuts?
By Vincent Racaniello
Dr. Francis Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, believes that we would have an Ebola virus vaccine if not for the past ten years of flat budgets for life science research: NIH has been working on Ebola vaccines since 2001. It's not like we suddenly woke up ...
Enterovirus D68 infections in North America
By Vincent Racaniello
Enterovirus D68 by Jason Roberts An outbreak of respiratory disease caused by enterovirus D68 began in August of this year with clusters of cases in Missouri and Illinois. Since then 691 infections have been confirmed in 46 states in the US. The number of confirmed infections is likely to increase in the ...
Combination antiviral therapy for hepatitis C
By Vincent Racaniello
The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of a single pill containing two different antiviral drugs for the treatment for hepatitis C. It is the first combination pill approved for the disease, and also the first treatment that does not contain interferon or ribavirin. The new hepatitis C drug, ...
New Yorkers like their science from scientists
By Vincent Racaniello
I cannot pass up the opportunity to point out this wonderful quote by Ginia Ballafante in her NY Times piece, Fear of Vaccines Goes Viral. The article starts by noting an article on plummeting vaccination rates in Los Angeles: The piece had the virtue of offering New Yorkers yet another opportunity ...
TWiV 306: This Week in Ebolavirus
By Vincent Racaniello
On episode #306 of the science show This Week in Virology, the Grand Masters of the TWiV discuss Ebola virus transmission, air travel from West Africa, Ebola virus infectivity on surfaces, the Dallas Ebola virus patient, and Ebola virus in dogs. You can find TWiV #306 at www.microbe.tv/twiv.
