The readers of virology blog are a savvy group - they determined that the bacteriophages present in viral vaccines originate from bovine serum present in cell culture medium. Animal virus vaccines prepared in cell cultures are contaminated with the bacteriophages, which are not removed when the harvests are sterilized by ...

When live, attenuated poliovirus vaccine was used in the US, its production and testing was regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. Guidelines for preparing and testing the vaccine can be found in the Code of Federal Regulations - the codification of the rules published in the Federal Register by ...

The clinical signs of an acute viral infection - characterized by rapid onset of disease with a short but sometimes severe course - are often obvious. These include coughing, sneezing, rashes and poxes, or headache. What takes place within the body while these symptoms develop? Examination of the time course ...

The last outbreak of poliomyelitis in the United States occurred in 1979, when a type 1 strain imported from the Netherlands caused 13 paralytic cases among unvaccinated Amish communities in three states. Twenty years later, use of the live, attenuated poliovirus vaccine (OPV) was discontinued in the United States, and ...

If you have ever wanted to make beautiful images of viruses, in colors of your choice, then go to VIPERdb, the virus particle explorer. The first crystallographic X-ray structure of a virus was that of tomato bushy stunt virus in 1977, followed by structures of the animal viruses poliovirus and ...