http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization that focuses on local conservation and global health issues, released new research on Ebola virus in fruit bats in the peer reviewed journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, a monthly publication by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study found Ebola virus antibodies circulating in ~4% of the 276 bats scientists screened in Bangladesh. These results suggest that Rousettus fruit bats are a reservoir for Ebola, or a new Ebola-like virus in South Asia. The study extends the range of this lethal disease further than previously suspected to now include mainland Asia. "Research on Filoviruses in Asia is a new frontier of critical importance to human health, and this study has been vital to better understand the wildlife reservoirs and potential transmission routes for Ebola virus in Bangladesh and the region," said Dr. Kevin Olival, lead author and Senior Research Scientist at EcoHealth Alliance. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-reservoir-ebola-virus-bangladesh.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 16 Jan 2013 16:16:11 EST news277575305 In monkeys and humans with AIDS, damage to the gastrointestinal tract is common, contributing to activation of the immune system, progressive immune deficiency, and ultimately advanced AIDS. How this gastric damage occurs has remained a mystery, but now researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Cell provide new clues, implicating the presence of potentially pathogenic virus species other than the main virus that causes AIDS. The findings could provide an opportunity to explain and eventually intervene in the processes that lead to AIDS progression. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-diverse-intestinal-viruses-role-aids.html HIV & AIDS Thu, 11 Oct 2012 12:54:13 EST news269178844 Double-stranded (ds) RNA viruses are a diverse group of viruses that include rotaviruses, a common cause of gastroenteritis. The ability of the immune system to detect and destroy viruses is critical for human health and survival. Now, a study published by Cell Press in the June 23rd issue of the journal Immunity identifies a novel sensor that is necessary to activate the immune response to viral infection. The research enhances our understanding of the complex and overlapping mechanisms our immune cells use to thwart infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-06-complex-viral-infection.html Medical research Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:28:52 EST news228054521