Atomic structures mapped in measles, mumps, flu and RSV

Northwestern University researchers have, for the first time, determined the 3-D atomic structure of a key complex in paramyxoviruses, a family of viruses that includes measles, mumps, human parainfluenza and respiratory ...

How cells defend against influenza A virus

Human cells use a protein named TBC1D5 to route influenza A viruses inside host cells for destruction, preventing the virus from spreading replicated copies of itself to other cells, according to a study published in Nature ...

Discovery could neutralize West Nile virus

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and colleagues have isolated a human monoclonal antibody that can "neutralize" the West Nile virus and potentially prevent a leading cause of viral encephalitis (brain inflammation) ...

Designer nanoparticles destroy a broad array of viruses

Viral infections kill millions of people worldwide every year, but currently available antiviral drugs are limited in that they mostly act against one or a small handful of related viruses. A few broad-spectrum drugs that ...

page 1 from 3

Human respiratory syncytial virus

Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes respiratory tract infections. It is the major cause of lower respiratory tract infection and hospital visits during infancy and childhood. There is no vaccine, and the only treatment is oxygen.

In temperate climates there is an annual epidemic during the winter months. In tropical climates, infection is most common during the rainy season.

In the United States, 60% of infants are infected during their first RSV season, and nearly all children will have been infected with the virus by 2-3 years of age. Natural infection with RSV does not induce protective immunity, and thus people can be infected multiple times. Sometimes an infant can become symptomatically infected more than once even within a single RSV season. Severe RSV infections have increasingly been found among elderly patients.

RSV is a negative-sense, single-stranded RNA virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, which includes common respiratory viruses such as those causing measles and mumps. RSV is a member of the paramyxovirus subfamily Pneumovirinae. Its name comes from the fact that F proteins on the surface of the virus cause the cell membranes on nearby cells to merge, forming syncytia.

This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA