48 Results
NIH Officials Assess Threat of H5N1
December 31, 2024
HPAI H5N1 influenza remains a low risk to most Americans, but that does not diminish concern about the virus, NIAID experts say.
NIH Study Finds Tecovirimat Was Safe but Did Not Improve Mpox Resolution or Pain
December 10, 2024
Tecovirimat was safe but did not reduce the time to lesion resolution or reduce pain among adults with mild to moderate clade II mpox and a low risk of severe disease in an international study.
Single Mutation in H5N1 Influenza Surface Protein Could Enable Easier Human Infection
December 6, 2024
A single modification in the protein found on the surface of the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 influenza virus currently circulating in U.S. dairy cows could allow for easier transmission among humans, according to new research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published today in the journal Science. The study results reinforce the need for continued, vigilant surveillance and monitoring of HPAI H5N1 for potential genetic changes that could make the virus more transmissible in humans.
NIH Statement on World AIDS Day
December 2, 2024
Together with our partners, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) commemorates World AIDS Day and affirms our commitment to bolstering the extraordinary gains achieved in HIV science and to persevering until we end HIV-related illness and stigma. As we mark this observance, we celebrate the people who enable scientific progress, honor the loved ones and leaders we have lost, and reflect on the work that remains to ensure the health and life quality of all people affected by, and living with, HIV.
NIH Trial of Rectal Microbicide for HIV Prevention Begins in the United States
October 31, 2024
A clinical trial has launched to examine the safety and acceptability of a novel rectal HIV microbicide douche containing the antiretroviral drug tenofovir. While HIV incidence is slowly decreasing in the United States, 67% of U.S. HIV diagnoses from 2018-2022 were among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, pointing to the need for expanded HIV prevention options. The mid-stage study is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and implemented through the NIH-funded HIV Prevention Trials Network.
Bovine H5N1 Influenza from Infected Worker Transmissible and Lethal in Animal Models
October 28, 2024
Bovine H5N1 influenza virus taken from eye of infected worker transmissible and lethal in animal models.
Kidney Transplantation Between Donors and Recipients with HIV Is Safe
October 16, 2024
Kidney transplantation from deceased donors with HIV to recipients with HIV was safe and comparable to kidney transplantation from donors without HIV.
Mpox Vaccine Is Safe and Generates a Robust Antibody Response in Adolescents
October 16, 2024
A clinical trial of an mpox vaccine in adolescents found it was safe and generated an antibody response equivalent to that seen in adults. Results were presented at IDWeek2024.
NIAID Selects Sarah Read as Principal Deputy Director
October 2, 2024
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has named Sarah W. Read, M.D., MHS, as the principal deputy director for the institute.
NIH Releases Mpox Research Agenda
September 17, 2024
The NIAID mpox research agenda focuses on four key objectives: increasing knowledge about the biology of all clades—also known as strains—of the virus that causes mpox, including how the virus is transmitted and how people’s immune systems respond to it; evaluating dosing regimens of current vaccines to stretch the vaccine supply and developing novel vaccine concepts; advancing existing and novel treatments, including antivirals and monoclonal antibodies; and supporting strategies for detecting the virus to facilitate clinical care and epidemiological surveillance.
NIH Awards Establish Pandemic Preparedness Research Network
September 13, 2024
The Research and Development of Vaccines and Monoclonal Antibodies for Pandemic Preparedness network—called ReVAMPP—will focus its research efforts on “prototype pathogens,” representative pathogens from virus families known to infect humans, and high-priority pathogens that have the potential to cause deadly diseases. The pandemic preparedness research network will conduct research on high-priority pathogens most likely to threaten human health with the goal of developing effective vaccines and monoclonal antibodies.
Emergency Department Screening More Than Doubles Detection of Syphilis Cases
September 10, 2024
Providing optional syphilis tests to most people seeking care at a large emergency department led to a dramatic increase in syphilis screening and diagnosis, according to study of nearly 300,000 emergency department encounters in Chicago. Most people diagnosed had no symptoms, which suggests that symptom-based testing strategies alone could miss opportunities to diagnose and treat people with syphilis.
NIH Awards Will Support Innovation in Syphilis Diagnostics
September 3, 2024
NIAID has awarded grants for 10 projects to improve diagnostic tools for congenital and adult syphilis—conditions currently diagnosed with a sequence of tests, each with limited precision. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that adult and congenital syphilis cases increased by 80% and 183% respectively between 2018 and 2022—a crisis that prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a national taskforce to respond to the epidemic.
The Antiviral Tecovirimat is Safe but Did Not Improve Clade I Mpox Resolution in Democratic Republic of the Congo
August 15, 2024
The antiviral drug tecovirimat did not reduce the duration of mpox lesions among children and adults with clade I mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), based on an initial analysis of data from a randomized, placebo-controlled trial. However, the study’s 1.7% overall mortality among enrollees, regardless of whether they received the drug or not, was much lower than the mpox mortality of 3.6% or higher reported among all cases in the DRC. This shows that better outcomes among people with mpox can be achieved when they are hospitalized and provided high-quality supportive care.
Candidate Malaria Vaccine Provides Lasting Protection in NIH-Sponsored Trials
August 14, 2024
Two National Institutes of Health (NIH)-supported trials of an experimental malaria vaccine in healthy Malian adults found that all three tested regimens were safe. One of the trials enrolled 300 healthy women ages 18 to 38 years who anticipated becoming pregnant soon after immunization. That trial began with drug treatment to remove malaria parasites, followed by three injections spaced over a month of either saline placebo or the investigational vaccine at one of two dosages.
An Isolated Viral Load Test May Generate False Positive Results for People Using Long-Acting PrEP
July 23, 2024
A single laboratory-based HIV viral load test used by U.S. clinicians who provide people with long-acting, injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) did not reliably detect HIV in a multi-country study. In the study, a single positive viral load test was frequently found to be a false positive result. However, a second viral load test with a new blood sample was able to distinguish true positive results from false positive results for all participants whose initial viral load test was positive.
Long-Acting Injectable Cabotegravir for HIV Prevention Is Safe in Pregnancy
July 23, 2024
Long-acting injectable cabotegravir (CAB-LA) was safe and well tolerated as HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) before and during pregnancy in the follow-up phase of a global study among cisgender women. The analysis of outcomes from more than 300 pregnancies and infants will be presented at the 2024 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) in Munich, Germany.
Exploratory Analysis Associates HIV Drug Abacavir with Elevated Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Large Global Trial
July 23, 2024
Current or previous use of the antiretroviral drug (ARV) abacavir was associated with an elevated risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in people with HIV, according to an exploratory analysis from a large international clinical trial primarily funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). There was no elevated MACE risk for the other antiretroviral drugs included in the analysis. The findings will be presented at the 2024 International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2024) in Munich, Germany.
Features of H5N1 Influenza Viruses in Dairy Cows May Facilitate Infection, Transmission in Mammals
July 8, 2024
A series of experiments with highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza (HPAI H5N1) viruses circulating in infected U.S. dairy cattle found that viruses derived from lactating dairy cattle induced severe disease in mice and ferrets when administered via intranasal inoculation. The virus from the H5N1-infected cows bound to both avian (bird) and human-type cellular receptors, but, importantly, did not transmit efficiently among ferrets exposed via respiratory droplets.
NIH-Sponsored Trial of Nasal COVID-19 Vaccine Opens
July 1, 2024
A Phase 1 trial testing the safety of an experimental nasal vaccine that may provide enhanced breadth of protection against emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is now enrolling healthy adults at three sites in the United States. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is sponsoring the first-in-human trial of the investigational vaccine, which was designed and tested in pre-clinical studies by scientists from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Laboratory of Infectious Diseases.
NIH-Sponsored Trial of Enterovirus D68 Therapeutic Begins
June 27, 2024
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is sponsoring a clinical trial to evaluate the safety of an investigational monoclonal antibody to treat enterovirus D68 (EV-D68), which can cause severe respiratory and neurological diseases such as acute flaccid myelitis (AFM) – similar to polio. Scientists are striving to better understand AFM, which has emerged in the United States with spikes in cases every other year, primarily in the late-summer months over the last decade. The U.S.
NIH Statement on Preliminary Efficacy Results of Twice-Yearly Lenacapavir for HIV Prevention in Cisgender Women
June 26, 2024
The injectable antiretroviral drug lenacapavir was safe and 100% effective as long-acting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among cisgender women in a Phase 3 clinical trial, according to top-line findings released by Gilead Sciences, Inc., the study sponsor. Lenacapavir is administered every six months, making it the most durable HIV prevention method to have shown efficacy in this population.
NIAID Discovery Leads to Novel Probiotic for Eczema
June 26, 2024
NIAID research has led to the availability of a new over-the-counter topical eczema probiotic. The probiotic is based on the discovery by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, that bacteria present on healthy skin called Roseomonas mucosa can safely relieve eczema symptoms in adults and children.
Infectious H5N1 Influenza Virus in Raw Milk Rapidly Declines with Heat Treatment
June 14, 2024
The amount of infectious H5N1 influenza viruses in raw milk rapidly declined with heat treatment in laboratory research conducted by scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health. However, small, detectable amounts of infectious virus remained in raw milk samples with high virus levels when treated at 72 degrees Celsius (161.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for 15 seconds—one of the standard pasteurization methods used by the dairy industry.
NIH Releases H5N1 Influenza Research Agenda
June 5, 2024
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has released its plan for advancing H5N1 influenza basic research and translating those findings into strategies and interventions that can benefit people.
