Researchers decode cold virus: Effective treatment soon?

By William Atkins
Saturday, 14 February 2009 03:12

Science - Health

Cold and allergy experts at the University of Wisconsin and the University of Maryland have deciphered the genome sequences for all ninety-nine known strains of the common cold virus.

U.S. geneticist Stephen B. Liggett, an asthma expert at the Cardiopulmonary Genomics Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine (Baltimore), and U.S. molecular biologist Ann C. Palmenberg, a cold virologist at the Institute for Molecular Virology at the University of Wisconsin (Madison), headed the team that accomplished this monumental accomplishment.

Liggett, Palmenber, and their team uncovered and identified the parts of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid, or the substance that possesses the genetic information of humans along with other living beings) that involve the rhinoviruses that cause the common cold in humans; what is called human rhinoviruses.

The common cold, medically called acute viral rhinopharyngitis (or acute coryza) is a very contagious viral infection of the upper respiratory system of humans. It commonly causes symptoms such as runny  nose, sore throat, coughing, sneezing, nasal congestion, muscle aches, fatigue, headaches, and other similar problems.

The two researchers—along with David Spiro, Ryan Kuzmickas, Shiliang Wang, Appolinaire Djikeng (all from the J. Craig Venter Institute (Rockville, Maryland), and Jennifer A. Rathe and Claire M. Fraser-Liggett (from the University of Maryland)—published the paper involving their accomplishment in the February 13, 20009 issue of the journal Science on February 4, 2009.

Its title is “Sequencing and Analyses of All Known Human Rhinovirus Genomes Reveals Structure and Evolution.”

They state in the abstract to their paper, “Infection by human rhinoviruses (HRVs) is a major cause of upper and lower respiratory tract disease worldwide and displays significant phenotypic variation.”

Their efforts now make the cure for the common cold, which has eluded the medical community for many years, much more likely.

In the New York Times article “Cure for the Common Cold? Not Yet, but Possible,” Dr. Liggett, stated, “We are now quite certain that we see the Achilles’ heel, and that a very effective treatment for the common cold is at hand.”

This news is also good news for asthma sufferers. Please read page two.