News
July 9, 2023
Why scientists say wastewater surveillance needs to continue, despite low COVID-19 levels
Practice prepares Canada's health-care system for 'impending wave,' researcher says
June 2, 2023
Behind the Research: Western talks equity and pandemics
President Alan Shepard in conversation with professors Kate Choi and Eric Arts on the social determinants of COVID-19
April 30, 2023
Western researchers join the call for rational discourse to protect vital virus research
March 27, 2023
Western study finds co-infection with ‘superbug’ bacteria increases SARS-CoV-2 replication
The study identifies a common protein from the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria boosts SARS-CoV-2 replication up to 15 times
March 7, 2023
Western to be part of new Canada research hub for pandemic preparedness
Coalition links universities, hospitals with industry partners
February 20, 2023
To find one of Ontario’s big pandemic wins, just look down your toilet
January 23, 2023
CBC Newsroom: HIV Vaccine Trial
January 10, 2023
Western research leads to new understanding of how HIV hides itself in the body
Identifying a specific protein's role in HIV latency may lead to more effective therapies
December 27, 2022
The COVID-19 virus keeps evolving. These 'disease detectives' are on the case
Researchers look for mutations in the virus's genetic code that might offer a growth advantage
December 12, 2022
Saksida and Arts: Invest in research on long COVID now
The consequences of long COVID are likely to be profound and potentially more costly than the acute infection itself. So we must also continue work on avoiding the illness in the first place.
November 21, 2022
Western University is building Canada's secret weapon against the next pandemic
London, Ont., will be home to the world's first modular biocontainment Level 3 lab
In wake of key COVID work, Western University superlab eyes $30M expansion
November 16, 2022
Western’s ImPaKT facility gets $16M from feds for pandemic research
Funds will help Schulich Medicine & Dentistry expand biocontainment infrastructure to research virus spread, expand COVID-19 research
October 24, 2022
COVID-19 in London wastewater stable but new variant detected
COVID-19 levels in London’s sewage are significant and expected to rise this fall and winter, Western University researchers say, as the Omicron subvariant behind the summer case spike remains the dominant strain in the region.
October 22, 2022
New immune-evasive Omicron strains are coming. Is Canada ready?
Subvariants could further strain Canada’s struggling health-care system as flu returns
September 17, 2022
For virus tracking, wastewater is liquid gold. Scientists hope that work isn't flushed away
Scientists want to scale up global sewage surveillance, as others fear funding may be insecure post-pandemic
August 11, 2022
Canada to start testing some wastewater for polio 'as soon as possible'
Wastewater tests will focus on 'key high-risk municipalities,' says Public Health Agency of Canada
July 22, 2022
The Star’s signal map uses data sourced from each GTA public health unit and pulled into one location, showing trends in sewersheds or wastewater catchment areas.
July 7, 2022
A new strategic partnership between Western and the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) in Kampala, Uganda, establishes a long-term commitment for research collaboration to address the world’s most challenging global health issues.
April 25, 2022
Western University researchers doing everything from wastewater surveillance to COVID-19 antibody studies are offering a rare glimpse of a closed-door facility that’s been a key weapon in the pandemic fight.
March 23, 2022
Public health officials tracking prevalence of COVID-19 through municipal wastewater testing say they're seeing a "sustained increase" in the viral signal in a variety of locations across Ontario, a sign that the number of cases are on the rise.
March 10, 2022
With limited PCR testing, wastewater surveillance has become Ontario’s best tool to track cases.
February 26, 2022
Lack of PCR testing hinders variant surveillance, hides true level of spread
January 19, 2022
For most of the pandemic, researchers at Western University have been tracking the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 excreted in the feces of infected individuals by sampling from London’s five wastewater treatment plants.
January 7, 2022
What wastewater surveillance can — and can't — tell us, and why only some provinces are using the data
January 5, 2022
Incidence of the virus found through wastewater testing is likely a better indicator, research chair says
Hospitalizations, positive-test rates and wastewater can help track spread
January 1, 2022
Experts agree it’s tough to predict the year ahead, but they can offer up some of their hopes and fears, and lessons from past pandemics.
December 30, 2021
The new data suggests the sensitivity of rapid antigen tests drops to about 50 per cent on average when it comes to detecting early onset cases of Omicron when carriers are most infectious.
December 29, 2021
Wastewater testing in London is showing unexpectedly lower levels of virus despite an Omicron surge that drove the local and provincial case counts to new single-day records Wednesday, Western University researchers say.
726 patients with COVID-19 being treated in hospitals, up from 420 last Wednesday
December 21, 2021
Can a rapid test tell me if I got COVID-19 at that party?
December 20, 2021
With rapid COVID-19 tests, a positive is a positive but a negative result one day is not a guarantee you don’t have the virus, or won’t spread it to others at a later date, experts caution.
Meanwhile, Ontario has requested four million doses of Pfizer from the federal government for January, which have yet to be approved.
August 30, 2021
As frustration with the unvaccinated rises, experts admit that uncertainty is part of COVID-19 life
June 21, 2021
ImPaKT team expands COVID-19 research to target variants of concern
World-class researchers working to re-engineer vaccine to protect against current, emerging variants.
April 01, 2021
Western engineer leads a study collecting wastewater samples from a number of strategic locations in London, Ont. and analyzed at Western’s ImPaKT Facility.
March 10, 2021
Western molecular virologist Stephen Barr looks back on the year as the world marks the anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic.
February 28, 2021
Advantages to having multiple vaccines available, doctors say
February 12, 2021
Researchers are trying to develop more universal vaccines to be ready for the next coronavirus
December 1, 2020
In response to COVID-19, automotive Tier 1 molder and compounder CpK has developed an antiviral additive for auto interiors and other applications.
July 9, 2020
Researchers have developed a way to pull HIV out of the latent reservoir making the virus visible to the immune system and providing the potential to be killed by treatment.
March 23, 2020
3 main ways antivirals could mitigate infection
March 19, 2020
A team of Western University researchers has begun work on creating a vaccine for the devastating novel coronavirus.
November 30, 2019
July 29, 2019
For the first – and only – time, the public stepped inside an advanced containment facility which will soon be home to Western’s world-renowned infectious diseases research teams.
Researchers will be able to study infectious pathogens like HIV, West Nile, and Zika
April 25, 2019
In two studies, published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS) on Thursday, researchers from Lawson Health Research Institute and Western University in London, Ont., show that hygienic needle or syringe habits may not be enough to protect people who inject drugs.
