Virologist Luis Enjuanes, Spain's foremost expert on coronaviruses, , is working non-stop. From his laboratory at the CSIC's National Centre for Biotechnology, he is engaged in trying to find, in the shortest time possible, a vaccine to stop the COVID-19 epidemic.

Measles infections have rebounded. After reaching historical lows in Europe in 2016, last year cases quadrupled with more than 20,000 people affected and 35 deaths. The loss of respect for the disease has propagated unscientific theories that question the importance of vaccination. But the virus does not rest.

Matojo, the nine-month-old Iberian lynx cub found dead in 2015 in Extremadura, did not die from natural causes. His necropsy shows that it was the pseudorabies virus that triggered his sudden demise. Before this case, contagion of this infectious disease was only known in one wild cat in the world, a Florida panther.

Using an artificial ebola virus model, an european team coordinated by researchers of the Universidad Complutense de Madrid/IMDEA-Nanociencia has proved how a supermolecule – constituted by thirteen fullerenes – has been able of inhibiting the virus infection by blocking a receptor implied in its expansion. The model, tested in vitro, highlights the potential of this biotechnology to eradicate the infection.

A Spanish researcher has collaborated on a mathematical analysis, recently published in the journal ‘Science Translational Medicine’, which concludes that joint therapy to counter HIV in patients who also have hepatitis C increases the chance of success in the fight against both infections. Between eight and nine million people worldwide simultaneously suffer from AIDS and hepatitis C.

Scientists in Barcelona have found a high presence of papillomavirus infection in oral, anal and penile cavities in HIV-positive men, particularly in the anal cavities of men who have homosexual sex. The researchers recommend routine examination of the three areas in all men, independently of their sexual behaviour.