Breaking news on Birdflu Sars
Learning From The Influenza Virus' Tricks published
Mon, 05 May 2008 04:00:00 PDT
Influenza is currently a grave concern for governments and health organisations around the world. The worry is the potential for highly virulent bird flu strains, such as H5N1, to develop the ability to infect humans easily. New drugs and vaccines to halt the spread of the virus are badly needed.
Indonesia Runs Large Scale Bird Flu Drill published
Fri, 25 Apr 2008 10:00:00 PDT
Indonesia is running a large scale drill simulating an outbreak of human to human bird flu that involves thousands of villagers, health workers and government officials, rehearsing for a potential pandemic. The drill started today, Friday 25th April, and is scheduled to run for three days.
Heading Off A Bird-Flu Pandemic: We Need Broadly Protective Vaccines That Can Be Rapidly Produced And Administered published
Fri, 25 Apr 2008 01:00:00 PDT
Widespread vaccination likely will be the cornerstone of public-health measures for controlling an H5N1 bird-flu pandemic, say Andrea Gambotto, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and his colleagues, in this week's edition of The Lancet. However, any vaccines must be broadly protective and rapidly producible to be effective against H5N1, which is devastating in humans, the authors write in a journal Seminar.
Identification Of The Common Mechanism Underlying Acute Respiratory Disease Syndrome May Lead To New Strategies Against Bird Flu published
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:00:00 PDT
The Spanish flu outbreak of 1918 killed between 30 and 50 million people. In the infected patients, the ultimate cause of death was acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). This fatal condition is a massive reaction of the body during which the lung becomes severely damaged. ARDS can be induced by various bacterial and viral infections, but also by chemical agents. These could be toxic gases that are inhaled or gastric acid when aspirated.
New Vaccine May Give Long-term Defense Against Deadly Bird Flu And Its Variant Forms published
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 03:00:00 PDT
A new vaccine under development may provide protection against highly pathogenic bird flu and its evolving forms, according to researchers at Purdue University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who discovered the new preventative drug and have tested it in mice.
AirInSpace Is Certified To Protect Aircraft Passengers And Crew From Biological Threats Such As SARS And Avian Flu And Other Air Contaminants published
Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:00:00 PDT
AirInSpace, a leading supplier of mobile devices that "catch and kill" harmful and resistant biological particles from the air, announced that its partner, Montreal-based Air Data Inc. (ADI), has been certified by the airworthiness branch of Transport Canada to manufacture and market ADI's JetAir® Bio-Protection System (BPS), business jet version.
Iomai Receives HHS Approval To Begin Phase 2 Trial Of H5N1 Influenza Adjuvant Patch published
Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Iomai Corporation (Nasdaq: IOMI) announced that it has received approval from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand its program to develop an immunostimulant adjuvant patch for use with an injected H5N1 influenza vaccine. This decision was based upon positive clinical data generated in a 500-subject, Phase 1/2 study recently completed by Iomai.
South Korea Investigates More Cases Of Bird Flu published
Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:00:00 PDT
The government of South Korea is investigating fresh outbreaks of bird flu, including one only 70 kilometers from the capital, Seoul.According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said on Monday that the latest outbreak was reported after sudden deaths in birds on a chicken farm in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, less than 70 km from Seoul.
The Aethlon Hemopurifier(R) To Test Against The Partially Reconstructed 1918 Influenza Virus published
Mon, 14 Apr 2008 01:00:00 PDT
Aethlon Medical, Inc. (OTCBB:AEMD) disclosed that it has initiated studies to test the in vitro effectiveness of the Aethlon Hemopurifier® to capture a partially reconstructed version of the Spanish Flu of 1918, a viral pandemic outbreak that killed approximately 40-50 million people during a 25-month time span.
Examining The Avian Flu: From Pandemic Planning To Vaccine Development published
Wed, 09 Apr 2008 01:00:00 PDT
The journal Respirology has launched a special supplementary issue on the avian influenza. Published by Wiley-Blackwell, the collection of papers present an inclusive insight into the threat of the avian influenza pandemic by addressing a wide range of topics including the basic biology of the virus, updates on laboratory diagnosis and influenza anti-viral, treatment options, and pandemic planning.
Human To Human Transmission Of Bird Flu published
Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:00:00 PDT
Testsindicate that a father diagnosed with bird flu in China probably caughtthe disease from his son, only increasing concern about transmission ofthe virus between humans. This was published early online and in theApril 2008 issue of The Lancet. As of April 2, 2008,there have been 376 cases of infection with the highly pathogenic avianinfluenza A (H5N1) virus with 238 deaths reported in 14 differentcountries since November 2003.
Bird Flu Human Deaths Confirmed, Pakistan published
Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:00:00 PDT
H5N1 Bird flu (avian flu) did kill some family members in Peshawar, north-west Pakistan last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed after carrying out tests at its WHO H5 Reference Laboratory in Cairo, Egypt, and the WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza in Atlanta, USA. Last year the north-west and southern areas of Pakistan were hit by bird flu. Tens of thousands of birds were destroyed in an attempt to stem the spread of the disease.
Arbor Vita Rapid H5N1 Flu Diagnostic Presented At ICEID Meeting published
Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:00:00 PDT
Preliminary research from the Department of Respiratory Disease Research at the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) suggests that a rapid antigen assay test developed by Arbor Vita Corporation (AVC) shows promise as a useful diagnostic for the detection of the avian influenza virus in humans. Researchers from NHRC reported their findings last week at the 2008 International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases (ICEID) in Atlanta, Georgia.
Ducks And Rice Play Key Role In Avian Influenza Outbreaks published
Thu, 27 Mar 2008 02:00:00 PDT
Ducks, people and rice paddies - rather than chickens - are the major factors behind outbreaks of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza in Thailand and Viet Nam, and are probably behind outbreak persistence in other countries of the region such as Cambodia and Lao PDR.
Study Finds Single Dose Of Iomai Patch With Pandemic Flu Vaccine Achieves Protective Levels published
Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Iomai Corporation (Nasdaq: IOMI) announced positive interim results from the 500-subject Phase 1/2 trial of its immunostimulant adjuvant patch used with an injected vaccine for H5N1 influenza. The trial met a key endpoint, demonstrating a clinically relevant adjuvant effect when the Iomai patch was used with a single dose of the 45-microgram H5N1 vaccine.
New Human Bird Flu Case In Viet Nam published
Thu, 20 Mar 2008 01:00:00 PDT
The Ministry of Health in Viet Nam has confirmed a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. The case has been confirmed by the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE). The case is an 11 -year old male from Thanh Liem district, Ha Nam province. He developed symptoms on 4 March was hospitalized on 9 March and died on 14 March. The case had contact with sick and dead poultry prior to his illness.
Solving An Avian Scourge Could Also Provide Benefits To Human Health published
Wed, 19 Mar 2008 08:00:00 PDT
The old adage 'a bird in hand is worth two in the bush' may very well apply to a new vaccine project underway in the lab of ASU School of Life Sciences Professor Roy Curtiss, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at the Biodesign Institute.There, associate research scientist Melha Mellata is leading a USDA funded project to identify targets to develop a vaccine against a leading poultry disease, called avian pathogenic E. coli (APEC).
Indonesia Is Country Worst Hit By Bird Flu - High Load Of Circulating Virus Could Lead To Mutation And Human Flu Pandemic published
Wed, 19 Mar 2008 01:00:00 PDT
The prevalence of bird flu in Indonesia continues to be serious despite containment efforts undertaken by national authorities and the international community, FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) warned today. Indonesia is the country worst hit by avian influenza.
Roche Statement Regarding Tamiflu U.S. Label Revision published
Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:00:00 PDT
Roche has informed healthcare professionals that the prescribing information for Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) has been updated to reflect recommendations made by the FDA Pediatric Advisory Committee at a November 27, 2007 meeting regarding neuropsychiatric events.
Reports Of Increased Survival In Bird Flu Patients Taking Tamiflu published
Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:00:00 PDT
Physicians from countries worst-affected by the deadly bird flu (H5N1 influenza virus) have reported an increased survival rate in patients treated with the oral antiviral Tamiflu (oseltamivir). These data reinforce the World Health Organization (WHO) advisory that Tamiflu is the only antiviral strongly recommended for the treatment of humans infected with the H5N1 virus.
Animal Magnetism Provides A Sense Of Direction published
Sat, 01 Mar 2008 06:00:00 PDT
They may not be on most people's list of most attractive species, but bats definitely have animal magnetism. Researchers from the Universities of Leeds and Princeton have discovered that bats use a magnetic substance in their body called magnetite as an 'internal compass' to help them navigate.
Novel Hybrid Viruses Caused Major Mid-Century Influenza Epidemics published
Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:00:00 PDT
Reassortment of the influenza A virus occurs frequently throughout its evolutionary history, according to a new study published February 29 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University and the National Institute of Health used an evolutionary analysis of influenza viruses sampled from 1918 - 2005 to investigate the influenza viruses that cause seasonal epidemics in humans, particularly those where mortality was unusually high.
Influenza Epidemics Due To Hybrid Viruses published
Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:00:00 PDT
A recent article published in the open-access journal PLoSPathogens maintains that over its evolutionary history,reassortment of the influenza A virus happens often.Genetic reassortment is when genetic material mixes from two similarviruses that are infecting the same cell. Influenza virus A is aspecies of virus that causes influenza in birds, humans, pigs, andhorses; it has often given rise to human influenza pandemics.
Bird Flu Could Strike Again In India, FAO Warns published
Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:00:00 PDT
India is to be commended for its successful efforts to control the recent worst-ever outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in the state of West Bengal, FAO said. The agency warned, however, that intensive surveillance should continue in high-risk areas as the possibility of new outbreaks remains high.
Study Results Detail Bird Flu Migration, Provide Means To Measure Intervention Success published
Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:00:00 PDT
Several strains of the bird flu virus that raged across southern China were blocked from entering Thailand and Vietnam, UC Irvine researchers have discovered.This first-ever statistical analysis of influenza A H5N1's genetic diversity helps scientists better understand how the virus migrates and could, in the future, help health officials determine whether efforts to thwart its spread were successful.
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