Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

Safe living guidelines for transplant recipients

Keeping pets healthy can reduce infection risks for people who have received solid organ transplants and veterinarians should be seen as an integral part of the healthcare team. That's just one of the key pieces of advice from a safe living article published in an infectious diseases supplement in the American Journal of Transplantation.

18 Dec 2009

Government not held accountable for keeping nurses safe during SARS, Supreme Court denies appeal

Registered nurses in Ontario are devastated today to learn that the Supreme Court of Canada has denied an appeal of an earlier legal decision regarding responsibility for keeping nurses safe during the SARS outbreak.

18 Dec 2009

Flu-fighting proteins found in human cells stop flu virus, uncover scientists

In findings that may lead to better ways to prevent and treat influenza and other viral infections, researchers report the discovery of a family of naturally occurring antiviral agents in human cells.

18 Dec 2009

Comprehensive approaches to understand the interaction of H1N1 strains with human cells

Scientists have generated hundreds of new leads in the fight against the H1N1 flu pandemic, according to two new studies published online December 17th in the journal Cell, a Cell Press publication.

18 Dec 2009

Also in Global Health news: Hospital births in Guinea-Bissau; drought in E. Africa; drug-resistant malaria; U.S. response to H1N1

IRIN examines the increase in the number of women giving birth in hospital settings rather than delivery by a traditional birth attendant - a behavior that health officials hope will lead to a drop in the country's maternal mortality rate. "According to UNFPA, 38 percent of women gave birth in a hospital in 2009, up from 29 percent in 2003," the news service writes.

17 Dec 2009

MIT to host community-wide Caregiver Kit Build Event

Boston AIDS Africa, a Boston-based initiative to respond to the AIDS pandemic in Africa by providing vital supplies to care for those suffering with HIV/AIDS in Africa, announced today that it has partnered with Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, who will host a community-wide Caregiver Kit Build Event on April 3, 2010 at the MIT Johnson Ice Rink.

17 Dec 2009

CIHR experts offer suggestions for stress-free holiday

The holiday season is synonymous with joy, family and sharing, but it can also mean anxiety, melancholy and illness. With the recent economic downturn and the H1N1 pandemic, many Canadians are facing higher stress levels, sleepless nights and health problems.

17 Dec 2009

Infection control program protects immunocompromised cancer patients from H1N1 infection

Despite a 100-fold increase in H1N1 influenza cases in the Seattle area during spring 2009, an aggressive infection control program to protect immunocompromised cancer patients and thorough screening measures resulted in no corresponding increase in H1N1 cases among the total patient population at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, according to a new study by researchers and physicians at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the SCCA.

17 Dec 2009

HHS to provide H1N1 response update on December 17, 2009

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and senior HHS officials leading the H1N1 response at the Department will hold a press conference, at the National Press Club on Thursday, December 17, 2009.

16 Dec 2009

H1N1 outbreak reveals existing gaps in nation's public health emergency preparedness

The seventh annual Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism report, released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), found that the H1N1 flu outbreak has exposed serious underlying gaps in the nation's ability to respond to public health emergencies and that the economic crisis is straining an already fragile public health system.

16 Dec 2009

Drug monitoring may provide alternative treatments for patients with severe H1N1

An international team of Canadian and Spanish scientists have found the first potential immunological clue of why some people develop severe pneumonia when infected by the pandemic H1N1 virus.

16 Dec 2009

Safe Life increases production of its A400 Series respirators

Safe Life Corp., an innovative antimicrobial company dedicated to developing novel technologies that prevent the spread of infection and disease, announced today that it is ramping production of its comfortable, breathable, A400 Series respirator to help healthcare providers and government agencies address the global shortage of N95 respirators during the H1N1 pandemic.

15 Dec 2009

Scientists create Pandemic Influenza Planning Tool to model the spread of pandemic influenza

As communities brace for rising wintertime influenza cases, scientists are developing a mathematical and visual analytic toolkit to help health officials quickly analyze pandemics and craft better response strategies.

15 Dec 2009

FDA grants EUA for DxNA’s 2009 H1N1 influenza virus diagnostic test

DxNA announced today that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for its 2009 H1N1 influenza virus diagnostic test for use in DxNA's GeneSTAT(TM) detection platform.

14 Dec 2009

AVAC: MDP 301 effectiveness trial finds no evidence that PRO 2000 microbicide reduces HIV infection

The Microbicides Development Programme announced earlier today that its MDP 301 effectiveness trial, which was conducted among almost 9,400 women in four African countries, found no evidence that the PRO 2000 microbicide reduces the risk of HIV infection.

14 Dec 2009

Clinical trial of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine

HIV-infected adults currently are being recruited to participate in a clinical trial of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine. The study, sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health, will enroll approximately 240 men and women between the ages of 18 and 64.

13 Dec 2009

HHS: Current research efforts and developments in influenza vaccine technologies

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will host a three-hour educational program for the media to learn more about ongoing government research efforts to develop and apply new technologies in the making of seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines.

11 Dec 2009

NCKUH and NHRI sponsor virology lab in Vietnam Children’s Hospital

A Virology Lab in Children’s Hospital No. 1 (CH1), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, sponsored by National Cheng Kung University Hospital (NCKUH) and National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) in Taiwan was launched on November 11th, 2009.

11 Dec 2009

Pertinent questions about H1N1 Influenza answered by NERAC

Municipalities in Massachusetts should assume that the H1N1 Influenza is now present in their communities, schools, and work places, and should take appropriate precautions to prevent the spread of this virus as well as the seasonal flu.

11 Dec 2009

FY2010 State and Foreign Ops bill expected to move on the Hill this month

The fiscal year 2010 State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which includes funding for global health-related measures, "is moving on the Hill as part of a mammoth catch-all spending bill that's expected to move through both chambers this month," Foreign Policy's blog, "The Cable," reports. "

10 Dec 2009

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Safe living guidelines for transplant recipients

Government not held accountable for keeping nurses safe during SARS, Supreme Court denies appeal

Flu-fighting proteins found in human cells stop flu virus, uncover scientists

Comprehensive approaches to understand the interaction of H1N1 strains with human cells

Also in Global Health news: Hospital births in Guinea-Bissau; drought in E. Africa; drug-resistant malaria; U.S. response to H1N1

MIT to host community-wide Caregiver Kit Build Event

CIHR experts offer suggestions for stress-free holiday

Infection control program protects immunocompromised cancer patients from H1N1 infection

HHS to provide H1N1 response update on December 17, 2009

H1N1 outbreak reveals existing gaps in nation's public health emergency preparedness

Drug monitoring may provide alternative treatments for patients with severe H1N1

Safe Life increases production of its A400 Series respirators

Scientists create Pandemic Influenza Planning Tool to model the spread of pandemic influenza

FDA grants EUA for DxNA’s 2009 H1N1 influenza virus diagnostic test

AVAC: MDP 301 effectiveness trial finds no evidence that PRO 2000 microbicide reduces HIV infection

Clinical trial of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine

HHS: Current research efforts and developments in influenza vaccine technologies

NCKUH and NHRI sponsor virology lab in Vietnam Children’s Hospital

Pertinent questions about H1N1 Influenza answered by NERAC

FY2010 State and Foreign Ops bill expected to move on the Hill this month

Best practices - optimize qPCR processes for pathogen detection eBook

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

Expanding access to NMR with the Fourier 80 Duo

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