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.

Flu vaccine shortages in developing countries could destabilize global security, says former WHO deputy head

"Flu vaccine shortages in developing nations may destabilize global security should the H1N1 [swine flu] virus become more deadly … David Heymann, a former deputy head of the World Health Organization" said Monday, Bloomberg reports.

10 Dec 2009

Public health information website to provide information about advanced disinfectants launched

TouchSurfaces.Org launches a public health information website alerting visitors on how the hard surfaces in the home, the work place, and in public venues can act as host to a multitude of infectious viruses and bacteria including H1N1, MRSA, HIV, and others.

10 Dec 2009

Despite worldwide outbreak of H1N1 virus, American adults not eager to get vaccinated

American adults are not being vaccinated against the seasonal flu any more often than they were last year, despite increased public discussion of the importance of influenza vaccines resulting from the worldwide outbreak of the H1N1 virus, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

10 Dec 2009

Study reveals increased discussion on flu vaccines has no significant impact on public's behavior

Seasonal flu vaccination rates among American adults have only slightly improved over last year, despite increased public discussion of the importance of influenza vaccines resulting from the worldwide outbreak of the H1N1 virus.

10 Dec 2009

Nano Mask signs a three year agreement to distribute Wein Products respirators

Nano Mask, Inc. today announced that it has entered into a three year agreement with Wein Products, a manufacturer of disposable respirators, to distribute that company's products as it continues to complete the development of its own proprietary disposable NanoMask respirator and to obtain regulatory approval for the NanoMask.

10 Dec 2009

New research shows increase risk of cardiovascular disease for people on low-carbohydrate high-fat diets

New scientific research has shown that low-carbohydrate high-fat diets, made popular by the likes of the Atkins diet, do not achieve more weight loss than low-fat high-carbohydrate diets. Worryingly, the research, lead by Dr Steven Hunter from the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, also shows significantly increased risks of cardiovascular disease for people following low-carbohydrate high-fat diets

9 Dec 2009

NIH awards Lentigen a SBIR grant for program to generate Hepatitis C Virus-Like Particles

Lentigen Corporation, a biotechnology company specializing in the development and manufacture of lentiviral gene delivery technologies, announced today that it has received a National Institutes of Health (NIH) small business innovation research (SBIR) grant for a program on "A Novel Method of Generating Hepatitis C Virus-Like Particles using Lentivirus". In this program, Lentigen will collaborate with Epixis SA (Paris, France).

9 Dec 2009

Alternative, fast and safe process for producing large quantities of effective flu vaccines

A shortage of flu vaccines may soon become a problem of the past. Researcher Manon Cox has developed an alternative process for producing large quantities of safe and effective vaccines at twice to four times the usual speed. The process is based on using cells in bioreactors instead of fertilised chicken's eggs, which have a limited availability.

9 Dec 2009

Severe pandemic scenario can impact blood supplies

A German research team has examined data on supply and demand for blood transfusions against a computer simulation of an influenza pandemic, and discovered that a severe pandemic scenario could quickly lead to a deficit of up to 96,000 red blood cell (RBC) transfusion units in Germany alone, creating potentially fatal outcomes. Their study is published today in the journal TRANSFUSION.

9 Dec 2009

Bird influenza viruses have a variety of strategies to cross the species barrier

The 2009 H1N1 influenza virus used a new strategy to cross from birds into humans, a warning that it has more than one trick up its sleeve to jump the species barrier and become virulent.

9 Dec 2009

Opinions: ARV access; global health promotion; climate change; under-nutrition; Ethiopia

In an Intellectual Property Watch column, Daniele Dionisio, of the Italian Network for International Fight against AIDS, examines how trade rules and policy directions by governments and institutions may help to improve countries' access to antiretrovirals.

8 Dec 2009

ASH meeting highlights H1N1 pandemic threat, new trends and treatment options for children with genetic blood disorder

Sickle cell disease, a condition characterized by deformed and dysfunctional red blood cells, is one of the most common genetic blood disorders affecting millions of people around the world, including more than 70,000 Americans (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

8 Dec 2009

BIOGUARD barrier gauze dressings exhibit high antiviral efficacy against H1N1 virus

An independent lab report demonstrated that BIOGUARD™ barrier gauze dressings exhibit greater than 99.9% inactivation rates against swine flu virus after exposure for 24 hours.

8 Dec 2009

New data from NanoBio's nanoemulsion-based adjuvant platform to be presented

NanoBio Corporation announced today that its CEO and Founder, James R. Baker, Jr., M.D., will present new data from studies of its nanoemulsion-based adjuvant platform during the World Influenza Congress, taking place from December 7-9, 2009 in Brussels, Belgium.

8 Dec 2009

H1N1 virus produces pulmonary damage similar to earlier flu pandemics

In fatal cases of 2009 H1N1 influenza, the virus can damage cells throughout the respiratory airway, much like the viruses that caused the 1918 and 1957 influenza pandemics, report researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the New York City Office of Chief Medical Examiner.

8 Dec 2009

HHS joins with Ad Council to launch new nationwide PSA campaign

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is joining with the Ad Council to launch a new nationwide public service advertising (PSA) campaign called “Together We Can All Fight the Flu.”

7 Dec 2009

Phase I/II clinical trial of Multimeric-001 Universal Flu Vaccine successful

BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd., an Israeli biopharmaceutical company at the forefront of the development of a Universal Influenza Vaccine, announced the success of the Phase I/II clinical trial of the Company's Multimeric-001 Universal Flu Vaccine, in trials conducted at the Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel.

7 Dec 2009

Join Sonic Foundry, Wisconsin Department of Health Services to host webinar on health information

When the spread of H1N1 flu accelerated this fall, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services needed to get more information to more people more quickly than ever before. Join Sonic Foundry, Inc. (Nasdaq: SOFO), the recognized market leader for rich media webcasting and knowledge management, for a live webinar in which Matt Duffy from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, will share how in-house webcasting relieved fiscal pressures and made it easier to present increasingly complex data.

5 Dec 2009

Findings underscore the need for additional medical student education for healthcare reform

As the population of people with chronic conditions and health care costs rise, so do opportunities for implementing health prevention strategies. Jan Carney, M.D., M.P.H., associate dean for public health at the University of Vermont (UVM) College of Medicine, believes a critical strategy for reforming the health care system lies in teaching medical students about prevention and public health.

5 Dec 2009

Too early to declare end of H1N1 pandemic, WHO says

Though there are signs the H1N1 (swine flu) has peaked in the U.S. and Canada, a WHO flu expert said Thursday it is too early to declare the pandemic over, Canadian Press reports.

4 Dec 2009

Pandemic News and Research

Further Reading

Flu vaccine shortages in developing countries could destabilize global security, says former WHO deputy head

Public health information website to provide information about advanced disinfectants launched

Despite worldwide outbreak of H1N1 virus, American adults not eager to get vaccinated

Study reveals increased discussion on flu vaccines has no significant impact on public's behavior

Nano Mask signs a three year agreement to distribute Wein Products respirators

New research shows increase risk of cardiovascular disease for people on low-carbohydrate high-fat diets

NIH awards Lentigen a SBIR grant for program to generate Hepatitis C Virus-Like Particles

Alternative, fast and safe process for producing large quantities of effective flu vaccines

Severe pandemic scenario can impact blood supplies

Bird influenza viruses have a variety of strategies to cross the species barrier

Opinions: ARV access; global health promotion; climate change; under-nutrition; Ethiopia

ASH meeting highlights H1N1 pandemic threat, new trends and treatment options for children with genetic blood disorder

BIOGUARD barrier gauze dressings exhibit high antiviral efficacy against H1N1 virus

New data from NanoBio's nanoemulsion-based adjuvant platform to be presented

H1N1 virus produces pulmonary damage similar to earlier flu pandemics

HHS joins with Ad Council to launch new nationwide PSA campaign

Phase I/II clinical trial of Multimeric-001 Universal Flu Vaccine successful

Join Sonic Foundry, Wisconsin Department of Health Services to host webinar on health information

Findings underscore the need for additional medical student education for healthcare reform

Too early to declare end of H1N1 pandemic, WHO says

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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