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.

Bill Clinton, Pfizer, and Mylan announce new agreements to lower prices of antiretrovirals for HIV/AIDS in the developing world

President Bill Clinton announced two important and complementary agreements today to enable better, more affordable treatments for patients on second-line antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for HIV/AIDS in the developing world.

6 Aug 2009

Fast-tracked H1N1 vaccines will not compromise safety, WHO says

Efforts to fast-track the approval of H1N1 (swine) flu vaccines will not compromise the safety or quality controls of vaccine production, the WHO said in a written statement Thursday, the Mail & Guardian reports.

6 Aug 2009

2 billion worldwide could het H1N1, says WHO

The WHO on Tuesday maintained that roughly two billion people could become infected with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters reports.

6 Aug 2009

Baxter completes production of batches of CELVAPAN A/H1N1 pandemic vaccine

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) today announced that it completed production of its first commercial batches of CELVAPAN A/H1N1 pandemic vaccine in late July and is discussing plans for distribution with national health authorities, subject to obtaining appropriate authorizations. CELVAPAN, the brand name for the company’s A/H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccine, is made using Baxter’s proprietary Vero cell culture technology.

From Baxter International Inc. 5 Aug 2009

Mathematical modelling to tackle influenza

Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin will participate in a $3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fight influenza and other diseases by creating models that simulate the complex interplay between human behavior and the spread of disease.

4 Aug 2009

AFP examines debate over H1N1 spending, resource allocation

There is concern that as developed countries store away antivirals, face masks and vaccines to protect against the H1N1 (swine) flu virus, poor countries are being left empty handed. "Some critics say the spending is so imbalanced that it amounts to health apartheid, protecting rich countries against H1N1 but leaving poor nations to fend for themselves," the news service writes, adding, "Others argue gargantuan sums are being spent on a disease that is no more lethal than seasonal flu, which is grotesquely disproportionate when thousands die each day of less media-friendly diseases."

3 Aug 2009

Ethical ramifications of H1N1 vaccine priority groups

Pregnant women are among the groups that should receive H1N1 (swine) flu vaccinations this fall, according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel whose recommendations are generally accepted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

31 Jul 2009

U.S. decision on use of adjuvants could reduce world supply of H1N1 vaccine, says Lancet editorial

"A U.S. plan to rely on swine flu vaccines without ingredients to stretch the supply [known as adjuvants] would reduce the number of available shots just when other countries need them most, the British journal Lancet said in an editorial," Bloomberg writes.

31 Jul 2009

Medicago announces positive results for H1N1 pandemic vaccine candidate

Medicago today announced that it has achieved additional positive results with its vaccine candidate for the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, also known as Swine flu. Results showed that a single dose of 5 micrograms induced a positive immune response against a new emerging strain of this virus in 100% of vaccinated animals.

31 Jul 2009

Virulence of pandemic H1N1 virus analyzed

Laboratory studies at Kansas State University and the work of a K-State researcher are making headway in the effort to control the pandemic H1N1 virus.

31 Jul 2009

New guidelines issued for H1N1 vaccine campaign by Federal Advisory Committee

During a meeting in Atlanta on Wednesday, a "federal advisory committee issued sweeping guidelines … for a vaccination campaign against the pandemic swine flu strain, identifying more than half the U.S. population as targets for the first round of vaccinations," CNN reports (Hellerman, 7/29).

30 Jul 2009

U.S.-China talks expected to include collaboration on fighting infectious disease

China's Deputy Health Minister Yin Li on Tuesday said that public health cooperation between China and the U.S. can improve the health of both countries and be strategically significant to world peace and development, Xinhua/China View reports (7/29).

29 Jul 2009

Latin America accounts for two-thirds of all confirmed H1N1 deaths

Health officials are growing increasingly concerned over the impact the H1N1 (swine) flu is having on populations living in Latin America, a region "which accounts for around two-thirds of the 816 confirmed deaths so far from the disease," the AFP/channelnewsasia.com reports. "The outlook is especially unsettling for the estimated 380 million people grappling with winter in South America, where the A(H1N1) virus is speedily propagating," the news service writes.

29 Jul 2009

Swine Flu - getting drugs to the market more rapidly

The pharmaceutical industry has been up in arms this year. Giants such as Pfizer, GSK and AstraZeneca are looking for deals in the downturn whilst competing against increasing generic competition as some of the best selling medicines are coming off patent. In addition to the sectors ever-changing landscape companies are under tremendous pressure from governments to combat the Swine flu pandemic that has gripped the world.

29 Jul 2009

In a flu pandemic 1 in 6 health workers will not report for work

With hospitals around Australia struggling to cope with the added burden of swine flu cases researchers say 1 in 6 health workers will not report in for work in a flu pandemic.

28 Jul 2009

Children needed for Australian swine flu vaccine trial

The child vaccine is similar to the adult one and two types of dose strengths and amounts will be tested in order to determine the correct dosage and the safety of the vaccine - it will be tested on children aged between six months and eight years in Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane.

28 Jul 2009

Many health won't report in during flu pandemic

A study conducted by researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) and John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health indicates that approximately 16 percent of public health care workers will not report for work in a pandemic flu emergency, regardless of the severity.

28 Jul 2009