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.

A ban on domestic travel could delay the spread of a flu pandemic

A near total ban on domestic travel could delay the spread of a flu pandemic by a week or more, particularly if the outbreak originates in a regional town or small city such as Darwin, according to new modelling by Australian researchers.

23 Jul 2007

Is the U.S. ready for bird flu? No

A new report from the White House has revealed that the United States remains unprepared for a possible bird flu pandemic.

19 Jul 2007

Progress in infectious disease surveillance but gaps remain

The key to control any pandemic is early identification and rapid response.

18 Jul 2007

Test of universal influenza vaccine

A universal influenza vaccine that has been pioneered by researchers from VIB and Ghent University is being tested for the first time on humans by the British-American biotech company Acambis.

18 Jul 2007

$900 million for public health emergency response

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced that the department has provided another $896.7 million to the states, territories, and four metropolitan areas to improve and sustain their ability to respond to public health emergencies.

18 Jul 2007

Bird flu checks back in to Czech Republic

The Czech Republic has found two new outbreaks of bird flu on poultry farms near where the deadly strain of the virus was found a few weeks ago.

12 Jul 2007

Confronting myths and myopia on the road from Doha

A Penn State researcher argues that ambiguous international rules outlining when and how governments may "break" pharmaceutical patents may end up significantly reducing incentives for innovation while at the same time failing to increase access to medicines.

11 Jul 2007

International AIDS Society releases Sydney declaration, calls for increase in research funding to fight HIV/AIDS

The International AIDS Society on Tuesday ahead of the 4th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention -- scheduled to take place July 22 to July 25 in Sydney, Australia -- released the Sydney Declaration, which calls for increased research funding to fight HIV/AIDS worldwide, the Australian Associated Press reports.

11 Jul 2007

Novavax licenses virus-like particle from Wyeth

Novavax, Inc. has announced that is has signed a non-exclusive, worldwide license agreement with Wyeth, to obtain rights to a patent application covering virus-like particle (VLP) technology for use in human vaccines in certain fields of use.

10 Jul 2007

Etravirine reduces HIV viral loads when taken with Prezista

The experimental antiretroviral drug etravirine, made by Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Tibotec Pharmaceuticals, greatly reduces HIV viral loads in people with a history of drug resistance when taken in combination with Tibotec's antiretroviral Prezista, according to two studies published Saturday in the journal The Lancet.

10 Jul 2007

Bird flu on a European tour

German officials have culled as many as 1,000 domestic birds following the discovery of the deadly H5N1 bird-flu virus in a dead goose in the village of Wickersdorf in eastern Germany.

8 Jul 2007

Tamiflu for children

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has given approval for Tamiflu to be used for children but at a lower dose than the adult version.

4 Jul 2007

Bird flu in Germany

The lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu has now been detected in two birds tested in the eastern state of Thueringen after as many as 100 birds of various types were found dead.

4 Jul 2007

Elimination of Chagas disease by 2010

A new effort to eliminate Chagas disease by 2010 will be launched tomorrow at a WHO meeting of disease experts and partners.

3 Jul 2007

Bird flu swanning around Germany

Health authorities in Germany say they have identified three more cases of the lethal H5N1 strain of bird flu in swans, bringing the total number of wild birds now infected to nine.

27 Jun 2007

UN warns bird flu will be around for quite a while

A warning has been issued by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with regard to the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

27 Jun 2007

Decline in mental health after SARS

Most patients who survived severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) had good physical recovery, but they or their caregivers often reported a decline in mental health one year later, according to a study in the June 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

26 Jun 2007