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.

DNA vaccine for H5N1 avian influenza enters human trial

The first human trial of a DNA vaccine designed to prevent H5N1 avian influenza infection began on December 21, 2006, when the vaccine was administered to the first volunteer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD.

3 Jan 2007

Scientists visualize influenza virus particles

Scientists at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), and colleagues at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville have succeeded in imaging, in unprecedented detail, the virus that causes influenza.

2 Jan 2007

Bird flu doing the rounds in South Korea

Authorities in South Korea say they have found another case of a highly pathogenic bird flu in North Cholla province south of Seoul.

12 Dec 2006

Bird flu vaccine ready in a year but who will get it first?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says a vaccine against the killer H5N1 bird flu virus could be licensed for humans within a year.

11 Dec 2006

Some Christian conservatives calling on Congress to reduce funding for Global Fund because of condom promotion

Some leading Christian conservatives are calling on Congress to reduce U.S. funding allocations to the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, saying that the Global Fund does not allocate adequate resources to faith-based programs and that it promotes condom use, the Boston Globe reports.

2 Dec 2006

Roche says Tamiflu still number one drug for fighting bird flu

Drug giant Roche has denied there has been any new evidence that suggests resistance to its drug Tamiflu was on the increase.

29 Nov 2006

Bird flu hits another farm in South Korea

A second outbreak of the virulent H5N1 strain of bird flu at another poultry farm has been confirmed by South Korean authorities; the farm is just 3 km from the first case in North Cholla province in the country's southwest.

29 Nov 2006

New bird flu drug will provide new line of defence

Flu experts say a new flu drug with the ability to kill deadly strains of bird flu promises to provide a much needed third option should a pandemic occur.

28 Nov 2006

US orders more bird flu vaccine for the stockpile

The U.S. government has ordered enough vaccine to protect another 2.7 million people against bird flu.

22 Nov 2006

HHS purchases more vaccines for an influenza pandemic

HHS has announced the purchase of additional vaccine that could be used in the event of a potential influenza pandemic.

20 Nov 2006

Experts say Britain vulnerable to bird flu pandemic

Experts in Britain believe the government should have stockpiled more than one antiviral drug in order to tackle a bird flu pandemic and say Britain has been left vulnerable because the stockpile of anti virus drugs is deficient.

20 Nov 2006

Scientists find key to mutations in bird flu virus

An international group of scientists say they have found two spots on the H5N1 bird flu virus that will need to mutate for the virus to infect people more easily.

16 Nov 2006

MChip to detect H5N1

Scientists from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have developed an inexpensive "gene chip" test based on a single influenza virus gene that could allow scientists to quickly identify flu viruses, including avian influenza H5N1.

14 Nov 2006

Tamiflu to carry warning about abnormal behaviour

The Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. (FDA) is recommending that patients who take Tamiflu be closely monitored for signs of abnormal behaviour.

14 Nov 2006

Starvation, malnutrition threatening fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic

Starvation and malnutrition are "fast becoming the twin perils" in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the need for food soon might surpass the need for antiretroviral drugs among many HIV-positive people in the developing world, the AP/ABC2 News reports.

13 Nov 2006