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WHO will meet to decide if H1N1 has peaked

The WHO will convene a meeting of its emergency committee later this month to assess whether H1N1 (swine flu) has peaked, Keiji Fukuda, the special adviser to the WHO's director general for pandemic influenza, said Thursday, Bloomberg reports.

15 Feb 2010

Rate of seasonal flu vaccination doubles national average at Johns Hopkins East Baltimore medical campus

A campaign that makes seasonal flu vaccinations for hospital staff free, convenient, ubiquitous and hard to ignore succeeds fairly well in moving care providers closer to a state of "herd" immunity and protecting patients from possible infection transmitted by health care workers, according to results of a survey at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

12 Feb 2010

Antibodies also contribute to severe dengue virus-induced disease, confirms La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology

A leading immunology research institute has validated the long-held and controversial hypothesis that antibodies - usually the "good guys" in the body's fight against viruses - instead contribute to severe dengue virus-induced disease, the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology announced today. The finding has major implications for the development of a first-ever vaccine against dengue virus, a growing public health threat which annually infects 50 to 100 million people worldwide, causing a half million cases of the severest form.

12 Feb 2010

Study: Hospitalizations for H1N1 differ from hospitalizations associated with typical flu

When compared to a typical flu, the H1N1 virus resulted in a higher proportion of patients requiring specialized hospital services - and affected younger people more - according to a new study released today by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI).

12 Feb 2010

Survey shows one quarter of Ontario hospitals have no influenza pandemic plan

One quarter of Ontario hospitals surveyed in a Queen's University-led study do not have an influenza pandemic plan and few plans that do exist have been tested. In addition, key players were not involved in developing the plans, and funding for pandemic preparedness was inadequate.

11 Feb 2010

Majority of parents worry about safety of H1N1 vaccine

Ask any health professional who cares for children and they will tell you: When H1N1 flu hits, it can be very severe. In the last four months of 2009, nearly 240 children died in the United States from H1N1 flu—more than three times as many child deaths as in a typical non-H1N1 flu season.

10 Feb 2010

Genzyme and Isis Pharmaceuticals: Phase 3 mipomersen study in heFH patients meets primary endpoint

Genzyme Corp. and Isis Pharmaceuticals Inc. today announced that the phase 3 study of mipomersen in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (heFH) met its primary endpoint with a highly statistically significant 28 percent reduction in LDL-cholesterol after 26 weeks of treatment, compared with an increase of 5 percent for placebo.

10 Feb 2010

sanofi-aventis reports 2009 fourth-quarter and full-year net earnings

Commenting on the Group's 2009 performance, sanofi-aventis Chief Executive Officer Christopher A. Viehbacher said, "2009 was the first year of implementation of our new strategy. Major steps have already been achieved in strengthening our growth platforms and reinforcing our R&D pipeline while delivering a double-digit EPS(1) growth".

10 Feb 2010

DTM programs increase adherence to injectable medications and treatment persistence in MS patients

A new study reveals that multiple sclerosis (MS) patients enrolled in a seven-month disease therapy management (DTM) program show greater adherence to injectable MS medications and treatment persistence than patients who receive injectable MS medications through a community pharmacy.

10 Feb 2010

New method may help assess impact and cost-effectiveness of flu vaccination campaigns

A new study (doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2010.01.002), published by Elsevier this month in Vaccine (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/vaccine) describes a new method that assesses the impact and cost-effectiveness of a range of vaccination options.

10 Feb 2010

Health officials encourage caution, despite H1N1 case decline

As the number of new H1N1 (swine flu) infections worldwide drops, U.S. health officials on Friday cautioned the virus continues to circulate and can still be deadly, Reuters reports. According to the WHO, H1N1 remains the dominant strain worldwide, but there are reports of the recent emergence of the seasonal flu in Africa and China, according to the news agency.

10 Feb 2010

Triple-S Management reports consolidated revenues of $516.9 million for fourth-quarter 2009

Triple-S Management Corporation, the largest managed care company in Puerto Rico, today announced consolidated revenues of $516.9 million and operating income of $34.2 million for the three months ended December 31, 2009.

9 Feb 2010

Centene announces fourth quarter and full year 2009 financial results

Centene Corporation today announced its financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. The results of operations for our New Jersey health plan, University Health Plans, are classified as discontinued operations.

9 Feb 2010

Novavax to discontinue collaboration agreement with ROVI Pharmaceuticals

Novavax, Inc. announced today that the company has decided to discontinue negotiations in its pursuit of the previously announced collaboration with ROVI Pharmaceuticals to develop Novavax's virus-like-particle (VLP)-based vaccines against influenza in the country of Spain.

8 Feb 2010

Athlete hopes for first U.S. cross-country medal; health issues plagued 2006 Olympic bid

Kris Freeman is back in the hunt for an Olympic medal in Vancouver after being named today to the U.S. ski team following a disappointing finish at the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy.

6 Feb 2010

Majority of Americans believe flu outbreak is over; levels of concern continue to decline

The latest poll from researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) shows that almost half of Americans believe the H1N1 flu outbreak is over (44%), and levels of concern about getting sick with the virus continue to decline.

6 Feb 2010

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

Within a virus's tiny exterior is a store of energy waiting to be unleashed. When the virus encounters a host cell, this pent-up energy is released, propelling the viral DNA into the cell and turning it into a virus factory.

6 Feb 2010

Hockey player teams with Ottawa medical expert to raise awareness about meningococcal meningitis

When hockey fans converge at this Sunday's Ottawa 67's game, Garry Galley, former NHL defenseman and current analyst of Hockey Night in Canada, will team up with Dr. Gary Garber to share defense tips about the four vaccine-preventable strains of meningococcal meningitis with hockey enthusiasts at the Take a Shot for Meningitis Awareness booth. The pair will educate hockey enthusiasts and their families about meningococcal meningitis prevention and protection.

5 Feb 2010

Virginia Tech professor wins grant to formulate mathematical framework for flu prevention

An assistant professor with the Virginia Tech College of Engineering has won a $750,000 federal grant to formulate a mathematical framework that can track the spread of pandemics among populations and malware across wireless computer networks, as well as how a blackout occurring on one major power grid can cause a cascade of additional neighboring networks to fail.

5 Feb 2010

New report finds low adult vaccination rates in U.S.

A new report, Adult Immunization: Shots to Save Lives, released today by the Trust for America's Health (TFAH), the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) found that more than 30 percent of adults ages 65 and older had not been immunized against pneumonia in 36 states as of 2008.

5 Feb 2010

Flu News and Research

WHO will meet to decide if H1N1 has peaked

Rate of seasonal flu vaccination doubles national average at Johns Hopkins East Baltimore medical campus

Antibodies also contribute to severe dengue virus-induced disease, confirms La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology

Study: Hospitalizations for H1N1 differ from hospitalizations associated with typical flu

Survey shows one quarter of Ontario hospitals have no influenza pandemic plan

Majority of parents worry about safety of H1N1 vaccine

Genzyme and Isis Pharmaceuticals: Phase 3 mipomersen study in heFH patients meets primary endpoint

sanofi-aventis reports 2009 fourth-quarter and full-year net earnings

DTM programs increase adherence to injectable medications and treatment persistence in MS patients

New method may help assess impact and cost-effectiveness of flu vaccination campaigns

Health officials encourage caution, despite H1N1 case decline

Triple-S Management reports consolidated revenues of $516.9 million for fourth-quarter 2009

Centene announces fourth quarter and full year 2009 financial results

Novavax to discontinue collaboration agreement with ROVI Pharmaceuticals

Athlete hopes for first U.S. cross-country medal; health issues plagued 2006 Olympic bid

Majority of Americans believe flu outbreak is over; levels of concern continue to decline

Breakthrough discovery could help in developing a broad spectrum of antiviral drugs

Hockey player teams with Ottawa medical expert to raise awareness about meningococcal meningitis

Virginia Tech professor wins grant to formulate mathematical framework for flu prevention

New report finds low adult vaccination rates in U.S.

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