Respiratory Illness News and Research

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Simple interventions could contain flu spread – focus on children

Although many have touted strategies from travel avoidance to Tamiflu to halt the spread of H1N1 flu or swine flu, a large body of evidence from the Cochrane Library suggests that concentrating on children's hygiene might be the best way to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses.

12 May 2009

FDA licenses Sanofi Pasteur's new flu vaccine manufacturing facility

Sanofi Pasteur announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has licensed its new influenza vaccine manufacturing facility.

7 May 2009

U.S. 'investing every resource necessary' to address H1N1 flu emergency, Obama says

President Obama on Saturday during his weekly radio and Internet address said that his administration is working to address the recent public health emergency involving the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, also known as swine flu, The Hill reports.

5 May 2009

Putting a face on influenza

Influenza results in billions of dollars in lost wages every year, and recent studies found that an estimated 75 million missed workdays a year, and about 200 million days of restricted activity, are due to this vaccine-preventable disease.

24 Feb 2009

Less than seven hours of sleep may mean more colds

Individuals who get less than seven hours of sleep per night appear about three times as likely to develop respiratory illness following exposure to a cold virus as those who sleep eight hours or more, according to a report in the January 12 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

12 Jan 2009

As many as 300 children could be at risk of TB from hospital doctor

After a doctor at Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital tested positive for tuberculosis (TB), authorities say as many as 300 babies have been identified who may have come into contact with the doctor and could be at risk.

10 Dec 2008

A probiotic bacterium reduces hospital infections

A probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus plantarum 299, has been used to out-compete the dangerous bacteria that cause respiratory illness in ventilated patients.

6 Nov 2008

MedImmune starts phase 1/2a clinical trial for respiratory syncytial virus vaccine

MedImmune today announced that it has initiated a Phase 1/2a clinical trial of a live, attenuated intranasal vaccine in healthy children one month to 12 months of age to help prevent severe respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections. RSV is the most common respiratory infection in infants and can cause disease in otherwise healthy infants and children.

3 Nov 2008

FDA approves seasons influenza vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced that it has approved this year's seasonal influenza vaccines that include new strains of the virus likely to cause flu in the United States during the 2008-2009 season.

5 Aug 2008

Hendra virus puts the horse world on high alert again

An outbreak of Hendra virus in Queensland is causing concern among the equine community.

10 Jul 2008

Simple infection control intervention in elementary schools reduces student absenteeism

A study from researchers at Children's Hospital Boston published in Pediatrics found that a simple infection control intervention in elementary schools - disinfecting frequently-touched surfaces and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers - helped reduce illness-related student absenteeism.

2 Jun 2008

Protective effects of breast milk are higher in girls than in boys

Challenging the long-standing belief that breast-feeding equally protects all babies against disease, research led by Johns Hopkins Children's Center investigators suggests that when it comes to respiratory infections, the protective effects of breast milk are higher in girls than in boys.

2 Jun 2008

CDC report finds increase in reports of respiratory illness in children after hurricane Katrina; New Orleans Mayor pushes for city residents to leave trailers

The number of children in the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina who complained of symptoms of bronchitis, pneumonia and other lower respiratory illnesses rose in the years after the storm, according to a 49-page CDC report released on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.

11 May 2008

Global food price increase forces World Vision to scale back food aid program

One of the world's largest humanitarian organizations has announced it can no longer provide food to 1.5 million of the 7.5 million poor it fed last year.

23 Apr 2008

Flu vaccines can reduce respiratory problems by up to three-quarters

Annual flu vaccinations are highly effective at preventing acute respiratory illness and making sure that existing breathing problems don't get any worse, according to research published in the April issue of IJCP, the UK-based International Journal of Clinical Practice.

17 Apr 2008

CDC issues measles travel warning for Israel

As Americans travel to Israel for the Jewish holiday of Passover, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises all travelers to ensure they are protected from measles before departing, because of a measles outbreak in Israel.

16 Apr 2008

Naglazyme approved in Japan

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. has announced that AnGes MG, Inc. (AnGes), BioMarin's marketing and distribution partner in Japan, has received approval for its Marketing Application for Naglazyme(R) (galsulfase) from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) for the treatment of patients with Mucopolysaccharidosis VI ( MPS VI).

1 Apr 2008

Probiotics help keep elite athletes fit and well

According to the latest Australian research the immune system of long-distance runners was enhanced by probiotics - dietary supplements containing potentially beneficial bacteria or yeasts.

13 Feb 2008

FDA clears for ProFlu+ test for marketing

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing a test that simultaneously detects four common respiratory viruses, including the flu, in a patient's respiratory secretions.

21 Jan 2008

Study shows how climate change will increase human mortality

A Stanford scientist has spelled out for the first time the direct links between increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increases in human mortality, using a state-of-the-art computer model of the atmosphere that incorporates scores of physical and chemical environmental processes.

4 Jan 2008