Severe Acute Respiratory News and Research

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Restricting hospital-based services during SARS outbreak had modest impact

Restrictions on the non-urgent use of hospital-based services that were imposed when a provincial health emergency was declared during the 2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in Toronto, Ontario, resulted in only modest reductions in overall admissions.

19 Jun 2007

New WHO guidelines will limit epidemic outbreaks

The World Health Organization has issued new rules to limit the international spread of epidemics and other public health emergencies.

18 Jun 2007

Dealing with emerging diseases

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002 was a loud wake-up call for researchers studying infectious diseases.

16 May 2007

Dealing with a flu pandemic in the UK

Giving local authorities responsibility for implementing pandemic flu plans may not be the best policy, says a senior public health doctor in this week's BMJ.

11 May 2007

Sandia decon formulation, best known as an anthrax killer, takes on household mold

A product based on a technology originally developed at Sandia National Laboratories is now available on the shelves of hardware stores across the country.

27 Apr 2007

Qigong helped people during SARS outbreak

Oriental therapies can help chronically ill people stay strong and reduce stress levels during epidemics, according to research in the April issue of the UK-based Journal of Clinical Nursing.

24 Apr 2007

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital designated as Center of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital has been designated one of six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a part of the National Institutes of Health.

4 Apr 2007

Six centers of excellence for influenza research and surveillance established in U.S.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has announced it is awarding $23 million per year for seven years to establish six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance.

2 Apr 2007

Further study of past flu pandemics key to future preparedness

Scientists and public health officials, wary that the H5N1 avian influenza virus could trigger an influenza pandemic, have looked to past pandemics, including the 1918 "Spanish Flu," for insight into pandemic planning.

28 Feb 2007

Countries urged to prepare for a worst-case scenario such as an influenza pandemic

The increasing threat from emerging infectious diseases makes it imperative that countries prepare for rapid response and containment activities and for a worst-case scenario such as an influenza pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised.

21 Sep 2006

Treatments used for SARS no benefit to victims

Researchers have found, following a systematic review of all studies done on the 2003 SARS epidemic, that none of the treatments used to treat patients appear to have worked.

13 Sep 2006

SARS: Systematic review of treatment effects

The SARS virus set alarm bells ringing across the world when it first appeared in 2002, but now a review of the effectiveness of the treatments used against it has found no evidence that any of them worked.

12 Sep 2006

Global early warning system for zoonoses launched

A global early warning system for animal diseases transmissible to humans (zoonoses) was formally launched this week by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

24 Jul 2006