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RESPOND program to improve global perspective on emerging diseases

Experts from the University of Minnesota will soon be on the frontlines working to help developing countries better respond to emerging animal diseases that pose a threat to human health.

31 Oct 2009

Viral protein could be a major player in SARS virulence

Ever since the previously unknown SARS virus emerged from southern China in 2003, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston virologists have focused on finding the source of the pathogen's virulence - its ability to cause disease. In the 2003 epidemic, for example, between 5 and 10 percent of those who fell sick from the SARS virus died, adding up to more than 900 fatalities worldwide.

30 Oct 2009

Five-year program aimed at preventing future pandemic diseases awarded to DAI

DAI has been awarded a five-year program aimed at preventing future pandemics such as HIV/AIDS and H1N1.

30 Oct 2009

SDC-based hard surface disinfectant is effective against the 2009 H1N1

PURE Bioscience, creators of the patented silver dihydrogen citrate (SDC) antimicrobial, announced today that its SDC-based hard surface disinfectant is effective against the 2009 H1N1 and is included on the list published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of antimicrobial products effective against the 2009 H1N1 flu strain based on their effectiveness against other influenza A virus strains.

27 Oct 2009

Genomics can provide insights in understanding emerging infectious disease

This week, the Public Library of Science, an open-access publisher, presents the "Genomics of Emerging Infectious Disease," a collection of essays, perspectives, and reviews that explores how genomics-with all its associated tools and techniques-can provide insights into our understanding of emerging infectious disease.

27 Oct 2009

New Pandemic Influenza Stress Vaccine course for health-care workers

Experts know that a pandemic can increase stress-related absenteeism among health-care workers. To help prevent this, a team of Mount Sinai Hospital psychiatrists and nurses have developed The Pandemic Influenza Stress Vaccine, a computerized course for health-care workers worldwide to build their resilience during a pandemic.

27 Oct 2009

Wildlife Conservation Society to monitor diseases for preventing global pandemic

The Wildlife Conservation Society will play a key role in a new international effort to monitor diseases that move between animals and people in order to prevent the next global pandemic.

24 Oct 2009

UC Davis' international effort to prevent new pandemics

In hopes of preventing the next global pandemic and a possible death toll into the millions, UC Davis today launches an unprecedented international effort to find and control diseases that move between wildlife and people.

24 Oct 2009

Emerging Pandemic Threats program to combat newly emerging diseases of animal origin

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is launching an Emerging Pandemic Threats (EPT) program that builds on the successes of the Agency's long-standing programs in disease surveillance, training, and outbreak response, particularly those addressing avian and pandemic influenza.

22 Oct 2009

Dutch researcher sheds new light on coronaviruses

Using novel techniques, Dutch researcher Matthijs Raaben has cast new light on the replication of coronaviruses, a family of viruses including the cause of SARS. He has shown, using luminescent viruses, how coronaviruses use host cells and how we can use the intracellular processes to attack the virus.

21 Oct 2009

New scientific journal from Elsevier

Elsevier, a world-leading publisher of scientific, technical and medical information products and services announced today the launch of a new peer-reviewed scientific journal, Spatial and Spatio-temporal Epidemiology (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/sste).

19 Oct 2009

International human migration needs to be factored into infectious disease policy

When people travel, bacteria and other infectious agents travel with them. As about a billion people cross international borders each year, many more billions of the bugs come along for the ride.

19 Oct 2009

Massive mismanagement leads to catastrophic decline in freshwater biodiversity

The world will miss its agreed target to stem biodiversity loss by next year, according to experts convening in Cape Town for a landmark conference devoted to biodiversity science.

13 Oct 2009

Noninvasive ventilation should be used during an infectious outbreak contrary to current policies

Contrary to current policies recommending that non-invasive ventilation be avoided during an infectious outbreak, the author of a commentary (pre-embargo media link only http://www.cmaj.ca/embargo/cmaj081987.pdf) in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) www.cmaj.ca argues that it should be used expeditiously in this setting.

13 Oct 2009

Surgical masks appear as effective as N95 respirators against influenza: Study

A McMaster University study has found that surgical masks appear to be as good as N95 respirators in protecting health-care workers against influenza.

3 Oct 2009

The Replikin Count of H1N1 virus’s infectivity gene shows continued elevation

The latest H1N1 genomic data shows a 50% drop in the Replikin CountTM of the virus’s replikins lethality gene since its recorded highs in April 2009. In contrast, the Replikin Count of the virus’s infectivity gene showed a continued elevation.

30 Sep 2009

Aphios awarded NIH grant to develop pathogen inactivation technology for blood products

Aphios Corporation today announced that it has been awarded a RC-1 Challenge grant (No. 1RC1HL102822-01) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute of Health’s (NIH) American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to develop a generally-applicable pathogen inactivation technology for blood products.

30 Sep 2009

Protection of front-line healthcare workers compromised

According to George Kappler, "If hospitals were subjected to the same protection standards as factories, many would have been shut down a long time ago." Those are tough words for healthcare workers to hear as they brace for an onslaught of H1N1 patients, but the CEO of Kappler, Inc., a 33-year veteran in the protective garment business, knows of what he speaks.

29 Sep 2009

H1N1 influenza pandemic could present a host of medical ethics issues: JCB

The anticipated onset of a second wave of the H1N1 influenza pandemic could present a host of thorny medical ethics issues best considered well in advance, according to the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, which today released nine papers for public discussion.

25 Sep 2009

H1N1 slows growth in US industries and GDP

H1N1 influenza could slow growth in key industries and stall already-weak GDP growth in the third and fourth quarters of 2009, says a health economist in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Business.

24 Sep 2009