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.

PaxVax partners with UC to develop combination vaccine to prevent genital HSV infections

PaxVax Inc., a specialty vaccine company with a commercial focus on travel and biodefense and a social mission to ensure global access to its vaccines, today announced that it has entered into a research and development collaboration with the University of California, San Diego to develop a combination vaccine to prevent genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections.

10 Jun 2014

Wistar findings suggest means of boosting initial immune response

Your first response to an infectious agent or antigen ordinarily takes about a week, and is relatively weak. However, if your immune system encounters that antigen a second time, the so-called memory response is rapid, powerful, and very effective.

10 Jun 2014

Researchers emphasize critical need to utilize multi-pronged approach to treat diabetes mellitus

Charles H. Hennekens, M.D., Dr.P.H., the first Sir Richard Doll professor and senior academic advisor to the dean in the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University; Marc A. Pfeffer, M.D., Dzau professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School; John W. Newcomer, M.D., executive vice dean of FAU's College of Medicine and interim vice president for research at FAU; Paul S. Jellinger, M.D., affiliate professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; and Alan Garber, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine at Baylor, have published a commentary in the American Journal of Managed Care titled "Treatment of Diabetes Mellitus: The Urgent Need for Multifactorial Interventions."

4 Jun 2014

Astellas seeks marketing approval for Flublok recombinant influenza vaccine in Japan

Protein Sciences Corporation announced today that Astellas Pharma has submitted an application for marketing approval of recombinant influenza HA vaccine ASP7374 (marketed as Flublok® in the United States by Protein Sciences) to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan for the prevention of influenza.

31 May 2014

New approach could lead to more effective HIV vaccine

Using a genetically modified form of the HIV virus, a team of University of Nebraska-Lincoln scientists has developed a promising new approach that could someday lead to a more effective HIV vaccine.

30 May 2014

Researchers identify existing drugs that could be "repurposed" to fight MERS-CoV

A team led by a University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) researcher, working as a grantee from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has identified a number of existing drugs that could be "repurposed" to fight outbreaks of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV).

22 May 2014

Metabolic syndrome linked to BP variability

Blood pressure variability is increased in patients with the metabolic syndrome, shows an analysis of NHANES III data.

19 May 2014

Findings from 1918 Flu Pandemic research could help improve current health policies

The 1918 Flu Pandemic infected over 500 million people, killing at least 50 million. Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has analyzed the pandemic in two remote regions of North America, finding that despite their geographical divide, both regions had environmental, nutritional and economic factors that influenced morbidity during the pandemic.

15 May 2014

Gentiva’s net revenues increase $487.5M to 17% in Q1 2014

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., one of the largest providers of home health, hospice and community care services in the United States, today reported first quarter 2014 results.

7 May 2014

Johns Hopkins researchers awarded NIH contract to launch new center to track influenza viruses

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a contract to researchers at The Johns Hopkins University to launch a new center devoted to developing innovative ways to identify and track influenza viruses worldwide.

6 May 2014

Nanoviricides develops new drug candidates against MERS infection

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6 May 2014

Longer looks: Failure to meet Veterans' health needs; new views of the 1918 flu pandemic; a crumbling mental health system

At least 40 U.S. veterans died waiting for appointments at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system, many of whom were placed on a secret waiting list.

2 May 2014

Travel and socialization patterns give greater insight into spread of new diseases in humans

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have shown how the travel and socialisation patterns of people in Southern China can give greater insight into how new diseases such as bird flu may spread between populations.

2 May 2014

Biotech to the rescue

MIT professor Ram Sasisekharan's three biotech companies — Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Cerulean Pharma, and Visterra — share a similar goal.

1 May 2014

Gokhan S. Hotamisligil named recipient of the 9th Danone International Prize for Nutrition

Danone Institute International announced today that prominent scientist Gokhan S. Hotamisligil, MD, PhD, is the recipient of the 9th Danone International Prize for Nutrition for his outstanding research in immunology and metabolic diseases.

30 Apr 2014

Scientists extract infectious sample of MERS coronavirus from two camels in Saudi Arabia

There is new, more definitive evidence implicating camels in the ongoing outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS. Scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, King Saud University, and EcoHealth Alliance extracted a complete, live, infectious sample of MERS coronavirus from two camels in Saudi Arabia.

29 Apr 2014

Sinovac Biotech commits to commercialize Sabin Inactivated Polio Vaccine in China

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China that focuses on the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of vaccines, announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Intravacc (Institute for Translational Vaccinology) from The Netherlands to develop and commercialize the Sabin Inactivated Polio Vaccine (sIPV) for distribution to China and other countries.

28 Apr 2014

Pediatrician reviews co-pathogenesis of influenza viruses with bacteria in lung

Le Bonheur Children's Hospital Pediatrician-in-Chief Jon McCullers, MD, was recently invited to submit a review in the April issue of Nature Reviews Microbiology, one of the world's foremost scientific publications.

22 Apr 2014

Study finds ginseng can help prevent, treat influenza and RSV infection

Ginseng can help treat and prevent influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages, according to research findings by a scientist in Georgia State University's new Institute for Biomedical Sciences.