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.

LSUHSC's Peggy A. Honoré receives 2013 Excellence in Health Administration Award

Peggy A. Honor-, DHA, the AmeriHealth Mercy - General Russel Honor- Endowed Professor at the LSUHSC School of Public Health's Health Policy & System Management Program, has been awarded the 2013 Excellence in Health Administration Award by the Health Administration Section of the American Public Health Association.

12 Dec 2013

Preparing for better management of Tamiflu-resistant influenza viruses

Researchers in Umeå and Uppsala have found that residues of the influenza drug Tamiflu in our environment can make the influenza virus in birds resistant. This can have serious consequences in the event of an influenza pandemic. With more than 14 million SEK from the Swedish Research Councils Formas and VR, the research team will now continue their studies with a focus on alternative antiviral drugs.

10 Dec 2013

ATS Labs offers testing of antimicrobial products for efficacy against H7N9 virus

ATS Labs announced today that they are pleased to offer testing of antimicrobial products for efficacy against avian influenza A (H7N9) virus. Avian influenza A (H7N9) virus, called H7N9 for short, has infected humans in China causing severe respiratory illness.

6 Dec 2013

New research finds that H7N9 still mainly adapted for infecting birds, not humans

Avian influenza virus H7N9, which killed several dozen people in China earlier this year, has not yet acquired the changes needed to infect humans easily, according to a new study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute. In contrast to some initial studies that had suggested that H7N9 poses an imminent risk of a global pandemic, the new research found, based on analyses of virus samples from the Chinese outbreak, that H7N9 is still mainly adapted for infecting birds, not humans.

6 Dec 2013

CEL-SCI gets approval to start enrollment for Multikine Phase III study for head and neck cancer

Further advancing one of the largest Phase III trials for head and neck cancer in the world, CEL-SCI Corporation announced today that it has received approval from the Agency for Medicaments and Medical Devices of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin enrollment of subjects into the Phase III Head and Neck Cancer clinical trial of its investigational cancer immunotherapy treatment Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection).

5 Dec 2013

1950s H2N2 avian influenza A virus still pose threat to human health

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have evidence that descendants of the H2N2 avian influenza A virus that killed millions worldwide in the 1950s still pose a threat to human health, particularly to those under 50. The research has been published in an advance online edition of the Journal of Virology.

4 Dec 2013

Researchers predict seasonal influenza outbreaks in 108 cities across the U.S.

Scientists were able to reliably predict the timing of the 2012-2013 influenza season up to nine weeks in advance of its peak. The first large-scale demonstration of the flu forecasting system by scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health was carried out in 108 cities across the United States.

4 Dec 2013

Visterra secures exclusive patent license for promising dengue virus antibodies from MIT

Visterra, Inc., a developer of novel antibody therapeutics to prevent and treat major infectious diseases, today announced that it has secured an exclusive patent license from Massachusetts Institute of Technology to a family of early-stage monoclonal antibodies that target dengue virus. These antibodies were developed by MIT in the laboratory of Dr. Ram Sasisekharan, a founder of Visterra, using novel protein engineering approaches. Visterra will apply its proprietary network analysis technology to develop a human monoclonal antibody product candidate capable of broadly neutralizing all four dengue virus serotypes.

2 Dec 2013

Visterra gets $8.1M in proceeds from upsized and final closing of Series A financing round

Visterra, Inc., a developer of novel therapeutics to prevent and treat major infectious diseases, today announced that it has received $8.1 million in proceeds from an upsized and final closing of its Series A financing round. The company also announced that it has deepened its executive management team by appointing two industry veterans to newly created roles, which follows the recent appointment of Brian Pereira, M.D. as President and Chief Executive Officer of Visterra this past summer.

2 Dec 2013

Study brings effective hepatitis C cure closer to reality

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have determined the most detailed picture yet of a crucial part of the hepatitis C virus, which the virus uses to infect liver cells. The new data reveal unexpected structural features of this protein and should greatly speed efforts to make an effective hepatitis C vaccine.

29 Nov 2013

H1N1 virus killed more people globally than originally believed, confirms study

A research team consisting of more than 60 collaborators in 26 countries has estimated the global death toll from the 2009 outbreak of the H1N1 virus to be 10 times higher than the World Health Organization's count, which was based on laboratory-confirmed cases of this flu. The study, which appears online in PLOS Medicine, suggests that the pandemic virus caused up to 203,000 respiratory deaths around the world.

27 Nov 2013

HIV patients face higher risk of virologic failure than previously thought

People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) run a higher risk of virologic failure than previously thought, even when their number of RNA copies of the retrovirus per millilitre of blood is slightly above the detection threshold, according to a study by Claudie Laprise at the University of Montreal's Department of Social and Preventative Medicine.

26 Nov 2013

Pediatrician analyzes management of the 2009 influenza A crisis

With autumn just around the corner and a new flu strain lying in wait for us, the presentation of a study analysing the management of the 2009 influenza A crisis could not, if anything, be better timed.

26 Nov 2013

DNA vaccine demonstrates potential to prevent and treat deadly MERS coronavirus

Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that preclinical testing of a DNA synthetic vaccine for the virulent Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS) induced robust and durable immune responses, demonstrating the potential for a SynCon DNA vaccine to prevent and treat this deadly virus.

20 Nov 2013

U-M researchers collaborate with MDCH to evaluate statewide influenza vaccination reminder campaign

A new University of Michigan study found that the state immunization registry - the public health database that tracks vaccinations- can be an effective tool to encourage influenza vaccinations during a pandemic.

19 Nov 2013

MGH investigators identify molecule that plays key role in the breakdown of kidney filter

One of the most devastating side effects of diabetes is kidney failure, and one of the earliest signs of kidney damage is a disruption of the organ's filtering capacity. Diabetes patients who develop kidney failure must go on dialysis, seriously limiting their quality of life and placing them at significantly increased risk of death. The incidence of kidney disease is increasing with rising rates of obesity-associated type 2 diabetes, but very little progress has been made towards protecting the kidney's filter barrier during the past 50 years.

16 Nov 2013

HIVMA's updated HIV care guidelines show doctors should focus on common health conditions

The HIV Medicine Association of the Infectious Diseases Society of America has updated its HIV care guidelines to reflect the fact that people with HIV are now living normal life spans, and their physicians need to focus on preventive care, including screening for high cholesterol, diabetes and osteoporosis.

15 Nov 2013

Taiwan scientists confirm world’s first case of wild avian influenza A H6N1 virus in human

Scientists from Taiwan report on the world’s first confirmed case of human infection with a wild avian influenza A H6N1 virus in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.

14 Nov 2013

Researchers create intravaginal ring using MPT to protect women from HIV and unintended pregnancy

A new intravaginal ring (IVR) has been developed for the sustained 90-day co-delivery of tenofovir and levonorgestrel, an anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug and a contraceptive.

13 Nov 2013

HIV/AIDS experts awarded over $5M to foster health and medical research skills in India, Africa

Experts in HIV/AIDS at the Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine and the university's Bloomberg School of Public Health have been awarded more than $5 million by the Fogarty International Center's HIV Research Training Program to foster health and medical research skills in India, Uganda, Ethiopia and Malawi.