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.

Flu shots, heart attacks and flu prevention guidelines

According to a new British study yearly flu shots may protect against heart attacks, and the earlier in the season a shot is given the greater the protection. Niroshan Siriwardena, a professor of primary and pre-hospital health care at the University of Lincoln said, “The risk of getting a heart attack was reduced by 19 percent for those who had a vaccination in the past year.”

21 Sep 2010

H1N1 influenza increases neurological complications in children: Study

A recent study by researchers at the University of Utah determined that the 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) caused a higher rate of neurological complications in children than the seasonal flu. The most common complications observed were seizures and encephalopathy.

20 Sep 2010

Male circumcision shown to help prevent HIV transmission

According to a new study published in the Medical Journal of Australia, male circumcision can be seen as a “surgical vaccine” in the fight against heterosexual HIV transmission. The study based on spread of the virus in Africa showed that there was a reduced rate of transmission in regions where male circumcision was the norm.

19 Sep 2010

Johnson & Johnson in talks to buy Crucell

Johnson & Johnson is in advanced negotiations to buy Dutch biotechnology company Crucell NV for €1.75 billion ($2.29 billion), the two companies said today. Giles Somers, senior healthcare analyst at Datamonitor comments:

19 Sep 2010

CytoGenix initiates novel liner DNA technology testing on ferrets for vaccine development

CytoGenix, Inc. today announced that it has initiated the process of testing CytoGenix's novel liner DNA technology on ferrets, with the expectations of a positive result, furthering the development of the vaccine candidate.

18 Sep 2010

Health premiums rise as states consider how they'll implement reforms

Overall health insurance premiums rose 7 percent in 2009, even as the number of people with health coverage fell. "Individual premium revenues rose 15 percent while group premiums, which involve mostly employers, rose nearly 3 percent, according to the report from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, an organization whose prominence has grown following passage of the new U.S. health reform law."

18 Sep 2010

BARDA awards contract to Emergent BioSolutions for anthrax vaccine development

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) awarded a $51 million contract to Emergent BioSolutions, Inc., of Rockville, Md., for the development of a new anthrax vaccine using the protective antigen (rPA) to stimulate a protective immune response that neutralizes the anthrax toxins.

18 Sep 2010

Media reporting can reduce impact of infectious disease outbreaks

At the first sign of a disease pandemic, public health officials should begin strongly communicating about the extent of the outbreak and the steps that can be taken by the public to avoid infection. That's the recommendation of two mathematical biologists who have modified the most widely used infectious disease transmission model to account for the impact of news media coverage.

17 Sep 2010

Generex presents Ii-Key hybrids product development at Gene based Vaccines conference

Generex Biotechnology Corporation today announced presentations in respect of the technologies and development products of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Antigen Express, Inc. The presentations were made at the conference Gene based Vaccines: Optimizing Development and Delivery 2010 held September 13 and 14, 2010 in Vienna, Austria and at the Immunotherapeutics and Vaccine Summit held in Cambridge, MA from August 17-19, 2010.

17 Sep 2010

Resident doctors report working when sick

A new study demonstrates that young doctors often fail to heed the Biblical injunction, "physician, heal thyself." In a research letter published in the September 15, 2010, issue of JAMA, researchers report that three out of five residents surveyed came to work in the previous year while sick, possibly exposing their patients and colleagues to suboptimal performance and, in many cases, communicable disease.

15 Sep 2010

ITS commences treatment in synthetic universal influenza vaccine Phase I trial

Immune Targeting Systems (ITS) Limited, one of the leading developers of synthetic vaccines for mutating viruses, today announced the first patient has been treated in its Phase-I trial with its synthetic universal influenza vaccine (FP-01). Commencement of trials follows receipt of UK Regulatory Authority (MHRA) approval. Over the same period the company brought in £500,000 new investment from Esperante Ventures (UK).

15 Sep 2010

CytoGenix reports positive results of CYDBA507 avian influenza vaccine candidate

CytoGenix reports positive results of an animal study where mice were immunized with CYDBA507, CytoGenix avian influenza vaccine candidate, protected against lethal challenge with avian influenza virus.

15 Sep 2010

More adults washing hands in public restrooms

In the latest observational study sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute- (formerly The Soap and Detergent Association), 85% of adults washed their hands in public restrooms, compared with 77% in 2007. The 85% total was actually the highest observed since these studies began in 1996. The results were announced at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, an infectious disease meeting sponsored by the American Society for Microbiology.

14 Sep 2010

Emergency physicians to present research studies at Research Forum 2010

The risks associated with boarding admitted patients in the emergency department – including patient mortality – as well as proposed solutions will be key themes of Scientific Assembly, the annual meeting of the American College of Emergency Physicians. In addition, emergency physicians will present more than 450 research studies during 2010 Research Forum, the premier, annual scientific research event focused on the latest advances in the practice of emergency medicine.

14 Sep 2010

Gladstone Institute elects for 2010 recipient of Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health, announced today that Dr. Eric M. Verdin of the J. David Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco, Calif., has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the NIDA Avant-Garde Award for HIV/AIDS Research for his proposal to study the mechanisms of latent HIV infection.

14 Sep 2010

North Mississippi IRB approves CEL-SCI's Multikine Phase III clinical trial for head and neck cancer

CEL-SCI Corporation announced today it has received approval from the North Mississippi Health Services Institutional Review Board ("IRB") to begin enrollment of subjects for a Phase III clinical trial of Multikine®, the Company's flagship immunotherapy developed as a first-line standard of care in treating head and neck cancer. An IRB is a group formally designated by an institution to review and monitor research involving human subjects and to ensure protection of their rights and welfare.

13 Sep 2010

Aethlon Hemopurifier captures immunosuppressive exosomes from individuals with metastatic melanoma.

Aethlon Medical, Inc., the pioneer in developing therapeutic filtration devices to address infectious disease and cancer, announced today that its researchers have demonstrated the ability of the Aethlon Hemopurifier® to capture immunosuppressive exosomes derived from individuals with metastatic melanoma.

9 Sep 2010

Focusing on most disadvantaged children more cost-effective than current strategies, UNICEF reports say

UNICEF on Tuesday said that by "comparing the effectiveness of different strategies for aid delivery, targeting the poorest and neediest children could save more lives per $1 million spent than the current path," Reuters reports (Charbonneau, 9/7).

9 Sep 2010

Groups call for mandatory flu vaccinations for health workers

USA Today: "The American Academy of Pediatrics plans to call for all health workers to get flu vaccinations, saying unvaccinated doctors, nurses and other medical staffers pose a threat to patients. The academy, which represents 60,000 pediatricians, is the latest of several organizations that now back mandatory flu shots for health workers

9 Sep 2010

AVAC welcomes new Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise Scientific Strategic Plan

AVAC welcomes the new Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise Scientific Strategic Plan, released today, as a critical document that the field must implement as part of ongoing efforts to improve coordination, efficiency and transparency to quickly capitalize on recent advances in AIDS vaccine research.

8 Sep 2010