Flu News and Research

RSS

Getting the picture on bird flu

A massive cull of poultry in a northeastern part of China, hit by the country's latest bird flu outbreak, will be carried out by some 1,700 officials and backed up by armed police, who have been sent to the affected county in Liaoning province to slaughter the birds.

7 Nov 2005

Global battle plan to beat bird flu

In a three-day meeting in Geneva as many as 400 health and veterinary officials representing international agencies, are attempting to establish a global strategy to stop the spread of the deadly H5N1 virus triggering a human pandemic of bird flu.

7 Nov 2005

Armed police in China guard mass poultry cull to halt bird flu

As a result of the fourth outbreak of bird flu in just three weeks, Chinese health authorities have ordered a mass cull of cull of poultry in the north-east of the country.

7 Nov 2005

Important that GP's take flu pandemic threat seriously

Family doctors are advised to plan their response to managing a flu pandemic in this week's BMJ.

7 Nov 2005

Mongolian birds provide Avian influenza virus samples

Avian influenza virus samples collected from wild birds in Mongolia by field veterinarians from the New York City-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) have been selected by the World Health Organization to be part of a new human pandemic influenza vaccine currently in development.

7 Nov 2005

Interferon combined with ribavirin treatment is effective for children with chronic Hepatitis C virus

Nearly half of 118 children with chronic Hepatitis C virus (HCV) treated with a combination of interferon-alpha-2b and an optimized dose of ribavirin achieved sustained viral response, and side effects were generally mild.

3 Nov 2005

Neurological and neuromuscular diseases raise risk of complications from flu

As another flu season approaches, patients with neurological and neuromuscular disease are especially vulnerable to respiratory failure caused by influenza.

3 Nov 2005

Expert says bird flu more likely to fly in by plane than by birds

The United States, China and France have all announced new efforts to fight a possible pandemic of avian flu, including $500 million to monitor the virus in poultry and practice runs for dealing with a dreaded outbreak.

3 Nov 2005

Bird flu drug combo could extend supplies

Doctors are saying that because of the scarcity of Tamiflu, presently being stockpiled by governments in the event of an influenza pandemic, supplies could be extended by giving it with another drug.

2 Nov 2005

Top priority flu shots for children with neurological and neuromuscular disease

According to a new study children suffering from muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and other such conditions, have a much higher risk of severe complications from influenza, re-affirming the need for them to be vaccinated each year.

2 Nov 2005

Bush wants $7bn to fight bird flu

U.S. president George Bush has called on Congress to approve $7.1 billion in emergency spending to pay for a strategy to prepare America for the danger of a pandemic bird flu outbreak.

2 Nov 2005

New way to generate genetically altered influenza virus

In the event of an influenza pandemic, the world's vaccine manufacturers will be in a race against time to forestall calamity.

1 Nov 2005

Gatorade appears effective in correcting dehydration and improving bowel symptoms

A double-blind trial of oral rehydration solutions for children with diarrhea and vomiting related to acute viral gastroenteritis found that Gatorade is as effective as Pedialyte in correcting dehydration and improving bowel symptoms.

1 Nov 2005

New technique provides supplies of seed viruses to fight bird flu

Researchers in the U.S. believe that a new manufacturing method may allow large quantities of vaccine to quickly be deployed against a deadly bird flu pandemic.

1 Nov 2005

Australia warns Asian countries against bird flu cover-ups

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has issued a warning to Asian countries that Australia will not tolerate any cover-ups of bird flu outbreaks.

31 Oct 2005

George Bush needs more money to cope with bird flu

U.S. President George Bush is about to reveal his plans to fight a flu pandemic and apparently he will ask Congress for funding for a vaccine against bird flu as well as infrastructure to deal with any pandemic.

31 Oct 2005

Roche seeking others to make Tamiflu bird flu drug

According to Swiss drug maker Roche, the maker of the sort-after bird flu drug Tamiflu, it is seeking for outside producers for its drug, because of the skyrocketing demand amid concerns about a possible bird flu pandemic.

31 Oct 2005

Disaster experts meet in Australia to discuss bird flu

The group of 21 member countries, including Australia, Japan, Indonesia and the U.S., will meet this week to discuss a coordinated response to a global outbreak of the deadly bird flu.

31 Oct 2005

Canada wild ducks unlikely to have H5N1 virus

Canadian health officials say they have found a strain of avian flu in 33 wild migratory ducks, but it is unlikely to be the killer H5N1 strain which has spread from Southeast Asia to Europe.

31 Oct 2005

Fake flu jabs given to over 1,000 Exxon workers

According to the U.S. attorney in Houston, more than 1,000 employees of the largest U.S. refinery were the victims of a scheme by a Houston man to make money by providing fake flu vaccines.

31 Oct 2005