Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Microbix granted Canadian patent for vaccine technology

Microbix Biosystems has announced that it has been granted a patent by the Canadian Patent Office for its Vaccine Technology. This technology holds the promise of significantly boosting global production of influenza vaccines.

22 Mar 2007

Flu pandemic could cost U.S. $683 billion

Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released a new report today that finds a severe pandemic flu outbreak could result in the second worst recession in the U.S. since World War II. The U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could drop over 5.5 percent, leading to an estimated $683 billion loss.

22 Mar 2007

Large trial demonstrates that the benefits of zinc supplementation for children

A clinical trial conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public concluded that daily zinc supplements reduced the risk of death among children aged 12 to 48 months by 18 percent.

19 Mar 2007

15,595 meningitis cases this season in Africa

Two months into the dry season in the African "Meningitis Belt", 15,595 cases including 1,670 deaths have been reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) from four countries: Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan and Uganda.

19 Mar 2007

Measurement of metal strontium found in bird feathers could provide bird flu clues

Measurements of different forms of the metal strontium found in bird feathers could unravel mysteries of their migration patterns and help predict the arrival of avian carried diseases such as bird flu.

15 Mar 2007

Crocodiles provide clues to new pain treatments for humans

Sydney University researchers have identified how crocodiles and other reptiles detect temperature - shedding new light on their adaptation to environmental changes and pointing to new pain treatments for humans.

14 Mar 2007

New method for identifying viruses and bacteria that cause common infections in children

Infectious disease specialists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found a new method for identifying suspect viruses and bacteria that cause some of the most common acute infections in children.

13 Mar 2007

Roche files NDA for pediatric Tamiflu capsules

Roche has filed a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) capsules in pediatric doses of 30 mg and 45 mg.

12 Mar 2007

Survey says some children's medicines contain a "cocktail of additives"

Researchers in Britain are warning that most medicines for babies and young children contain additives which are often banned from foods and drinks aimed at under-threes.

12 Mar 2007

Bird flu doing the rounds in Egypt

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed that a Egyptian 4-year-old boy has tested positive for bird flu; he is the country's 24th case.

12 Mar 2007

Second bird flu death in Laos - 11th country to fall victim to H5N1

The death of a 15-year-old girl from Laos from the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu, is the country's first officially confirmed victim of the disease.

11 Mar 2007

PAHO, Canada sign agreement to advance health programs

The Pan American Health Organization and the Government of Canada today signed a four-year agreement to support international health work in the Americas.

8 Mar 2007

China's southern Guangdong Province found to be source of H5N1

A team of scientists at the University of California, Irvine, who have been conducting a genetic analysis of the H5N1 bird flu virus, have found that China's southern Guangdong Province is the source of the deadly strain.

7 Mar 2007

New technology to help hospitals prepare for disasters

Johns Hopkins emergency medicine specialists have developed a tool to help hospitals prepare for disasters with the potential to overwhelm services.

6 Mar 2007

How polonium-210 acts as a poison in the body

The Health Protection Agency's radiation protection experts together with colleagues from research laboratories in the USA have published a paper in the Journal of Radiological Protection 1 on how polonium-210 acts as a poison in the body.

6 Mar 2007

Health Protection Agency updates on Holton avian flu outbreak

Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) has now completed the first stage of the public health follow up in relation to the outbreak of avian flu on a poultry farm in Holton, Suffolk.

6 Mar 2007

Bird flu vaccine - experts say let's try harder

Experts on viruses are calling for a bigger effort to be made in developing vaccines to tackle pandemics.

6 Mar 2007

New drug delivery method incorporates drug molecules in fat

Devastating blood-borne fungal infections that can be lethal for HIV/AIDS, cancer, and organ transplant patients may be treated more successfully, thanks to a new drug delivery method developed by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

5 Mar 2007

Vaccines for measles-mumps-rubella and varicella are effective in extremely preterm infants

The study, which included 16 term and 16 extremely preterm (born before about 6 months of pregnancy) infants born between May 2002 and May 2005, is the first of its kind to examine the antibody levels of measles, mumps, rubella and varicella in this population before and after vaccination. It was published in this month's Pediatrics.

5 Mar 2007