Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Nasal spray vaccine gives kids more protection from flu than shots

In a new study involving thousands of children across the world, a new version of the nasal spray vaccine FluMist has been found to be more effective at preventing influenza than traditional flu shots.

18 Feb 2007

Bird flu - latest case in Egypt

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that an Egyptian woman has tested positive for the H5N1 bird flu virus.

18 Feb 2007

Turkey tycoon denies responsibility for bird flu outbreak

Turkey tycoon Bernard Matthews, has apologised to customers in Britain for the outbreak of bird flu on one of his Suffolk farms.

18 Feb 2007

Slow-release morphine helps chronic persistent cough

Slow-release morphine helped a group of patients with long-term, treatment-resistant chronic cough reduce their daily cough score levels by 40 percent.

15 Feb 2007

Battle of blame continues in Britain over bird flu

As investigations into the cause of the outbreak of bird flu in Britain continue, British scientists say they have found that the strains of H5N1 bird flu in England and Hungary are "essentially identical".

14 Feb 2007

Seasonal flu vaccine offers some protection from H5N1

The yearly influenza vaccine that health officials urge people to get each fall might also offer certain individuals some cross protection against the H5N1 virus commonly known as bird flu, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

13 Feb 2007

Wealthy nations launch vaccine purchase plan for diseases such as HIV/AIDS, TB, Malaria

Officials from a group of wealthy nations on Friday launched a $1.5 billion plan to provide and develop vaccines for diseases -- including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria -- that largely affect developing countries, the New York Times reports.

13 Feb 2007

Serious warning placed on antibiotic Ketek

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States has issued a warning about an antibiotic used to treat sinusitis and bronchitis.

12 Feb 2007

British bird flu - who's to blame?

The Hungarian Agriculture Ministry has admitted that turkey meat from a plant near the site of a Hungarian bird flu outbreak was sold to various parts of Europe including Britain.

12 Feb 2007

Combination drug treatment helps beat mesothelioma

People with mesothelioma - a form of cancer associated with asbestos exposure - have a higher survival rate when treated with a combination of two cancer drugs, a large multicenter study finds.

12 Feb 2007

Determinants of disease presentation and outcome during cryptococcosis

CRNS and the Institut Pasteur conducted research in France on patients diagnosed with cryptococcosis which ranks second among fatal opportunistic infections in patients infected by HIV and who are profoundly immunosuppressed.

12 Feb 2007

Vaccine against group B Streptococci

The search for a vaccine against group B streptococci Group B streptococci are one of the leading causes of infection in newborn infants, causing pneumonia, septicaemia or meningitis.

12 Feb 2007

Mood changes in response to psychosocial stress in healthy young women: effects of pretreatment with Cortisol

German researchers have found additional evidence that the stress hormone cortisol can have positive effects in certain situations.

12 Feb 2007

Death toll at 65 as two more Indonesians die from bird flu

Indonesian health officials say a 20-year-old woman who tested positive for bird flu has died, making her the country's 64th human victim of the deadly H5N1 virus.

11 Feb 2007

British Government caught on the back foot over bird flu outbreak

Authorities in Britain have been caught on the back foot after it was revealed by the media that turkey meat from Hungary had been allowed into the country.

11 Feb 2007

South Africa starts major HIV/AIDS vaccine trial

The launch of the first large-scale study to evaluate a candidate HIV vaccine on the African continent was announced today by study collaborators in the United States and South Africa. The trial will involve up to 3,000 participants at five sites throughout South Africa and is expected to continue for four years.

11 Feb 2007

Researchers discover master switch for a tumor suppressive network

A decades-old cancer mystery has been solved by researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). "We not only found a critical tumor suppressor gene, but have revealed a master switch for a tumor suppressive network that means more targeted and effective cancer therapy in the future," said CSHL Associate Professor Alea Mills, Ph.D.

11 Feb 2007

Preparing for the next flu pandemic

A combination of antiviral drugs should be stockpiled for use in an influenza pandemic, say researchers in the British Medical Journal.

11 Feb 2007

Link between British and Hungarian bird flu outbreaks now suspected

Scientists in Britain investigating the outbreak of bird flu in a flock of turkeys in Suffolk now say there may be a link with an outbreak in Hungary in January.

8 Feb 2007

Fighting influenza with 40,000 blood samples

Four million people die every year from respiratory diseases such as viral influenza. For elderly people in particular, an infection can be dangerous. What is more, the flu vaccine is not as effective with this risk group as it is with younger people.

7 Feb 2007