Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Novel virus entry mechanism could lead to new drugs against poxviruses

Scientists working with Vaccinia virus, the smallpox vaccine, have discovered a novel mechanism that allows poxviruses to enter cells and cause infection.

13 Apr 2006

Rubber research set to curb life-threatening allergies

Research being undertaken at The University of Queensland (UQ) could prevent potentially life-threatening allergic reactions to conventional latex rubber which occur in 10 per cent of the population.

13 Apr 2006

Swansong - dead swan a foreigner and one and only so far

The dead swan found in Fife in Scotland on March 29th has now been identified by DNA tests as one of a migratory species, quelling fears that it was the harbinger of the first outbreak in the UK.

12 Apr 2006

Bird flu case # 33 in Indonesia

The World Health Organization has confirmed that a 23-year-old male poultry worker currently undergoing treatment in Sumatra has bird flu.

12 Apr 2006

Burma struggling to cope with over 100 bird flu outbreaks

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), says the situation concerning the bird flu virus in Myanmar (Burma) now appears far more serious than first thought.

11 Apr 2006

St. John's wort and Echinacea increase activity of enzyme in the liver and intestine

St. John's wort and Echinacea, two widely-used herbal preparations, have been found to increase activity of a specific enzyme in the liver and intestine, an enzyme involved in the metabolization of roughly one in every four pharmaceutical drugs on the market today, reports a clinical pharmacologist at Indiana University School of Medicine.

11 Apr 2006

Researchers unravel structure of important new drug target that could potentially treat SARS-infected patients

Mesecar said that the knowledge gained from this new atomic structure - the first-ever reported on this class of proteases - has the potential to go beyond the treatment of patients infected with the coronavirus that causes SARS.

11 Apr 2006

Evaluation of an inactivated subunit H5N1 influenza virus vaccine in humans

Results from a clinical trial demonstrate that high doses of an experimental H5N1 avian influenza vaccine can induce immune responses in healthy adults.

11 Apr 2006

Scientists use corrective gene to block a protein in the kidneys that triggers high blood pressure

Nearly one-third of American adults have high blood pressure, a major cause of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. But a new technique tested at the University of Florida could prove to be a long-term way to treat the disorder in humans, researchers say.

11 Apr 2006

Epstein-Barr virus infection linked to multiple sclerosis

Young adults with high levels of antibodies against the Epstein-Barr virus, the virus that most often causes mononucleosis, may be more likely to develop multiple sclerosis 15 to 20 years later, according to a study in the Archives of Neurology.

11 Apr 2006

Common sense prevails as Brits say one dead swan is not a pandemic

According to a government health adviser, a bird flu pandemic among humans could kill 100,000 children in Britain.

10 Apr 2006

Expert says no bird flu in British poultry

Despite the discovery of a dead swan infected with bird flu in Scotland panic has abated over the possibility of a widespread outbreak of bird flu in the UK.

10 Apr 2006

WHO report says rich must stop poaching medical staff from poor

A critical shortage of doctors and nurses is causing unnecessary disease and death across much of the developing world as rich nations poach health-care workers.

10 Apr 2006

Parents need better education to reduce drug overdoses in feverish children

More than 50 per cent of feverish children are given incorrect doses of medicine by parents and overdoses have almost trebled in the last two decades, according to a research review in the latest issue of the British-based Journal of Advanced Nursing.

6 Apr 2006

Brits find first case of bird flu in a dead swan

Government officials in Britain say a dead swan found in Cellardyke, Scotland, has a strain of the H5 bird flu virus.

5 Apr 2006

Expert says cats may spread bird flu to humans

The rapid spread of H5N1 bird flu across Europe and the Middle East in the last month and the re-emergence of the virus in Asia, has further ignited fears that the deadly virus will mutate and cause the pandemic everyone fears.

5 Apr 2006

China asked to spread the word about bird flu

David Nabarro the United Nation's top official on bird flu has urged China to share its experience with other countries on how to tackle the disease threatening to become a pandemic.

5 Apr 2006

Bird flu pandemic supercomputer simulation model

Using supercomputers to respond to a potential national health emergency, scientists have developed a simulation model that makes stark predictions about the possible future course of an avian influenza pandemic, given today's environment of worldwide connectivity.

4 Apr 2006

Combination of salmeterol and fluticasone propionate cuts inflammatory cells in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The combination of two existing clinical treatments, salmeterol and fluticasone propionate, can significantly reduce inflammatory cells in the airways of current and former smokers being treated for moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

4 Apr 2006

Multi-site vaccinations could protect against all four dengue viruses

An innovative new study explains, for the first time, the failure of previous attempts to vaccinate against the four known Dengue viruses, and it suggests a very simple solution - injecting the four vaccines simultaneously at different locations on the body.

4 Apr 2006