Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Another child dies from suspected bird flu in Turkey

Health officials in Turkey say a girl who has has died in the eastern region of Turkey is suspected to have had bird flu.

16 Jan 2006

US warns older flu drugs often don't work

Health authorities in the U.S. are advising doctors to stop using two drugs to treat this winters influenza because it has become evident that the most common strain has become resistant to the drugs and they are unlikely to work.

16 Jan 2006

18 in Turkey with bird flu

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) the number of people who have now fallen victim to the deadly bird flu virus in Turkey has risen to 18 from 15, and most of them are children.

16 Jan 2006

Centrally coordinated control campaign crucial to battle bird flu

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warned today that the highly pathogenic Avian Influenza virus H5N1 could become endemic in Turkey and poses a serious risk to neighbouring countries.

11 Jan 2006

Segregation of the brain into gray and white matter

By borrowing mathematical tools from theoretical physics, scientists have recently developed a theory that explains why the brain tissue of humans and other vertebrates is segregated into the familiar "gray matter" and "white matter."

11 Jan 2006

Turks calm and positive in dealing with bird flu outbreak

The positive response on the part of the Turkish authorities to the outbreak of avian flu has been commended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

11 Jan 2006

Lives will be saved as early signs of meningitis now identified

Scientists in the UK say they have identified the early signs of meningitis and blood poisoning which should improve detection of the disease and save lives.

11 Jan 2006

Russia ups the ante against bird flu yet again

As the avian bird flu virus continues its sweep across neighbouring Turkey, spreading panic in it's wake, the Russian President Vladimir Putin has instructed his government to take measures to prevent a new outbreak of bird flu in Russia.

10 Jan 2006

As Turks struggle with bird flu experts say it will be controlled

As local officials were sealing off parts of the major cities of Ankara and Istanbul and thousands of birds were being culled, Guenael Rodier, head of a World Health Organization (WHO) team sent to investigate the outbreak said he believes the outbreak can be brought under control relatively easily.

10 Jan 2006

European Medicines Agency receives first pandemic influenza vaccine application

The European Medicines Agency has received the first application for a pandemic influenza vaccine, submitted by GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals.

10 Jan 2006

Turks panic as bird flu sweeps across the country

Fears continue to grow in Turkey as more reports of suspected bird flu cases among people sweep across the country.

10 Jan 2006

Sydney researchers explain how stress makes you sick

Garvan Institute scientists have discovered how a hormone, known as neuropeptide Y (NPY), can prevent our immune system functioning properly, paving the way for two new major opportunities for therapeutic intervention.

10 Jan 2006

New web resource provides easy access to global health data

GlobalHealthFacts.org - a new and freely available website with the latest country and region-specific data on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other key health indicators - was launched today by the Kaiser Family Foundation, a non-profit, private operating foundation focused on health care issues.

10 Jan 2006

Non-prescription cough medicine won't help that cough

According to a panel of experts in the U.S. cough medicines bought over the counter do little good and may in fact harm children.

9 Jan 2006

rhTSH combined with radiation therapy successfully destroys remaining thyroid tissue

A multicenter international study, including Johns Hopkins, has found that after surgery for thyroid cancer, giving genetically engineered human thyroid-stimulating hormone (rhTSH) before radioiodine treatment avoids the previous need to stop thyroid replacement therapy and the miserable side effects that go with it.

9 Jan 2006

Syrupy medications may cause cavities in children

A spoon full of sugar may help the medicine go down, but most dentists would likely encourage parents to skip that step when treating a child's illness.

9 Jan 2006

Turkey on alert as bird flu spreads

As the numbers of suspected bird flu cases in Turkey rises there is concern that the deadly virus is rapidly spreading across the country and is heading for mainland Europe.

9 Jan 2006

Travelers in Russia warned about bird flu in Turkey

Following the confirmation by officials that two children and one adult have tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu strain in Turkey's capital Ankara, Russians are being warned against traveling to Turkey.

8 Jan 2006

Risk factors for nongonococcal urethritis

The study, by Australian researchers Catriona Bradshaw, MD, and colleagues at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre, is the first major case-control study to simultaneously address all currently hypothesized causes of NGU.

6 Jan 2006

Molecular finding will help better understand measles and mumps

A team of Northwestern University researchers has solved the structure of a molecule that controls the ability of viruses of the paramyxovirus family, including the viruses that cause measles, mumps, and many human respiratory diseases, to fuse with and infect human cells.

5 Jan 2006