Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

New Hampshire begins statewide West Nile virus detection activities

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Public Health Services (DPHS) has begun statewide West Nile virus detection activities in partnership with other state agencies

9 Jun 2004

Australian scientists have developed a tool that acts as a pregnancy test for the detection of anthrax

Once a deadly disease associated with animals, anthrax is now used as a bioterrorist weapon. While infection can be controlled with antibiotics, in a bioterrorism attack people will not know they have been infected until symptoms develop, at which stage drugs are useless.

7 Jun 2004

Drug Tarceva improves survival chance for patients with advanced lung cancer

Roche OSI Pharmaceuticals and Genentech today announced that their investigational drug Tarceva(TM) (erlotinib) achieved a significant 42.5% improvement in median survival compared to placebo in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

5 Jun 2004

Cure for age-induced diabetes or cancer may be nearer than we think

Forget the drastic reduction in carbs and calories called for by diet dictators. The day when people can eat their favorite foods, stay thin and live to be 120 without getting age-induced diabetes or cancer may be nearer than we think.

5 Jun 2004

150 top scientists debate and offer expert advice on cutting edge vaccine research

More than 150 top scientists, researchers and public health experts from around the world will meet in Switzerland next week to present, debate and offer expert advice on cutting edge vaccine research and development, as well as vaccine policy and implementation.

3 Jun 2004

AMA campaign to stop parents smoking near babies and children

The bib giveaway, launched at King Edward Memorial Hospital today, is the centrepiece of a campaign to encourage parents not to smoke near their baby or children.

2 Jun 2004

Drinking only bottled water associated with a two-fold risk of infection

Doing laundry using hot water and bleach may prevent infections in the home, while drinking only bottled water may promote infections, according to research.

2 Jun 2004

Why do grandparents systemically prefer some grandchildren to others?

“Maternal grandmothers are closer to their grandchildren than other grandparents. The next closest relationship between grandparents and grandchildren is by maternal grandfathers, then paternal grandmothers and, last of all, paternal grandfathers.”

2 Jun 2004

Studies suggest white tea help prevent staphylococcus and streptococcus infections

New studies conducted at Pace University, have indicated that White Tea Extract (WTE) may have prophylactic applications in retarding growth of bacteria that cause Staphylococcus infections, Streptococcus infections, pneumonia and dental caries.

2 Jun 2004

Chronic diseases are the largest cause of death in the world

The rising global burden of chronic diseases needs a coordinated effort from policy makers, advocates and health professionals, according to a special communication in the June 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), a theme issue on Global Health.

1 Jun 2004

Double-punch approach to vaccine design more effective

A study revealing new information about how viral proteins move between cells and alert the immune system suggests that a double-punch approach to vaccine design would make them more effective.

1 Jun 2004

West Nile set to explode in summer 2004

Experts predict the continued spread of West Nile virus this summer, with the potential for serious outbreaks in numerous states, including California.

1 Jun 2004

Smoking a lot more harmful than previously thought

The U.S. Surgeon General has released a new comprehensive report on smoking and health, revealing for the first time that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body. Published 40 years after the surgeon general's first report on smoking -- which concluded that smoking was a definite cause of three serious diseases -- this newest report finds that cigarette smoking is conclusively linked to diseases such as leukemia, cataracts, pneumonia and cancers of the cervix, kidney, pancreas and stomach.

30 May 2004

Bird flu vaccine

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, has awarded two contracts to support the production and clinical testing of an investigational vaccine based on a strain of avian influenza, H5N1, which might have the potential to cause pandemic influenza.

27 May 2004

Smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body

U.S. Surgeon General Richard H. Carmona today released a new comprehensive report on smoking and health, revealing for the first time that smoking causes diseases in nearly every organ of the body.

27 May 2004

Discovery may help to define the limits for life on Earth, as well as elsewhere in the universe

The discovery of millions of micro-microbes surviving in a 120,000-year-old ice sample taken from 3,000 meters below the surface of the Greenland glacier was announced by Penn State scientists today (May 26) at the General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology in New Orleans, La. The discovery may help to define the limits for life on Earth, as well as elsewhere in the universe, such as on cold planets like Mars.

27 May 2004

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus re-emerges in Thailand

Thousands of chickens were culled last week after the highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus was found at The North Regional Veterinary Research and Development Center by Thailand's Department of Livestock Development.

27 May 2004

Scientific evidence links mold in homes and buildings to people with chronic asthma symptoms

Scientific evidence links mold and other factors related to damp conditions in homes and buildings to asthma symptoms in some people with the chronic disorder, as well as to coughing, wheezing, and upper respiratory tract symptoms in otherwise healthy people, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies.

25 May 2004

Pediatric asthma patients given a certain inhaled corticosteroid had a 29 percent lower risk of ending up in emergency

A study presented today at the 100th International Conference of the American Thoracic Society in Orlando shows pediatric asthma patients given a certain inhaled corticosteroid had a 29 percent lower risk of ending up in the emergency department (ED) or being admitted into the hospital.

25 May 2004

Baby born from 21 year old cryopreserved sperm

"We believe this is the longest period of sperm cryopreservation resulting in a live birth so far reported in the scientific literature," according to one of the authors, Dr Elizabeth Pease, Consultant in Reproductive Medicine at the Department of Reproductive Medicine at St Mary's Hospital, Manchester.

25 May 2004