Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

State laws increase vaccination rates among health care workers

State laws mandating influenza immunization for people who work in health care increase their vaccination rates, according to new research led by the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

3 Mar 2016

Hypothermia associated with increased risk for infection in patients undergoing surgery

A Henry Ford Hospital finds that hypothermia, a relatively common but unintentional occurrence during surgery, is associated with an increased risk for infection in patients who undergo surgery to repair a hip fracture.

3 Mar 2016

First-ever research programme launched to tackle superbugs

To meet the challenge of the rise in antibiotic resistant bacteria, national charity ‘Antibiotic Research UK is commissioning the first ever research programme to screen antibiotic resistance breakers against antibiotic resistance in Gram-negative bacteria.

2 Mar 2016

Study provides first evidence that Zika virus may cause Guillain-Barré syndrome

Analysis of blood samples from 42 patients diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) during the Zika virus outbreak in French Polynesia provides the first evidence that Zika virus might cause GBS, a severe neurological disorder, according to new research published in The Lancet today.

2 Mar 2016

Preventing the spread of Zika: an interview with Professor John Oxford

The link between the Zika virus and Guillain-Barré on the one hand, and pregnancy and the virus affecting the fetus in terms of microcephaly on the other, is still not confirmed conclusively.

1 Mar 2016

NHS could continue to waste £10 million per year on treating preventable cold-related illness, NEA warns

Fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA) is today [26 February] warning that the NHS could continue to waste well over a billion pounds a year on treating preventable cold-related illness.

1 Mar 2016

Young parents call for better advice to deal with fuel poverty

Young parents are calling for better advice to tackle fuel poverty as almost four million children in England live in families that are struggling to pay their energy bills, according to evidence gathered in a new report.

1 Mar 2016

Scientists start clinical trial to test new prostate cancer vaccine

Oxford University scientists have started a clinical trial to test a new vaccine against prostate cancer and are looking for volunteers to take part. The first four participants have already received this experimental vaccine at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, and the second trial site has just been opened at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Sheffield.

1 Mar 2016

Cryo-electron microscopy helps analyze infection mechanisms of coronaviruses in detail

High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy and supercomputing have now made it possible to analyze in detail the infection mechanisms of coronaviruses. These viruses are notorious for attacking the respiratory tract of humans and animals.

27 Feb 2016

Insecticide-treated nets help prevent spread of malaria

Insecticide-treated nets may still help prevent malaria despite mosquitoes developing resistance, according to a new study published in Parasites & Vectors.

27 Feb 2016

Novartis announces FDA approval of Afinitor for progressive, nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors of GI

Novartis today announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration approved Afinitor (everolimus) tablets for the treatment of adult patients with progressive, well-differentiated, nonfunctional neuroendocrine tumors (NET) of gastrointestinal (GI) or lung origin that are unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic.

26 Feb 2016

New review suggests solutions that can help ease chronic pain in women

Women often suffer silently when in pain, whether it's caused by pregnancy discomfort or creaky knees. Yet there are a variety of solutions that can help relieve women of chronic pain, from exercise to identifying triggers, suggests a new review of research related to women and pain by the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

26 Feb 2016

Baxalta seeks FDA approval for ADYNOVATE to treat children with hemophilia A and for use in surgical settings

Baxalta Incorporated, a global biopharmaceutical leader dedicated to delivering transformative therapies to patients with orphan diseases and underserved conditions, announced today that it has submitted supplemental Biologics License Applications (sBLAs) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking approval for the use of ADYNOVATE [Antihemophilic Factor (Recombinant), PEGylated] to treat children under the age of 12 with hemophilia A and for use in surgical settings.

26 Feb 2016

MOOCs: the future of healthcare training? An interview with David Robertshaw

MOOCs are short, free courses run by major learning providers to share their knowledge of a particular academic topic or to help students develop a specific skill.

From University of Derby Online Learning 25 Feb 2016

Zika outbreak highlights need for developing and evaluating new vaccines for pregnant women

The recent outbreak of Zika virus disease and its link to fetal development highlights the need for pregnant women and those of reproductive age to be a priority group for developing and evaluating new vaccines and vaccine guidelines for Zika and other emerging infectious diseases, say the authors of a new Viewpoint article in JAMA.

25 Feb 2016

Two investigational Ebola vaccines well-tolerated in Phase 2 clinical trial

Two investigational vaccines designed to protect against Ebola virus disease were well-tolerated and induced an immune response among 1,000 vaccinated participants in the Phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial called PREVAIL I.

25 Feb 2016

IMP's Johannes Zuber receives German Cancer Prize 2016

Johannes Zuber, group leader at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, receives the German Cancer Prize 2016 in the category of experimental cancer research.

24 Feb 2016

Influenza virus can able to circumvent the body's immune system

Influenza is able to mask itself, so that the virus is not initially detected by our immune system. This is the result of new research from Aarhus University. The researchers behind the study hope that the discovery can be used to develop better treatment against influenza and chronic inflammation conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

24 Feb 2016

Poll: 59% of parents rate flu vaccine less favorably than other childhood vaccines

Parents who do not get their children flu shots rate the flu vaccine less favorably than other childhood vaccines, a national poll finds.

23 Feb 2016

Cardiac clot-busting drug decreases mortality in hemorrhagic stroke patients

Reporting on the results of a phase III international clinical trial, Johns Hopkins Medicine physicians say use of a cardiac clot-busting drug to treat strokes that cause brain bleeding safely decreased the death rate in patients by 10 percent, compared to a control group receiving saline.

23 Feb 2016