Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Guardian online series explores global health worker issues

The Guardian reports, as part of an online feature about health care workforces worldwide done in association with the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA), that "Africa is desperately short of doctors and nurses. So is much of Asia. In 57 countries, the situation is deemed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be at crisis point ... But in contrast to some other developing world problems, this is an issue that really does affect all of us. The world needs an estimated 4.2 million more health workers."

19 Jan 2011

Severe asthma in early childhood may lead to premature loss of lung function during adolescence: Study

Severe asthma in early childhood may lead to premature loss of lung function during adolescence and more serious disease during adulthood, researchers at Emory University School of Medicine report. Early identification and treatment of children with severe asthma is important to help stem asthma progression.

19 Jan 2011

FDA approves ParaPRO's Natroba for topical treatment of head lice

ParaPRO, LLC announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Natroba Topical Suspension, 0.9% to eliminate head lice. Natroba received approval as a prescription medication and is indicated for the topical treatment of head lice infestations in patients four years of age and older.

18 Jan 2011

Australians urged to vaccinate babies and care givers against whooping cough

The number of cases of the deadly whooping cough in the Hume region in Victoria, including Wodonga, last year increased fivefold from those diagnosed in 2008. A total 67 cases were reported in Albury last year but across the Greater Southern region there were more than 1,000 cases. The outbreak reached its peak in September. In the last three years 1,416 West Australians contracted the disease, three of whom died.

18 Jan 2011

Forest Laboratories third quarter net sales increase 6.7% to $1,063.9 million

Forest Laboratories, Inc., an international pharmaceutical manufacturer and marketer, announced that reported earnings per share equaled $1.11 in the third quarter of fiscal 2011 after taking a charge for a new product licensing fee of $66.1 million or $0.23 per share, net of tax.

18 Jan 2011

Hamilton Academy of Medicine launches campaign to increase awareness about smoking cessation

In honour of National Non-Smoking Week, The Hamilton Academy of Medicine is proud to introduce, It's Hamilton's Time to Quit, a campaign designed to increase awareness about local quitting resources and tools to help the community understand the support that is available, and encourage people to seek the assistance they need to stop smoking.

18 Jan 2011

Scientists create GM chicken that does not spread bird flu to other chickens

"Scientists have developed genetically modified [GM] chickens that don't transmit bird flu [H5N1] to other chickens," HealthDay News/Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

18 Jan 2011

RTS,S offers 46 percent protection against malaria for at least 15 months after vaccination, Study finds

A Phase II trial published Friday in Lancet Infectious Diseases has shown that RTS,S, the "experimental malaria vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline provides African children with long-lasting protection" against malaria, Reuters reports.

18 Jan 2011

Juice Plus+ reduces number of sick days, lowers expenditure on cold medicines: Study

University Medicine Berlin were the first to show that a specific food supplement made from fruit and vegetable juice concentrates significantly reduced the number of days with severe cold symptoms.

18 Jan 2011

New study finds nurses' work schedule can impact patient outcomes

A new study has found that patient deaths from pneumonia and acute myocardial infarction were significantly more likely in hospitals where nurses reported schedules with long work hours.

18 Jan 2011

Cincinnati Children's provides tips on how to stop the spread of flu germs

Doctors at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center want to make sure children are protected from influenza this flu season. The flu is an infection of the nose, throat and lungs caused by a variety of strains of influenza viruses.

18 Jan 2011

Airborne prions can induce mad cow disease: Research

Airborne prions are also infectious and can induce mad cow disease or Creutzfeldt-Jakob disorder. This is the surprising conclusion of researchers at the University of Zurich, the University Hospital Zurich and the University of Tübingen. They recommend precautionary measures for scientific labs, slaughterhouses and animal feed plants.

14 Jan 2011

FDA asks manufacturers to eliminate higher-dose prescription combination acetaminophen products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is asking manufacturers of prescription combination products that contain acetaminophen to limit the amount of acetaminophen to no more than 325 milligrams in each tablet or capsule.

14 Jan 2011

FDA clears Nanosphere's RV+ test for detection of respiratory viruses

Nanosphere, a leader in the development and commercialization of advanced molecular diagnostics systems, announced today FDA 510(k) clearance for the Verigene Respiratory Virus Plus Nucleic Acid Test on the Verigene System.

14 Jan 2011

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grants $1.5million to Liverpool University for bacterial study

A University of Liverpool-led consortium has received $1.5million from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to study a bacterium that causes serious disease and epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa.

14 Jan 2011

Chicks that don’t pass on bird flu

Influenza from birds, commonly known as H5N1 avian flu, has killed at least 306 people during the past seven years and innumerable birds and poultry. Now a team of scientists in Britain have developed a way to breed poultry that are genetically resistant to H5N1 or any other avian flu virus. The study by Scientists from Cambridge and Edinburgh universities was reported in the Jan. 13 issue of Science.

13 Jan 2011

BioCryst reports positive results from peramivir Phase 3 study in influenza

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced top-line results from one of its two Phase 3 studies of intravenous (i.v.) peramivir for the treatment of patients hospitalized with influenza, and provided an update regarding its peramivir program.

13 Jan 2011

Scientists demonstrate how one gene evolves two competing functions via duplication

Researchers report that they are the first to show in molecular detail how one gene evolved two competing functions that eventually split up - via gene duplication - to pursue their separate destinies.

13 Jan 2011

WSHA receives 2010 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award

The Washington State Hospital Association today received the 2010 John M. Eisenberg Patient Safety and Quality Award for work advancing the collaboration of hospitals around patient safety. This is one of the highest honors an organization can receive for patient safety and quality.

13 Jan 2011

New research paper reveals key lessons about origins of 2009 H1N1 pandemic

How Swine Flu Overturned the Understanding of Pandemic Outbreaks. As H1N1 'Swine Flu' returns to the national headlines a new research paper reveals the key lessons about the origins of the 2009 pandemic. The paper, published today in BioEssays, reveals how the pandemic challenges the traditional understanding of 'antigenic shift', given that the virus emerged from an existing influenza subtype.

13 Jan 2011