Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Quest Diagnostics' Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009) test receives CE mark

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, today announced that the Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009) test developed by its Focus Diagnostics business has been CE marked and is now available as a test kit for distribution to approximately 35 countries in Europe.

From Quest Diagnostics 18 Nov 2009

ED clinicians utilize WEBeMARS to report the progress of the H1N1 flu pandemic

EDIMS LLC, a leading provider of interoperable emergency department (ED) information management systems for hospitals, announced today that 22 of its client EDs in New York and New Jersey are reporting daily on the progress of the H1N1 flu pandemic to their state health departments.

18 Nov 2009

Previous flu infections can reduce the severity of H1N1

Researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology have found that previous influenza infections may provide at least some level of immunity to the H1N1 "swine" flu. "The question we asked was, "Is the swine flu more like the seasonal flu or like a totally new strain of influenza where there would be no immunity?," said Alessandro Sette, Ph.D., an internationally recognized vaccine expert and director of the La Jolla Institute's Center for Infectious Disease.

18 Nov 2009

Almost half of the women in the UK suffer from lack of vitamin A, find scientists

Almost half of UK women could be suffering from a lack of vitamin A due to a previously undiscovered genetic variation, scientists at Newcastle University have found.

18 Nov 2009

Cinergy Health creates a guide for the prevention and treatment of H1N1

Cinergy Health, a nationwide provider of guaranteed issue health insurance benefit programs, has created a guide for consumers concerned about the H1N1 virus, which has already killed more than 4,000 Americans.

18 Nov 2009

Tips on how to prevent household members from getting sick during flu season

someone at home who has H1N1 (swine) flu, it is important for you to prevent other people in the house from getting sick, according to Gary Kalkut, MD, MPH, Senior Vice-President, Chief Medical Officer of Montefiore Medical Center.

18 Nov 2009

Report calls for refocusing health spending in developing countries to save children's lives

"More than 24,000 infants die daily from preventable diseases in developing countries," and child deaths have fallen in countries where governments "have shown a high level of political leadership on child health," World Vision International said in a new report (.pdf) released on Monday as part of a five-year campaign to reduce child deaths worldwide, the Associated Press/San Francisco Chronicle reports.

17 Nov 2009

China, WHO to collaborate on flu research center

Chinese and WHO officials last week agreed to open a flu research center in Beijing, Bloomberg reports. "The new collaborating center for reference and research on influenza will join a network of WHO-affiliated labs in Atlanta, London, Tokyo and Melbourne that monitor flu strains and make recommendations on vaccines to fight the virus," the news service writes

17 Nov 2009

Also in global health news: Global corruption; HIV vaccine; smoking; DRC aid

A new report from Transparency International says the fight against corruption worldwide is slowing as urgency to address the global economic downturn recedes, Bloomberg reports.

17 Nov 2009

KHN column: Is fear of flu shifting the goal posts?

"If any public health message has alarmed Americans in recent weeks, it is the repeated claim in the media that healthy young people are dying of 2009 H1N1, or swine flu. ... The response has been predictable: frantic parents clogging waiting rooms in pediatricians' offices, lining up for hours to get their kids vaccinated, and rushing to fill prescriptions for anti-viral drugs before the local pharmacy runs out" (11/17).

17 Nov 2009

Bavarian Nordic awarded a new contract for developing a freeze-dried version of its IMVAMUNE smallpox vaccine

Bavarian Nordic A/S announced today that BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) has awarded a new contract to Bavarian Nordic for the development of a freeze-dried version of its IMVAMUNE(R) smallpox vaccine with a total prospective value of USD 40 million.

17 Nov 2009

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announces sale of common stock shares

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that it is offering to sell, subject to market and other conditions, 5,000,000 shares of its common stock pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement in an underwritten public offering.

17 Nov 2009

Go Travel Insurance urge gap year travellers to take out proper cover for swine flu

As swine flu threatens to make a resurgence, Go Travel Insurance have reinforced the need for gap year students to take out proper cover before they embark on their trip.

17 Nov 2009

Molecular makeup of current H1N1 flu strain strikingly different from previous H1N1 strains

As the number of deaths related to the pandemic H1N1 virus, commonly known as "swine flu," continues to rise, researchers have been scrambling to decipher its inner workings and explain why the incidence is lower than expected in older adults.

17 Nov 2009

VCU and RAA have improved resuscitation and survival rates for cardiac arrest patients

Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center and the Richmond Ambulance Authority have improved resuscitation and survival rates dramatically for cardiac arrest patients by training and equipping paramedics to begin lowering a patient's body temperature in the field during resuscitation and following up at the hospital with a host of high-tech strategies to improve the odds of survival.

17 Nov 2009

Economic crisis impacts health department capacity to address rising STD rates

Amid the mounting toll of budget cuts across the country, a new study from the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) shows just how much an impact the economic crisis is having on sexually transmitted disease (STD) programs and in turn, having more broadly on public health infrastructure.

17 Nov 2009

Trustmark Voluntary Benefit Solutions offers coverage for vaccines including H1N1 to its policyholders

Trustmark Voluntary Benefit Solutions, a leading provider of payroll-deducted voluntary benefits, is now covering vaccines including H1N1 (swine flu).

17 Nov 2009

FDA's BPAC renders positive opinion on Phase III clinical trial of INTERCEPT Blood System

Cerus Corporation announced today that the FDA's Blood Products Advisory Committee (BPAC) rendered a positive opinion on the proposed hemostatic efficacy and safety endpoints for a potential U.S. Phase III clinical trial of the INTERCEPT Blood System for platelets.

17 Nov 2009

Roche receives EUA from FDA for its RealTime ready Influenza A/H1N1 Detection Set for the 2009 H1N1 virus

Roche`s RealTime ready Influenza A/H1N1 Detection Set for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus has received emergency use authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Roche kit detects RNA from the 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus and allows rapid and accurate identification of patients infected with this virus.

17 Nov 2009

New Web-based application for tracking the H1N1 flu virus across the globe

New methods of studying avian influenza strains and visually mapping their movement around the world will help scientists more quickly learn the behavior of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, Ohio State University researchers say.

17 Nov 2009

Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Quest Diagnostics' Simplexa Influenza A H1N1 (2009) test receives CE mark

ED clinicians utilize WEBeMARS to report the progress of the H1N1 flu pandemic

Previous flu infections can reduce the severity of H1N1

Almost half of the women in the UK suffer from lack of vitamin A, find scientists

Cinergy Health creates a guide for the prevention and treatment of H1N1

Tips on how to prevent household members from getting sick during flu season

Report calls for refocusing health spending in developing countries to save children's lives

China, WHO to collaborate on flu research center

Also in global health news: Global corruption; HIV vaccine; smoking; DRC aid

KHN column: Is fear of flu shifting the goal posts?

Bavarian Nordic awarded a new contract for developing a freeze-dried version of its IMVAMUNE smallpox vaccine

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announces sale of common stock shares

Go Travel Insurance urge gap year travellers to take out proper cover for swine flu

Molecular makeup of current H1N1 flu strain strikingly different from previous H1N1 strains

VCU and RAA have improved resuscitation and survival rates for cardiac arrest patients

Economic crisis impacts health department capacity to address rising STD rates

Trustmark Voluntary Benefit Solutions offers coverage for vaccines including H1N1 to its policyholders

FDA's BPAC renders positive opinion on Phase III clinical trial of INTERCEPT Blood System

Roche receives EUA from FDA for its RealTime ready Influenza A/H1N1 Detection Set for the 2009 H1N1 virus

New Web-based application for tracking the H1N1 flu virus across the globe

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Real-time Raman monitoring for pharmaceutical hot melt extrusion

Synthetic Psychedelics: A Growing Public Health Concern

How the Vutara VXL simplifies single-molecule imaging

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