Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

American College of Physicians recommends annual influenza vaccine for health-care workers

The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that an annual influenza vaccine should be required for every health care worker with direct patient care activities.

4 Oct 2007

Oseltamivir, the active substance in Tamiflu, unchanged through sewage treatment

Swedish researchers have discovered that oseltamivir (Tamiflu); an antiviral drug used to prevent and mitigate influenza infections is not removed or degraded during normal sewage treatment.

3 Oct 2007

H5N1 able to pass through placenta to fetus and infect organs other than lungs in adults

The H5N1 strain of the bird flu virus can pass through the placenta of pregnant women to the unborn fetus, and can infect organs other than the lungs in adults. These are the conclusions of authors of an Article in The Lancet.

1 Oct 2007

FDA approves Afluria in time for flu season

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Afluria, an additional seasonal influenza vaccine for the immunization of people ages 18 and older.

29 Sep 2007

How H5N1 virus works

H5N1 influenza, also known as avian influenza, is considered a major global threat to human health, with high fatality rates.

27 Sep 2007

New biosensor detects avian influenza in just minutes

Quick identification of avian influenza infection in poultry is critical to controlling outbreaks, but current detection methods can require several days to produce results.

27 Sep 2007

Coca-Cola accused of flase claims on Fuze drinks

To hear Coca-Cola tell it, the tea and fruit drinks it sells under its Fuze brand will help you avoid cancer, heart disease, colds, flu, and infections of the lungs and kidneys.

27 Sep 2007

Aloe vera powder nose spray vaccine shows potential for bird flu treatment

Researchers at Texas A&M University are participating in developing a medicine that is worth sneezing about: a treatment for influenza that forms a jelly when sprayed into the nose.

26 Sep 2007

Need for better flu vaccines for seniors

Each year, seasonal flu kills approximately 36,000 people in the United States, most over age 70.

25 Sep 2007

New topical lotion safely treats nail fungus without side effects

A new topical lotion that penetrates the skin deeply enough to target and eliminate serious skin infections, but without being systemically absorbed, has shown a high degree of safety and tolerability in patients with onychomycosis, or toenail fungus, a new study has shown.

25 Sep 2007

Nano device provides quick test for bird flu

A team of scientists from Singapore's Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology have come up with a new test which can quickly detect the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus.

24 Sep 2007

Flu virus migrates globally all year round

The influenza A virus does not lie dormant during summer but migrates globally and mixes with other viral strains before returning to the Northern Hemisphere as a genetically different virus, according to biologists who say the finding settles a key debate on what the virus does during the summer off season when it is not infecting people.

21 Sep 2007

FDA expands use of influenza vaccine FluMist

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved expanding the population for use of the nasal influenza vaccine FluMist to include children between the ages of 2 and 5.

20 Sep 2007

Sanofi Pasteur's new H5N1 vaccine shows promise

Sanofi pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, has announced data showing that its new investigational H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine containing a proprietary adjuvant achieved a high immune response at the lowest dose of H5N1 antigen reported to date.

18 Sep 2007

Key differences discovered between avian and human flu

St. Jude scientists have found key features that distinguish influenza viruses found in birds from those that infect humans.

5 Sep 2007

Flu shots prevent many visits to the doctor during flu season

Vaccinating children against the influenza virus will help prevent many outpatient visits and hospitalizations due to the flu, according to a recent study published in the September issue of Pediatrics by a pediatrician at Brenner Children's Hospital, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.

5 Sep 2007

$75 million extra for pandemic flu preparedness

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced that the Department is making available another $75 million to states, territories and four metropolitan areas to help strengthen their capacity to respond to a pandemic influenza outbreak.

30 Aug 2007

Discovery may lead to fast and cheap method of making vaccines

Researchers may be able to tinker with a single amino acid of an enzyme that helps viruses multiply to render them harmless, according to molecular biologists who say the discovery could pave the way for a fast and cheap method of making vaccines.

29 Aug 2007

Limited human-to-human spread of Avian-flu virus in Indonesia in 2006 confirmed

In the first systematic, statistical analysis of its kind, infectious-disease-modeling experts at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center confirm that the avian influenza A (H5N1) virus in 2006 spread between a small number of people within a family in Indonesia.

28 Aug 2007

Academic comments on horse flu scare

We should not be shocked that equine influenza has emerged in Australia. What is surprising is that we kept it out for so long. The Australian thoroughbred breeding and racing industry has received huge financial benefits from globalisation, but this process carries enormous risks. Foremost is the risk of disease.

28 Aug 2007