Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

Growing global threat from avian influenza

"Unless intensive efforts are made, a pandemic is very likely to occur," Dr Shigeru Omi, WHO's Regional Director for the Western Pacific, told a news conference in Shanghai.

13 Sep 2004

Influenza associated hospitalizations among elderly patients has increased substantially over the past two decades

The estimated number of influenza-associated hospitalizations among elderly patients has increased substantially over the past two decades, according to an article in the September 15 issue of JAMA.

10 Sep 2004

Sinovac completes dosing in phase 1 human clinical testing of SARS vaccine

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. has announced that all 36 subjects of the Phase I human clinical trial for its inactivated SARS vaccine have now been vaccinated with two doses of either SARS vaccine or placebo.

7 Sep 2004

Pediatricians feel that universal influenza vaccination for infants is feasible

Most pediatricians and family physicians who completed a nationwide survey agreed that universal influenza vaccination for infants is feasible, according to an article in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

7 Sep 2004

More than 100 million doses of influenza vaccine available this year in the United States

Despite an Aug. 26 announcement that some doses of influenza vaccine to the United States have been delayed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the effects of the delay will be minimal - and physicians do not need to order more doses.

5 Sep 2004

Research may significant consequences in leading drug researchers to develop new and more effective means to block influenza and other viruses

Combating viruses is often a frustrating business. Find a way to destroy them - and before you know it, they’ve found a way to defend themselves and neutralize the anti-viral treatment.

5 Sep 2004

Bird flu has jumped species barrier to cats

Now the United Nations health agency is investigating reports that bird flu, which experts say could mutate into a potentially deadly human pandemic under certain conditions, has now jumped the species barrier to infect cats.

4 Sep 2004

Emergence of drug resistant influenza viruses more common than previously thought

Results of a small study from Japan in this week’s issue of THE LANCET suggest that the emergence of influenza viruses which are resistant to a widely used influenza drug may be more common than previously thought.

26 Aug 2004

U.S. plan for influenza pandemic response

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has unveiled the draft Pandemic Influenza Response and Preparedness Plan, which outlines a coordinated national strategy to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic.

26 Aug 2004

Chiron delays Fluvirin influenza virus vaccine shipments

Chiron has announced that, in conducting final internal release procedures for its Fluvirin(R) influenza virus vaccine, the company's quality systems have identified a small number of lots that do not meet product sterility specifications.

26 Aug 2004

Inevitable that H5N1 avian influenza viruses will be detected in pigs

Considering the widespread nature of the current H5N1 outbreak in Asia and the capability of influenza viruses to jump the species barriers, it is inevitable that H5N1 virus will be detected in some pigs.

26 Aug 2004

Powdered form of anthrax vaccine could eliminate needle injections

Researchers have developed a powdered form of an anthrax vaccine that could potentially be inhaled through the nose and eliminate the need for needle injections.

26 Aug 2004

Australian research giant begins trial of avian influenza vaccine

The trial vaccine utilises Imugene Limited's platform adenoviral vector technology to deliver the necessary genetic material to stimulate the birds' immune responses.

25 Aug 2004

Hong Kong suspends bird and poultry imports from Malaysia, after deadly H5 avian influenza was found

The Hong Kong Government has suspended the import of live birds and poultry meat from Malaysia, after a strain of the deadly H5 avian influenza was found in Kelantan.

20 Aug 2004

Contract for the production of an investigational vaccine based on an H9N2 strain of avian influenza virus

In 1999 and 2003, an H9N2 influenza strain caused illness in three people in Hong Kong. Scientists are concerned about H9N2 and other emerging types of avian influenza viruses because as they spread—most commonly through poultry—they continually mutate, increasing chances that they may infect humans, evade the body’s immune response and become more lethal.

17 Aug 2004

Drug company fights to keep toxin in vaccines

The UK announced Saturday they will remove the mercury preservative Thimerosal from their vaccines. The news comes days after an LA Times article reported that Aventis-Pasteur, a pharmaceutical giant, is pushing to keep the toxin in U.S. vaccines.

13 Aug 2004

Three recent deaths in Viet Nam were caused by infection with avian influenza

The Ministry of Health in Viet Nam has informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that three recent deaths from influenza-like illness in Viet Nam were caused by infection with avian influenza. These are the first officially reported cases of avian influenza in Viet Nam since late February.

13 Aug 2004

Gravity model applicable to disease spread

Tracking the spread of new or re-emergent diseases such as SARS or smallpox is essential in controlling disease epidemics, but horse-and-buggy concepts of how diseases spread have been supplanted by 21st-century realities.

9 Aug 2004

Mothers who catch a flu during pregnancy may increase the risk of their child developing schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a chronic, severe, and disabling brain disease. Approximately 1 percent of the population develops schizophrenia during their lifetime — more than 2 million Americans suffer from the illness in a given year.

3 Aug 2004

Aventis ships its influenza vaccine, Fluzone

Aventis began to ship its influenza vaccine (Fluzone(R), Influenza Virus Vaccine) today, meeting the company's goal to provide Fluzone vaccine to customers to allow health-care providers to plan successful immunization programs for the upcoming influenza season.

3 Aug 2004