Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

About turn by China over suspected bird flu death

In a complete about turn Chinese authorities have now called in the World Health Organisation (WHO) to examine three suspected human cases of bird flu, including one of a girl who died.

7 Nov 2005

Australia warns Asian countries against bird flu cover-ups

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has issued a warning to Asian countries that Australia will not tolerate any cover-ups of bird flu outbreaks.

31 Oct 2005

WHO wants more info on bird flu from China

Following pressure from world health bodies China on Friday to provide information on the death of a 12-year-old girl, Chinese officials now say the child died of pneumonia.

30 Oct 2005

Australia furthers fight against Avian Influenza in Vietnam

Australia will provide $3 million to Vietnam to help the country combat Avian Influenza and other infectious diseases, the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Bruce Billson, announced in Hanoi.

26 Oct 2005

Bird Flu now confirmed in Greece

Greece has become the first country in the European Union to confirm its first case of bird flu, although cases are being tackled in Turkey and Romania.

18 Oct 2005

Bats carry SARS like virus

An international consortium headed by CAS researchers has identified that the Chinese horseshoe bat is healthy carriers of a virus that is very closely related to those causing SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome).

10 Oct 2005

Avian influenza and the U.S

If a virulent strain of avian influenza ever struck the U.S. poultry industry, this country probably would fare better than many other nations due to careful biosecurity procedures in force.

9 Oct 2005

Screening passengers at airports will not prevent SARS or influenza

Screening passengers as they arrive at UK airports is unlikely to prevent the importation of either SARS or influenza, finds a study published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

26 Sep 2005

SARS can infiltrate brain tissue

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), by its very name, indicates a disease of the respiratory tract. But SARS can also infiltrate brain tissue, causing significant central nervous system problems, according to an article in the Oct. 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, now available online.

20 Sep 2005

Researchers detail molecular images of a piece of the spike-shaped protein that the SARS virus uses initiate the first stages of infection

Researchers have determined the first detailed molecular images of a piece of the spike-shaped protein that the SARS virus uses to grab host cells and initiate the first stages of infection.

19 Sep 2005

Healthcare workers may be unable or unwilling to report to work during certain disasters

In a first study of its kind, researchers at the Mailman School of Public Health assessed the ability and willingness of healthcare workers to report to work in the event of disasters involving weapons of mass destruction or virulent infectious disease outbreaks.

12 Sep 2005

RNAi therapeutic successful for treatment of SARS respiratory virus in Rhesus Macaque

Intradigm Corporation announced today its collaboration with Chinese academic and biotech groups has achieved clear evidence of prophylactic and therapeutic effects of siRNA (small interfering RNA) agents in Rhesus monkey to treat SARS coronavirus (SCV) respiratory infection.

12 Sep 2005

Design of wide-spectrum inhibitors targeting coronavirus main proteases

Coronaviruses - the family of viruses that causes the common cold - gained widespread recognition when the deadly severe acute respiratory syndrome, familiarly known as SARS, killed at least 800 people in 2003.

6 Sep 2005

Study of the 2003 outbreak of SARS reveals fears

A new study of the 2003 outbreak of SARS in Toronto shows how fears of a virulent contagious disease can affect health-care providers and reveals that some of those surveyed who experienced SARS-like symptoms during the outbreak still went to work.

1 Sep 2005

Asian bird flu expert joins Murdoch University

Murdoch University's School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences have appointed Dr Trevor Ellis, an expert in Asian Bird flu, SARS and Foot and Mouth Disease.

30 Aug 2005

Immunity - another important function of the mitochondria

Researchers have discovered a surprise lurking inside mitochondria, the power plants that are present in every cell. It turns out that these powerhouses also contain a protein that triggers the immune system to attack viral invaders.

28 Aug 2005

Better late than never - Hong Kong and China improve communications on disease issues

A run of food scares in Hong Kong in recent weeks has seen the population frightened to eat pork because of swine flu and eels, and now fish, because of a carcinogenic chemical, plus the ever present worry of bird flu, all of which have emanated from China.

24 Aug 2005

China on high alert - new case of pig disease in Hong Kong

After the central government said this week that it had the pig disease under control in Sichuan province, the epicentre of the outbreak, China's far south is now on high alert after one person was killed and three were infected by the disease that has killed nearly 40 in the southwest.

24 Aug 2005

C. elegans has similar virus-fighting mechanism as humans and can be used in research

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have discovered that a simple worm, called C. elegans, makes an excellent experimental host for studying some of the most virulent viruses that infect humans.

17 Aug 2005

Canary Database - animal diseases as early warning system for emerging human diseases

Yale School of Medicine has launched a state-of-the-art database funded in part by the National Library of Medicine, called the Canary Database, containing scientific evidence about how animal disease events can be an early warning system for emerging human diseases.

15 Aug 2005