Pandemic News and Research

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A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. During a pandemic, transmission can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patient to workers in health care settings, but also among co-workers in general work settings. A pandemic would cause high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. Everyday life would be disrupted because so many people in so many places become seriously ill at the same time. Impacts could range from school and business closings to the interruption of basic services such as public transportation and food delivery.

WHO report says rich must stop poaching medical staff from poor

A critical shortage of doctors and nurses is causing unnecessary disease and death across much of the developing world as rich nations poach health-care workers.

10 Apr 2006

Brits find first case of bird flu in a dead swan

Government officials in Britain say a dead swan found in Cellardyke, Scotland, has a strain of the H5 bird flu virus.

5 Apr 2006

Expert says cats may spread bird flu to humans

The rapid spread of H5N1 bird flu across Europe and the Middle East in the last month and the re-emergence of the virus in Asia, has further ignited fears that the deadly virus will mutate and cause the pandemic everyone fears.

5 Apr 2006

China asked to spread the word about bird flu

David Nabarro the United Nation's top official on bird flu has urged China to share its experience with other countries on how to tackle the disease threatening to become a pandemic.

5 Apr 2006

Bush's AIDS prevention policy doing more harm than good

According to a new report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), the U.S. approach to AIDS prevention is essentially unworkable.

5 Apr 2006

Bird flu pandemic supercomputer simulation model

Using supercomputers to respond to a potential national health emergency, scientists have developed a simulation model that makes stark predictions about the possible future course of an avian influenza pandemic, given today's environment of worldwide connectivity.

4 Apr 2006

New clinical trial to test different strengths of a vaccine designed to fight avian influenza

The Duke study is part of a multicenter trial that will test a modified form of an investigational bird flu vaccine to determine whether the vaccine still triggers a strong immune response at lower doses.

4 Apr 2006

Bird flu continues to sweep across the globe

An Egyptian health ministry official says the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that four Egyptians have caught bird flu, including two who died from the virus.

3 Apr 2006

Sweetgum tree may help fight bird flu

The sweetgum tree grows widely throughout the country and is known for its mace-like green fruit, which are sometimes called "gumballs." Now, this spiny fruit may become an important source of a chemical needed to make a lifesaving drug against bird flu - a drug that is currently in short supply worldwide, researchers say.

3 Apr 2006

Expecting enough bird flu vaccine for everyone is a big ask

According to researchers an experimental vaccine produced to offer protection against the H5N1 strain of bird flu presently causing havoc across the world, only appears to work at the very highest doses.

31 Mar 2006

GlaxoSmithKline announces start of clinical trials to test two pandemic vaccines against the H5N1

GlaxoSmithKline has announced the start of an international clinical trial program to test two pandemic vaccines against the H5N1 strain of the avian influenza virus in humans. This dual approach reflects the company's commitment to provide health authorities with concrete options to face the threat of a pandemic.

30 Mar 2006

Bird flu infected mink found in Sweden

According to Swedish authorities a mink has been found with a strain of the H5 bird flu virus.

28 Mar 2006

Bird flu case # 5 in Egypt as virus sweeps around the world

Health officials in Egypt have confirmed that a 5th person is suspected to have bird flu.

26 Mar 2006

China reports 11th death from bird flu as virus sweeps across the world

The World Health Organization (WHO) and China's Health Ministry have confirmed that a 29-year-old Shanghai woman has died of bird flu.

26 Mar 2006

Will the next pandemic be tuberculosis?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S., drug-resistant strains of tuberculosis (TB) are on the rise and present the threat of a pandemic.

26 Mar 2006

There is little chance the U.S. will be able to manufacture enough vaccines to stop a bird flu pandemic

A group of medical experts who attended a national avian flu conference last fall believe there is little chance the United States will be able to manufacture and stockpile enough vaccine or antiviral medication to stop a bird flu pandemic should the virus mutate into a form that can be spread easily from human to human

23 Mar 2006

U.S. buys more Relenza and Tamiflu for future influenza pandemics

The United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced additional purchases of antiviral drugs that could be used in the event of a potential influenza pandemic.

23 Mar 2006

U.S. screening for highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in migratory birds

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton and Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt have moved to further ensure the protection of people, domestic poultry and wild birds by unveiling an enhanced national framework for early detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild migratory birds in the United States.

21 Mar 2006

H5N1 influenza virus is undergoing genetic diversity expansion

An analysis of H5N1 influenza samples in Southeast Asia shows not only how the two strains that have caused human disease are related but also that they belong to two different, distinct genetic subgroups.

20 Mar 2006