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.

Findings from 1918 Flu Pandemic research could help improve current health policies

The 1918 Flu Pandemic infected over 500 million people, killing at least 50 million. Now, a researcher at the University of Missouri has analyzed the pandemic in two remote regions of North America, finding that despite their geographical divide, both regions had environmental, nutritional and economic factors that influenced morbidity during the pandemic.

15 May 2014

Gentiva’s net revenues increase $487.5M to 17% in Q1 2014

Gentiva Health Services, Inc., one of the largest providers of home health, hospice and community care services in the United States, today reported first quarter 2014 results.

7 May 2014

Johns Hopkins researchers awarded NIH contract to launch new center to track influenza viruses

The National Institutes of Health has awarded a contract to researchers at The Johns Hopkins University to launch a new center devoted to developing innovative ways to identify and track influenza viruses worldwide.

6 May 2014

Nanoviricides develops new drug candidates against MERS infection

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6 May 2014

Longer looks: Failure to meet Veterans' health needs; new views of the 1918 flu pandemic; a crumbling mental health system

At least 40 U.S. veterans died waiting for appointments at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system, many of whom were placed on a secret waiting list.

2 May 2014

Travel and socialization patterns give greater insight into spread of new diseases in humans

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have shown how the travel and socialisation patterns of people in Southern China can give greater insight into how new diseases such as bird flu may spread between populations.

2 May 2014

Biotech to the rescue

MIT professor Ram Sasisekharan's three biotech companies — Momenta Pharmaceuticals, Cerulean Pharma, and Visterra — share a similar goal.

1 May 2014

Gokhan S. Hotamisligil named recipient of the 9th Danone International Prize for Nutrition

Danone Institute International announced today that prominent scientist Gokhan S. Hotamisligil, MD, PhD, is the recipient of the 9th Danone International Prize for Nutrition for his outstanding research in immunology and metabolic diseases.

30 Apr 2014

Scientists extract infectious sample of MERS coronavirus from two camels in Saudi Arabia

There is new, more definitive evidence implicating camels in the ongoing outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, or MERS. Scientists at the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, King Saud University, and EcoHealth Alliance extracted a complete, live, infectious sample of MERS coronavirus from two camels in Saudi Arabia.

29 Apr 2014

Sinovac Biotech commits to commercialize Sabin Inactivated Polio Vaccine in China

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China that focuses on the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of vaccines, announced today that it has entered into a license agreement with Intravacc (Institute for Translational Vaccinology) from The Netherlands to develop and commercialize the Sabin Inactivated Polio Vaccine (sIPV) for distribution to China and other countries.

28 Apr 2014

Pediatrician reviews co-pathogenesis of influenza viruses with bacteria in lung

Le Bonheur Children's Hospital Pediatrician-in-Chief Jon McCullers, MD, was recently invited to submit a review in the April issue of Nature Reviews Microbiology, one of the world's foremost scientific publications.

22 Apr 2014

Study finds ginseng can help prevent, treat influenza and RSV infection

Ginseng can help treat and prevent influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a respiratory virus that infects the lungs and breathing passages, according to research findings by a scientist in Georgia State University's new Institute for Biomedical Sciences.

22 Apr 2014

EcoHealth Alliance examines the origins of Ebola virus outbreaks

EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization that focuses on conservation and global public health issues, published a comprehensive review today examining the current state of knowledge of the deadly Ebola and Marburg virus.

21 Apr 2014

Longer Looks: HIV epidemic in the Deep South; planning for Alzheimer's; Obamacare conspiracy theory

One of the strangest things about the H.I.V. epidemic in the Deep South-;from Louisiana to Alabama to Mississippi-;is how easily most Americans have elided it, choosing instead to imagine that the disease is now an out-there, elsewhere epidemic.

18 Apr 2014

Research may provide insight into identifying, helping children with emotional behavior issues

Research on children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in South Africa may provide insight on how to identify and help children with emotional behavior issues in other areas of the world, which may have limited access to healthcare and further research that could lead to successful interventions.

15 Apr 2014

Guidance on use of Tamiflu needs to be reviewed in light of most recent evidence

Tamiflu (the antiviral drug oseltamivir) shortens symptoms of influenza by half a day, but there is no good evidence to support claims that it reduces admissions to hospital or complications of influenza.

11 Apr 2014

PeptiDream develops novel macrocyclic peptide inhibitor for treatment of multiple influenza strains

PeptiDream Inc., a public Tokyo-based biopharmaceutical company ("PeptiDream")( TOKYO:4587) announced today, in collaboration with The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science ("Tokyo Metropolitan Institute") the discovery and development of a novel macrocyclic peptide inhibitor for the treatment of multiple influenza strains.

8 Apr 2014

Obese people take less time to feel full than those of normal weight

Obese people take less time to feel full than those of normal weight. Despite this, they consume more calories. A faster speed of eating could play an important role in obesity, according to a study funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

8 Apr 2014

Research roundup: New medical coding system; choosing a hospice; revamping Medicare

On October 1, 2014, all health plans, health data clearinghouses, and health care providers that transmit health information electronically must use a new, significantly broader, coding system, called ICD-10, for diagnoses and inpatient procedures.

21 Mar 2014

Tamiflu cuts H1N1 pandemic deaths by 25%, shows study

Adults hospitalised with H1N1 influenza during the 2009–2010 pandemic were 25% less likely to die from the disease if they were given antiviral drugs called neuraminidase inhibitors (NAIs) such as Tamiflu, according to a large meta-analysis involving more than 29 000 patients from 38 countries, published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal. The findings also indicate that treatment within 2 days of flu symptoms developing halved the risk of death compared with later treatment or no treatment.

20 Mar 2014