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.

Vivaldi Biosciences inks agreement with NIAID to evaluate LAIV candidates against influenza A

Vivaldi Biosciences Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing live attenuated influenza vaccines against seasonal and pandemic influenza, today announced that it has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to generate and evaluate in preclinical studies LAIV candidates against influenza A(H7N9).

21 Jan 2014

Kansas State University's research shows promise to fight novel avian H7N9 influenza virus

The novel avian H7N9 influenza virus has caused more than 130 human infections with 43 deaths in China. New research, conducted under the supervision of Kansas State University's Juergen Richt, is showing promise in helping to fight this deadly virus.

17 Jan 2014

New research shows promise in helping combat novel drug-resistant H7N9 influenza virus

16 Jan 2014

Study indicates some groups have specific genetic make-up that prevents from fighting off influenza

Research indicated that some Indigenous people such as in Alaska and Australia displayed limited immunity response to the effects of influenza.

13 Jan 2014

Meridian's TRU FLU assay gets FDA clearance for analytical sensitivity claim for avian Influenza H7N9 strain

Meridian Bioscience, Inc. today announced that the company's TRU FLU assay received FDA clearance for an analytical sensitivity claim for the novel avian Influenza H7N9 strain, A/Anhui/1/2013. TRU FLU is a rapid immunoassay that detects influenza A and influenza B viruses in 15 minutes in human respiratory specimens.

10 Jan 2014

PaxVax reports interim data from Phase 3 cholera challenge study of PXVX0200

PaxVax Inc, which develops and commercializes innovative vaccines against infectious diseases in a socially responsible manner, today announced interim data from a Phase 3 cholera challenge study of its single-dose oral cholera vaccine candidate, PXVX0200 (also known as CVD 103-HgR). Trial investigators compared the rate of diarrhea in participants vaccinated with PXVX0200 to the rate in participants who had received placebo.

10 Jan 2014

EcoHealth Alliance joins Bat Conservation International to conserve bats, safeguard human health

EcoHealth Alliance, a nonprofit organization that focuses on local conservation and global health issues, and Bat Conservation International, which works to conserve bats and their habitats around the world, are joining forces in formal partnership.

3 Jan 2014

CEL-SCI closes public offering of common stock, exercises over-allotment option to purchase additional shares

CEL-SCI Corporation, a late-stage oncology company, today announced that it has closed an underwritten public offering of units consisting of an aggregate of 5,238,095 shares of common stock and warrants to purchase an aggregate of 5,238,095 shares of common stock. The

27 Dec 2013

SLU nursing faculty, students receive special training to operate Closed Point of Dispensing

In the case of a bioterror attack, Saint Louis University will operate a medication dispensing station for students, faculty, staff and their families, offering quick access to medicines and easing the burden on local health departments so they can serve residents who lack similar access to lifesaving drugs.

22 Dec 2013

Biocryst seeks FDA NDA approval for Peramivir to treat influenza

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of treatments for rare and infectious diseases, today announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (NDA) filing for intravenous (i.v.) peramivir to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA). BioCryst is seeking an indication as the first i.v. neuraminidase inhibitor approved in the U.S. for the treatment of acute uncomplicated influenza in adults. Peramivir is approved in Japan and Korea for the treatment of influenza.

20 Dec 2013

WSU researchers discover how Nipah virus employs burglary-ring-like teamwork to infiltrate human cell

A team of scientists from Washington State University has discovered how one of the planet's most deadly known viruses employs burglary-ring-like teamwork to infiltrate the human cell.

17 Dec 2013

Study: Blue light proves to have powerful bacteria-killing ability

Blue light has proven to have powerful bacteria-killing ability in the laboratory. The potent antibacterial effects of irradiation using light in the blue spectra have now also been demonstrated in human and animal tissues. A series of groundbreaking articles that provide compelling evidence of this effect are published in Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, a peer-reviewed journal published by Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

16 Dec 2013

New approach for combating seasonal flu

Reducing glucose metabolism dials down influenza viral infection in laboratory cell cultures, providing an entirely new approach for combating seasonal flu, according to research that will be presented on Sunday, Dec. 15, at the American Society for Cell Biology annual meeting in New Orleans.

15 Dec 2013

LSUHSC's Peggy A. Honoré receives 2013 Excellence in Health Administration Award

Peggy A. Honor-, DHA, the AmeriHealth Mercy - General Russel Honor- Endowed Professor at the LSUHSC School of Public Health's Health Policy & System Management Program, has been awarded the 2013 Excellence in Health Administration Award by the Health Administration Section of the American Public Health Association.

12 Dec 2013

Preparing for better management of Tamiflu-resistant influenza viruses

Researchers in Umeå and Uppsala have found that residues of the influenza drug Tamiflu in our environment can make the influenza virus in birds resistant. This can have serious consequences in the event of an influenza pandemic. With more than 14 million SEK from the Swedish Research Councils Formas and VR, the research team will now continue their studies with a focus on alternative antiviral drugs.

10 Dec 2013

ATS Labs offers testing of antimicrobial products for efficacy against H7N9 virus

ATS Labs announced today that they are pleased to offer testing of antimicrobial products for efficacy against avian influenza A (H7N9) virus. Avian influenza A (H7N9) virus, called H7N9 for short, has infected humans in China causing severe respiratory illness.

6 Dec 2013

New research finds that H7N9 still mainly adapted for infecting birds, not humans

Avian influenza virus H7N9, which killed several dozen people in China earlier this year, has not yet acquired the changes needed to infect humans easily, according to a new study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute. In contrast to some initial studies that had suggested that H7N9 poses an imminent risk of a global pandemic, the new research found, based on analyses of virus samples from the Chinese outbreak, that H7N9 is still mainly adapted for infecting birds, not humans.

6 Dec 2013

CEL-SCI gets approval to start enrollment for Multikine Phase III study for head and neck cancer

Further advancing one of the largest Phase III trials for head and neck cancer in the world, CEL-SCI Corporation announced today that it has received approval from the Agency for Medicaments and Medical Devices of the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina to begin enrollment of subjects into the Phase III Head and Neck Cancer clinical trial of its investigational cancer immunotherapy treatment Multikine (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection).

5 Dec 2013

1950s H2N2 avian influenza A virus still pose threat to human health

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital scientists have evidence that descendants of the H2N2 avian influenza A virus that killed millions worldwide in the 1950s still pose a threat to human health, particularly to those under 50. The research has been published in an advance online edition of the Journal of Virology.

4 Dec 2013

Researchers predict seasonal influenza outbreaks in 108 cities across the U.S.

Scientists were able to reliably predict the timing of the 2012-2013 influenza season up to nine weeks in advance of its peak. The first large-scale demonstration of the flu forecasting system by scientists at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health was carried out in 108 cities across the United States.