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.

UCLA project to promote healthy nutrition and physical activity to curb obesity

Researchers at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center have been awarded a $20 million federal grant to further their innovative efforts to curb obesity, a global pandemic that has reached the level of a national crisis in the United States.

5 Oct 2012

Britons least likely to adopt protective behaviours against flu

A new international survey published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases has revealed that during the H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, people in Britain lagged far behind other countries in adopting protective behaviours, such as increasing their practice of covering their mouth with a tissue when sneezing or coughing.

5 Oct 2012

Cellectis, Medicago complete first step in therapeutic protein research collaboration

Medicago Inc., a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing highly effective and competitive vaccines based on proprietary manufacturing technologies and Virus Like Particles, and Cellectis plant sciences, a US-based subsidiary of Cellectis Group, the specialist in genome engineering, today announced the successful completion of the first step in their research collaboration to improve therapeutic proteins produced in tobacco plants.

4 Oct 2012

Bas-Congo virus associated with acute hemorrhagic fever in Africa

An isolated outbreak of a deadly disease known as acute hemorrhagic fever, which killed two people and left one gravely ill in the Democratic Republic of Congo in the summer of 2009, was probably caused by a novel virus scientists have never seen before.

28 Sep 2012

Developing world lagging in anesthesia safety

Mortality after general anesthesia has declined over the past 50 years, but the greatest gains have been in developed countries, shows a systematic review in The Lancet.

26 Sep 2012

Public, private sectors must engage to increase chances of success in fighting NCDs

"Some academics and non-profit organizations are skeptical of the motives of the increasing number of multinational companies who seek partnerships to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs)," Derek Yach, senior vice president of global health and agriculture policy at PepsiCo and former head of NCDs at WHO, writes in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog.

25 Sep 2012

NanoViricides’ oral FluCide dramatically improves survival in animals with H3N2 influenza A

NanoViricides, Inc. reported today that its oral FluCide drug candidates demonstrated dramatically improved survival in animals administered a lethal dose of the H3N2 influenza A virus.

24 Sep 2012

NCDs should be considered a 'human rights concern'

Noting that "non-communicable diseases (NCDs) kill four times the number of people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) that they do in high-income countries," Benn Grover, a health communications specialist who manages policy for the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, and Felicia Knaul, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard Global Equity Initiative, write in the Huffington Post Blog.

21 Sep 2012

TB Alliance, Sanofi partner to discover and develop novel compounds against tuberculosis

Sanofi and the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development announced today a new research collaboration agreement to accelerate the discovery and development of novel compounds against tuberculosis (TB), a deadly infectious disease that resulted in almost 1.5 million deaths worldwide in 2010.

21 Sep 2012

Blog examines U.S. presidential candidates' foreign policy, science stances with respect to global health

"If nothing else, this presidential election season has brought the good news that both major party candidates have taken stances against preventable death and disease," the Center for Global Health Policy's "Science Speaks" blog writes, noting the blog "looked at two recently published examinations of the candidates' foreign policy and science stances, candidates' party platforms and other posted materials for clues to where the candidates diverge on major global health issues."

19 Sep 2012

Compelling data from two ITS Flunisyn Phase I clinical trials against multiple strains of influenza A

Immune Targeting Systems Limited, an emerging leader in the development of vaccines that promote T-cell responses against viruses and cancers, today announces compelling data from two Phase I clinical trials of FlunisynTM, the Company's lead vaccine programme which elicits potent immune responses against multiple strains of influenza-A virus.

18 Sep 2012

SLU study: Many U.S. schools not prepared for bioterrorism attacks, outbreaks of pandemics

Many U.S. schools are not prepared for bioterrorism attacks, outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases or pandemics, despite the recent 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic that resulted in more than 18,000 deaths worldwide, Saint Louis University researchers say.

15 Sep 2012

NDC to advance study and treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases

The Neurodegeneration Consortium (NDC), a transformative multi-institutional initiative, will advance the study and treatment of Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases, thanks to an inaugural $25 million gift from the Robert A. and Renee E. Belfer Family Foundation to The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Baylor College of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

13 Sep 2012

Pfizer, Visterra collaborate to discover novel antibodies

Visterra Inc., developer of novel therapeutics to treat major diseases, announced today that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Pfizer to discover novel antibodies using Visterra's proprietary platform.

11 Sep 2012

CSL Biotherapies receives U.S. Government contract to supply pandemic vaccine antigens

CSL Biotherapies, a subsidiary of CSL Limited, one of the world's leading manufacturers of influenza vaccine, announced it has been awarded a contract by the United States (U.S.) Department of Health and Human Services to supply pre-pandemic and pandemic vaccine antigens and related services to the U.S. national stockpile.

11 Sep 2012

HIV viruses with two genetic 'footprints' associated with greater vaccine efficacy

Scientists used genetic sequencing to discover new evidence that the first vaccine shown to prevent HIV infection in people also affected the viruses in those who did become infected. Viruses with two genetic "footprints" were associated with greater vaccine efficacy. The results were published today in the online edition of the journal Nature.

10 Sep 2012

New oral antiseptic spray effective in killing 99.9% of infectious airborne germs

University Hospitals Case Medical Center clinical researchers will present findings about a one-two punch to prevent colds and flu in San Francisco at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) on Sept. 9.

10 Sep 2012

Boosting immune system can help reduce asthma attacks due to viral infections

Details of a treatment that could help asthmatics fight infections that trigger 80% of asthma attacks, developed by University of Southampton spin-out company Synairgen, will be presented to European respiratory experts on Sunday 2 September.

1 Sep 2012

Less than half of U.S. schools address pandemic preparedness in their school plan

Less than half of U.S. schools address pandemic preparedness in their school plan, and only 40 percent have updated their school plan since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Infection Control, the official publication of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC).

31 Aug 2012

Climate change associated with increased risk of avian flu transmission in wild birds

Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, more intense rainstorms and more frequent heat waves are among the planetary woes that may come to mind when climate change is mentioned. Now, two University of Michigan researchers say an increased risk of avian influenza transmission in wild birds can be added to the list.

30 Aug 2012