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FDA fast tracks human African sleeping sickness (Trypanosomiasis) drug

Immtech International, Inc. has announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Immtech's first oral drug, DB289, fast track drug development designation for use to treat human African sleeping sickness (Trypanosomiasis).

26 Apr 2004

Third Annual Encephalitis Conference

International organizers are proud to announce the FACES to FACES Encephalitis Conference, to be held in Enfield Connecticut USA on August 6th to August 8th, 2004.

26 Apr 2004

Latest update on SARS

On 22 April, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a case of SARS in China, who was a 20-year-old nurse from Beijing. She was admitted to Jiangong Hospital on 7 April, transferred to Remin Hospital (Beijing People's Hospital) on 14 April and then to Ditang Hospital (in Beijing) on 19 April.

25 Apr 2004

Australia's health system is on alert for SARS

Australia's health system is on alert to detect any possible cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) following reports of four possible SARS cases in China, including one death.

25 Apr 2004

Taiwan gives all clear to lab technicians from possible SARS infection

The Taiwan CDC reported a suspected SARS fever case on a return trip from Beijing was sent to hospital on the night of April 24, 2004.

25 Apr 2004

Los Angeles health officials urge public to take preventative measures against West Nile virus

Los Angeles health officials have issued a statement urging the public to take precautions against mosquitoes after crows in the county tested positive for the West Nile virus. "These findings are a clear warning that the virus is continuing to circulate and amplify in the environment. Now is the time to take precautions," said Steve West of the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District.

24 Apr 2004

China braces for Labour Day "Golden Week" SARS outbreak

Chinese government officials have heightened surveillance of incoming and outgoing international passengers for SARS yesterday ahead of a 2 week holiday period.

24 Apr 2004

Overview of West Nile virus before season starts

West Nile virus is a newly emergent virus of the family Flaviviridae, found in both tropical and temperate regions. It mainly infects birds, but is also the cause of a number of conditions in humans, horses, and some other mammals. It is transmitted by bites of infected mosquitoes.

24 Apr 2004

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) overview

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is an atypical form of pneumonia that first appeared in November 2002 in Guangdong Province, China.

24 Apr 2004

Health Canada prepares for West Nile virus

To prepare for the upcoming West Nile (WN) virus season, Health Canada, in collaboration with its many partners, is focussing its efforts in six main areas of activity

24 Apr 2004

4th reported SARS case in China

The Chinese Ministry of Health has today reported an additional three cases of SARS, including one death. This brings the current number of persons with a clinical illness compatible with SARS in China to four.

24 Apr 2004

Getting ready for an outbreak of West Nile virus

Between now and then the Marion County Health Department will use a time-proven, research based, proactive approach to reducing the local mosquito population and limiting potential human cases of West Nile virus.

24 Apr 2004

First Chinese case of case of SARS since January 2004

On April 22, 2004, the Chinese Ministry of Health reported a possible case of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in a 20-year-old woman who works as a nurse in a hospital in Beijing. If confirmed, this will be the first case of SARS since January 2004, when Chinese health authorities confirmed SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) infection in three persons in Guangdong Province.

23 Apr 2004

Potential new drug may slow the progression of the Parkinson's disease

An international team of Parkinson's disease researchers has shown that a potential new drug is effective at treating patients in the early stages of Parkinson's and may even slow the progression of the disease. The results from the Parkinson Study Group are in the April 19 issue of the Archives of Neurology.

22 Apr 2004

Third Melbourne hospital infected by Serratia bacteria

A spokeswoman for The Royal Women's Hospital says three babies so far have been isolated after they were found to be carrying the serratia bacteria.

22 Apr 2004

Possible new SARS case in Beijing, China

22 Apr 2004

WHO renews call for effective malaria treatment

More than 600 million people, most of them children living in sub-Saharan Africa, face the daily threat of death from malaria because new, effective treatments are not available where they live. Existing, cheaper medicines, which have been used for many years, are no longer effective in most places because the malaria parasite has developed resistance to them.

22 Apr 2004

Evidence of airborne SARS transmission

There is uncertainty about the mode of transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus. We analyzed the temporal and spatial distributions of cases in a large community outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong and examined the correlation of these data with the three-dimensional spread of a virus-laden aerosol plume that was modeled using studies of airflow dynamics.

21 Apr 2004

Can public health promotion beat disease?

Huge efforts are under way to address health problems such as SARS, HIV, diabetes and many other illnesses by developing vaccines or therapeutic drugs.

20 Apr 2004

Metabolic syndrome may make arteries thicker and stiffer

A cluster of cardiovascular disease risk factors, known as the metabolic syndrome, may “age” arteries, according to a new study in the April 21, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

20 Apr 2004