Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

China confirms human case of H5N1 infection dating back to November 2003

The Ministry of Health in China has today retrospectively confirmed a human case of H5N1 infection dating back to November 2003. The case occurred in a 24-year-old member of the military service based in Beijing.

8 Aug 2006

Indonesia - 43 dead from bird flu

According to health officials in Indonesia a 16-year-old boy who died on Monday has tested positive for bird flu.

8 Aug 2006

Researchers develop new technique using the abdominal cavity to deliver oxygen to assist ailing lungs

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have helped develop a technique in animal models for using the abdominal cavity to exchange gas, supplementing the function normally performed by the lungs.

8 Aug 2006

Gene amplification links growth controlling pathway from Drosophila to human cancers

Researchers at Harvard Medical School (HMS) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have discovered a new cancer-promoting role for a gene potentially involved in breast, liver, and other kinds of cancers.

8 Aug 2006

Long-term effects of in utero influenza exposure in the post-1940 U.S. population

While much attention has been paid to how inherited traits such as skin tone or height influence economic success, a groundbreaking new study from the Journal of Political Economy argues that it is a malleable characteristic - in utero health - that most strongly indicates how well a child will fare in adulthood.

7 Aug 2006

Thailand confirms 24th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus

The Ministry of Public Health in Thailand has confirmed the country’s 24th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

7 Aug 2006

Latex in food wrappers, packaging and rubber gloves must be declared

A new study has revealed that latex contained in packaging and rubber gloves can trigger fatal allergic reactions.

7 Aug 2006

Several factors are contributing to an increase in dengue epidemics

Scientists have long known that epidemics of dengue fever wax and wane over a period of several years, but they've never been quite sure why.

7 Aug 2006

Bird flu does the rounds again and another Thai man dies - Bangkok area on high alert

Officials in Thailand have confirmed that a 27-year-old man who died on Thursday was another bird flu victim.

6 Aug 2006

Why reassurance fails in patients with unexplained symptoms

When patients are unconvinced by reassurance from their doctor that they have nothing to worry about, it may be because their emotional state makes it hard for them to remember all the information the doctor has given them, according to new research in PLoS Medicine.

6 Aug 2006

Reappraisal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa hospital-acquired pneumonia mortality

Patients suffering from hospital-acquired pneumonia caused by a type of bacteria that is highly resistant to virtually all antibiotics are twice as likely to die as patients infected with other, less resistant bacteria.

6 Aug 2006

How the body controls brain temperature: the temperature shielding effect of cerebral blood flow

Attempts to cool the brain to reduce injury from stroke and other head trauma may face a significant obstacle: current cooling devices can't penetrate very deeply into the brain.

4 Aug 2006

Toxoplasma may be affecting human behavior on a mass scale

A common parasite found in cats may be affecting human behavior on a mass scale, according to a scientist based at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

3 Aug 2006

Protein CD86 raises antibody output

Cancer immunologists here have discovered how a protein on the surface of antibody-making immune cells boosts the amount of antibody the cells make.

2 Aug 2006

Global sharing of avian influenza virus samples

OFFLU, the OIE/FAO joint network of expertise on avian influenza, will systematically make avian influenza virus sequences accessible to the entire scientific community.

2 Aug 2006

FDA approves next seasons flu vaccines

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it has approved this year's seasonal influenza (flu) vaccines that include the new strains of virus judged likely to cause flu in the Northern Hemisphere in 2006-2007.

2 Aug 2006

Scientists identify genetic element that the dengue virus uses to replicate

The first step in the transmission of mosquito-borne viruses is no mystery: it's the pesky insect's bite that allows the virus to enter its victim's bloodstream.

2 Aug 2006

Altering fatty acid levels in diet may reduce prostate cancer growth rate

UCLA researchers found that altering the fatty acid ratio found in the typical Western diet to include more omega-3 fatty acids and decrease the amount of omega-6 fatty acids may reduce prostate cancer tumor growth rates and PSA levels.

2 Aug 2006