Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Vaccines for preventing influenza in the elderly

Although national and international health organizations urge anyone over age 65 to get yearly flu shots, the vaccinations are only modestly effective in preventing flu and its complications among older adults, according to a new review of recent studies.

19 Jul 2006

Humidified air inhalation for treating croup

For decades, parents and pediatricians have relied on humid air to relieve the barking cough and noisy breathing of croup, a common childhood condition that sometimes sends worried families to the emergency room.

19 Jul 2006

Highly active antiretroviral therapies associated with reduced infections in HIV-infected children

Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapies, there has been a substantial reduction of opportunistic infections and other infections in HIV-infected children, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis.

19 Jul 2006

The fight against zoonotic pathogens around the world

At the beginning of 2006 bird flu was the main topic in the media.

19 Jul 2006

India develops local bird flu vaccine

Officials in India say they have successfully produced a vaccine against bird flu in poultry.

17 Jul 2006

Secrets of cells revealed

With the advancement of technology we are managing to see ever smaller and smaller pieces of the puzzle that is life.

17 Jul 2006

Indonesia struggles as death toll from bird flu reaches 42

The death of a 44-year-old man four days ago from bird flu has put Indonesia on a par with Vietnam when it comes to confirmed human deaths from the deadly virus.

17 Jul 2006

Suspect chicken smuggled in from China may have been eaten

Health officials in Michigan in the U.S. are working to track down frozen Chinese poultry smuggled into the United States and found in a warehouse in Oakland County.

13 Jul 2006

Defra invites tenders for avian influenza vaccine

Tenders to supply a further 10 million doses of avian influenza vaccine for potential use in poultry and other captive birds have been welcomed by Defra.

13 Jul 2006

NIAID program aims to model immune responses and key infectious diseases

A new program at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) aims to better understand the complex biochemical networks that regulate the interactions between infectious organisms and the human or animal cells they infect.

12 Jul 2006

Being a whistle-blower in China could mean going to jail

According to Chinese media sources a farmer who reported bird flu outbreaks to the central government has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for fraud and blackmail.

12 Jul 2006

Focussing on performance measures may lead to inappropriate antibiotic use

Patients with suspected pneumonia may receive antibiotics unnecessarily as a result of hospital and physician efforts to meet certain performance measures.

10 Jul 2006

Cardinal Health to manufacture Tamiflu for Roche

Cardinal Health, the leading provider of products and services supporting the health-care industry, has announced that it has signed agreements to manufacture and package Tamiflu for Roche to help meet current and future demand for the influenza medicine.

10 Jul 2006

Bird flu still expanding in Africa - disease widely checked in Europe but could pose threat for years

While avian influenza has been successfully checked in Western Europe and much of Southeast Asia apart from Indonesia, it is still expanding in Africa and will remain a threat for years to come

10 Jul 2006

Brits to trial bird flu vaccine on humans

The British drug company PowderMed has applied for permission to conduct the first trial in Britain of a vaccine against the avian flu virus.

10 Jul 2006

First case of bird flu in Spain

According to Spanish agriculture officials the first case of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus recorded in Spain has been found in a wild bird in the northern Basque country.

10 Jul 2006

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients using beta-agonist inhalers are at risk

A new analysis that compares two common inhalers for patients suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) finds that one reduces respiratory-related hospitalizations and respiratory deaths, but the other - which is prescribed in the majority of cases - increases respiratory deaths.

9 Jul 2006