Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Chlorhexidine decreases risk of acquiring hospital-related ventilator-associated pneumonia

Researchers found that administering the topical antiseptic chlorhexidine to critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation greatly decreased their daily risk of acquiring deadly hospital-related ventilator-associated pneumonia.

18 Jun 2006

Bioinformatics used to advance human disease research

The use of computers to advance human disease research - known as bioinformatics -- has received a major boost from researchers at the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI).

18 Jun 2006

Study finds high mold levels in post-Katrina New Orleans air

Airborne mold levels left in New Orleans pose a "significant respiratory hazard" to residents returning to the devastated city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

18 Jun 2006

China's 19th case of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza virus

The Ministry of Health in China has confirmed the country's 19th case of human infection with the H5N1 avian influenza virus.

18 Jun 2006

Chickens may be silent carriers of bird flu

Health officials are on alert again in Hong Kong following reports of a suspected case of bird flu just over the border with China in Shenzhen.

14 Jun 2006

Smokers with wrinkled faces five times at risk of serious lung disease

New research by British scientists has found that heavy wrinkles on the faces of smokers may be an early warning sign of a serious lung disease.

14 Jun 2006

USAID announces $5 Million award to track bird flu

USAID announces $5 million award to support the development of a global network to track avian influenza, with the aim of monitoring the role of migratory birds.

13 Jun 2006

Hospitals, dirty hands and the risk of disease

Thousands of patients in hospitals each year are at risk of potentially fatal infections because health care workers do not wash their hands on enough occasions.

13 Jun 2006

Are we over-dosing on antibiotics?

Dutch researchers say that a three day course of antibiotics is just as effective as the usual seven to 10 days course when it comes to treating common pneumonia.

12 Jun 2006

New bird flu outbreak in China

Health authorities in China have revealed that a new outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu virus discovered in the western region of Xinjiang has been contained by the culling of more than 17,100 poultry.

12 Jun 2006

Japanese researchers using PET imaging detect the beginnings of atherosclerosis

Using positron emission tomography (PET), the medical isotope 15O-water and cold pressor tests, Japanese researchers were able to detect the beginnings of atherosclerosis - before the disease became clinically evident.

9 Jun 2006

Idaho's first case of West Nile virus for 2006

West Nile virus was found in mosquitoes from Gem County on May 31, prompting health officials to remind people to 'Fight the Bite' of mosquitoes around their homes or when they are outdoors.

9 Jun 2006

What is the optimal duration of antibiotic therapy?

Taking antibiotics for three days is just as effective for community acquired pneumonia as continuing treatment for the recommended 7-10 days, finds a study in this week's British Medical Journal.

8 Jun 2006

Nventa granted European patent covering heat shock protein fusion to treat influenza

Nventa Biopharmaceuticals Corporation announced that the European Patent Office has granted Patent Number EP 941,315 to Nventa.

8 Jun 2006

Unbelievable - three die from tuberculosis in the UK

Unbelievable though it may seem in this day and age, three elderly people living in a home for the aged have apparently died of tuberculosis (TB).

8 Jun 2006

Have we got it right about bird flu?

Health officials in Indonesia must have breathed a sigh of relief at the the World Health Organisation's (WHO) news that bird flu has been ruled out in the cases of four Indonesian nurses who fell sick after caring for people infected with H5N1 virus.

8 Jun 2006