Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Will we ever be rid of bird flu?

Experts say that the rapid spread of bird flu in India will be impossible to eradicate and is certain to remain a long-term threat in many areas.

18 Apr 2006

In a bird flu pandemic 40% will take a sickie

According to new research in the U.S. in the event the world is subjected to a bird flu pandemic, four in every ten health professionals will stay away from work.

18 Apr 2006

Role of migratory birds in the spread of avian influenza amongst bird populations in the European Union

European Food Safety Authority - EFSA has published a scientific statement on the role of migratory birds in the spread of avian influenza amongst bird populations in the European Union.

18 Apr 2006

Concern over spread of Mumps in the U.S.

Health officials in the United States have voiced concern about an outbreak of mumps in the Midwest and say they believe some people may have become infected on airline flights.

16 Apr 2006

U.S. pandemic response plan - a license to print money

The U.S. government plans to deal with a bird flu pandemic would apparently expand the Internet and possibly allow other countries to print U.S. money.

16 Apr 2006

Pakistanis on alert as bird flu crops up on another farm

According to authorities in Pakistan there has been another outbreak of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus on a poultry farm.

16 Apr 2006

U.S. expert says one wild bird does not make a pandemic, while Egypt finds bird flu case # 12

Egyptian health officials have reported another case of human bird flu in the country bringing the total there to date to 12.

13 Apr 2006

Telithromycin antibiotic may help reduce some symptoms of a bad asthma attack

The researchers however believe the positive effects of the drug may be as a result of its impact on two bacteria - Chlamydophila pneumoniae and Mycoplasma pneumoniae - found present in 61% of patients in the study.

13 Apr 2006

Novel virus entry mechanism could lead to new drugs against poxviruses

Scientists working with Vaccinia virus, the smallpox vaccine, have discovered a novel mechanism that allows poxviruses to enter cells and cause infection.

13 Apr 2006

Rubber research set to curb life-threatening allergies

Research being undertaken at The University of Queensland (UQ) could prevent potentially life-threatening allergic reactions to conventional latex rubber which occur in 10 per cent of the population.

13 Apr 2006

Swansong - dead swan a foreigner and one and only so far

The dead swan found in Fife in Scotland on March 29th has now been identified by DNA tests as one of a migratory species, quelling fears that it was the harbinger of the first outbreak in the UK.

12 Apr 2006

Bird flu case # 33 in Indonesia

The World Health Organization has confirmed that a 23-year-old male poultry worker currently undergoing treatment in Sumatra has bird flu.

12 Apr 2006

Burma struggling to cope with over 100 bird flu outbreaks

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), says the situation concerning the bird flu virus in Myanmar (Burma) now appears far more serious than first thought.

11 Apr 2006

St. John's wort and Echinacea increase activity of enzyme in the liver and intestine

St. John's wort and Echinacea, two widely-used herbal preparations, have been found to increase activity of a specific enzyme in the liver and intestine, an enzyme involved in the metabolization of roughly one in every four pharmaceutical drugs on the market today, reports a clinical pharmacologist at Indiana University School of Medicine.

11 Apr 2006

Researchers unravel structure of important new drug target that could potentially treat SARS-infected patients

Mesecar said that the knowledge gained from this new atomic structure - the first-ever reported on this class of proteases - has the potential to go beyond the treatment of patients infected with the coronavirus that causes SARS.

11 Apr 2006

Evaluation of an inactivated subunit H5N1 influenza virus vaccine in humans

Results from a clinical trial demonstrate that high doses of an experimental H5N1 avian influenza vaccine can induce immune responses in healthy adults.

11 Apr 2006

Scientists use corrective gene to block a protein in the kidneys that triggers high blood pressure

Nearly one-third of American adults have high blood pressure, a major cause of heart attacks, strokes and kidney failure. But a new technique tested at the University of Florida could prove to be a long-term way to treat the disorder in humans, researchers say.

11 Apr 2006