Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Researchers discover the causes for the severity of RSV illness

Approximately one-half of all infants are infected with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during the first year of life, and almost all children have been infected at least once by the time they reach their second birthday. Researchers at West Virginia University have discovered what makes RSV such a severe and persistent illness.

4 Sep 2009

Target Clinics in Maryland start selling seasonal flu vaccinations

Target(R) announces that flu vaccinations are now available at all six Target Clinic locations in Maryland. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends nearly everyone protect themselves against this potentially serious illness.

4 Sep 2009

Competition results in wide approval of Rev Vac safety syringe

Revolutions Medical Corporation ("Revolutions Medical" or the "Company") (OTCBB: RMCP), producers of the Rev Vac safety syringe, today confirmed that the opportunities for its Rev Vac safety syringe became even more significant with the August 31 announcement of close competitor Retractable Technologies, Inc. ("Retractable Technologies").

4 Sep 2009

rPA anthrax vaccine and its Valortim anthrax anti-toxin program data presented

PharmAthene, Inc., a biodefense company developing medical countermeasures against biological and chemical threats, announced today that data from the Company's third generation recombinant protective antigen (rPA) anthrax vaccine program and its Valortim((R)) anthrax anti-toxin program were presented at the Bacillus - ACT 2009 meeting, August 30 - September 3, 2009, organized by the American Society for Microbiology.

4 Sep 2009

New H1N1 Influenza detection test used to diagnose Australia's first swine flu victim

When the first cases of H1N1 Influenza (swine flu) were reported in Mexico in April, UQ researchers got to work developing a test to diagnose the virus.

4 Sep 2009

Touch of MIDAS to prepare the world for contagious outbreaks

To help the nation-and the world-understand and prepare for contagious outbreaks, the National Institutes of Health's Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS) adds new research expertise to increase its capacity to simulate disease spread, evaluate different intervention strategies and help inform public health officials and policymakers.

4 Sep 2009

Department of Health's guidance on swine flu vaccination leaves local health chiefs confused

Thousands of frontline health workers in England are trapped in a postcode lottery after Department of Health (DH) guidance on swine flu vaccination has left local health chiefs confused over who is eligible for the jab.

4 Sep 2009

Giant Eagle offers generic prescription antibiotics for free at its in-store pharmacies

At a time when many families affected by a difficult economy are struggling with the costs of prescription medications, supermarket retailer Giant Eagle, Inc. is making ten broadly used generic prescription antibiotics in 46 common dosages available for free every day at all of its 210 in-store pharmacies.

4 Sep 2009

Clinical trial of Novartis MF59 swine-flu vaccine elicits a strong immune response

Results from the first swine-flu vaccine trials taking place in Leicester reveal a strong immune response after just one dose.

4 Sep 2009

SFDA approves production license for Sinovac's H1N1 vaccine

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (NYSE: SVA), a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) has approved the registration application for PANFLU.1, Sinovac's H1N1 vaccine, and has issued Sinovac a production license for this vaccine.

4 Sep 2009

New center to study mathematical modeling of drug resistance and internention to be established at HSPH

A new center that will focus on mathematical modeling of drug resistance, seasonal infectious diseases, and intervention allocation will be established at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

4 Sep 2009

Brown University neuroscience professor awarded EUREKA grant

Brown University neuroscience professor Gilad Barnea will receive a nearly $1.3 million, four-year federal grant toward development of a method to selectively monitor the activation of each of the five receptors for the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain.

4 Sep 2009

H1N1 vaccine to cost countries $2.50 - $20 per dose

The H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine will cost countries between $2.50 and $20 per dose, based on their ability to pay, according to the director of the Initiative for Vaccine Research at the WHO, Marie-Paule Kieny, Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times reports. During an interview published in the September issue of the WHO Bulletin, Kieny "also warned that there would not be enough vaccines for the world's population and that people should not rely entirely on the vaccine," the news service writes (9/2).

3 Sep 2009

CDC recommends routine health examintion for all school-age children

Although school has just begun, it is already exam time for students throughout Wisconsin. That's because in addition to notebook paper and pens, back-to-school preparations should also include routine health exams to make sure students are healthy and ready to learn. These include: a doctor's exam to confirm that all immunizations are up-to-date, a dental exam and a vision exam.

3 Sep 2009

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to purchase flu products from BD

BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX) announced today that it has received a significant order from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) for the purchase of syringes and needles, sharps collectors and alcohol swabs to be used in national flu pandemic preparedness efforts.

From BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) 3 Sep 2009

China Aoxing submits an NDA to the China SFDA for its Codeine Phosphate

China Aoxing Pharmaceutical Company, Inc. (OTCBB: CAXG) ("China Aoxing"), a pharmaceutical company specializing in research, development, manufacturing and marketing of narcotic and pain-management products, today announced that it has submitted a new drug application (NDA) to the China State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) for its Codeine Phosphate, a compound oral solution for the treatment of acute moderate to severe cough.

3 Sep 2009

National Pasteurized Eggs opens new state-of-the-art egg pasteurizing plant

In tandem with the Food and Drug Administration's quest to dramatically reduce Salmonella-related food poisoning, National Pasteurized Eggs (NPE) www.SafeEggs.com, the country's largest shell egg pasteurizer, opened a new state-of-the-art plant that more than doubles its production and expands Americans' access to eggs free from dangerous egg-related Salmonella-enteritidis.

3 Sep 2009

Medtronic's COPE-HCV clinical study commences

Medtronic, Inc., today reported the initiation and first enrollments of patients in COPE-HCV (COntinuous Interferon Delivery via the Medtronic Paradigm Pump Infusion System Clinical Evaluation for Chronic HCV), the company’s first-ever clinical study using an external pump infusion system to treat patients with the hepatitis C virus (HCV).

3 Sep 2009

Sheller, P.C helps to settle the largest whistleblower complaint

Pfizer Inc. ignored a 2005 FDA Warning Letter to stop promoting its antibiotic Zyvox(R) as clinically superior to the significantly less expensive, generic vancomycin when its own FDA-approved label indicated otherwise. The drug giant also defrauded federal and state taxpayers by marketing Zyvox off-label, according to a qui tam whistleblower complaint filed by Philadelphia law firm Sheller, P.C. and other documents unsealed with today's $2.3 billion Pfizer settlement.

3 Sep 2009

Study assesses protective capabilities of DNA vaccines against SIV

Inovio Biomedical Corporation, a leader in DNA vaccine design, development and delivery, announced today that data generated from a pre-clinical collaborative study by National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Inovio scientists were published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in a paper entitled: “DNA vaccination in rhesus macaques induces potent immune responses and decreases acute and chronic viremia after SIVmac251 challenge.”

3 Sep 2009