Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Take Care Health Systems now offering nebulizer treatments for acute respiratory distress

Take Care Health Systems is now offering nebulizer treatments, when clinically appropriate, for clinic patients exhibiting acute respiratory distress.

6 Aug 2009

2 billion worldwide could het H1N1, says WHO

The WHO on Tuesday maintained that roughly two billion people could become infected with the H1N1 (swine flu) virus, Reuters reports.

6 Aug 2009

Tips to avoid heat stroke

The first sign of dangerous heat stroke can be just that – no sweat. As the temperature rises, your body’s natural cooling mechanism, sweat (or more kindly, perspiration), evaporates and helps to cool your body. But on those hot, humid cut-the-air-with-a knife days, evaporation is slowed and your body may not be able to keep itself cool.

5 Aug 2009

Baxter completes production of batches of CELVAPAN A/H1N1 pandemic vaccine

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) today announced that it completed production of its first commercial batches of CELVAPAN A/H1N1 pandemic vaccine in late July and is discussing plans for distribution with national health authorities, subject to obtaining appropriate authorizations. CELVAPAN, the brand name for the company’s A/H1N1 pandemic influenza vaccine, is made using Baxter’s proprietary Vero cell culture technology.

From Baxter International Inc. 5 Aug 2009

Structure of an entire HIV genome decoded

The structure of an entire HIV genome has been decoded for the first time by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The results have widespread implications for understanding the strategies that viruses, like the one that causes AIDS, use to infect humans.

5 Aug 2009

Iowa funds swine vaccine research

A grant from a state economic development fund will help Iowa State University researchers develop and evaluate a vaccine designed to protect swine from novel H1N1 and other strains of influenza.

5 Aug 2009

Insurance agents look into the future and see uncertainty and "opportunity"

For the tens of thousands of individual insurance agents nationwide, the idea of a health system overhaul hits close to home – and work. The changes currently under consideration could radically alter how they do business. For example, there could be requirements that all individuals have coverage, that employers provide insurance for their workers and that insurers cover anyone - regardless of preexisting conditions. In addition, there could be a government-run public plan that might compete with insurance companies.

5 Aug 2009

Compound from coral offers hope fpr neuropathic pain

A compound initially isolated from a soft coral (Capnella imbricata) collected at Green Island off Taiwan, could lead scientists to develop a new set of treatments for neuropathic pain - chronic pain that sometimes follows damage to the nervous system.

4 Aug 2009

Mexico steps up efforts to attract medical tourists

Efforts to standardize quality measures for medical tourism are underway as Mexico tries to attract medical tourists. Such efforts come after the swine flu outbreak significantly hurt Mexico's tourism industry, which ranks third as the country's source of foreign income.

4 Aug 2009

Emergency physicians should trust their judgment on chest pain symptoms

Their research suggests that emergency physicians should counsel with other physicians against discharge when they feel strongly about a patient for whom there is no compelling data, other than our evaluation and judgment, Chandra said.

4 Aug 2009

Evidence of Malaria origins, could lead to vaccine development

"Malaria may have jumped to humans from chimpanzees much as AIDS did, U.S. researchers reported on Monday in a [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences] study they hope could help in developing a vaccine against the infection," Reuters reports.

4 Aug 2009

Tamiflu-resistant swine flu identified along Texas-Mexico border

PAHO on Monday announced it had found Tamiflu-resistant H1N1 (swine) flu along the Texas-Mexico border, Agence-France Press reports. The discovery of several cases in El Paso and McAllen, Texas, adds the U.S. to a growing list of countries with antiviral-resistant H1N1, such as Canada, Denmark, Hong Kong and Japan. "Experts had gathered in La Jolla on Monday to discuss the response to the outbreak, and warned that resistant strains were likely emerging because of overuse of antivirals like Tamiflu," the news service writes (8/3).

4 Aug 2009

Accidental childhood poisonings mostly due to medicines

More than two-thirds of all emergency department visits for childhood poisoning involve prescription and over-the-counter medications, more than twice the rate of poisonings from consumer products, reports a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

4 Aug 2009

Mathematical modelling to tackle influenza

Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin will participate in a $3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fight influenza and other diseases by creating models that simulate the complex interplay between human behavior and the spread of disease.

4 Aug 2009

Will emphasis on prevention bring health costs down?

If there is one thing that both parties can agree on in the health overhaul debate, it’s the need to build a health system that promotes prevention rather than just manages disease.

4 Aug 2009

Scientists discover original source of malignant malaria

Researchers have identified what they believe is the original source of malignant malaria: a parasite found in chimpanzees in equatorial Africa.

3 Aug 2009

Temptation more powerful than people think

Whether it's highlighted in major news headlines about Argentinean affairs and Ponzi schemes, or in personal battles with obesity and drug addiction, individuals regularly succumb to greed, lust and self-destructive behaviors. New research from the Kellogg School of Management examines why this is the case, and demonstrates that individuals believe they have more restraint than they actually possess - ultimately leading to poor decision-making.

3 Aug 2009

AFP examines debate over H1N1 spending, resource allocation

There is concern that as developed countries store away antivirals, face masks and vaccines to protect against the H1N1 (swine) flu virus, poor countries are being left empty handed. "Some critics say the spending is so imbalanced that it amounts to health apartheid, protecting rich countries against H1N1 but leaving poor nations to fend for themselves," the news service writes, adding, "Others argue gargantuan sums are being spent on a disease that is no more lethal than seasonal flu, which is grotesquely disproportionate when thousands die each day of less media-friendly diseases."

3 Aug 2009

Breastfeeding can save 1.3 million children annually, WHO says

About 1.3 million children's lives could be saved each year by teaching new mothers how to breastfeed, but many women do not receive help and stop trying, the WHO said on Friday ahead of the start of World Breastfeeding Week, which runs from August 1 through August 7, Reuters reports.

3 Aug 2009

US FDA approves Lipsovir for cold sores

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has now approved Lipsovir, i.e. granted Medivir's New Drug Application (NDA) for the use of acyclovir and hydrocortisone for early treatment of recurrent cold sores to decreases the risk of cold sores, and to shorten the healing time for those cold sores which are not prevented.

3 Aug 2009