Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Latest Cold, Flu & Cough News and Research

Age-prioritized use of antivirals during an influenza pandemic

A model of influenza transmission and treatment suggests that, if the current swine flu pandemic behaves like the 1918 flu, antiviral treatment should be reserved for the young.

27 Jul 2009

Music drives experimental samples through a lab-on-a-chip

Music, rather than electromechanical valves, can drive experimental samples through a lab-on-a-chip in a new system developed at the University of Michigan. This development could significantly simplify the process of conducting experiments in microfluidic devices.

27 Jul 2009

Scientists say each person with swine flu will infect two others

Scientists in New Zealand who have been examining the spread of the new H1N1 flu (swine flu), say the virus appears more infectious than previously thought and a person who becomes ill with the new strain will on average infect almost two others.

27 Jul 2009

Global health officials working to prevent H1N1 spread

"Global health officials are scrambling to try to prevent the spread of the H1N1 swine flu virus, with U.S. officials moving Thursday with a recommendation that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approve or license a [new H1N1] vaccine," without waiting on the results from "clinical trials to test its safety and efficacy," Wall Street Journal reports (Dooren/Winning, 7/24).

24 Jul 2009

1 in 6 public health workers would not report to work during a pandemic flu emergency

The findings are a significant improvement over a 2005 study conducted by the same research team, in which more than 40 percent of public health employees said they were unlikely to report to work during a pandemic emergency. The new study suggests ways for improving the response of the public health workforce. The results are published in the July 24 edition of the journal PLoS ONE.

24 Jul 2009

FDA authorizes emergency use of another test for H1N1 flu virus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced it has issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for a another diagnostic test for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus, whose spread has caused the virus to be characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

24 Jul 2009

Swine flu pandemic could overwhelm critical care beds in England, especially children’s units

Experts in intensive care and anaesthesia have predicted that the current swine flu pandemic could overwhelm critical care beds and ventilators in England, with hospitals on the South East Coast, and in the South West, East of England and East Midlands, being worst hit.

24 Jul 2009

Copper could be used to inhibit swine flu

A leading microbiologist from the University of Southampton has told a conference that his research has found copper is effective in inhibiting the influenza A H1N1 virus.

23 Jul 2009

Brits get direct access to a pandemic flu service

Brits will soon have direct access to a pandemic flu service which will make drugs for swine flu available without needing to consult a doctor.

22 Jul 2009

H1N1 death toll doubles over last month; first vaccine trial begins

The worldwide death toll from the H1N1 (swine flu) virus has doubled in the past month, reaching over 700, the WHO announced Tuesday, the AP/Google.com reports.

22 Jul 2009

Swine flu vaccine trials begin in Australia as death toll tops 700

As Australian scientists embark on the first trials of a swine flu vaccine the World Health Organisation (WHO) has announced that the H1N1 virus (swine flu) has now killed more than 700 people around the world since the outbreak began four months ago.

22 Jul 2009

Schering Plough’s CMO ‘very concerned’ about Obama’s healthcare reform agenda

Robert Spiegel, Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE: SGP), the global science-based healthcare company, says he is "very concerned" that changes to the healthcare system by the Obama administration could affect public health.

22 Jul 2009

NIAID to launch 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine trials

Scientists in a network of medical research institutions across the United States are set to begin a series of clinical trials to gather critical data about influenza vaccines, including two candidate H1N1 flu vaccines. The research will be under the direction of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health.

22 Jul 2009

One doctor's view: Electronic medical records work well

In an essay in the Los Angeles Times, Rahul Parikh writes about his own experience at a Kaiser Permanente facility in Northern California where they implemented an electronic medical record system in 2006.

20 Jul 2009

South Africa launches HIV/AIDS vaccine trial

"The first clinical trial of an HIV/AIDS vaccine designed and developed in South Africa was launched in Cape Town" Monday, the SAPA/The Times reports.

20 Jul 2009

New swine flu resource online

A new interactive website providing accurate, bang-up-to-date information on swine flu to the general public launches today.

20 Jul 2009

FDA approves vaccine for 2009-2010 flu season

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced that it has approved a vaccine for 2009-2010 seasonal influenza in the United States.

20 Jul 2009

Airlines blocking travellers suspected of having swine flu

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the H1N1 influenza A pandemic (swine flu) has killed around a total of 430 people and as health officials worldwide grapple to deal with rapid rise in the number of cases, airlines in Britain are blocking travellers suspected of having swine flu.

20 Jul 2009

Swine flu jab may be available sooner

The Australian government is planning to spend $44 million over a four year period on extra vaccinations for seasonal flu - this will provide enough vaccinations for another 2.2 million people which will be available from January 1st next year.

20 Jul 2009

Researchers discover how flu damages lung tissue

A protein in influenza virus that helps it multiply also damages lung epithelial cells, causing fluid buildup in the lungs, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Southern Research Institute . Publishing online this week in the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, the researchers say the findings give new insight into how flu attacks the lungs and provides targets for new treatments.

19 Jul 2009