Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

Media outlets continue to publish expert opinion regarding H5N1 bird flu research

The PBS NewsHour blog "The Rundown" features excerpts from interviews with three experts discussing the recent debate over research conducted on the H5N1 bird flu virus.

1 Feb 2012

NanoViricides files FluCide pre-IND briefing document with the FDA

NanoViricides, Inc. announced today that it has submitted a pre-IND briefing document to the US FDA. This submission provides the required information for the Company's highly effective anti-influenza drug candidate, FluCide, in support of a pre-IND Meeting.

1 Feb 2012

Hand hygiene, surgical masks can cut spread of flu-like illnesses upto 75%

Masks and hand hygiene could cut the spread of flu-like symptoms up to 75 percent, a University of Michigan study found.

1 Feb 2012

Viewpoints: Contraceptive controversy; Revising mental health definitions

It was good news that the Obama administration withstood pressure from Roman Catholic bishops and social conservatives to deny contraceptive coverage for millions of American women who work for religiously affiliated employers. Kathleen Sebelius, the Health and Human Services secretary, rejected broad exemptions from a new rule requiring all health plans to cover birth control, without a deductible or co-payment.

31 Jan 2012

Experts to discuss controversial studies on avian flu virus at live event

On February 2 from 6pm to 8pm, the Emerging Infectious Diseases & Microbiology Discussion Group of the New York Academy of Sciences presents Dual Use Research: H5N1 Influenza Virus and Beyond, a discussion between scientists, publishers, and legal experts that will explore the myriad issues surrounding the impending publication of these two studies and measures that will need to be undertaken to ensure the security of future such research.

31 Jan 2012

Bird flu detected in Victoria spurs action

A bird flu outbreak has been detected at two Victorian farms and at least 10,000 ducks will have to be destroyed. The two farms are about 25km apart in an area north of Melbourne, but officials are keeping the exact location private.

30 Jan 2012

Researchers study new strategies to treat patients with influenza

Influenza virus can rapidly evolve from one form to another, complicating the effectiveness of vaccines and anti-viral drugs used to treat it. By first understanding the complex host cell pathways that the flu uses for replication, University of Georgia researchers are finding new strategies for therapies and vaccines, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

30 Jan 2012

Only one in five young adults received a swine flu shot during 2009-2010 epidemic

Only about one in five young adults in their late 30s received a flu shot during the 2009-2010 swine flu epidemic, according to a University of Michigan report that details the behavior and attitudes of Generation X.

25 Jan 2012

Voluntary action by two research teams to halt work on H5N1 lauded

A Georgetown University Medical Center professor says the voluntary action taken by two research teams to temporarily halt work involving the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 is "laudable."

24 Jan 2012

Settling controversy surrounding bird flu research will not be easy

The WHO is expected to hold a meeting in February to discuss controversy over recent research on the H5N1 bird flu virus, after the U.S. National Scientific Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) in December advised the journals Science and Nature to withhold publishing two teams' research on the virus for fear the information could "fall into the wrong hands," a commentary in the Economist's "Babbage" blog states.

24 Jan 2012

Scientists halt bird flu research for 60 days amid safety concerns

The head of the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), which funded "two projects that created a highly pathogenic [H5N1] flu virus mutation, has welcomed a two-month moratorium on further research while defending the value and safety of the experiments," the Financial Times reports.

24 Jan 2012

Duke team creates vaccine adjuvant of nanoparticles that target lymph nodes

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have created synthetic nanoparticles that target lymph nodes and greatly boost vaccine responses, said lead author Ashley St. John, Ph.D., a researcher at Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School.

23 Jan 2012

Debate over publication of bird flu studies continues in journal opinion pieces

Ron Fouchier of Erasmus Medical Center in the Netherlands -- lead researcher of one of two teams that last year reported study results "that showed how the H5N1 [bird flu] virus can be transmitted through airborne droplets between ferrets, a model for studying influenza in humans."

21 Jan 2012

About half of eligible and due services are missed during PHEs

More than 20 percent of U.S. adults receive periodic health examinations (PHE) each year, yet new research shows that patients who have an annual routine visit to their doctor may not receive recommended preventive screening tests and counseling services that could benefit their health.

20 Jan 2012

Georgetown professors explore balance of national security and scientific freedom

The U.S. government's request that the journals Science and Nature withhold scientific information related to the genetically modified H5N1 virus because of biosecurity concerns does not violate the First Amendment, say two Georgetown University professors. They caution, however, that a fair, transparent process undertaken by research organizations is preferable to governmental constraints on disseminating scientific information.

19 Jan 2012

Pevion announces further data from clinical study of PEV7 therapeutic Candida vaccine

Pevion Biotech AG today announced further data from the ongoing clinical study of its therapeutic Candida vaccine PEV7, demonstrating the generation of specific and functional B cell memory in 100% of vaccinees. Furthermore, the results again confirm the capability of Pevion's second generation virosomal vaccine platform to induce strong and long-lasting immunity in humans against otherwise weak antigens .

17 Jan 2012

Study examines weather patterns around the time of flu pandemics

Worldwide pandemics of influenza caused widespread death and illness in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 2009. A new study examining weather patterns around the time of these pandemics finds that each of them was preceded by La Ni-a conditions in the equatorial Pacific.

17 Jan 2012

National Biosecurity Board to review state of bird flu research

Federal officials have asked the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) "to review the state of the science looking at human transmission of deadly bird flu, says panel chief Paul Keim of Northern Arizona University," USA Today reports.

12 Jan 2012

Office-based medical practice can promote vaccination in adults

Promoting immunizations as a part of routine office-based medical practice is needed to improve adult vaccination rates, a highly effective way to curb the spread of diseases across communities, prevent needless illness and deaths, and lower health care costs, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

12 Jan 2012

Restricting publication of H5N1 research 'more perilous' than threat of biological warfare

In this Reuters opinion piece, New York-based writer Peter Christian Hall responds to "the U.S. government's move to restrict publication of vital research into H5N1 avian flu," writing, "This unprecedented interference in the field of biology could hinder research and hamper responsiveness in distant lands plagued by H5N1," yet "no one seems to be challenging a key assumption -- that H5N1 could make a useful weapon. It wouldn't."

11 Jan 2012