Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

LSUHSC receives $2.1 million grant for pneumonia research

Dr. Jay Kolls, Professor and Chairman of Genetics at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Medicine, has been awarded a $2.1 million grant over five years by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health to further his work on a discovery that plays a critical role in the body's defense against pneumonia.

8 Jan 2010

Initiation of double blind placebo controlled multi-center trial of DAS181 announced

NexBio, Inc. announced today the initiation of a double blind placebo controlled multi-center trial in the U.S. and Mexico of DAS181 (Fludase®) for the treatment of laboratory confirmed influenza infection.

8 Jan 2010

UAB issues updated guidelines for childhood and teen immunization schedule

The co-director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases is a member of the committee that this week issued updated guidelines for childhood and teen immunizations to include formal recommendations that children older than 6 months get the H1N1 influenza vaccine to guard against swine flu, and that combination vaccines are generally preferred over separate injections.

7 Jan 2010

Canada loans 5m doses of H1N1 vaccine to Mexico

Canadian Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq on Wednesday announced plans for the country to loan Mexico five million doses of the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine, Agence France-Presse reports.

7 Jan 2010

EPO grants notice of allowance for Response Biomedical’s ‘Fong Patent’

Response Biomedical Corporation announced today that the Company has received a Notice of Allowance from the European Patent Office for the patent entitled “Sensitive Immunochromatographic Assay”, referred to as the “Fong Patent”.

7 Jan 2010

Flu vaccine safe but ineffective for RA patients treated with rituximab

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients are partially protected by the influenza vaccine 6-10 months after treatment with rituximab. Researchers determined that while the flu vaccine is safe, it is ineffective for RA patients in the first 6 months following rituximab treatment.

7 Jan 2010

Also in global health news: ART access in Zimbabwe; Indonesia bird flu deaths; Kenya floods; Solomon Island tsunami

Zimbabwe's government plans work with international organizations to increase the number of people receiving anti-retroviral therapy (ART) to 300,000 by the end of the year, up from the 180,000 who currently get the drugs, Henry Madzorera, the country's health minister, said on Tuesday, ZimOnline reports.

6 Jan 2010

HHS introduces National Influenza Vaccination Week to raise awareness about flu vaccine

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has designated the week of January 10 through 16 as National Influenza Vaccination Week, in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of the flu vaccine.

6 Jan 2010

H1N1 flu vaccine now available at CVS/pharmacy locations throughout California

CVS/pharmacy announced today that it has expanded the availability of H1N1 flu vaccine to more than 220 stores throughout the State of California.

6 Jan 2010

Vienna scientists develop new technique for producing H1N1 vaccines

Scientists in Vienna have developed a new technique for producing vaccines for H1N1, 'swine flu', based on insect cells. The research, published today in the Biotechnology Journal, reveals how influenza vaccines can be produced faster than through the traditional method of egg-based production, revealing a new strategy for the fight against influenza pandemics.

5 Jan 2010

H1N1 vaccine available at Walgreens pharmacies and Take Care Clinics

Every Walgreens pharmacy, every day. The once-scarce H1N1 vaccine is now available daily at all of the more than 7,100 Walgreens pharmacies and 350 Take Care Clinics throughout the country.

5 Jan 2010

Cepheid granted EUA for Xpert Flu A Panel test

Cepheid today announced it has been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Xpert® Flu A Panel test.

4 Jan 2010

Southern Chicago healthcare provider takes extra precautions to prevent H1N1 virus

There have been some new changes to the visitor guidelines at Riverside Medical Center. With the recent upswing in the number of people infected with the H1N1 virus, the southern Chicago suburbs healthcare provider has decided that there should be extra precautions put in place to protect patients, visitors and staff during this influenza outbreak.

31 Dec 2009

Study says short-term school closures during flu pandemic may increase infection rates

Closing schools for less than two weeks during a flu pandemic may increase infection rates and prolong an epidemic, say University of Pittsburgh researchers in a study published ahead-of-print and online in the Journal of Public Health Management and Practice.

31 Dec 2009

Presence of Streptococcus pneumoniae could predict risk of severe disease in H1N1 pandemic influenza

The presence of the Streptococcus pneumoniae in samples that can be easily obtained in clinics and emergency rooms may predict risk of severe disease in H1N1 pandemic influenza.

31 Dec 2009

CVS Caremark to provide H1N1 flu vaccinations at selected locations

CVS Caremark announced today that it will provide H1N1 flu vaccinations at select CVS/pharmacy locations in the States of Alabama, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and New York as well at MinuteClinic locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut beginning Thursday, December 31.

30 Dec 2009

Researchers develop automated system to differentiate strains of influenza

Researchers from the Medical College of Wisconsin, the Children's Research Institute, and the Children's Hospital of Wisconsin have developed a rapid, automated system to differentiate strains of influenza.

30 Dec 2009

Selected store locations in Massachusetts, Virginia and California to receive H1N1 flu vaccinations

CVS/pharmacy announced today that it will provide H1N1 flu vaccinations at select store locations in Massachusetts, Virginia and Orange County, California beginning Tuesday, December 29.

29 Dec 2009

SVA submits the first clinical trial application for HFMD vaccine in China

Sinovac Biotech Ltd., a leading provider of biopharmaceutical products in China, announced today that it has filed the application with China's State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) to commence a human clinical trial for its vaccine against human enterovirus 71 (EV 71), which causes hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD). This is the first clinical trial application for HFMD vaccine submitted in China.

28 Dec 2009

EGCg in green tea inhibits flu infection

Joint research conducted by the Central Research Institute of ITO EN, Ltd. and Professor Takashi Suzuki of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, showed that epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg), a kind of catechin contained in green tea, had an inhibitory effect against three types of influenza viruses, including the swine-origin H1N1 virus that caused pandemic flu in 2009, and that its effect did not depend on the type of virus. These findings once again suggest that green tea is effective in preventing flu.

24 Dec 2009