Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

News outlets examine international efforts to contain H1N1

A WHO official on Tuesday backed the Afghan government's decision to declare H1N1 (swine flu) a health emergency, forcing the closure of all schools in the country for three weeks in an effort to contain the virus, IRIN reports.

4 Nov 2009

AMFm subsidized malaria drugs to be delivered soon

Subsidized artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs) under the Affordable Medicines Facility - malaria (AMFm) program will be available in select countries "in two week's time," SABC News reports. The announcement came Monday at the 5th Multilateral Initiative on Malaria (MIM) Pan-African Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.

4 Nov 2009

Medivir presents OPERA-1 Phase IIa trial data at the AASLD meeting

Data were presented from the phase IIa trial (OPERA-1) for TMC435 at the ongoing 60th annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases in Boston, USA.

4 Nov 2009

Shionogi files New Drug Application in Japan

BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that its partner, Shionogi & Co., Ltd. has filed a New Drug Application (NDA) in Japan to seek regulatory approval for intravenous (i.v.) peramivir to treat patients with influenza. As a consequence of this filing, BioCryst will receive a regulatory milestone payment of $7 million under its agreement with Shionogi.

4 Nov 2009

Henry Schein announces record financial results for third quarter 2009; reports net sales growth in local currencies

Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC), the largest provider of healthcare products and services to office-based practitioners, today reported record financial results for the quarter ended September 26, 2009.

4 Nov 2009

Hospitalization and death of H1N1 patients can occur at all ages, says study

In contrast with some common perceptions regarding 2009 influenza A(H1N1) infections, an examination of cases in California indicates that hospitalization and death can occur at all ages, and about 30 percent of hospitalized cases have been severe enough to require treatment in an intensive care unit, according to a study in the November 4 issue of JAMA.

4 Nov 2009

Five-year old Pennsylvanian boy dies of H1N1 flu complications

The Department of Health today confirmed that a five-year old Adams County boy died on Oct. 31 as a result of complications from H1N1 flu. This is Pennsylvania's first pediatric death associated with H1N1.

4 Nov 2009

Report: Pandemic flu threat influences vaccine market to expand rapidly

MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of Datamonitor's new report "Seasonal Influenza Vaccines Market Forecast," to their collection of Healthcare market reports.

4 Nov 2009

H1N1 has increased focus on effect of hygiene on health

H1N1 has led to increased focus on how everyday hygiene affects our health. Not only is more attention given to managing personal hygiene, but a new cleaning logic is emerging, where wiping the door knob an extra time1 each day is considered more important than picking up the dust in the corner.

4 Nov 2009

Propylene glycol in e cigarettes might keep us healthy, says researchers

According to the Centers for Disease Control, during 2000-2004, "An estimated 443,000 persons in the United States died prematurely each year from smoking or exposure to secondhand smoke.

4 Nov 2009

U.S. clinical trials show single dose of H1N1 vaccine protects pregnant women, children under 10 need two doses

U.S. government data released on Monday confirmed that a single dose of the vaccine protects pregnant women from the virus, while children under the age of 10 years need two doses of the vaccine, the Washington Post reports. The findings came the same day that a team of experts tasked with monitoring the national H1N1 vaccine campaign for any adverse side effects met for the first time.

4 Nov 2009

Common pain killers may blunt the effect of flu shots

With flu vaccination season in full swing, research from the University of Rochester Medical Center cautions that use of many common pain killers - Advil, Tylenol, aspirin - at the time of injection may blunt the effect of the shot and have a negative effect on the immune system.

4 Nov 2009

Puricore reports increase in sales of 25% in Q3

PuriCore, the life sciences company focused on developing and commercializing proprietary, green solutions that safely, effectively, and naturally kill infectious pathogens without causing harm to human health or the environment, today issues an Interim Management Statement covering the three-month and nine-month periods ending September 30, 2009.

3 Nov 2009

Medco Health Solutions reports third-quarter total net revenues of $14.8 billion

Medco Health Solutions, Inc. today reported record third-quarter 2009 GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.69, up 19.0 percent compared to $0.58 for the third quarter of 2008.

3 Nov 2009

Vaccinating mothers against influeza during pregnancy prevents hospitalization in their infants

Infants born to women who received influenza vaccine during pregnancy were hospitalized at a lower rate than infants born to unvaccinated mothers, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study by researchers at Yale School of Medicine. The team presented the study October 29 at the 47th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America in Philadelphia.

3 Nov 2009

Raycop's anti-bacterial vacuum cleaning system with UVC technology kills the H1N1 virus

Raycop, the first handheld anti-bacterial vacuum cleaning system and part of the Earlex® brands, offers a proven way to fight the H1N1 virus in the home with its UVC technology. The vac's effects against the virus have been independently tested by a leading international laboratory in August.

3 Nov 2009

Macomb County Health Department announces H1N1 influenza clinic

Another large community H1N1 influenza clinic has been scheduled by the Macomb County Health Department, the department announced today. It will be held at Freedom Hill County Park in Sterling Heights this Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Freedom Hill is located at 14900 Metropolitan Parkway.

3 Nov 2009

Pregnant women tolerate the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine, mount strong immune response

Healthy pregnant women mount a robust immune response following just one dose of 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine, according to initial results from an ongoing clinical trial sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health.

3 Nov 2009

FDA: Guidance document on diagnostic tests for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today published a guidance document that should help manufacturers develop diagnostic tests for the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus. Although there are not any FDA-approved or cleared tests that diagnose this specific infection, during this pandemic, manufacturers can submit a request to the FDA for an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA).

3 Nov 2009

Washington Post examines role of USAID's Richard Greene

As part of its ongoing "Federal Player of the Week" series with the Partnership for Public Service, the Washington Post examines the role of Richard Greene, the head of USAID's Office of Health, Infectious Diseases, and Nutrition in the Bureau of Global Health.

2 Nov 2009