Influenza News and Research

Latest Influenza News and Research

Warning of psychiatric side effects with flu drug Tamiflu

Warnings are being issued concerning the drug Tamiflu by both the drug company Roche and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S.

5 Mar 2008

New research shows why winter is the season for flu

Researchers in the United States believe they have discovered why flu and other respiratory viruses are more prevalent in winter.

3 Mar 2008

Evolutionary analysis of influenza viruses

Reassortment of the influenza A virus occurs frequently throughout its evolutionary history, according to a new study published February 29 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens.

1 Mar 2008

Rresearch may lead to a better flu vaccine

New research from a scientist at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has uncovered information that may someday lead to a better flu vaccine.

28 Feb 2008

Stopping bird flu at the border

Several strains of the bird flu virus that raged across southern China were blocked from entering Thailand and Vietnam, UC Irvine researchers have discovered.

28 Feb 2008

Nasal vaccine for smallpox protects animals against 77 times the potentially lethal dose of smallpox

Scientists at NanoBio Corporation and the University of Michigan have demonstrated their nasally delivered vaccinia vaccine can protect animals against 77 times the potentially lethal dose of smallpox, and without the safety risks of current vaccines for smallpox.

27 Feb 2008

Nanoemulsion vaccines show increasing promise

A novel technique for vaccinating against a variety of infectious diseases - using an oil-based emulsion placed in the nose, rather than needles - has proved able to produce a strong immune response against smallpox and HIV in two new studies.

27 Feb 2008

Mosquito bourne diseases cause concern in three areas of Australia

Australian Health officials have issued public health warnings about mosquito bourne diseases in three areas.

25 Feb 2008

Study shows effects of vitamin D and skin's physiology

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that previtamin D3 production varies depending on several factors including skin type and weather conditions.

21 Feb 2008

CDC report highlights progress and challenges in emergency disease preparedness

Improvements noted in disease detection, investigation, and laboratory response

21 Feb 2008

Indonesia accuses U.S. and WHO of bird flu conspiracy

A new book by an Indonesian Health Minister has accused the United States and the World Health Organisation (WHO) of trying to profit from the spread of bird flu.

20 Feb 2008

Winter in China brings another bird flu death

The man, Mr Li was from Jianghua County, Yongzhou City in central Hunan Province, he developed a fever and headache and was hospitalised on January 22nd, but despite treatment his symptoms worsened and he died at 5 p.m. on January 24th after all rescue attempts had failed.

18 Feb 2008

Discovery of antibody that neutralizes two viruses classified as henipaviruses

In laboratory experiments, scientists at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and their colleagues supported by the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID), have discovered an antibody that neutralizes two viruses classified as henipaviruses.

18 Feb 2008

Stomach flu vaccine possibility

Every year, millions of people are infected with noroviruses - commonly called "stomach flu" - often resulting in up to 72 hours of vomiting and diarrhea.

14 Feb 2008

Another Vietnamese falls victim to bird flu

Vietnamese authorities have confirmed that a man who has died in a Hanoi hospital was infected with the bird flu virus.

14 Feb 2008

Horse breeders call for national vaccine program against horse flu

Immediately following the announcement declaring that New South Wales is now free of equine influenza (EI), breeders have called for the implementation of an industry-wide vaccination program.

13 Feb 2008

Amantadine and rimantadine for influenza A in children and the elderly

The antiviral drug amantadine can prevent some cases of influenza in children, and the related medication rimantadine can reduce fever in youngsters who have the flu, according to a new review of evidence.

8 Feb 2008

Australian researchers cracking the code of bird flu time bomb

Researchers at Griffith University Institute for Glycomics, Queensland led by Professor Mark von Itzstein have developed a technique to 'crack-the-code' of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza virus.

5 Feb 2008

Chemists track how amantadine drug changes, blocks flu virus

An anti-virus drug attacks influenza A by changing the motion and structure of a proton channel necessary for the virus to infect healthy cells, according to a recently published research paper by two Iowa State University chemists.

5 Feb 2008

New discovery, immune cells confront viruses just inside of the lymph node

Vaccines have led to many of the world's greatest public health triumphs, but many deadly viruses, such as HIV, still elude the best efforts of scientists to develop effective vaccines against them. An improved understanding of how the immune system operates during a viral infection is critical to designing successful anti-virus vaccines.

4 Feb 2008