Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Physical barriers may be more effective than drugs to prevent pandemics

Physical barriers, such as regular handwashing and wearing masks, gloves and gowns may be more effective than drugs to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses like influenza and SARS, concludes a study published on bmj.com.

27 Nov 2007

New model to predict the spread of emerging diseases

A new model to predict the spread of emerging diseases has been developed by researchers in the US, Italy, and France.

21 Nov 2007

Research sheds new light on how diseases jump across species

Researchers at the University of Leeds have made a breakthrough in understanding a virus which poses one of the greatest global disease threats to wild carnivores including lions, African wild dogs and several types of seal.

25 Oct 2007

Interventions for the interruption or reduction of the spread of respiratory viruses

If SARS makes a comeback or a serious epidemic of flu becomes a reality, children could become an important focus in fighting back against these deadly viruses, according to a new review of recent studies.

17 Oct 2007

Call for new efforts to bolster disease surveillance in the Americas

Top international health authorities are urging new efforts to bolster disease surveillance in the Americas, saying that small and poorer countries in the region have limited ability to detect, assess and report on disease outbreaks that could spread beyond their borders.

8 Oct 2007

Learning from the Toronto SARS outbreak

Locked doors, full masks and gowns, questionnaires and line-ups at the hand washing stations - getting health-care services during SARS wasn't easy.

4 Oct 2007

How H5N1 virus works

H5N1 influenza, also known as avian influenza, is considered a major global threat to human health, with high fatality rates.

27 Sep 2007

Discovery may lead to fast and cheap method of making vaccines

Researchers may be able to tinker with a single amino acid of an enzyme that helps viruses multiply to render them harmless, according to molecular biologists who say the discovery could pave the way for a fast and cheap method of making vaccines.

29 Aug 2007

Global public health security in the 21st century

More than at any previous time in history, global public health security depends on international cooperation and the willingness of all countries to act effectively in tackling new and emerging threats.

23 Aug 2007

WHO says more killer diseases like AIDS on their way

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned the world to expect a new killer disease to emerge in the next few years which will threaten the lives of millions.

23 Aug 2007

Preventing the spread of zoonotic diseases

Instead of attacking wild birds for our new disease problems, a far more cost effective approach should focus on keeping wild animals separate in the places where they often commingle: in wildlife markets and international trade, according to wildlife health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in a recent issue of the prestigious Journal of Wildlife Diseases.

17 Aug 2007

Detecting transmissibility of avian influenza virus in human households

Recent outbreaks of emerging diseases such as SARS and H5N1 avian influenza have underlined the fact that animal pathogens may acquire the ability to spread efficiently in humans but as yet have not.

26 Jul 2007

A ban on domestic travel could delay the spread of a flu pandemic

A near total ban on domestic travel could delay the spread of a flu pandemic by a week or more, particularly if the outbreak originates in a regional town or small city such as Darwin, according to new modelling by Australian researchers.

23 Jul 2007

Progress in infectious disease surveillance but gaps remain

The key to control any pandemic is early identification and rapid response.

18 Jul 2007

Discovery of two effective antibodies for SARS

An international team of investigators has identified the first human antibodies that can neutralize different strains of the virus responsible for outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).

4 Jul 2007

Melaka virus needs a new name

Health officials in Malaysia who had christened a newly discovered bat virus the 'Melaka Virus' will have to come up with another name after a protest from some government ministers.

2 Jul 2007

Dangerous rural roads in the U.S.

Just in time for the most dangerous days of the year to drive July 3 and 4 the national Center for Excellence in Rural Safety (CERS) at the University of Minnesota today released a list of the states where Americans are more likely to die in a traffic crash on a rural road.

29 Jun 2007

Canada enhances capacity to fight infectious disease

Today representatives of all three levels of government and the Canada Foundation for Innovation turned the sod to launch construction of the International Vaccine Centre (InterVac) at the University of Saskatchewan, a $110.4-million project that will significantly enhance Canada's capacity to fight infectious disease in both animals and humans.

26 Jun 2007

Decline in mental health after SARS

Most patients who survived severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) had good physical recovery, but they or their caregivers often reported a decline in mental health one year later, according to a study in the June 25 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

26 Jun 2007

Restricting hospital-based services during SARS outbreak had modest impact

Restrictions on the non-urgent use of hospital-based services that were imposed when a provincial health emergency was declared during the 2003 SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in Toronto, Ontario, resulted in only modest reductions in overall admissions.

19 Jun 2007