Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Brookhaven target new anti-SARS virus drugs

Scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have set the stage for the rapid identification of compounds to fight against severe acquired respiratory syndrome (SARS), the atypical pneumonia responsible for about 800 deaths worldwide since first recognized in late 2002.

14 Nov 2006

Global resurgence in zoonotic viral diseases

Doctors and veterinarians need to work together to tackle the increasing global threat of zoonotic viral diseases spread by non-human vertebrate hosts - including dogs, cattle, chickens and mosquitoes - according to a review in the November issue of Journal of Internal Medicine.

8 Nov 2006

Chinese bird flu expert will head the WHO

Dr. Margaret Chan, a Chinese expert on bird flu, is to be the next head of the World Health Organization (WHO).

8 Nov 2006

WHO has a go at China over new birdflu strain

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says the new strain of the H5N1 bird flu virus currently circulating in China has shown no significant signs of mutation which would enable it to spread easily among people.

6 Nov 2006

Chinese lack of transparency could trigger bird flu pandemic

The transparency of health authorities in China has come under criticism yet again with the news of a new strain of the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus which virologists say could be resistant to vaccines.

1 Nov 2006

FDA issues guidance for development of cell-based viral vaccines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued new guidance to aid manufacturers in developing safe and effective cell-based viral vaccines.

28 Sep 2006

Countries urged to prepare for a worst-case scenario such as an influenza pandemic

The increasing threat from emerging infectious diseases makes it imperative that countries prepare for rapid response and containment activities and for a worst-case scenario such as an influenza pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) has advised.

21 Sep 2006

Treatments used for SARS no benefit to victims

Researchers have found, following a systematic review of all studies done on the 2003 SARS epidemic, that none of the treatments used to treat patients appear to have worked.

13 Sep 2006

SARS: Systematic review of treatment effects

The SARS virus set alarm bells ringing across the world when it first appeared in 2002, but now a review of the effectiveness of the treatments used against it has found no evidence that any of them worked.

12 Sep 2006

What we have learnt from SARS epidemics in China?

Lessons learnt from SARS epidemics in China may help us prepare for new epidemics, such as human avian flu, say experts in this week's British Medical Journal.

17 Aug 2006

China confirms human case of H5N1 infection dating back to November 2003

The Ministry of Health in China has today retrospectively confirmed a human case of H5N1 infection dating back to November 2003. The case occurred in a 24-year-old member of the military service based in Beijing.

8 Aug 2006

Scientists find new lead in hunt for a SARS vaccine

SARS coronavirus protein called "nsp1" causes the breakdown of biochemical messages that normally prompt the production of a protein critical to defending the body against viruses.

8 Aug 2006

Researchers develop new technique using the abdominal cavity to deliver oxygen to assist ailing lungs

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have helped develop a technique in animal models for using the abdominal cavity to exchange gas, supplementing the function normally performed by the lungs.

8 Aug 2006

Darunavir - first molecule to treat drug-resistant HIV

Doctors have their first FDA-approved tool to treat drug-resistant HIV thanks to a new molecule created by a Purdue University researcher.

2 Aug 2006

Which came first, nucleic acids or proteins?

Which came first, nucleic acids or proteins? This question is molecular biology's version of the "chicken-or-the-egg" riddle.

24 Jul 2006

Global early warning system for zoonoses launched

A global early warning system for animal diseases transmissible to humans (zoonoses) was formally launched this week by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

24 Jul 2006