Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Latest Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome News and Research

Suprising new information on the HOX genes

Researchers at the University of Bergen are now able to present new information on the HOX genes – the “software” to design animals. The findings are published in today’s issue of Nature.

10 Sep 2004

Sinovac completes dosing in phase 1 human clinical testing of SARS vaccine

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. has announced that all 36 subjects of the Phase I human clinical trial for its inactivated SARS vaccine have now been vaccinated with two doses of either SARS vaccine or placebo.

7 Sep 2004

Air conditioning coil reduces over all sickness by 20%

Air conditioning coil reduces over all sickness by 20%, reduces respiratory symptoms by 40% and has resulted in a 99% reduction of microbial and endotoxin concentrations on irradiated surfaces within the ventilation system.

5 Sep 2004

Widely used antimalarial drug exhibits antiviral activity against the SARS

Virologists from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium report that chloroquine, a widely used antimalarial drug, exhibits antiviral activity against the SARS coronavirus. Chloroquine is an inexpensive and safe drug available worldwide.

5 Sep 2004

U.S. plan for influenza pandemic response

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has unveiled the draft Pandemic Influenza Response and Preparedness Plan, which outlines a coordinated national strategy to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic.

26 Aug 2004

Antibodies produced by shark immune systems could be used to detect human pathogens

A recent discovery shows that antibodies produced by shark immune systems could be used to detect a range of human pathogens some of which have the potential to be used as biological warfare agents.

20 Aug 2004

Large-scale computer simulations help understand SARS

A Mayo Clinic researcher is the first to develop a series of three-dimensional (3D) models of an enzyme responsible for the replication of the deadly SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory syndrome) virus.

17 Aug 2004

No adverse side-effects have been observed in clinical trial of SARS vaccine

Sinovac Biotech has announced that all 36 subjects of the Phase I human clinical trial for its inactivated SARS vaccine have now been vaccinated with either SARS vaccine or placebo.

11 Aug 2004

Gravity model applicable to disease spread

Tracking the spread of new or re-emergent diseases such as SARS or smallpox is essential in controlling disease epidemics, but horse-and-buggy concepts of how diseases spread have been supplanted by 21st-century realities.

9 Aug 2004

Potential of genomics in disease research yet to be realized

Over the past decade genomics has revolutionized our understanding of how microorganisms cause disease. However, genomic studies need to be extended to a more diverse array of microorganisms and research tools improved to gain additional insights into pathogenesis, according to a new report released by the American Academy of Microbiology.

5 Aug 2004

New glycan arrays discover autoimmunogenic activities of SARS-CoV

Researchers in New York City and Guangzhou, China applied the rapidly-developing carbohydrate microarray technology to study an inactivated SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV) vaccine and discovered autoimmunogenic activity of this newly identified human viral pathogen.

2 Aug 2004

Patent pending botanical extract, V38-AMF-1, completely inhibits bird flu (H5N1) and Fujian Flu

PRB Pharmaceuticals and Lee's Pharmaceuticals have announced the discovery that PRB'S patent pending botanical extract, V38-AMF-1, completely inhibits bird flu (H5N1) and Fujian Flu (H3N2) infections in vitro.

29 Jul 2004

World's first personal facemask for SARS protection

Triosyn Corp., a developer of products aimed at protecting against microbial threats, announced today that tests conducted by Health Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory show that Triosyn T-1000™ Series Respirators protect against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

21 Jul 2004

Study finds that 94% of air travelers would want health authorities to contact them if they have been exposed to a serious contagious disease on an airplane

A new study by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security finds that the vast majority (94%) of air travelers would want public health authorities to contact them if they might have been exposed to a serious contagious disease on an airplane.

21 Jul 2004

New book predicts a "vaccine century"

A new book published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) predicts that the 21st century will become the "century of vaccines" thanks to rapid developments in the field of immunization.

21 Jul 2004

Research team developing new defenses against plague and smallpox

Using a federal biodefense grant, a Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center team will try to develop new approaches to immunizing people against the plague and smallpox, two of the most feared potential agents of bio-terrorism.

15 Jul 2004

New SARS air filter

Matsushita (Panasonic) has announced its environment-related subsidiary, Matsushita Ecology Systems Co., Ltd., has developed a revolutionary SARS air filter.

15 Jul 2004

Unprecedented opportunity exists for leaders to act now to protect their citizens from AIDS

Political leaders in Asia and the Pacific have a precious window of opportunity to save millions of people from HIV infection. But to succeed, they will need to drastically increase spending on AIDS and scale up prevention, care and treatment programmes, according to a report by the Asia Pacific Leadership Forum (APLF) on HIV/AIDS and Development.

13 Jul 2004

Human antibodies that thwart the SARS virus in mice can be mass-produced quickly

Human antibodies that thwart the SARS virus in mice can be mass-produced quickly using a new laboratory technique developed by an international research team collaborating with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

12 Jul 2004

World Bank has approved a US$68 million credit to the Indian government for the Integrated Disease Surveillance project

India has made major gains in control of a number of communicable diseases and in improving overall health of its population. Nevertheless, with the increasing age profile of the population, India is in transition with the double burden of significant communicable diseases and increasing non-communicable diseases such as cardio-vascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and cataract blindness, maladies that usually affect higher income countries.

11 Jul 2004