Last month a collaboration of European and Asian researchers launched a new attack against the deadly bird flu virus, harnessing the combined power of more than 40,000 computers across 45 countries to boost the pace of antiviral drug discovery.
Robert E. Fontaine, M.D., CDC senior epidemiologist and Resident Advisor to the U.S. Field Epidemiology Training Program in Beijing, China, has been honored with the Friendship Award of 2007. The Friendship Award is the highest honor given by the Chinese government to recognize non-Chinese experts who have made outstanding contributions to China’s social and economic development.
Since it first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997, the H5N1 avian flu virus has been slowly evolving into a pathogen better equipped to infect humans. The final form of the virus, biomedical researchers fear, will be a highly pathogenic strain of influenza that spreads easily among humans.
Since it first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997, the H5N1 avian flu virus has been slowly evolving into a pathogen better equipped to infect humans. The final form of the virus, biomedical researchers fear, will be a highly pathogenic strain of influenza that spreads easily among humans.
The Ministry of Health of Indonesia has announced a new case of human infection of H5N1 avian influenza. A 21-year-old male from Jakarta Province developed symptoms on 18 September, was hospitalized on 25 September and died in hospital on 28 September.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has completed the humane depopulation of birds on the farm in Saskatchewan where highly pathogenic H7N3 avian influenza was detected last week.
The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that an annual influenza vaccine should be required for every health care worker with direct patient care activities.
Flu vaccine delivered through painless microneedles in patches applied to the skin could soon be an alternative to delivery through hypodermic needles, according to researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology. Using new grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling approximately $11.5 million over five years, researchers from the two institutions plan to develop a new vaccine product using the microscopic needles.
The Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH) announces that the state-wide start date for adult flu shots will be Wednesday, October 17, 2007.
Swedish researchers have discovered that oseltamivir (Tamiflu); an antiviral drug used to prevent and mitigate influenza infections is not removed or degraded during normal sewage treatment. Consequently, in countries where Tamiflu is used at a high frequency, there is a risk that its concentration in natural waters can reach levels where influenza viruses in nature will develop resistance to it.