Epidemics and pandemics

WHO: Swine flu sweeping world at "unprecedented speed"
WHO said Friday that the speed at which the swine flu epidemic is spreading could tip the world into deflation and delay the economic recovery
- Read more
Death rate of swine flu difficult to measure
To formulate an effective policy to cope with the swine flu there is a need for an accurate set of numbers about the disease’s spread and morbidity; these number are hard to come by
- Read more

H1N1 virus more dangerous than suspected
New study says that, in contrast with run-of-the-mill seasonal flu viruses, the H1N1virus exhibits an ability to infect cells deep in the lungs, where it can cause pneumonia and, in severe cases, death
- Read more
Swine flu vaccine strains grow very slowly, delaying vaccine production
The fastest-growing of all the wine flu vaccine strains tested so far grows only half as fast as ordinary vaccine viruses; if the current pandemic behaves like the last H1N1 pandemic in 1918, the next, possibly worse waves of infection could be long over by the time vaccine contracts are filled
- Read more

WHO: Swine flu "unstoppable"
The World Health Organization says the swine flu pandemic has grown “unstoppable” and all nations will need access to vaccines; while most cases have been considered mild, a study released today said the virus causes more lung damage than ordinary seasonal flu strains
- Read more
DARPA wants "plant-based production system" to help combat flu
DARPA says that “Recent advances funded by DARPA and others have demonstrated the viability of plant-based protein expression technologies for the production and purification of cGMP-compliant medical countermeasures…”
- Read more

Humans may infect pigs with swine flu
Researchers find that the strain of influenza, A/H1N1, which is currently pandemic in humans has been shown to be infectious to pigs and to spread rapidly in a trial pig population
- Read more
A first: Ebola virus found in pigs in the Philippines
For the first time, Ebola virus has been detected in pigs, raising concerns it could mutate and pose a new risk to humans
- Read more

U.S. to vaccinate millions against swine flu
The U.S. federal government will target children this fall for pandemic flu vaccination campaign — the largest since the 1950s polio vaccination effort
- Read more
Swine flu advances in southern hemisphere
In the southern hemisphere it is winter, and people there are in the midst of the winter flu season; swine H1N1 virus seems to be replacing the seasonal flu viruses that circulated till now — classic pandemic behavior
- Read more

More tests in the U.S. for Tamiflu-resistant swine flu
A third patient has been infected with a Tamiflu-resistant strain of swine flu; U.S. health officials are stepping up testing of swine flu cases for Tamiflu resistance
- Read more
New method for combating the flu
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s researchers develop a new tool to combat the flu; the discovery is a one-two punch that targets the illness on two fronts, going one critical step further than any currently available flu drug
- Read more

Biohazards to be studied in Memphis
The University of Tennessee at Memphis inaugurates a new Level 3 Biohazard lab to develop new vaccines and antibiotics
- Read more
To claim that swine flu has been "contained" is premature
We have not yet reached the “containment” phase of the swine flu epidemics; to say we have is PR, not public health policy
- Read more
Swine flu kills by binding to cells deeper in the lungs
Unlike seasonal flu, which binds almost exclusively to cells in the nose, swine flu binds deeper, in the lung’s trachea, bronchi, and bronchioles; the pandemic virus also replicated more, and caused more damage
- Read more

More headlines