In Battle To Prevent Pandemic Infection, Clinical Technique Sets New Standard For Speed
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
A new diagnosis technique developed by researchers at the RIKEN Omics Science Center (OSC) has succeeded in detecting influenza virus infection in only 40 minutes and with one hundred times the sensitivity of conventional methods...
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How Young Adults Deal With Influenza
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Only about one in five young adults in their late 30s received a flu shot during the 2009-2010 swine flu epidemic, according to a University of Michigan report that details the behavior and attitudes of Generation X. But about 65 percent were at least moderately concerned about the flu, and nearly 60 percent said they were following the issue very or moderately closely...
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Anti-Influenza Drug Surrounded By Continuing Uncertainties
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Incomplete availability of data has hampered a thorough assessment of the evidence for using the anti-influenza drug oseltamivir, a Cochrane Review has found...
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Tamiflu's Effectiveness Remains Uncertain - Roche Still Not Releasing Vital Trial Data
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Two years ago, pharmaceutical giant, Roche, promised the BMJ to release key Tamiflu trial data for an independent investigation. However, Roche refuses to provide full access to all its data. According to a new report by the Cochrane Collaboration, Roche's refusal to provide access leaves critical concerns about how the drug works unresolved...
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Flu Pandemics May Follow La Niña
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
US scientists propose that flu pandemics follow La Niña weather conditions in the equatorial Pacific. The conditions alter bird migration patterns and this promotes new strains of flu (migrating birds are known to be primary pools of human influenza virus)...
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Flu Pandemics And La Nina
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Worldwide pandemics of influenza caused widespread death and illness in 1918, 1957, 1968 and 2009. A new study examining weather patterns around the time of these pandemics finds that each of them was preceded by La Nina conditions in the equatorial Pacific...
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'Google Flu Trends' A Powerful Early Warning System For Emergency Departments
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Monitoring Internet search traffic about influenza may prove to be a better way for hospital emergency rooms to prepare for a surge in sick patients compared to waiting for outdated government flu case reports...
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Couch Potato Or Elite Athlete? A Happy Medium Keeps Colds At Bay!
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Battling colds and doing (or pledging to do) more exercise are familiar activities for most of us in January. But different levels of exercise can actually significantly increase or decrease your chances of catching a respiratory infection, says Professor Mike Gleeson from Loughborough University...
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Pitt Researchers Propose New Model To Design Better Flu Shots
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
The flu shot, typically the first line of defense against seasonal influenza, could better treat the U.S. population, thanks to University of Pittsburgh researchers...
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Mutated Bird Flu Research Worries World Health Organization
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Research on the H5N1 influenza (bird flu) virus' human transmissibility is seriously starting to worry WHO (World Health Organization) experts - in a written statement, the authors express concern about the potential risks linked to this research. The possible negative consequences of some experiments are serious and potentially dangerous...
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Statins May Lower Flu Mortality Rates
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
A report published online by The Journal of Infectious Diseases reveals that statins, commonly known as cholesterol-lowering medications, might lower the number of deaths among individuals who are hospitalized with influenza. Vanderbilt's William Schaffner, M.D...
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Bird Flu Scare In Hong Kong
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Bird Flu virus was identified in a poultry market in Hong Kong, resulting in government officials ordering the slaughter of 17,000 chickens. It has been three years since the last mass culling. York Chow, the Hong Kong secretary for food and health, said in a statement that the cull was a precautionary measure due to the highly pathogenic nature of the H5N1 avian influenza virus...
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How Influenza Evolves - And How To Stop It From Doing So
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
If you become infected with the flu after getting vaccinated, your body activates an immune response that stops you from becoming ill. Although, this can trigger the virus to change into a slightly different form - one that may be more infectious. A novel investigation from MIT reveals the mechanism responsible for this phenomenon, known as antigenic drift...
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Pregnant Women - Beware Of Hazards Of Cold Medications
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
For pregnant women a new warning outlining the possible dangers or common cold medicines during pregnancy has been issued by experts in pregnancy and breastfeeding health at the California Teratogen Information Service (CTIS) Pregnancy Health Information. CTIS is a California non-profit located at the University of California, San Diego...
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Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs May Reduce Mortality For Influenza Patients
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Statins, traditionally known as cholesterol-lowering drugs, may reduce mortality among patients hospitalized with influenza, according to a new study released online by The Journal of Infectious Diseases...
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In Patients Hospitalized With Influenza, Statins May Reduce Mortality
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
The two main ways to prevent and control influenza today are annual immunization and antiviral drugs. A team of investigators has found that statins, cholesterol-lowering drugs, may offer an additional treatment to complement these approaches and reduce mortality among patients hospitalized with influenza...
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Statins May Help Fight Influenza
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Findings published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases show that statins, one of the most widely sold drugs today, that are more commonly used for combating high cholesterol levels, may have a new use in helping fight influenza in critically ill patients...
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Hospital Worker Flu Vaccination Rate Increased By Strict Policy
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
A California hospital raised its employee influenza vaccination rate above 90 percent by shifting from a voluntary vaccination program to one mandating all healthcare workers either get vaccinated or wear a mask at work for the entire flu season (December through March)...
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Promising Results In Mice On Needle-Free Candidate Universal Vaccine Against Various Flu Viruses
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Scientists from the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) have discovered that an antigen common to most influenza viruses, and commonly referred to as matrix protein 2 (M2), when administered under the tongue could protect mice against experimental infection caused by various influenza viruses, including the highly pathogenic avian H5 virus and the pandemic H1 ("swine flu") virus...
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The Flu - How To Stop It!
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
During the 1918 to 1920 global influenza epidemic, between 50 to 100 million people lost their lives, with over a quarter of the world's population having being infected. Although vaccines might help in the event of a similar outbreak today, the possibility still remains that vaccine production would not be able to cope with such an influx in demand to make an important impact...
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Plasma-Based Treatment Goes Viral
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Life-threatening viruses such as HIV, SARS, hepatitis and influenza, could soon be combatted in an unusual manner as researchers have demonstrated the effectiveness of plasma for inactivating and preventing the replication of adenoviruses...
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Flu Shots Still Available At Concentra To Protect Against The Flu Bug
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
The 2011 flu season is now in full swing, with influenza activity continually increasing in at least 25 states, extending from California all the way to New York. To protect against this highly contagious illness, Concentra is urging every person to get an annual flu shot...
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News From The Journal Of Clinical Investigation: Nov. 21, 2011
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
EDITOR'S PICK: Boosting the aged immune response to flu virus As people age, their immune system becomes less robust. This makes them more susceptible to serious and frequently life-threatening infections with viruses that affect the respiratory tract such as influenza A virus (IAV)...
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Cough Medicines Containing Pholcodine - EMA Confirms Positive Benefit-Risk Balance
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
According to confirmation given by The European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), pholcodine-containing cough medicines should remain available for treating non-productive (dry) cough in children and adults as its benefits outweigh the risks...
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Taking Antibiotics For Viral Infections Can Do More Harm Than Good, CDC
Copyright 2012 Medical News Today |
Did you know that taking antibiotics when you or your child has a virus may do more harm than good? According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, where children are concerned, antibiotics are the most common cause of emergency department visits for adverse drug events...
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