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(CIDRAP News) – An influenza vaccine conference in Atlanta this week brought predictions of a record supply of flu vaccine next year and talk of extending vaccination recommendations to include children between the ages of 2 and 6.

(CIDRAP News) – Roche announced yesterday it was again shipping its antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) to all US markets, lifting restrictions imposed last fall because of concern about people hoarding the drug out of fear of a potential influenza pandemic.

Jan 26, 2006 (CIDRAP News) – The latest World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on avian influenza shows that the complex mysteries of the H5N1 virus, while compelling, make it difficult to anticipate what the virus will do next.

(CIDRAP News) – A 36-year-old Chinese woman was in critical condition in Chengdu City, suffering from what the Chinese authorities announced today was the country's 10th human case of H5N1 avian flu, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

The woman, whose surname is Cao, is from Sichaun province in southwest China, AFP noted. She fell ill on Jan 12; tests confirmed her H5N1 infection on Jan 17.

(CIDRAP News) – Canada today reported its fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, raising concern about the possibility of another US ban on Canadian beef and cattle.

The case was found in a 6-year-old crossbred cow in north-central Alberta that had shown possible signs of BSE, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) said. The disease was detected through Canada's regular BSE surveillance program.

(CIDRAP News) – Japan has again banned American beef following the discovery last week of cattle spine material in an imported shipment, a violation of the recent bilateral agreement designed to keep beef tainted with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) out of Japan.

Jan 20, 2005 (CIDRAP News) – Researchers who analyzed numerous clinical trials concluded that the two newest antiviral drugs for influenza, oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza), should not routinely be used against seasonal flu—a recommendation flatly rejected by the manufacturer of oseltamivir.

(CIDRAP News) – A new report in Nature cites more evidence that mutations detected in H5N1 avian influenza viruses recovered from patients in Turkey may better equip the viruses to infect humans.

(CIDRAP News) – Governments and organizations at a conference in Beijing have pledged $1.9 billion for a global fund to fight avian influenza, well above the $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion that organizers had hoped for, according to news services.

The 2-day conference yielded pledges for almost $1 billion in grants, mainly for poor countries in Southeast Asia, and about $900 million in loans, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report.

(CIDRAP News) – Chinese authorities today announced another human death from the H5N1 avian influenza virus, raising the government's case count to nine, including six deaths, according to a Reuters report.

(CIDRAP News) – More cases of human illness and death were laid at the door of the H5N1 virus in Turkey and Indonesia today.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday confirmed the death from H5N1 of a 5-year-old boy from Dogubayazit district in Turkey's eastern Agri province. His 14-year-old sister had died on Jan 15, and results on Monday confirmed her death was from H5N1.

(CIDRAP News) – The Swiss drug company Roche said today it would give another 2 million treatment courses of its anitivral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) to the World Health Organization for developing countries to use to fight avian influenza in humans.

The announcement came as representatives from 90 countries and 20 organizations met in Beijing for a conference to raise funds to battle the H5N1 virus.

(CIDRAP News) – The dominant strain of influenza virus in the United States has unexpectedly turned highly resistant to the two older antiviral flu drugs in use, prompting federal health officials today to advise physicians to stop using them for the rest of this season.

Jan 13, 2005 (CIDRAP News) – Delegates from about 20 Asian countries today concluded a 2-day meeting in Tokyo focusing on early response measures to use if avian influenza shows signs of evolving into a human flu pandemic.

Jan 13, 2005 (CIDRAP News) – The rapid spread of avian influenza across Turkey in recent days has generated criticism of the country's response to the disease and concern that the virus may become too well-established to eradicate any time soon.

Jan 12, 2005 (CIDRAP News) – The federal government today announced the release of $100 million appropriated by Congress recently to help states prepare for a potential influenza pandemic.

The money is the first installment of $350 million included in the $3.8 billion emergency appropriation for pandemic preparedness that Congress passed in late December, said Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt.

(CIDRAP News) – An H5N1 avian influenza virus recovered from a Turkish patient has a mutation that may enable the virus to spread more easily from birds to humans, though the finding's significance for human health is not yet clear, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported today.

(CIDRAP News) – A World Health Organization (WHO) official says two Turkish brothers who have tested positive for H5N1 avian influenza were not sick, potentially offering scientists a rare opportunity to learn more about how the virus affects humans, according to news reports.

(CIDRAP News) – A survey conducted in Vietnam in 2004 suggests that human cases of avian influenza may be much more common but less severe than indicated by the numbers of confirmed cases, although the findings are not backed by laboratory testing.

Jan 10, 2005 (CIDRAP News) – Tests in Turkey have confirmed another human case of avian flu, bringing the country's reported total to 15, while Chinese authorities reported China's eighth case, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today.