All News

Aug 4, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – A Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) official today rejected a media report that quoted her as saying that antiviral-resistant cases of novel H1N1 influenza had been found along the US-Mexican border.

(CIDRAP News) – Scientists from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Africa have for the first time isolated Marburg viruses from fruit bats found in a Ugandan cave where humans were infected, a finding that suggests bats may be a natural host of the virus.

Aug 3, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) plans to gather the public's thoughts in August on how big this fall's H1N1 influenza vaccination drive should be.

Jul 31, 2009

(CIDRAP News) –The US House of Representatives yesterday passed sweeping legislation that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) more power and resources to prevent foodborne illness outbreaks.

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) today issued a list of warning signs of possible severe disease in H1N1 flu patients, while adding its voice to the recent warnings about the virus's threat to pregnant women.

(CIDRAP News) – While most vaccine manufacturers have reaped below-average crops of H1N1 influenza vaccine virus from the eggs in which they're grown, MedImmune Inc. has a different problem: high virus yields, but a potential shortage of the devices used to spray the vaccine into the nose.

Editor's note: This story was revised Jul 31 after Besser contacted CIDRAP to say that the date listed for his start at ABC News was incorrect.

(CIDRAP News) – Richard E. Besser, MD, a long-time employee of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) who served as the agency's acting director during the beginning of the novel H1N1 virus outbreak, is leaving the agency to work for ABC News.

Canadian officials hold off on flu vaccine priority list

(CIDRAP News) – Pregnant women who have pandemic H1N1 influenza infection appear to be at greater risk of complications, but some healthcare providers have been hesitant to treat them early with antivirals despite recommendations to do so, researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported today.

Jul 28, 2009

(CIDRAP News) – The top US advisory panel on immunizations recommended today that groups totaling up to 159 million people be targeted for vaccination against the pandemic H1N1 influenza virus but that a narrower population of about 41 million have priority if initial supplies are short.

(CIDRAP News) – The immunization advisory group for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) meets tomorrow in an emergency session to discuss which groups should be targeted to receive the pandemic H1N1 vaccine and whether some should have priority.

Pregnant women bear disproportionate share of flu deaths

GAO criticizes choice of Kansas for animal disease lab, report saysA draft report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used a flawed analysis in deciding to locate a special animal disease laboratory in Manhattan, Kan., the Washington Post reported today. The GAO said DHS greatly underestimated the risk of an accidental release of dangerous pathogens from the lab, as the site is in a tornado-prone area.

Europe plans to streamline H1N1 flu vaccine approval

(CIDRAP News) – Pandemic H1N1 influenza activity decreased for the fourth consecutive week, though the percentage of deaths from pneumonia and influenza rose a bit above the epidemic threshold, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

Jul 24, 2009