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(CIDRAP News) The number of West Nile virus (WNV) cases in the United States rebounded slightly this year after a sharp drop in 2004, signaling that the disease is here to stay, according to figures released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
(CIDRAP News) A sixth human case of H5N1 avian influenza has been confirmed in China, and two more cases are suspected in Indonesia, according to reports today.
The Chinese Ministry of Health has confirmed H5N1 infection in a 35-year-old man from the southeastern province of Jiangxi, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported. He became ill Dec 4 and is under intensive care in a hospital, the agency said.
Editor's note: The title and first two paragraphs of this story were revised Dec 16 to correct a statement in the original that gave a more positive reflection of the trial results described below than may be warranted. The original version said that Sanofi Pasteur had described the trial results as "promising," but the company actually said only that the results were "a sign of progress."
(CIDRAP News) Exactly 100 of about 38,000 civilians who received smallpox shots in a federal program in 2003 suffered serious adverse events afterward, signaling that the program successfully screened out most people at risk for complications, according to a recent report.
(CIDRAP News) – National health officials came to Minnesota today to launch what was billed as the first of 50 state pandemic influenza planning meetings around the nation, emphasizing the key roles of state and local governments as partners with the federal government.
The general theme of the half-day conference was that much, if not most, of the real work of preparing for a pandemic must be done at the local and state levels.
(CIDRAP News) A 35-year-old Indonesian man who died in November had H5N1 avian influenza, marking the country's 14th confirmed case and ninth death, Indonesian officials announced today.
Officials made the announcement after receiving test results from a World Health Organization (WHO) reference laboratory in Hong Kong, according to a Bloomberg News report today. The man died in Jakarta.
(CIDRAP News) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced it has warned nine companies to stop selling unlicensed products advertised as remedies for avian influenza and other kinds of flu.
(CIDRAP News) Tests of fish and shellfish collected from waters affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita suggest that seafood from the region is safe to eat, federal officials said last week.
Tests of hundreds of samples "showed no reason for concern around consuming seafood from the Gulf region due to the hurricanes," the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a Dec 9 news release.
(CIDRAP News) Japan has lifted its ban on the importation of American beef, nearly 2 years after the discovery of the first US case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) triggered the boycott.
(CIDRAP News) Two more human cases of H5N1 avian influenza have been confirmed, one in a Chinese woman who has recovered and the other in a 5-year-old Thai boy who died Dec 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today.
The cases increase the human toll of the virus over the past 2 years to 137 cases, including 70 deaths, according to the WHO. Exposure to poultry is the suspected cause in both of the latest cases.
(CIDRAP News) – Large businesses should examine their sick-leave policies and figure out ways to limit face-to-face contact, among many other steps to prepare for an influenza pandemic, according to a planning checklist released by federal health agencies this week.
(CIDRAP News) Although thorough cooking ensures that chicken and other poultry are safe to eat, birds from flocks infected with H5N1 avian influenza should be kept out of the food supply, international health and agriculture authorities said this week.
(CIDRAP News) If public health emergency preparedness were a college class, the federal government would be considered a poor pupil by the nonprofit organization Trust For America's Health (TFAH), which gives the government a D+ in a new report released yesterday.
That grade was based on a survey of 20 leading public health experts, who used 12 criteria to measure preparedness.
Editor's note: This story was revised Dec 8 to correct the erroneous statement that the World Health Organization had confirmed two more deaths from avian influenza (rather than two cases.)
(CIDRAP News) The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed two more human cases of avian influenza, one in China and a fatal one in Indonesia, bringing the global total to 135 cases with 69 deaths in nearly 2 years.
(CIDRAP News) State health officials at a Washington, DC, meeting yesterday expressed frustration over problems with supplies of seasonal flu vaccine, while federal officials promised that the government's pandemic influenza preparedness plan will help clear up those problems.
(CIDRAP News) – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is inviting comments on its Public Health Protection Research Guide 2006-2015. Individuals can review the guide and offer comments on what future research avenues should be adopted to better protect health.
(CIDRAP News) – State and local health officials from around the nation today voiced qualified support for a federal government plan to hold a "summit" meeting on pandemic influenza preparedness in every state over the next few months.
(CIDRAP News) Romania has reported three new outbreaks of avian influenza this week, while a mild strain of avian flu has surfaced in North Carolina turkeys, according to news services.
Dozens of chickens were found dead in the southeastern Romanian villages of Bumbacari and Dudescu, which lie outside the Danube River delta, according to Agence France-Presse and Bloomberg News reports. The viral strain was not listed.
(CIDRAP News) A test to screen blood and organ donors for West Nile virus (WNV) has won approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after 2 years of trial use.
The FDA yesterday announced approval of the Procleix West Nile virus assay, developed by Gen-Probe Inc., San Diego, and marketed by Chiron Corp., Emeryville, Calif. The test detects West Nile RNA in blood.
