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First in a two-part series examining the numbers and epidemiologic factors surrounding the virus many experts believe could lead to the next pandemicand what they mean for your business.
Ask people which private sector most needs to be prepared for a pandemic, and I bet they will tell you healthcare. Such a conclusion is understandable given the grim vision of a pandemic with its untold numbers of severely sick and dying people in communities all across the world.
If only it could be that simple.
(CIDRAP News) The World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that "a number" of human vaccines against the H5N1 avian influenza may become available soon, but declined to say whether they should be used before a flu pandemic arises.
(CIDRAP News) The European Union (EU) this week approved a "mock-up" influenza vaccine made by Novartis to permit a faster start on vaccine production in the event of a flu pandemic.
(CIDRAP News) The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday cleared the way for two N-95 respirator models to be marketed as devices that can reduce a user's risk of becoming ill during an influenza pandemic or other public health emergency.
(CIDRAP News) A recent survey sponsored by the American Public Health Association (APHA) indicates that about a third of Americans have made no preparations for a public health emergency and nearly 90% have prepared less than they think they should.
(CIDRAP News) Indonesia reported today that a 29-year-old woman who died 4 days ago had H5N1 avian influenza, according to news services, signaling the first confirmed case anywhere in nearly a month.
The woman was admitted to a hospital in Medan in northern Sumatra May 1 and died May 3, according to an Agence France-Press (AFP) report quoting an official named Suhardaningrum of the national avian flu information center.
Editor's note: This story was revised May 8 to include a piece of additional information on testing of environmental samples.
(CIDRAP News) US government agencies said today they will test fewer wild birds for the H5N1 avian influenza virus in the 2007 season than they did last season, while focusing on the highest-risk species and locations.
(CIDRAP News) – A woman from Alaska experienced vulvar vaccinia after she was intimate with a US military member who had received his smallpox vaccination 3 days before, according to a report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
(CIDRAP News) Canada recently confirmed its tenth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow diseaseits second of 2007.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) devoted 2 days last week to testing its response to a possible outbreak of pandemic influenza on American soil.
(CIDRAP News) Though there is little scientific evidence to go on, wearing a surgical face mask may make sense for people who have to go into crowded public places during an influenza pandemic, federal health officials said today.
When the virus hits the fan, it'll be crisis communication. But what it is now depends on your opinions and your audience.
(CIDRAP News) A new report from Congress' Government Accountability Office (GAO) says key organizations that are the backbone of the US financial industry need to do more to prepare for an influenza pandemic and urges federal regulators to set deadlines for them to complete pandemic plans.
(CIDRAP News) News services today reported the confirmation of H5N1 avian influenza on a chicken farm in Ghana, apparently making it the ninth African country to be hit by the virus.
Agriculture Minister Ernest Debrah said the outbreak was discovered Apr 24 on a farm near the port city of Tema, east of the capital, Accra, according to an Agence France-Presse (AFP) report.
(CIDRAP News) The head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the creation of a new assistant commissioner position to provide guidance on food safety and defense strategies.
(CIDRAP News) A hypothetical but not unlikely scenario: Amid an influenza pandemic, a small hospital has three patients who need mechanical ventilation. One has terminal cancer, another has severe chronic lung disease, and a third has a severe case of flu. With only one ventilator available, which patient will get it?
(CIDRAP News) – A committee that reviews medical product applications for the European Union (EU) yesterday recommended approval of a cell-based seasonal influenza vaccine made by Novartis, improving the company's chance of becoming the first to market a flu vaccine grown in cell culture instead of in eggs.
(CIDRAP News) – The Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche announced today it is scaling back production of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) because of waning demand, and simultaneously questioned whether countries stockpiling the drug are buying enough to protect their citizens in the event of an influenza pandemic.
(CIDRAP News) The World Health Organization (WHO) says nations and vaccine manufacturers agreed yesterday that it may be feasible to set up a world stockpile of H5N1 influenza vaccine and find a way to ensure that developing countries could access pandemic flu vaccine supplies.
