(CIDRAP News) The novel H1N1 (swine) influenza now circling the globe causes more serious lung disease than seasonal flu strains and sheds from the lung and throat tissue where it reproduces at higher rates, according to two animal studies published todayfindings that could explain autopsies and case reports of severe pneumonia as well as the virus's rapid spread.
Jul 1, 2009
(CIDRAP News) Against the backdrop of a global struggle to solve a dispute related to H5N1 avian influenza virus sharing and an anxious watch over the novel H1N1 virus sweeping the globe, a new public database for sharing influenza genetic sequences is easing the flow of data and winning the support of a growing community of researchers and health officials, even some from countries that have sparred in the past over intellectual property rights.
(CIDRAP News) – A well-known risk-communication expert said the World Health Organization (WHO) acted wisely in delaying its declaration of an influenza pandemic until yesterday, but he simultaneously expressed concern that the move may lead to complacency about the situation.
(CIDRAP News) Government officials and researchers may have underestimated the potential role of pigs as "mixing vessels" for influenza viruses and the importance of swine surveillance for identifying new pandemic threats, veterinary experts from Mexico asserted recently.
Jun 2, 2009
May 29, 2009
May 28, 2009
May 27, 2009
(CIDRAP News) –Two vaccine companies, Sanofi Pasteur and GlaxoSmithKline, recently announced they received their first orders from the US government for a vaccine and adjuvant to protect the country against the novel H1N1 virus.