(CIDRAP News) A pharmaceutical company is reporting good results in the first clinical trial of an H5N1 avian influenza vaccine that uses a whole, killed H5N1 virus grown in cell culturea combination of techniques that entails some risk but may boost immune response and shorten production time.
(CIDRAP News) – Proposed pandemic preparedness guidance released by the federal government today recommends that people wear face masks if they have to go into crowds during an influenza pandemic and says critical infrastructure businesses should consider stockpiling antiviral drugs, among various other suggestions.
(CIDRAP News) The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced that it is allocating states and major metropolitan areas $1.1 billion to strengthen public health preparedness and help healthcare facilities respond to emergency events such as an influenza pandemic or terrorist attack.
(CIDRAP News) A survey of North Carolina families affected by a 10-day school closure due to a sharp rise in influenza-related absences found that the measure didn't cause families major hardships, but many did not heed a recommendation to avoid large gatherings.
(CIDRAP News) Scientists have found evidence that North American avian influenza viruses of the H7 subtype are becoming more like human flu viruses in their ability to attach to host cells, which suggests they may be improving their capacity to infect humans.
(CIDRAP News) – An H5N1 influenza vaccine made by the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has become the first prepandemic vaccine to be licensed by the European Union (EU), the company announced today.
(CIDRAP News) A year after the World Health Organization (WHO) called for the development of an international stockpile of vaccines against H5N1 influenza, the stockpile has not yet materialized, the WHO said in a report released today.
(CIDRAP News) Certain mutations that make the H5N1 influenza virus resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir (Tamiflu) leave it susceptible to zanamivir (Relenza), a finding that suggests nations should not rely on oseltamivir alone in preparing for a flu pandemic, according to a report published by British scientists this week.
(CIDRAP News) The US Department of Labor (DOL) yesterday released proposed guidance on stockpiling respirators and facemasks in the workplace, which encourages employers to stockpile the items because of the likelihood that they will run short during an influenza pandemic.
(CIDRAP News) World Health Organization (WHO) officials today kicked off a 4-day meeting in Geneva to begin revising pandemic preparedness guidance for countries, amid warnings that the risk of an influenza pandemic has not waned since the last update.
