(CIDRAP News) The H5N1 avian influenza situation in Asia remained active today as Indonesia began clearing Jakarta of backyard fowl to curb the spread of the disease, Vietnam fought a poultry outbreak in an eighth province, and Thailand tested several people for suspected infections.
(CIDRAP News) Two patients who recently died of H5N1 avian influenza in Egypt had a strain of the virus that was moderately resistant to oseltamivir (Tamiflu), the World Health Organization (WHO) announced today, but the finding has not prompted new health advisories.
(CIDRAP News) Inadequate worker-safety protocols probably contributed to the severity of the 2003 SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic in Ontario, a provincial commission said in a report unveiled this week.
(CIDRAP News) The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) yesterday proposed to reopen the US border to older Canadian cattle and beef for the first time since bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) cropped up in Canada in 2003.
(CIDRAP News) – In a recent update on pandemic influenza preparedness planning, the US government reported meeting more than 90% of a long list of objectives it set for itself about 6 months ago.
The report charts progress on a wide range of preparedness measures, from shoring up laboratory capabilities to planning for distribution of critical medical supplies and preparing checklists for various sectors of the economy.
(CIDRAP News) More poultry have died of H5N1 avian influenza in Vietnamese provinces where the virus recently re-emerged, and the disease has spread to another province in South Korea and 3 more Nigerian states, according to news reports.
(CIDRAP News) The US government yesterday canceled its $877.5 million contract with VaxGen Inc. for a new anthrax vaccine, after problems with the vaccine's stability caused the company to miss a deadline for starting a clinical trial.
(CIDRAP News) Though the United States observed the fifth anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks this fall, the nation's public health emergency preparedness has improved slowly and remains inadequate, according to a report last week from the nonprofit organization Trust for America's Health (TFAH).
(CIDRAP News) – Just before adjourning on Dec 9, the US Congress passed a bill to establish a new biodefense research and development agency and tune up the nation's public health emergency preparedness programs in a number of other ways.
(CIDRAP New) – The Institute of Medicine (IOM) weighed in with a clear "maybe" this week on whether community interventions such as school closures, quarantine, and respiratory etiquette could help blunt the impact of an influenza pandemic.
