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Analysts say WHO communication errors spurred 'false pandemic' charges

(CIDRAP News) – Two private risk-communication consultants who have done work for the World Health Organization (WHO) have published an analysis arguing that the agency's messaging missteps have lent undeserved credibility to accusations that it exaggerated the H1N1 pandemic threat in order to enrich pharmaceutical companies.

Robert Roos
 

H1N1 NEWS SCAN: Deaths in India, antivirals via hotline, vaccine communication

Jul 6, 2010

 

H1N1 FLU BREAKING NEWS: H1N1 in pigs, ill workers, online-remedy alert, vaccine allocation, health worker shots

Oct 16

 

Spikes in US indicators point to intensifying pandemic

(CIDRAP News) – Pandemic flu activity is now widespread in 46 states, five more than the previous week, causing an increasing number of school closures and starting to hit the young adult age-group harder, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today.

Lisa Schnirring
 

SWINE FLU BREAKING NEWS: Case counts, antiviral distribution, Mexican situation, Biden's clarification, new countries affected, viral name change, White House health scare

 

The World Health Organization's (WHO's) global count of confirmed swine flu cases stands at 257 cases in 11 countries today. The United States has 109 cases and 1 death; Mexico has 97 cases and 7 deaths. [WHO update 6]

 

H1N1 FLU BREAKING NEWS: College cases, ventilator allocation, more mutation, resistant flu, recalled vaccine

Nov 25, 2009

 

H1N1 FLU BREAKING NEWS: Review of flu countermeasures; vaccine updates; guidance for airliners; virus in turkeys, pigs, cats

Dec 1, 2009

 

H1N1 FLU BREAKING NEWS: School closings & effect on work, key flu indicator, reinfections, DNA vaccine, H1N1 in pigs

Dec 29, 2009

 

H1N1 NEWS SCAN: Comparisons with seasonal flu, complications in pregnancy, test OK'd, vaccine in Brazil

May 24, 2010

 

H1N1 NEWS SCAN: WHO phase decision, vaccine communication, CDC reports, H1N1 deaths

Jun 1, 2010

 

DHS business preparedness certification program takes shape

(CIDRAP News) – In its efforts to establish apreparedness certification process for the private sector, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today said it has adopted final standards, which it claims represents a major milestone toward the program's implementation.

Lisa Schnirring
 

NEWS SCAN: Salmonella update, malaria research, polio eradication

Jun 17, 2010

 

FBI says it easily replicated anthrax used in attacks

(CIDRAP News) – The FBI, seeking to counter scientific skepticism on its investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, insisted this week that the anthrax powder could have been made by one person and contained no "intentional additives" to make it more dispersible.

Robert Roos
 

USDA unveils ban on using disabled cattle in food

(CIDRAP News) – Following up on a May announcement, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) today published a proposed rule to ban any use of disabled cattle for food.

 

Flu shots for small children slow to catch on

(CIDRAP News) – Surveys indicate that recommendations to immunize small children against influenza have been slow to catch on, while flu immunization for adults was somewhat slow to recover from a setback caused by a vaccine shortage 4 years ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Robert Roos
 

Tests indicate an arenavirus in South African deaths

(CIDRAP News) – The World Health Organization (WHO) said today that preliminary tests indicate that an arenavirus—possibly a previously unknown one—is responsible for the mysterious febrile disease that killed three people in South Africa and has now sickened a fourth.

Lisa Schnirring
 

Public weighs in on pandemic vaccine allocation plan

(CIDRAP News) – As US officials wrap up efforts to gauge the public's response to a draft plan for allocating vaccine supplies during an influenza pandemic, suggestions to fine-tune the plan are emerging, such as giving higher priority to critical infrastructure workers, the families of key healthcare workers, and community pharmacists.

Lisa Schnirring
 

WHO catalogs H5N1 viruses, launches tracking system

Editor's note: This story was revised on Jan 23 to correct errors regarding the numbers of clinical specimens and H5N1 viruses submitted by Indonesia to the World Health Organization in 2007.

 

Ethanol byproduct in feed may boost E coli in cattle

(CIDRAP News) – Recent studies suggest that an ethanol production byproduct that is widely fed to cattle may make cattle more likely to shed deadly Escherichia coli O157, possibly contributing to the surge in beef contamination cases in 2007.

Robert Roos
 

E coli cattle vaccine nearing US approval

(CIDRAP News) – The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently signaled that a Canadian company is in a good position to secure the conditional license it needs to market an Escherichia coli O157:H7 vaccine for cattle that could reduce contamination levels in food.

 

USDA to ban all 'downer' cattle from food supply

(CIDRAP News) – In a move to bolster consumer confidence in the safety of US beef and prevent mistreatment of cattle, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer yesterday announced plans to close a regulatory loophole that permits some disabled cattle to be used for food.

Robert Roos
 

FAO: World on verge of rinderpest eradication

(CIDRAP News) – In a move that sets the stage for the official eradication of the deadly cattle plague rinderpest, animal health authorities are ending all field activities to control the disease, theUnited Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced today.

Lisa Schnirring
 

NEWS SCAN: Pertussis in California, H1N1 vaccine uptake, workplace flu prevention, H1N1 in cats, antiviral debut

Oct 20, 2010

 

NEWS SCAN: High-dose flu vaccine, Haiti cholera update, bivalent polio vaccine, polio vaccination in Africa, antibiotic resistance in cattle

Oct 26, 2010

 

Romaine lettuce implicated in multistate E coli outbreak

(CIDRAP News) – Freshway Foods, based in Sidney, Ohio, today recalled some of its romaine lettuce products after a New York state laboratory assisting with the investigation of a multistate Escherichia coli O145 outbreak found the pathogen in an unopened product sample.

Lisa Schnirring
 

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