New deadly strain of bird flu may have emerged
“Experts are concerned about the spread of a new strain of bird flu that has already killed one woman in China,” BBC News reports.
The new strain, which has evolved from an existing bird flu virus called H10N8, has infected two people in China.
A case report in The Lancet medical journal warns that potential for a new pandemic “should not be underestimated”.
Their genetic tests of the strain suggests it has adapted to infect humans more easily.
That said, experts suggest there is currently no cause for alarm. There is no evidence that the new strain can pass between humans. Also, the woman who died of the ne...
Source: NHS News Feed - February 5, 2014 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Swine flu QA articles Medical practice Source Type: news
L.A. hospitals gird for rise in flu cases
With statewide deaths outpacing last year's and being blamed in part on a 'swine flu' strain, L.A. facilities worry about its spread.Despite a statewide drop in reported influenza cases, Los Angeles hospitals are preparing for this year's season to worsen in the coming weeks, fearful of the deadly H1N1 "swine flu" virus strain that is to blame for most of this year's flu deaths. (Source: Los Angeles Times - Science)
Source: Los Angeles Times - Science - January 25, 2014 Category: Science Source Type: news
Anti-swine flu vaccination linked to increased risk of narcolepsy in young adults
(Wiley) Pandemrix is an influenza vaccination, created in 2009 to combat H1N1, known as Swine Flu. Now, a team of Swedish clinicians testing the vaccine for links to immune-related or neurological diseases have linked Pandemrix to an increased risk of narcolepsy in young adults. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - January 21, 2014 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Flu Activity Now Widespread In Mass.; H1N1 Dominant Strain
BOSTON (CBS/AP) –Flu season appears to be in full swing in Massachusetts, with health officials reporting cases statewide.
Health care providers are seeing an uptick in the H1N1 strain that was prevalent in 2009. H1N1 or “Swine Flu” typically causes more illness in children and young adults, compared to older adults, although severe illness is possible in all age groups.
The Center for Disease Control says hardest hit areas include Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.
Flu is usually the worst in January or February, although last year the illness hit the U.S. very hard in early December.
According to...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - December 29, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kckatzman Tags: Health Healthwatch Local News Syndicated Local CBS Boston flu season H1N1 Swine Flu WBZ Source Type: news
Flu Activity Now Widespread In Mass.; H1N1 Dominant Strain
BOSTON (CBS/AP) –Flu season appears to be in full swing in Massachusetts, with health officials reporting 860 cases statewide.
Health care providers are seeing an uptick in the H1N1 strain that was prevalent in 2009. H1N1 or “Swine Flu” typically causes more illness in children and young adults, compared to older adults, although severe illness is possible in all age groups.
The CDC says this year’s vaccine does protect against the H1N1 strain.
The Center for Disease Control says hardest hit areas include Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania.
Flu is usually the worst in January or February, alth...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - December 29, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Kckatzman Tags: Health Healthwatch Local News Syndicated Local CBS Boston flu season H1N1 Swine Flu WBZ Source Type: news
New swine influenza project to better understand virus transmission and develop new control strategies
The Pirbright Institute in Surrey has been awarded £4.4 million to work with researchers from the universities of Bristol, Cambridge and Oxford as well as the AHVLA (Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, TGAC (The Genome Analysis Centre) and industry partners Merial, on a long-term study on the transmission of swine influenza. (Source: University of Bristol news)
Source: University of Bristol news - December 11, 2013 Category: Universities & Medical Training Authors: news_text Tags: Press releases Source Type: news
Vaccination 'a civic duty' according to new report
This report provides useful information about adult immunisations in the UK as well as useful recommendations for increasing immunisation coverage, particularly among social care workers. However, it does not replace current guidelines for recommended vaccines. Currently recommended vaccines for adults in the UK are described below.
Who produced the report?
This report, titled ‘Immune response. Adult immunisation in the UK’ was written by the UK’s International Longevity Centre (ILC-UK). According its website, the ILC-UK is a registered charity and independent think tank dedicated to addressing issues of longev...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 19, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Medication Older people QA articles Source Type: news
Experts with links to drugs industry 'hyped swine flu'
Conclusion
This was a well-conducted study, albeit based on a small sample of articles. The finding that academics with ties to the drugs industry were more likely to make a higher assessment of risk from swine flu, and those promoting the use of antiviral drugs were more likely to have industry links, is worrying.
The general issue of academics with undisclosed links to the pharmaceutical industry being interviewed by journalists is of concern. That said, the study does not prove that media coverage either fuelled public anxiety about swine flu or the policy decisions made about drug or vaccine funding.
Similarly, the...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 12, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Medical practice Medication Swine flu Source Type: news
Academics linked to drug industry 'exaggerated' swine flu risk
New research published in the BMJ has suggested that academics with links to the pharmaceutical industry were more likely to give increased risk assessments of the swine flu pandemic of 2009/10 when talking to the media, compared with academics who were not linked to the pharmaceutical industry. Swine flu is a highly contagious respiratory disease found in pigs. The H1N1 influenza subtype is the type that has been known to infect humans, with outbreaks occurring worldwide throughout 2009 and 2010... (Source: Health News from Medical News Today)
Source: Health News from Medical News Today - November 12, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Swine Flu Source Type: news
Probiotic pickled turnip touted as ‘flu wonder cure’
Conclusion
This simple experiment showed that giving a bacterial extract found in Japanese pickled turnip to mice, as a preventative treatment for flu, reduced some of the symptomatic effects of flu upon subsequent infection. Specifically, it lessened body weight loss and reduced declines in general health during a seven-day flu period.
While the results are encouraging, it is too soon to roll out the red carpet and welcome a “new wonder cure” as both the headlines in the Daily Express and Mail Online suggest.
For instance, mice given the Japanese pickle extract still experienced declines in body weight of approximate...
Source: NHS News Feed - November 6, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Food/diet Medical practice Medication Swine flu Source Type: news
For A Price, Volunteers Endure Scientists' Flu Spritzes
Even though influenza is one of the most common illnesses, researchers say they still have a lot to learn about it. In a recent study, dozens of volunteers agreed to be infected with the swine flu so doctors could see observe what happened.» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us (Source: NPR Health and Science)
Source: NPR Health and Science - September 26, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Flu research may lead to universal vaccine
Conclusion
This research has identified that CD8+ T-cells are linked with protection against different strains of influenza. They are also linked with reduced severity of flu.
The authors note that current vaccines that use inactivated forms of the flu virus protect against specific strains, and do not induce a strong maintained T-cell response. They suggest that, in light of their findings, this may be the reason why they produce limited protection across different subtypes of influenza virus. They say that further testing is needed to see if the live vaccines being used are better at producing cross-subtype protection, ...
Source: NHS News Feed - September 23, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Heart/lungs Medication Medical practice Source Type: news
New Choices For Seasonal Flu Vaccines
WebMD Health News
By Brenda Goodman, MA
Reviewed by Michael W. Smith, MD
Sept. 17, 2013 — It’s fall. The kids are back at school, college football rivalries are in high gear, and — oh, yeah — it’s time to get a flu vaccine.
In the past, flu protection basically boiled down to a choice between a shot or a sniff of a nasal spray. But this year there are new options. Some may protect you from additional strains of flu, while others make getting vaccinated a little easier. Read on to find out which may be best for you and your family.
Trivalent Vaccines
These are the traditional flu shots. They pr...
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - September 18, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: mreal197 Tags: WebMD News Source Type: news
80 years ago today: MRC researchers discover viral cause of flu | Michael Bresalier
Forget bird flu and swine flu, it was ferret flu and The Field magazine that helped MRC scientists discover the influenza virus, after eleven years of dedicated research.In the spring of 1933 a team of Medical Research Council (MRC) staff gathered nasal fluids and throat garglings from a sick researcher, filtered them, and dripped them into ferrets. Within forty-eight hours the ferrets would start sneezing and displaying signs of an influenza-like disease. This research formed the basis of an extraordinarily important Lancet paper by Wilson Smith, Christopher H Andrewes and Patrick Laidlaw, published on 8 July 1933, identi...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - July 8, 2013 Category: Science Tags: Blogposts guardian.co.uk Medical research History of science Source Type: news
Well: Study Finds No Vaccine Link to Guillain-Barré
Concerns about vaccines and the neurological disorder Guillain-Barré syndrome arose after the swine flu epidemic of 1976, but a new analysis found no link between the illness and vaccines for flu or other disorders. (Source: NYT Health)
Source: NYT Health - June 27, 2013 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: By NICHOLAS BAKALAR Tags: Influenza Body Tetanus Guillain-Barre Syndrome Featured Vaccination and Immunization Source Type: news
