Minutes of Board of Education Meeting Aug 22, 2008
Ms. Dockter attended a meeting on Emergency Preparedness in Brown County in the area of pandemic today. She is planning a tour before the August 14 meeting for board members to view all the projects within the school that should be completed by then. (Sleepy Eye Herald Dispatch, MN)
UTMB researchers test new vaccine to fight multiple influenza strains Aug 22, 2008
Turley, who is director of clinical trials and clinical research at the Sealy Center for Vaccine Development at UTMB and the study's principal investigator, said that VaxInnate's M2e universal vaccine could possibly protect against seasonal and pandemic influenza strains ... "UTMB is committed to further studies of the vaccine candidate, which has the potential to be a safe, highly effective and much-needed option to prevent seasonal and pandemic influenza A.". (EurekAlert!)
Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths In 1918 Influenza Pandemic Aug 21, 2008
20, 2008) The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health ... A future influenza pandemic may unfold in a similar manner, say the NIAID authors, whose paper in the Oct. 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases is now available online ... Therefore, the authors conclude, comprehensive... (Science Daily)
'Sovereignty' that risks global health Aug 21, 2008
Here's a concept you've probably never heard of: "viral sovereignty." This extremely dangerous idea comes to us courtesy of Indonesia's minister of health, Siti Fadilah Supari, who asserts that deadly viruses are the sovereign property of individual nations -- even though they cross borders and could pose a pandemic threat to all the peoples of the world ... In this age of globalization, failure to make viral samples open-source risks allowing the emergence of a new strain of influenza that... (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Editorial)
Small SUVs Improve In Crash Tests Aug 20, 2008
(2:27)Survivors of the deadliest flu pandemic on record may hold the key to fighting outbreaks in the future. Priya David reports. (CBS News)
Bacteria's role cited in pandemic Aug 20, 2008
WASHINGTON, D.C. Bacterial pneumonia might have killed most people during the 1918 flu pandemic, and antibiotics could be as crucial as flu drugs to fight a new pandemic, US researchers reported yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Such co-infections also cause many influenza-related deaths today. (Boston Globe)
Bacteria a big killer in 1918 flu pandemic: study Aug 20, 2008
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bacterial pneumonia may have killed most people during the 1918 flu pandemic, and antibiotics may be as crucial as flu drugs to fight any new pandemic, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. Samples of lung tissue taken from soldiers who died in the pandemic, the worst of the 20th century, showed evidence of damage both by the flu virus and by pneumonia-causing bacteria ... Writing in The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Fauci, Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger and colleagues said... (Reuters)
Strengthen your immune system with good nutrition Aug 20, 2008
Published: Tuesday, August 19, 2008 7:19 AM CDT With the threat of a pandemic flu knocking on the world's doorstep, there has never been a more important time for individuals to assure themselves of a healthy immune system ... The best way to combat pandemic flu, as there are no vaccines because it has never before existed, is through a healthy immune system ... Good nutrition can help you develop the best possible immune system which will increase the ability of your body to know that a virus... (Russellville News Democrat Leader, KY)
Scientist seeks quicker Tamiflu Aug 20, 2008
Tamiflu is the anti-viral drug of choice in the world preparations for possible pandemic flu. The Swiss manufacturer Roche has given the World Health Organization five million courses of treatment to help stamp out any incipient outbreak of the disease at source. (Yahoo News -- Influenza)
Pandemic flu planning 'too slow' Aug 20, 2008
Pandemic flu planning 'too slow ... The UK government has been too slow in formulating plans to combat a potentially lethal flu pandemic, a leading expert has warned ... But at the height of a pandemic that would mean delivering more than one million courses of drug each day. (Yahoo News -- Influenza)
Face Masks Analyzed As Aid in Flu Pandemic Aug 20, 2008
A flu pandemic conjures up images of streets and buses full of people going about their business with masks covering the lower half of their faces ... But how much protection any would provide is largely unknown -- as is the question whether they could be safely washed and reused if there were not enough new ones in a pandemic. (Yahoo News -- Influenza)
A total of 483,977 Ghana cedis paid as NHIS claims in Adansi North Aug 20, 2008
On HIV/AIDS, Mr Ameyaw said the Ghana AIDS Commission had transferred 175,225 Ghana cedis into the assembly's account for the implementation of activities by three Community-based Organisations (CBOs) and two non-governmental organizations to help improve the sensitization efforts of the assembly in reducing the pandemic in the district. Source:GNA. (Ghana Web, Ghana)
Southern Africa:Ground-Breaking Gender Protocol Signed Aug 19, 2008
"These prevention efforts will be based on an understanding of the underlying gender power relations that fuel the pandemic, the challenges encountered by women in insisting on safe sex and the need for behaviour change.". Long overdue. (allAfrica.com)
New strategy for flu pandemic Aug 19, 2008
Most deaths in the 1918 influenza pandemic were caused not by the virus alone, but by common bacterial infections that overwhelmed victims' weakened immune systems, according to two new studies that could change the strategy against the next pandemic ... So far, public health officials around the world have focused on producing and stockpiling vast quantities of antiviral drugs to combat future pandemic flu strains ... Meanwhile, another study has discovered that survivors of the pandemic still... (Albany Times Union)
Health Buzz: Flu Immunity and Other Health News Aug 19, 2008
Survivors of 1918 Flu Pandemic Still Immune to Virus. Those who survived the devastating 1918 flu pandemic are to the virus 90 years later, according to a study published yesterday in Nature. (U.S. News & World Report)
Survivors of 1918 pandemic still protected Aug 19, 2008
WASHINGTON Antibodies from survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic, the worst in human memory, still protect against the highly deadly virus, researchers reported on Sunday. The findings by a team of influenza and immune system experts suggest new and better ways to fight viruses -- especially new pandemic strains that emerge and spread before a vaccine can be formulated ... These survivors, now aged 91 to 101, all lived through the pandemic as children. (Globe and Mail)
Flu not only killer in 1918 pandemic Aug 19, 2008
Most deaths in the 1918 influenza pandemic were caused not by the virus alone but by common bacterial infections that overwhelmed victims' weakened immune systems, according to two new studies that could change the strategy against the next pandemic ... But to explain the 1918 pandemic's unusual virulence, many scientists had come to believe that the virus caused death by provoking an overzealous, destroy-the-village-to-save-it immune response, especially in young adults with robust immune... (San Francisco Chronicle)
Blood still carries protection against killer 1918 flu Aug 19, 2008
Scientists tested the blood of 32 people aged 92 to 102 who were exposed to the 1918 pandemic flu and found antibodies that still roam the body looking to strangle the old flu strain ... In an episode of the since-cancelled TV series , a town improbably gets infected with the 1918 flu and the doctors treat everyone with the reluctantly donated blood of an old butler who survived the original pandemic, he said. (USA Today -- Tech)
'NATURE' ARTICLE: Neutralizing antibodies derived from the B cells of 1918 influenza pandemic survivors Aug 19, 2008
Neutralizing antibodies derived from the B cells of 1918 influenza pandemic survivors : Article : Nature ... Neutralizing antibodies derived from the B cells of 1918 influenza pandemic survivors ... The 1918 H1N1 influenza virus pandemic was the most severe of the modern era. (USA Today -- Tech)
Bacteria played role in 1918 flu pandemic deaths Aug 19, 2008
But to explain the 1918 pandemic s unusual virulence, many scientists had come to believe that the virus caused death by provoking an overzealous, destroy-the-village-to-save-it immune response, especially in young adults with robust immune systems ... But he acknowledged that the pandemic could have been the result of a polymicrobial infection ... So far, public health officials around the world have focused on producing and stockpiling vast quantities of antiviral drugs to combat future... (Ontario Argus Observer, OR)
Bird flu hopes from 1918 victims Aug 18, 2008
Survivors of the devastating 1918 influenza pandemic are still protected from the virus, according to researchers in the US. ... Scientists do not fully understand why it was so lethal - but they fear a new pandemic, once again triggered by bird flu, could be just as deadly. (BBC News)
Blood protects against 1918 flu Aug 18, 2008
Scientists tested the blood of 32 people aged 92 to 102 who were exposed to the 1918 pandemic flu and found antibodies that still roam the body looking to strangle the old flu strain. Researchers manipulated those antibodies into a vaccine and found that it kept alive all the mice they had injected with the killer flu, according to a study published online Sunday in the journal Nature. (DeKalb Daily Chronicle, IL)
Survivors of 1918 Flu Pandemic Immune 90 Years Later Aug 18, 2008
SUNDAY, Aug. 17 (HealthDay News) -- People who lived through the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 50 million worldwide are still producing antibodies to the virus 90 years later, researchers report ... "It's important to know that you can develop immunity to such a pandemic virus. That has implications for new pandemic viruses," he said ... "This study shows that humans can develop very potent immune responses against dangerous influenza that cause pandemics," Crowe said. (Washington Post)
* World News Quick Take Aug 18, 2008
Kim Chang-seob, the Agriculture Ministrys chief veterinary officer, said the declaration will be reported today to the Paris-based animal health organization known as OIE. The OIE has been at the forefront of global efforts to monitor and fight the H5N1 strain of bird flu, which scientists have tracked because they fear it may mutate into a human flu virus that could start a pandemic that would kill millions. Under the OIEs regulations, a country can officially declare itself free of the... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
Roche in $43.7bln bid for last Genentech shares Aug 18, 2008
In the core pharmaceutical operations, sales of its Tamiflu influenza medication fell 71 percent as governments slowed stockpile purchases against a backdrop of easing concerns over an H5N1 avian flu pandemic. This weakness was offset by its 'blockbuster' cancer treatments -- MabThera, Avastin and Herceptin -- which accounted for 7. (Yahoo News -- Pharmaceutical Industry News)
1918 flu survivors' antibodies helpful for anti-bird flu fight Aug 18, 2008
Patients are treated for the 1918 flu pandemic in a ward at Fort Riley Kansas ... BEIJING, Aug. 18 (Xinhuanet) -- Antibodies from survivors of the most devastating 1918 influenza pandemic still protect against the virus, providing a new approach to battle future epidemics that could be triggered by bird flu. (Xinhuanet, China)
Flu Fight Back To Future Aug 18, 2008
SURVIVORS of the flu virus that killed 50million people in 1918 could hold the key to making drugs to combat a bird flu pandemic ... Dr Crowe said: "This demonstrates survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic have highly functional virusneutralising antibodies to this uniquely virulent virus.". (Glasgow Daily Record)
• Bacteria played a role in 1918 pandemic flu deaths, scientists say Aug 18, 2008
Bacteria played a role in 1918 pandemic flu deaths, scientists say - Los Angeles Times ... National Museum of Health and Medicine The 1918 pandemic flu swept the globe, killing an estimated 50 million people ... Bacteria played a role in 1918 pandemic flu deaths, scientists say. (Q13.com, WA)
Survivors of 1918 flu pandemic protected with a lifetime immunity to virus Aug 18, 2008
The study entitled "Neutralizing antibodies derived from the B cells of 1918 influenza pandemic survivors," was released for advanced online publication by the journal Nature ... An estimated 50 million people were killed by the 1918 flu pandemic worldwide ... "Ninety years after survivors encountered the 1918 pandemic influenza virus, we collected antibody-producing B cells from them, and successfully isolated B cells that produce antibodies that block the viral infection," said contributing... (EurekAlert!)
1918 flu antibodies resurrected from elderly survivors Aug 18, 2008
Ninety years after the sweeping destruction of the 1918 flu pandemic, researchers at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt have recovered antibodies to the virus from elderly survivors of the original outbreak ... The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed nearly 50 million people worldwide, many of whom were young, healthy adults ... With fears of another looming flu pandemic stoked by the emergence of "bird flu" in Asia, researchers have wanted to study the 1918 virus and the immune... (EurekAlert!)
Uganda: New Strain of Bird Flu Poses a Major Threat Aug 17, 2008
The acting World Health Organisation (WHO) Representative in Uganda, Dr Jean Baptiste Tapko, said a global state of alert to the pandemic influenza has been declared ... He was addressing a Kampala symposium that is drafting a code of ethics for pandemic influenza detection and response in Africa ... Dr Tapko said the emergence of H5NI strain of influenza virus would mark the beginning of an influenza pandemic. (allAfrica.com)
Avian Flu Breakthrough: Virus Detection 'in Two Hours' Aug 17, 2008
At present influenza immunity relates only to specific strains and simply does not exist in the event of a new pandemic outbreak. The ongoing outbreaks and spread of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus in poultry and wild birds have led to fears that a subtype that is transmissible from human to human could emerge. (TheMedGuru)
AHIMA Supports CMS Steps to Adopt ICD-10 Upgrades Aug 16, 2008
"Once implemented in the US, ICD-10 will significantly improve our nation's ability to provide information comparable to 21st century medicine and its current understanding of disease. Moreover, ICD-10 will better allow for the measurement of quality patient care and the international exchange of public health, pandemic, research information and information that allows for policy decisions related to healthcare and healthcare systems.". SOURCE AHIMA. (PR Newswire)
Ohio's ad warning of flu pandemic overdone? Aug 16, 2008
Ohio's ad warning of flu pandemic overdone ... Ohio's ad warning of flu pandemic overdone ... An ominous voice ticks through the last century's encounters with pandemic flu, informing us that more Americans died from these outbreaks than died in World War I.. (Cleveland.com)
HIV cases on the increase in Dormaa Aug 16, 2008
Madam Iddrisah said 15-49 year bracket remained the worst-hit and that the youth are still adamant to calls to adopt lifestyles that could steer them away from the pandemic. She said the municipal health directorate had, in a bid to diversity methods to get the youth to embrace attitudinal change, launched a month-long counselling and testing exercise dubbed "Know your status" to offer counselling and testing to volunteers free of charge. (Ghana Web, Ghana)
Personalized immunotherapy to fight HIV/AIDS Aug 16, 2008
While more research needs to be done, this new target may lead to an innovative therapeutic approach to fight the AIDS pandemic. . (EurekAlert!)
Pandemic Potential Of H9N2 Avian Influenza Viruses Aug 15, 2008
However, aerosol transmission was not observed, a key factor in potentially pandemic strains ... (May 31, 2007) Veterinarians who work with birds are at increased risk for infection with avian influenza virus and should be among those with priority access to pandemic influenza vaccines and antivirals ... 11, 2007) The international science community is not doing enough to track the many avian influenza viruses that might cause the next pandemic, according to new. (Science Daily)
Randolph County included in flu readiness study Aug 15, 2008
Randolph County is one of 13 counties recently evaluated by a Purdue University research team working to gauge Indiana's planning for the event of an outbreak of pandemic influenza. The study found that panic, staffing issues, and geographic boundaries are some of the challenges that public health experts need to address as they create a comprehensive pandemic flu readiness plan ... "Avery said counties that border other states may experience nonresidents seeking treatment in their area. Other... (Winchester News-Gazette, IN)
Airport test to stop arrival of Sars and flu 'pointless' Aug 15, 2008
Screening for flu or Sars at UK airports to try to stop a pandemic taking hold in Britain will not work, warns an article in this week's British Medical Journal. Many people could be incubating the infection when tested but not show positive results because flight times are not long enough to allow flu or Sars to develop to the point of detection. (Yahoo News -- SARS)
Bird flu alert Aug 15, 2008
What happens when a pandemic breaks out. MIKE Jakarta. (Jakarta Post, Indonesia -- Editorial)
Portable machine to detect bird flu Aug 15, 2008
A rapid test could save thousands of lives in the event of a pandemic by identifying cases to just two hours ... It could then gain the ability to pass easily from person to person and perhaps lead to a dangerous global pandemic, they fear. (Hindu)
Hope over 'quick' bird flu test Aug 14, 2008
It could then gain the ability to pass easily from person to person and perhaps lead to a dangerous global pandemic, they fear ... Dr McNally said: "There's a large train of thought that one of the best ways of dealing with avian influenza is by detection and containment. "The ability to detect and type the influenza virus immediately is essential in setting up controls as quickly as possible to minimise the spread of any potential pandemic virus. (BBC News)
Researchers fear other bird flu virus may cause pandemic... Aug 14, 2008
Researchers fear other bird flu virus may cause pandemic ... Researchers fear other bird flu virus may cause pandemic ... US scientists Wednesday raised fears that a different strain of the bird flu virus could mutate to become more easily transmissible among humans and trigger a pandemic. (The Drudge Report)
DelSite Reports Second Quarter 2008 Results Aug 14, 2008
These attributes make DelSite's nasal powder influenza vaccine particularly well suited for pandemic preparedness when such products may need to be stockpiled for extended periods of time and rapidly distributed and self-administered under emergency conditions. In addition, DelSite's technology is being evaluated by private companies and government agencies for a variety of therapeutic and prophylactic applications. (Primezone Releases)
Stephen King, Ready for Download Aug 14, 2008
com), available for purchase at iTunes and Amazon, and even downloadable to cell phones ironic, given that in King's recent novel Cell, the mobile-phone network became a conduit for a global pandemic. The experiment is an example of the kind of outside-the-box thinking that publishers have had to engage in to try to reverse a steep decline in readers. (Time.com)
The pension-plan cookie thief Aug 13, 2008
But the desire for free stuff is pandemic, and Frosty Woodbridge at NewsWithViews. com talks about this very point when he says that "Our US Senate along with Obama and McCain protects the interests of 20 million illegal aliens that take jobs from American citizens! Has either man stepped up to stop 400,000 annual illegal alien anchor babies and their mothers from sucking out of the US taxpayer's pocket? Even while 86 hospitals in California and Arizona are bankrupted out of existence because of... (Asia Times Online)
Rwanda: New Aids Drug on Trial Aug 13, 2008
The global search for biomedical actions to help fight against HIV/AIDS pandemic has discovered new treatment options. The options include novel HIV possible treatment procedure called Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), clinical trials and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate (TDF) drug use. (allAfrica.com)
Flu season not far away Aug 13, 2008
COXSACKIE Coxsackie Town Supervisor Alex Betke was stricken with Pandemic Flu Tuesday night. The Greene County Department of Public Health kicked off the Coxsackie Town Board meeting Tuesday with a Pandemic Influenza informational session, and Betke was just one causality among a room full during a demonstration by Director of Public Health Marie Cross Ostoyich, who says one in three people contract the virus when Pandemic Flu strikes ... Together the trio explained what Pandemic Flu is, how to... (Catskill Daily Mail, NY)
Activists Present AIDS Ads To Increase Pandemic Awareness Aug 12, 2008
Due to the alarming number of HIV/AIDS cases worldwide, the activists knew that, in order to teach people about the pandemic, they should come up with extremely ingenious ideas. In an attempt to do this, they made posters showing flying superheroes in shape of condoms and huge insects, signifying the AIDS virus, having sex with unsuspicious victims. (eFluxMedia)
Canopus Biopharma and Leading Chinese Researcher Team Up to Treat Avian Influenza, to Prevent Possible Pandemic Aug 12, 2008
"It is possible that higher doses of statin than those used in this study may result in even greater efficacy. StatC(TM) also appeared to be more effective when administered preventatively." With current positive results, Canopus BioPharma is looking to form a co-development agreement or licensing arrangements with pharmaceutical companies and Government health authorities interested in providing more economical and universal treatment for their populations in the event of a pandemic ... Once... (PR Newswire)
WHO increases priority diseases for surveillance Aug 12, 2008
The emerging and re-emerging diseases include severe acute respiratory syndrome, avian and pandemic influenza, lishmaniasis, pertussis, cikungunya fever, non-communicable diseases, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and asthma. Dr Lawson Ahadzie, head of the Disease and Surveillance Unit of the Ghana Health Service, said this at the opening of a two-day meeting of the Unit to revise Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) Technical Guidelines. (Ghana Web, Ghana)
A Health Care App to Tackle Disasters Aug 12, 2008
According to the PDRTC site, the city s dense population, industry and high international profile, Los Angeles is at increased risk for pandemic influenza, environmental accident, biochemical incident and terrorist attacks. Yet, as of today, health care providers are to respond when the next crisis occurs. (CIO Information Network)
Thirteen Indonesian villagers clear of bird flu Aug 11, 2008
This would mean that the virus could have mutated into a form that can pass easily among people, which would trigger a pandemic ... However experts continue to worry that the H5N1 virus will ultimately mutate into a pandemic strain that could sweep the globe, with the potential to kill millions and decimate economies. (News-Medical.net)
Uganda: Makerere's DR Katabira Elected IAS Head Aug 11, 2008
An estimated 33 million people are living with HIV worldwide and since the beginning of the pandemic 25-years ago, more than 25 million people have died of Aids-related illnesses. Speakers at the opening session included UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Keren Jamina Dunaway Gonzales, an HIV-positive 13-year-old youth worker and the President of Mexico Filipe Calder;n. (allAfrica.com)
The Nanny State and the Common Good Meet at the Home Depot Aug 11, 2008
Adding together the obsessive number of advertisements for drugs against the pandemic of Erectile Dysfunction (is a Telethon next. and the plethora of posts by men whining that a girl stole their dangly bits, I would guess that one of the saddest side effects of Boomer Men turning 60 is that they now have returned full time to coddling their wee-wees, once they find them again of course. (Townhall.com)
Federal CDC director to speak at pandemic conference Aug 11, 2008
Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will be the keynote speaker at a pandemic flu preparedness conference Logistics Health Inc. will host at its La Crosse headquarters from 10 to 3 p.m. Sept. 4 ... Participants will learn the latest on the pandemic threat, corporate antiviral distribution strategies, public and private sector partnerships, and various legal implications ... LHI offers pandemic preparedness services. (La Crosse Tribune, WI)
Proclaiming the love of Jesus Christ to those with HIV/AIDS Aug 10, 2008
Rick Warren explains why he and his wife Kay have attended the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City and how he first got involved with this global pandemic ... We think this is where the church needs to be any time a major issue of global proportion like the AIDS pandemic is around, said Rick Warren ... I didnt realize that AIDS was such a pandemic. (Christian Today -- Australia)
Bush Says He Is Optimistic About China's Future Aug 10, 2008
"We have also cooperated on other shared challenges, from fighting pandemic disease to opposing North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.". But Bush balanced his praise for China with the reminder of the need for more changes in how the Chinese government operates. (Fox News)
Uganda:Fight Against Aids Faltering? Aug 10, 2008
The country has won international acclaim for its 20-year campaign against the AIDS pandemic, but the latest numbers lead some activists believe Uganda is now losing ground ... "Kigozi says Uganda's challenge is that over time its HIV prevention programme -- built on open public acknowledgment of the pandemic and boosted by the participation of celebrities like HIV+ musician Philly Bongoley Lutaaya -- has lost some of its power as complacency sets in among the population.He says Uganda has... (allAfrica.com)
President's Radio Address Aug 10, 2008
We have also cooperated on other shared challenges, from fighting pandemic disease to opposing North Korea's nuclear weapons programs. At the same time, America has spoken candidly and consistently about our concerns over the Chinese government's behavior. (White House News Releases)
Human rights at the core of AIDS control, conference told Aug 10, 2008
"Let's be perfectly clear: Failure to enact a comprehensive, sustained and multipronged attack on the pandemic represents a crime against those infected, those affected and those susceptible. Indeed, it represents a crime against humanity," Dr. Montaner said. Mark Harrington, executive director of the New York-based Treatment Action Group, said treating HIV-AIDS is a good investment because it strengthens health systems and improves access to health care. (Globe and Mail)
GPs might take flight in bird flu crisis Aug 9, 2008
A SIGNIFICANT minority of GPs might stay at home and decline to treat patients in the event of a bird flu pandemic, for fear that they or their families might become infected ... Annette Braunack-Mayer, one of the authors of the MJA paper, says from one point of view it is surprising any doctors would seriously consider lying low during a pandemic, and that ethics guidelines ought to make clear to doctors that it is their duty to treat patients during times of emergency. (The Australian)
Pandemic flu planning 'too slow' Aug 9, 2008
Pandemic flu planning 'too slow ... The UK government has been too slow in formulating plans to combat a potentially lethal flu pandemic, a leading expert has warned ... But at the height of a pandemic that would mean delivering more than one million courses of drug each day. (Yahoo News -- Influenza)
Face Masks Analyzed As Aid in Flu Pandemic Aug 9, 2008
A flu pandemic conjures up images of streets and buses full of people going about their business with masks covering the lower half of their faces ... But how much protection any would provide is largely unknown -- as is the question whether they could be safely washed and reused if there were not enough new ones in a pandemic. (Yahoo News -- Influenza)
Scientist seeks quicker Tamiflu Aug 9, 2008
Tamiflu is the anti-viral drug of choice in the world preparations for possible pandemic flu. The Swiss manufacturer Roche has given the World Health Organization five million courses of treatment to help stamp out any incipient outbreak of the disease at source. (Yahoo News -- Influenza)
