Study Tries to Detect Flu Before The First Sneeze
Its a novel experiment: Students report daily whether they have any cold or flu symptoms. If they do, a team swoops in to test not just the sneezer but, more importantly, seemingly healthy friends and hallmates who might be incubating the infection.
“Were redefining the definition of being ill,” says Col. Geoffrey Ling, a physician with [...]
Coughing Swine In Northern Ireland Prompt Search For Flu Source
The pandemic H1N1 influenza strain infected about 4,500 hogs at the piggery in Greenhill, U.K. veterinary officials said in a report to the World Organization for Animal Health yesterday. Five pigs died in the outbreak, first noticed Sept. 1, when some of the animals began coughing and lost their appetite.
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Studies: Swine Flu Spreads Extended After Fever Stops
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been telling people to stay home from work and school and avoid contact with others until a day after their fever breaks. The new research suggests they may need to be careful for longer – especially at home where the risk of spreading the germ is [...]
Study: New Treatment May Combat Drug-resistant Flu
The woman had recently undergone chemotherapy for Hodgkins disease. After catching swine flu, her lungs filled with fluid and she was put on a ventilator to help her breathe. Despite days of being given Tamiflu, inhalable Relenza, and other medicines, the patient deteriorated.
So her doctors decided to try a different way of getting the drug [...]
Swine Flu Basics: Whos At Risk, If to Expect Shots _ And The Way, Porks
This summer, the virus has been surprisingly tenacious in the U.S., refusing to fade away as flu viruses usually do. And health officials predict a surge of cases this fall, perhaps very soon as schools reopen.
A White House report from an expert panel suggests that from 30 percent to half the population could catch swine [...]
Smokers Risk Swine Flu Complications Like Pneumonia, Data Show
Twelve of 27 swine flu patients who developed pneumonia and other serious illnesses were either current or former smokers and some had no other known risk factors, Thomas Tsang, acting controller of Hong Kongs Centre for Health Protection, told a medical meeting in Beijing yesterday.
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Argentina Flu Demise Mystery Sparks Inquiry For Virus Mutation
The Latin American country has reported more than 130 deaths from the pandemic H1N1 flu virus since June. Analyses of specimens taken from two severely ill patients showed subtle genetic differences in the virus, the International Society for Infectious Diseases said in a report via its ProMED-mail program yesterday.
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Researchers to Implant Pig Cells In Diabetics
The cells produce pig insulin, which is very similar to human insulin and has the same effect of lowering blood sugar, and Living Cell Technologies hopes the cells may be able to delay the effects of Type 1 diabetes – including blindness, premature coronary illness and limb amputation caused by poor blood circulation.
Though Prof. Bob [...]
Swine Flu Is More Severe Than Seasonal Flu, Ferret Study Finds
The H1N1 swine flu virus went further into the ferrets lungs, and also penetrated the gastrointestinal tract while seasonal flu stayed in the nasal cavity, researchers from the U.S. and the Netherlands found. Ferrets are affected by flu viruses much as humans are, the researchers said.
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Study: New Flu Inefficient In Attacking People
“While the virus is able to bind human receptors, it clearly appears to be restricted,” Ram Sasisekharan, lead author of the report, said in a statement.
But flu viruses are known to mutate rapidly, the research team noted, so this one must be watched closely in case it changes to become easier to spread.
Even if it [...]