http://medicalxpress.com/ en-us Medical Xpress internet news portal provides the latest news on Health and Medicine. Scientists at the University of California, Davis, detected the H1N1 (2009) virus in free-ranging northern elephant seals off the central California coast a year after the human pandemic began, according to a study published today, May 15, in the journal PLOS ONE. It is the first report of that flu strain in any marine mammal. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-h1n1-marine-mammals.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 15 May 2013 17:00:24 EST news287856012 Earlier this month, the U.S. government declared that the emerging H7N9 bird flu "poses a significant potential for a public health emergency." The virus, a relative of other bird flus we've seen previously like H1N1 and H5N1, originated in China and results in a severe respiratory infection and, in some cases, death. While the virus is not, at this time, transmissible between humans, researchers believe that just a few genetic mutations could change that. Network scientist Alessandro Vespignani, the Sternberg Family Distinguished University Professor of physics, computer science, and health sciences, is mapping the disease's progression in his lab. We asked him to discuss the pandemic potential of the virus and explain how this strain differs from those in the past. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-bird-flu-virus.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 14 May 2013 07:10:06 EST news287733012 A new SARS-like virus has killed two more people in Saudi Arabia, taking the number of deaths from the coronavirus that the kingdom has announced to seven in one week, the health ministry said. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-sars-like-virus-saudi.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 06 May 2013 05:20:02 EST news287035760 (Medical Xpress)—Recent scientific papers from China suggest a vigilant watch should be kept on the development of bird flu viruses, as a new strain has been identified and previously known viruses have been shown capable of mutating to forms that could spread from human to human via respiratory droplets. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-05-surveillance-bird-flu-strains.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 03 May 2013 06:20:01 EST news286776701 (Medical Xpress)—Pandemic flu continues to threaten public health, especially in the wake of the recent emergence of an H7N9 low pathogenic avian influenza strain in humans. A recent study published in PLoS ONE, a peer-reviewed scientific journal, provides new information for public health officials on mitigating the spread of infection from emerging flu viruses. The report brings new insight into the H1NI pandemic of 2009, and may help officials prepare for future pandemics. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-insight-pandemic-flu.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:39:37 EST news286180771 Health officials say they still don't understand how a lesser-known bird flu virus was able to kill two men and seriously sicken a woman in China, but that it's unlikely that it can spread easily among humans. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-04-china-h7n9-flu-strain.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 02 Apr 2013 05:00:01 EST news284096969 Flu viruses are a major cause of death and sickness around the world, and antiviral drugs currently do not protect the most seriously ill patients. A study published March 7th by Cell Press in the journal Cell reveals that a compound derived from fats found in fish oils prevents death in influenza-virus-infected mice, even at advanced stages of disease. The study offers a promising strategy for the treatment of patients with severe influenza virus infections. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-03-fatty-acids-flu-drug.html Medical research Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:55:48 EST news281883339 (Medical Xpress)—Researchers with the Scripps Institute have discovered that three naturally occurring antibodies are able to overcome flu mutations by attaching to a non-changing protein in the flu virus. As they describe in their paper published in the journal Nature Structural & Molecular Biology, they have found that the antibodies that are able to defeat the flu mutations can also stop an infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-02-natural-antibodies-flu.html Medical research Mon, 11 Feb 2013 06:05:21 EST news279785112 Duke researchers are looking to genomic technologies – not the isolation of bacteria or viruses – to quickly detect and diagnose infectious diseases such as the flu and staph. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-genomic-response-infection-earlier-accurate.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:00:09 EST news276961186 A new process to make a one-time, universal influenza vaccine has been discovered by a researcher at Georgia State University's Center for Inflammation, Immunity and Infection and his partners. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-one-way-flu-vaccine.html Medications Tue, 18 Dec 2012 13:18:48 EST news275059120 (Medical Xpress)—Influenza, commonly known as the flu, has distinct transmission patterns around the world. In temperate regions, influenza's occurrence peaks during the winter season, while in some tropical regions, the disease's occurrence tends to correspond with the rainy season. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-flu-common-winter-season.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 13 Dec 2012 06:42:45 EST news274603359 Researchers in Italy have discovered that the flu virus could contribute to the onset of diabetes. This finding could help scientists uncover a way to prevent some forms of this condition. The study was funded in part by the FLUTRAIN ('Training and technology transfer of avian influenza diagnostics and disease management skills') project, which received EUR 1.8 million under the Policies Thematic area of the EU's Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-12-link-flu-virus-diabetes-onset.html Diabetes Tue, 04 Dec 2012 06:25:11 EST news273824696 Each year the flu puts more than 200,000 Americans in the hospital and causes anywhere from 3,000 to 49,000 deaths. With the exception of the H1N1 flu (also called swine flu) in 2009, most of these deaths occur in people over 65. But even for healthy younger people, the flu—characterized by high fever, body aches, headaches, and coughing—can be rough. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-ready-flu-season.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 27 Nov 2012 08:03:37 EST news273225802 It's cold and flu season. But taking antibiotics for cold and flu viruses won't make children and adults feel better or help them get back to school or work faster. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-11-physicians-patients-smart-antibiotics.html Medications Fri, 16 Nov 2012 07:28:04 EST news272273240 More than 80 percent of pigs that tested positive for influenza A virus at Ohio county fairs between 2009 and 2011 showed no signs of illness, according to a new study. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-10-pigs-healthy-positive-flu-fairs.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 24 Oct 2012 15:47:29 EST news270312427 Dengue is one of the most widespread mosquito-borne viral diseases in the world, with WHO estimating that around half of the world's population are currently at risk. While infection usually causes flu-like symptoms, it can develop into a more serious form of the disease, known as severe dengue, which is a leading cause of severe illness and death among children in some Asian and Latin American countries. The incidence of dengue appears to have grown dramatically in recent decades – before 1970 only nine countries had experienced severe dengue epidemics, but the disease is now thought to be endemic in more than 100 countries across the world. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-09-scientists-dengue-vaccine-breakthrough.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 10 Sep 2012 18:30:01 EST news266515835 A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and Crucell Vaccine Institute in the Netherlands describes three human antibodies that provide broad protection against Influenza B virus strains. The same team had previously reported finding broadly neutralizing antibodies against Influenza A strains. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-08-universal-vaccine-scientists-antibodies-large.html Medical research Thu, 09 Aug 2012 14:00:01 EST news263736323 In a long-awaited study that helped prompt a contentious debate over the wisdom of conducting research that has the potential to help as well as harm, scientists reported Wednesday that they had engineered a mutant strain of bird flu that can spread easily between ferrets - a laboratory animal that responds to flu viruses much as people do. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-bird-flu-transmit-mammals.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 04 May 2012 14:30:02 EST news255357912 Researchers at the University of British Columbia have identified a number of tiny but powerful "genetic regulators" that are hijacked by avian and swine flu viruses during human infection. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-genetic-hijacked-avian-swine-flu.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 29 Mar 2012 04:09:02 EST news252212929 In the controversy surrounding the newly developed strains of avian H5N1 flu viruses, scientists and policy makers are struggling with one question in particular: what level of biosafety is best for studying these potentially lethal strains of influenza? In a pair of commentaries, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and the University of Michigan argue their different views of how to safely handle H5N1 flu viruses. The commentaries will be published in mBio, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on Tuesday, March 6. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-h5n1-viruses-benefits.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 06 Mar 2012 03:51:57 EST news250228309 The World Health Organization (WHO) said it was "deeply concerned" about research into whether the H5N1 flu virus could be made more transmissible between humans after mutant strains were produced in labs. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-12-deeply-mutant-bird-flu.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Sat, 31 Dec 2011 05:14:57 EST news244530883 Vaccinating children annually against influenza virus interferes with their development of cross-reactive killer T cells to flu viruses generally, according to a paper in the November Journal of Virology. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-annual-childhood-flu-vaccines-crossresistance.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Thu, 17 Nov 2011 09:50:02 EST news240741182 Researchers conducting influenza-like illness surveillance in Cambodia have confirmed a rare incidence of individuals becoming infected with a seasonal influenza and the pandemic strain at the same time, a reminder of the ongoing risk of distinct flu viruses combining in human hosts to produce a more lethal strain, according to a report in the November issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. A pandemic strain is a type of flu against which people have little or no natural immunity. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-11-global-flu-rare-coinfection-southeast.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:34:30 EST news239473602 People carrying extra pounds may need extra protection from influenza. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-10-obesity-limits-effectiveness-flu-vaccines.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:57:44 EST news238744651 Many of the people who died from the new strain of H1N1 influenza that broke out in 2009 were suffering from another infection as well: pneumonia. A new study to be published Tuesday, September 20 in the online journal mBio reveals how the two infections, pandemic influenza and pneumonia, interact to make to make a lethal combination. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-h1n1-pandemic-flu-lungs-opportunities.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:07:26 EST news235674431 In the new movie "Contagion," fictional health experts scramble to get ahead of a flu-like pandemic as a drug-resistant virus quickly spreads, killing millions of people within days after they contract the illness. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-searchers-global-drug-resistant-influenza.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Wed, 14 Sep 2011 14:08:17 EST news235228083 (AP) -- Health officials say a novel strain of swine flu has sickened two children in Pennsylvania and Indiana. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-09-cdc-children-sickened-swine-flu.html Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes Fri, 02 Sep 2011 15:41:49 EST news234196878 Some vaccines are once-in-a-lifetime; others need a booster shot or two to maintain their potency. And then there's the flu vaccine, which only lasts a year. Strains of influenza virus change so much from year-to-year that new vaccines must be developed annually to target the strains of virus that are most likely to cause illness. But Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) scientists have now discovered a human antibody that recognizes many different flu strains. Understanding more about this antibody may help scientists design a longer-lasting vaccine against the influenza virus. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-newly-antibody-strains-flu-virus.html Medical research Mon, 08 Aug 2011 15:10:05 EST news232030522 Prof. Samuel Lo, Associate Head of the Department of Applied Biology and Chemical Technology, and Dr Derek Or, Associate Professor of the Department of Electrical Engineering, have jointly developed a Portable Real-time DNA Biosensor. The device is designed to perform speedy in situ DNA tests for bio-defence and health surveillance purposes in areas suspected to be contaminated with pathogens and/or undesirable microbes. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-08-biosensor-rapid-virus-field.html Medical research Thu, 04 Aug 2011 06:31:14 EST news231658253 Annually changing flu vaccines with their hit-and-miss effectiveness may soon give way to a single, near-universal flu vaccine, according to a new report from scientists at The Scripps Research Institute and the Dutch biopharmaceutical company Crucell. They describe an antibody that, in animal tests, can prevent or cure infections with a broad variety of influenza viruses, including seasonal and potentially pandemic strains. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-universal-flu-vaccine-closer-discovery.html Medical research Thu, 07 Jul 2011 14:00:03 EST news229265919