H5N1 (Free subscription) | 07/01/2008
This is one of the quietest spells I can recall, with almost no H5N1 news. But Helen Branswell has turned her attention to a related problem. Via The Globe and Mail, her CP story: Dengue fever: spreading and often undiagnosed....
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 06/23/2008
Via CTV.ca, a CP report by Helen Branswell: Bird flu vaccines not subject to uniform testing. Excerpt: A study comparing the tests being used by vaccine manufacturers to gauge the effectiveness of their H5N1 avian flu vaccines shows there is...
Avian Flu Diary (Free subscription) | 06/22/2008
# 2095 Helen Branswell of the Canadian Press does again what she does best, providing us with a clear and concise explanation of a complicated subject; in this case the relative effectiveness of influenza vaccines. Right now, each manufacturer is free to choose their own method and rationale for determining the strength, and efficacy, of their product. Without an agreed upon standard,...
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 06/13/2008
Via Helen Branswell of Canadian Press, big news—and I hope it's also good news: WHO says Indonesia has given assurances it will report bird flu cases. Excerpt: A senior official of the World Health Organization says the global health agency...
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 06/12/2008
Via C-Health, Helen Branswell of Canadian Press reports: Bird flu vaccine grown in monkey cells, not eggs, shows promising results. Excerpt: An avian flu vaccine grown in kidney cells from African green monkeys instead of eggs triggered a good immune...
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 06/06/2008
Via C-Health, Helen Branswell of Canadian Press has a superb report: WHO concerned by Indonesia's plan to announce bird flu deaths sporadically. Excerpt: Indonesia's health minister said Thursday her country would no longer report H5N1 avian flu deaths as they...
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 06/02/2008
Via C-Health, Helen Branswell of Canadian Press reports: Study shows hybrids of bird flu and human flu viruses fit well, could occur. Excerpt: An experiment mating H5N1 avian flu viruses and a strain of human flu in a laboratory produced...
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 05/27/2008
Via C-Health, Helen Branswell of Canadian Press: North American bird flu viruses becoming more adapted to humans: study. Excerpt: North American avian flu viruses of the H7 subtype - like the H7N3 viruses responsible for British Columbia's massive poultry outbreak...
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 05/26/2008
Via The Daily Gleaner, Helen Branswell explains dailygleaner.com - Virtual healthcare. Excerpt: The young denizens of Whyville never saw the dreaded Whyflu coming - though in retrospect, the flu clinic that mysteriously popped up in their virtual world a few...
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 05/19/2008
Via Canoe.ca, Helen Branswell reports: GlaxoSmithKline given approval to market H5N1 vaccine in Europe. Read the whole article. I wonder how much they pay the people who dream up drug names: Pre = before, pand = pandemic, rix = cool...
Red Orbit (Free subscription) | 06/27/2008
By Helen Branswell, Medical Reporter, THE CANADIAN PRESS TORONTO - Wait times for MRI and CT scans in Ontario - and probably elsewhere in Canada - could be reduced by cutting back on unnecessary scans ordered by doctors, a new study suggests.
Avian Flu Diary (Free subscription) | 06/13/2008
# 2066 According to this article by Helen Branswell, a senior official at the World Health Organization has announced that Indonesia's Health Minister Supari has agreed to resume notifying the WHO in a timely fashion about bird flu cases and fatalities. Hopefully this is good news. Although the statement by Dr. David Heymann at the WHO that " the minister will continue - as she has been...
H5N1 (Free subscription) | 06/18/2008
... sometimes pick up "echo stories" that are actually weeks or months old. C-Health usually picks up Helen Branswell's reports as soon as they're online. And Bird Flu Breaking News does a great job of picking up both news stories and blog posts. Hot Zone Sources: The key sources are Antara National News and The Jakarta Post . For the JP, check both National and Jakarta links. The Hong...
Red Orbit (Free subscription) | 06/06/2008
By Helen Branswell, Medical Reporter, THE CANADIAN PRESS Indonesia's health minister announced Thursday that her country will no longer report H5N1 avian flu deaths as they occur - a threatened policy shift experts said would put the country in violation of the International Health Regulations, a key global health treaty.
Avian Flu Diary (Free subscription) | 06/02/2008
# 2037 Helen Branswell brings us an informative look at a study, just published in PLoS (Public Library of Science) Pathogens , that looked at how human and avian flu viruses might combine, or reassort, into new strains. For those interested in the full study, it is entitled : Genetic Compatibility and Virulence of Reassortants Derived from Contemporary Avian H5N1 and Human H3N2 Influenza...
