-
US-CERT warns of swine flu-related phishing scams
The swine flu outbreak is about two weeks old, but criminals are already e-mailing millions of phishing e-mails which purport to offer the latest information about the disease
-
-
Lancet: Pandemic closer but not inevitable
Prestigious British health journal said “The world has moved closer towards a pandemic, but it is not yet inevitable”
-
-
Travel ban will not meaningfully slow spread of epidemic
Computer modelers say that travel restrictions will do more harm (economic damage) than good (slow the spread of the flu); prevention and treatment are better measures
-
-
Current swine flu is the inevitable result of modern farming methods
The current swine flu outbreak is not yet two weeks old and conspiracy theorists already ascribe it to genetic engineering by clever bioterrorists; the truth is more prosaic: there are more than one billion pigs and more than 70 billion chickens raised every year for human consumption; modern, industrial animal farming methods make the creation of new virus types — what scientists call “reassortment” — inevitable
-
-
Mexico complains to Israel about new name for swine flu
Israel’s deputy health minister suggests that, in deference to Muslim and Jewish sensitivities over pork, the name “swine flu” should be changed to “Mexican flu”; Mexico launched official protest with Israel, saying the the name Mexican flu was “bothersome and worrying”
-
-
Virulent H5N1 mistakenly mixed with H3N2
Austrian branch of vaccine company Baxter sent a batch of ordinary human H3N2 flu to Avir lab, also in Austria; a Czech affiliate of Avir conducted tests on ferrets, which died; investigation shows that the H3N2 batch contained live virulent H5N1 virus
-
-
WHO: Swine flu could become pandemic
The growing number of swine flu in Mexico, and the spread of the disease in the United States, lead the World Health Organization to declare the virus “a public health emergency of international concern”
-
-
Swine flu kills 60 in Mexico, spreads to U.S.
Sixty people in Mexico have so far died of swine flu, and the World Health organization says the disease has spread to the United States; disease regularly hits pigs but rarely affects humans
-
-
New biosensor for most serious form of Listeria food poisoning bacteria
Biolermakers researchers develop a biosensor using so-called heat shock proteins — which the body produces in response to stress — instead of the antibodies used in other tests
-
-
New Ebola vaccine protects against lethal infection in animal models
Ebola virus is the the cause of severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and nonhuman primates; it is transmitted through direct contact of bodily fluids with infected individuals resulting in death up to 90 percent of the time; no licensed vaccines or antivirals are available against EBOV; researchers say new vaccine shows promise
-
-
Taliban renews opposition to polio vaccination
Taliban in Pakistan’s northwest territories and Afghanistan renew their campaign against vaccination of children against polio; clerics describe vaccination as “Western plot”; Taliban fighters have attacked vaccination teams in Pakistan’s Swat valley; Islamic clerics in northern Nigeria have embarked on similar campaign
-
-
E. coli vaccine developed
A Michigan State University researcher has developed a working vaccine for a strain of E. coli that kills 2 million to 3 million children each year in the developing world
-
-
Hundreds of patients in Illinois exposed to TB
A medical residents on hospital rotations unknowingly exposes hundreds of patients to TB; o far, no one has tested positive for the disease
-
-
Ebola lab accident tests experimental vaccine
A lab scientist in Germany accidentally pricked her finger with a needle carrying Ebola virus; there are no approved vaccines for Ebola, and Ebola accidents have killed lab technicians before; the German technician was given an experimental vaccine, and so far developed no symptoms
-
-
California pistachio growers worry about big losses from FDA recall
California produces 96 percent of the U.S. pistachios; the entire $540 million-a-year industry is under threat as a result of FDA’s pistachios recall last week
-
