News Reports for June 25, 2010

Non-profits start research to evaluate novel adjuvants

IDRI and PATH Enter into Research Collaboration Agreement to Evaluate Novel Adjuvants to Enhance Pandemic Influenza Vaccines

Two global health non-profit organizations headquartered in Seattle, Washington, the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI) and PATH, have entered into a Research Collaboration Agreement to evaluate novel adjuvants for their ability to enhance the immune response of pandemic influenza vaccines in development. The collaboration supports the goal of PATH's influenza vaccine project to advance the development of promising new influenza vaccines focusing on novel technologies that can be accessible, affordable, and available to people in low-resource countries in a global outbreak. IDRI, a non-profit biotechnology organization, has developed numerous emulsion adjuvants for use with various antigens for the production of vaccines.
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"The collaboration is an important step toward enhancing the cost-effectiveness of influenza vaccines and expanding their availability to low-resource countries that would not otherwise be able to access them."
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PATH is an international nonprofit organization that creates sustainable, culturally relevant solutions, enabling communities worldwide to break longstanding cycles of poor health.
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http://www.prnewswire.com/news...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 14:47:03 PM UTC

India foils Chinese bid to patent 'pudina', translates ancient texts

 India has foiled a major Chinese bio-piracy bid to patent the use of medicinal plants 'pudina' (mint) and 'kalamegha' (andrographis) for the treatment of H5N1 avian influenza or bird flu.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with the help of India's Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL), dug out formulations from ancient Ayurveda and Unani texts, like 'Cakradattah', 'Bhaisajya Ratnavali', 'Kitaab-al-Haawi-fil-Tibb' and 'Qaraabaadeen Azam wa Akmal', dating back to the 9th century, to show that both 'pudina' and 'kalamegha' have been widely used in India since ages for influenza and epidemic fevers.

After receiving exhaustive evidence from CSIR that confirmed India's stand, the European Patent Office (EPO) on June 10 cancelled the decision to grant patent to Livzon, a major Chinese pharmaceutical company, on the medicinal properties of pudina and kalamegha for treating bird flu.
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TKDL is a collaborative project between CSIR and Union health ministry's department of Ayush.

In 2000, a TKDL expert group estimated that about 2,000 wrong patents concerning Indian systems of medicine were being granted every year at the international level, mainly due to the fact that India's traditional medicine knowledge existed in languages such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Urdu, Tamil etc. These were neither accessible nor understood by the patent examiners at the international patent offices.

TKDL, therefore, overcame these language and format barriers by scientifically converting and making available information contents in 34 million A4 size pages of the ancient texts into five international languages -- English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes...

TKDL stands for Traditional Knowledge Digital Library.
http://www.tkdl.res.in/tkdl/la...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 15:03:58 PM UTC

Singapore: Avian flu jabs for Jurong Bird Park flamingos

It's not just humans who are getting flu jabs. The Jurong Bird Park is vaccinating its birds to protect them against the bird flu.

Dr Melodiya Magno, a veterinarian at Jurong Bird Park, said: "There's a need to vaccinate the birds in the Bird Park because the danger of bird flu is something that is real. For bird-to-human (transmission), there is a chance, but it can be rare.

"But we are vaccinating (the birds) because...if it (the virus) is transmitted from bird to bird, it can cause a lot of mortalities, like 90 to 100 percent for H5N1."
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"In that way, if we prevent an outbreak from happening (involving the low pathogenic strain), then we can prevent it from mutating to a higher pathogenic strain, perhaps a strain that can infect humans."

The birds are given the H5N2 vaccine that strengthens their immune system by creating antibodies. The Bird Park says this could also increase their chances of survival against the H5N1, commonly known as bird flu.
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"We have sentinel chickens in strategic positions in the park, and we collect samples from them. We collect their faeces and blood on a monthly basis to check whether they are carrying viruses," said Dr Magno.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com...

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 16:08:59 PM UTC

Kids may need 2 H1N1 doses again this year

Children over 6 months and under 9 years old who haven't received an H1N1 vaccine yet can expect to get two doses of seasonal flu vaccine this fall, if the Centers for Disease Control adopts recommendations from its vaccine advisory committee. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to add this recommendation to the usual seasonal flu rules at a regularly scheduled meeting in Atlanta on Thursday.

Young children under the age of 9 who never got the H1N1 or never got seasonal flu vaccine will need to get two seasonal flu shots or sprays, says Dr. Anthony Fiore, a vaccine specialist at the CDC, who presented data to the committee.  Children under the age of 6 months are too young to get any flu vaccination. Continued: http://pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 16:42:07 PM UTC

Bronco Bill, it's Friday joke time! LOL

Your jokes are posted here: http://www.newfluwiki2.com/dia...

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 17:00:56 PM UTC

India: With rising humidity, Gujarat govt warns of new round of swine flu

Gandhinagar: The state government has once again warned people in the state against swine flu (Influenza-A H1N1), an infectious disease that spreads rapidly in humid weather conditions. With monsoon setting in over south India and Maharashtra, the increased humidity in the air is causing cases of swine flu to crop up in these parts. Some 23 people in Kerala and 10 people in Maharashtra are confirmed as infected by the virus.

(Snip) health and family welfare minister Jaynarayan Vyas said that suspecting a possible virus invasion, the state government has put the entire health mechanism of the state on alert. Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra are seeing an increased number of deaths and H1N1 infections, and Gujarat's health department is taking it with due seriousness, (Snip)

The health department has issued circulars to all government medical colleges, civil hospitals, and district health bodies, asking them to function with utmost sincerity. (Snip) health services, has also ordered civil and general hospitals to be equipped with an isolation ward, necessary medicines, ventilators, PPT kits and trained staff.

Directions for classifying the patients in A, B and C categories as per the guidelines of the health and family welfare ministry of the government of India, and for treatment and regular chemoprophylaxis in accordance with different categories, have also been issued. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/...
 

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 20:29:27 PM UTC

India: Woman dies due to swine flu in Gujarat

Banaskantha: A 23-year-old woman who was tested positive for Swine flu died today while undergoing treatment at the Ahmedabad civil hospital,(Snip) "The victim Bhawna Ghevariya who was confirmed with HIN1 infection on June 21, succumbed to the deadly virus today in the civil Hospital in Ahmedabad," (Snip)

"The woman who was pregnant had come to her parents' place in Haripura village of Vav taluka for delivery. On June 15 she gave birth to a child at a private hospital in Deesa. But her health began to deteriorate since then," (Snip) Looking at her Swine flu like symptoms, doctors of private hospital referred her to the Ahmedabad civil hospital, where she tested positive for H1N1 virus on June 21, he added.
(Snip)
As many as 300 persons have died due to Swine flu in the state till now, out of the over 1,400 people who were infected with the deadly H1N1 virus. http://www.dnaindia.com/india/...

(Note: That is a high CFR if accurate!!)


Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. --Unknown

     

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by: Carol@SC @ Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 20:34:54 PM UTC

Coumbia: Bogota health authorities on alert for spread of killer flu

http://colombiareports.com/col...

(Hat Tip: "Pixie" @ PFI)

Bogota's health authority is on alert for the possible spread of the H5N1 virus, a flu even more virulent than the AH1N1 virus, which cost the lives of over 200 Colombians in 2009.

Health Secretary Hector Zambrano said the probability is high that cases of the H5N1 virus, also known as "avian flu," will arrive in the Colombian capital city, due to the large number of foreigners who visit Bogota over summer vacation.

Zambrano advised the population to wash their hands regularly and see a doctor immediately if they have symptoms such as headaches, sore throat, cough, a fever and watering eyes.

Public hospitals are on alert for a potential outbreak of the flu. --- continued at link, above ---


www.EmergencyHomePreparation.org -- A 'card-catalog' style of prepping information.   -

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by: Readymom @ Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 21:20:21 PM UTC

But even "large number of foreigners" aren't carrying H5N1 now.

The few who do have H5N1 don't do much international traveling, because generally they don't have the money for such travel.  They stay home and take care of their ducks and chickens, don't they?  I wonder what's alarming the government of Colombia.  (Just my opinion)

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

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by: Jane @ Fri Jun 25, 2010 at 21:44:45 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Please post new news stories to ...

News Reports for June 26, 2010

Thank you!

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by: AlohaOR @ Sat Jun 26, 2010 at 04:57:31 AM UTC