Iomai Receives HHS Approval To Begin Phase 2 Trial Of H5N1 Influenza Adjuvant Patch
Iomai Corporation (Nasdaq: IOMI) announced that it has received approval from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to expand its program to develop an immunostimulant adjuvant patch for use with an injected H5N1 influenza vaccine. This decision was based upon positive clinical data generated in a 500-subject, Phase 1/2 study recently completed by Iomai.
South Korea Investigates More Cases Of Bird Flu
The government of South Korea is investigating fresh outbreaks of bird flu, including one only 70 kilometers from the capital, Seoul.According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said on Monday that the latest outbreak was reported after sudden deaths in birds on a chicken farm in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, less than 70 km from Seoul.
Bird Flu Pandemic Would Require Multi-Drug Approach, UK
Scientists have uncovered a change in the H5N1 bird flu virus which makes it resistant to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu. The mutation in the N1 component was found in human cases of the disease and suggests that a single drug approach is likely to be ineffective in case of a bird flu pandemic in humans.
EU Approves GSK's Pre-Pandemic Bird Flu Vaccine
Global pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is the first to get the go ahead for a wide spectrum vaccine to protect humans ahead of a possible future bird flu pandemic now that the European Commission (EC) is giving the drug giant approval today, Monday, to market its pre-pandemic vaccine Prepandrix in all 27 member states of the European Union (EU), according to various media reports.
Heading Off A Bird-Flu Pandemic: We Need Broadly Protective Vaccines That Can Be Rapidly Produced And Administered
Widespread vaccination likely will be the cornerstone of public-health measures for controlling an H5N1 bird-flu pandemic, say Andrea Gambotto, M.D., assistant professor of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and his colleagues, in this week's edition of The Lancet.
Indonesia Runs Large Scale Bird Flu Drill
Indonesia is running a large scale drill simulating an outbreak of human to human bird flu that involves thousands of villagers, health workers and government officials, rehearsing for a potential pandemic. The drill started today, Friday 25th April, and is scheduled to run for three days.
Battling Bird Flu By The Numbers
A pair of Los Alamos National Laboratory theorists have developed a mathematical tool that could help health experts and crisis managers determine in real time whether an emerging infectious disease such as avian influenza H5N1 is poised to spread globally.
Learning From The Influenza Virus' Tricks
Influenza is currently a grave concern for governments and health organisations around the world. The worry is the potential for highly virulent bird flu strains, such as H5N1, to develop the ability to infect humans easily. New drugs and vaccines to halt the spread of the virus are badly needed.
Human To Human Transmission Of Bird Flu
Testsindicate that a father diagnosed with bird flu in China probably caughtthe disease from his son, only increasing concern about transmission ofthe virus between humans. This was published early online and in theApril 2008 issue of The Lancet. As of April 2, 2008, there have been 376 cases of infection with the highly pathogenic avianinfluenza A (H5N1) virus with 238 deaths reported in 14 differentcountries since November 2003.
Examining The Avian Flu: From Pandemic Planning To Vaccine Development
The journal Respirology has launched a special supplementary issue on the avian influenza. Published by Wiley-Blackwell, the collection of papers present an inclusive insight into the threat of the avian influenza pandemic by addressing a wide range of topics including the basic biology of the virus, updates on laboratory diagnosis and influenza anti-viral, treatment options, and pandemic planning.