News • Post-viral condition
'Don't call it long-Covid'? It's not that simple
A recent suggestion to stop using the term ‘long-Covid’ may have been well-intentioned, but could ultimately do more harm than good, experts point out.
Search for: "flu" - 149 articles found
News • Evolution of Sars-CoV-2
Coronavirus model predicts new variants
What does the future of the coronavirus look like? An international research team from Cologne and New York has developed a model to predict the likely evolution of Sars-CoV-2.
Interview • Symptoms and their causes
Sneezing and sniffing: Is it allergies, a common cold, the flu, or Covid-19?
A family physician at Tufts University School of Medicine offers advice for how to treat allergies and how to tell if symptoms are due to allergies, the common cold, the flu, or Covid-19.
News • Sars-CoV-2, flu, RSV and other viruses
Proof-of-concept air monitor detects coronavirus variants in 5 minutes
Combining aerosol sampling and ultrasensitive biosensing, researchers have created a real-time monitor that can detect any of the Sars-CoV-2 virus variants in a room in about 5 minutes.
News • Diagnosis done quick
New sensor tells apart Covid-19 and flu infections - in 10 seconds
US scientists report using a single-atom-thick nanomaterial to simultaneously detect Covid-19 and flu viruses — at much lower levels and much more quickly than conventional tests for either.
News • Enhancing lung defense
An inhalable ‘SHIELD’ against Covid-19 and flu viruses
Researchers have developed an inhalable powder that could protect lungs and airways from invasion from the coronavirus or flu viruses by reinforcing the body’s own mucosal layer.
Sponsored • Disease management
Multiplex Testing: A Solution to Manage Surge in Respiratory Illnesses as Concerns over “Multi-demic” Rise
Eunsin Bae, M.D. specializes in laboratory medicine and leads the Institute of Clinical Research at Seegene Inc. Her research focuses on microbiology, molecular biology, and hematology. Dr. Bae is currently working toward implementing a global clinical study and establishing an international network of clinical investigations.
News • Coronavirus consequences
Covid-19 continues to reduce life expectancy (in some countries more than others)
Covid-19 has led to global mortality changes unprecedented in the last 70 years, according to new research. However, the drop in life expectancy is not equally high in all countries.
News • Covid-19
Preparing for another outbreak
What will the next pandemic look like? Health officials from across the globe gathered in Geneva in late August at a World Health Organization meeting to focus on how lessons learned from Covid-19 might best prepare civilization for the "next one."
News • Data submission on skin symptoms and vaccine
Monkeypox: International registry launched
Using a newly launched, comprehensive monkeypox registry, health professionals can share data on the skin symptoms of monkeypox and the vaccine to improve patient care.
Article • Outbreak prevention and management efforts
Infectious diseases: new challenges for EU monitoring
Avian flu, MERS, Covid-19, monkeypox: outbreaks of infectious diseases are getting more common in Europe. As a result, the EU must adapt its surveillance strategies and introduce more data-driven, interdisciplinary countermeasues.
News • Highly accurate
A 30-second coronavirus test
The COVID-19 testing device can detect coronavirus infection in as little as 30 seconds as sensitively and accurately as a PCR test.
News • In 2020
COVID-19 restrictions linked to 750,000 fewer dengue cases
COVID-19 measures such as school closures and ‘high-traffic and mixing’ areas had the strongest association, providing clues for new intervention approaches.
News • Alternative to injection
Inhaled vaccine delivers broad protection against SARS-CoV-2
Scientists have confirmed that an inhaled form of COVID vaccine can provide broad, long-lasting protection against the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern.
News • Viral subtypes
Coronavirus evolution: 'Even Omicron has three variants'
Professor Richard Neher from the Biozentrum of the University of Basel is using his Nextstrain platform to investigate which variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus are currently circulating worldwide.
News • Covid-19 & influenza
Will there be a twindemic?
“Twindemic” is a term that has not yet been in the headlines but is likely to become part of our lexicon as the summer progresses.
News • Rapid detection
Molecular diagnostic test for Covid-19, Flu, RSV receives CE mark
A new rapid molecular diagnostic test from Cepheid has received the CE mark for distribution in the European market. The test, called Xpert Xpress CoV-2/Flu/RSV plus, is designed for qualitative detection of the viruses causing Covid-19, Flu A, Flu B, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections from a single patient sample. The new plus version of the test provides a third gene target for…
News • Fighting antibacterial resistance
Continued COVID levels of hygiene could transform infection control
Making recommendations for change, academics analyzed global data into the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in urban areas—the rise of which is threatening the lifesaving role of the medications.
News • Immune response study
Is a "natural" Covid-19 infection better than vaccination? It's complicated
Hope for a future without fear of Covid-19 comes down to circulating antibodies and memory B cells. Unlike circulating antibodies, which peak soon after vaccination or infection only to fade a few months later, memory B cells can stick around to prevent severe disease for decades. And they evolve over time, learning to produce successively more potent “memory antibodies” that are better at…
Article • AI in public health
Inspiring women to create technology that impacts society
Some people change the narrative about technology and society. One of them is Nuria Oliver, Chief Data Scientist at Data-Pop Alliance, Chief Scientific Advisor at the Vodafone Institute, and Co-founder and Vice-president of the European Laboratory for Learning and Intelligent Systems (ELLIS). In an interview with HiE, she explains how she develops computational tools and uses artificial…
News • Genome editing
Using CRISPR to speed up Covid-19 testing
A research team led by scientists in the labs of Jennifer Doudna, David Savage and Patrick Hsu at the University of California, Berkeley, is aiming to develop a rapid Covid-19 diagnostic test that is much faster and easier to deploy than qRT-PCR. It has now combined two different types of CRISPR enzymes to create an assay that can detect small amounts of viral RNA in less than an hour. Doudna…
News • Coronavirus diagnostics
Rapid Covid-19 test delivers results within 4 minutes with 90 percent accuracy
A low-cost, rapid diagnostic test for Covid-19 developed by Penn Medicine provides Covid-19 results within four minutes with 90 percent accuracy. A paper published this week in Matter details the fast and inexpensive diagnostic test, called RAPID 1.0 (Real-time Accurate Portable Impedimetric Detection prototype 1.0). Compared to existing methods for Covid-19 detection, RAPID is inexpensive and…
News • Lasting impact
COVID-19 survivors have increased risk of death
A major study from the Washington University School of Medicine details numerous long-term effects of COVID-19, pointing to massive health burden.
News • Lessons learned from Covid-19
A 'blueprint' for preventing the next pandemic
Scientific and public health experts have been raising the alarm for decades, imploring public officials to prepare for the inevitability of a viral pandemic. Infectious epidemics seemingly as benign as "the flu" and as deadly as the Ebola virus provided ample warning, yet government officials seemed caught off guard and ill prepared for dealing with Covid-19.
News • Frequently Asked Questions
What patients want to know about Covid-19 vaccine
This FAQ from the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology is provided to help answer patient questions about COVID-19 vaccines. These recommendations are based on best knowledge to date, but could change at any time, pending new information and further guidance from the FDA or CDC.
News • Flu & other aerosolized viruses
Microwaves used to deactivate coronavirus
As the pandemic has continued to spread globally, studies indicate the COVID-19 virus may be contained in aerosols that can be generated and spread through breathing, coughing, sneezing, or talking by infected individuals. Researchers are increasingly focused on developing tools and methods to assist in decontaminating surfaces and spaces.
News • "Faces" of the disease
Covid-19: researchers identify at least 5 variants
According to current studies, the Covid-19 disease which is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus comprises at least five different variants. These differ in how the immune system responds to the infection. Researchers from the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn, together with other experts from Germany, Greece and the Netherlands, present these findings…
News • Disease severity comparison
Covid-19 a far more serious threat than seasonal influenza, confirms huge data set
Nearly twice as many people were admitted to hospital for Covid-19 at the height of the pandemic than were for influenza at the peak of the 2018/2019 flu season, a study of French national data published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal has found (Covid-19, 89,530 patients vs influenza, 45,819 patients).
News • Genome sequence analyzer app
Researchers build world’s first DNA “tricorder”
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) scientists developed the world’s first mobile genome sequence analyzer, a new iPhone app called iGenomics. By pairing an iPhone with a handheld DNA sequencer, users can create a mobile genetics laboratory, reminiscent of the “tricorder” featured in Star Trek.
Coronavirus Update
FDA Authorizes First Covid-19 and Flu Combination Test for Use with Home-Collected Samples
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the first diagnostic test for at home collection of patient samples to detect both Covid-19 and influenza A and B (flu). The FDA authorized Quest Diagnostics RC Covid-19 +Flu RT-PCR Test for prescription use with the Quest Diagnostics Self-Collection Kit for Covid-19 +Flu by individuals who are suspected of respiratory viral infection consistent…
Article • Diagnosing SARS-CoV-2
The arsenal: Molecular (PCR), antigen and antibody testing
Germany’s lack of diagnostic ability led to significantly underestimation of its own as well as global Covid-19 infection levels during the first wave. Now, however, improved testing and diagnosis of the condition more realistically reveal nearer 20,000 new cases a day across the country, according to Professor Hendrik Streeck, one of the country’s leading virologists. Speaking at a virtual…
News • New gargle test
Mass spectrometry to improve Covid testing
A UK biotech laboratory has used mass spectrometry in a new approach to coronavirus testing. MAP Sciences developed a gargle test, which collects samples from the back of the throat, and avoids the unpleasant sensation of the current PCR (polymerase chain reaction) swab tests. From there, the sample is tested for coronavirus using mass spectrometry (MS) with high levels of accuracy.
News • Masks & social distancing
Do Covid countermeasures also curb other diseases? It's not quite that simple
Measures to reduce the spread of Covid-19 through non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as mask wearing and social distancing are a key tool in combatting the impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. These actions also have greatly reduced incidence of many other diseases, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
News • Uncommon, but reversible
Sudden deaf: permanent hearing loss linked to COVID-19
Although uncommon, sudden permanent hearing loss seems to be linked to COVID-19 infection in some people, warn doctors, reporting the first UK case in the journal BMJ Case Reports. Awareness of this possible side effect is important, because a prompt course of steroid treatment can reverse this disabling condition, they emphasise. Sudden hearing loss is frequently seen by ear, nose and throat…
News • Simulation model for pathological mechanisms
Understanding the progress of viral infections
It is only 120 millionths of a millimetre in size but can bring entire countries to a standstill: the Corona virus. Even if it were to disappear one day, viral infections will still be among the most frequent and difficult-to-treat diseases in humans. Even decades of research have only produced a few standardized vaccines and strategies for treatment to combat just a small number of viruses. Nor…
News • Testing strategy re-evaluated
COVID-19 testing at random? Here's a better idea
As COVID-19 infections begin to rise again, a novel testing strategy proposed by researchers at the University of Oxford at the start of the pandemic has become urgent once again. The strategy aims to bring the virus’s reproduction number (‘R’) down to below 1, by concentrating testing resources on particular groups in the population that are most likely to spread the infection to others,…
Article • Overheard at AAIC 2020
Exciting Alzheimer's findings: ’flu vaccines and P-tau217
More than 32,000 people from over 160 countries registered for The Alzheimer’s Association International Conference (AAIC 2020) in July. This largest and most influential international conference on dementia science had to be held virtually this year, when important highlights were aired. The ability to identify individuals at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease (AD), or at early…
News • Prevalence prediction
COVID-19 will probably become seasonal, but...
Researchers predict that COVID-19 will likely become seasonal, waning in the summer and prevalent in the winter. But, only once herd immunity is achieved through natural infection or vaccinations. Until then, COVID-19 will be here year-round.
News • Personal protective equipment helps
Risk of Covid-19 infection among hospital staff lower than expected
Contrary to expectations, the risk of COVID-19 infection among hospital staff at the height of the coronavirus pandemic was lowest among intensive care clinicians, reveals a study of one major UK medical centre, published in the journal Thorax.
News • Rhinovirus
Common cold combats influenza
Rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of common colds, can prevent the flu virus from infecting airways by jumpstarting the body's antiviral defenses.
News • Aerosol recommendations
How humidity affects indoor spread of SARS-CoV-2
The airborne transmission of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 via aerosol particles in indoor environment seems to be strongly influenced by relative humidity. This is the conclusion drawn by researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) in Leipzig and the CSIR National Physical Laboratory in New Delhi from the analysis of 10 most relevant international studies on the…
Article • Re-evaluation of the coronavirus disease
COVID-19: A tale of two conditions
The SARS CoV-2 virus which causes COVID-19 may have been named prematurely. As more has become known about the infection, the severe disease does not appear to be a respiratory syndrome at all. Patients who only have a respiratory illness tend not to have a severe condition, while patients who develop a severe condition tend to have non-respiratory conditions, primarily thrombotic or hyper-immune…
News • Coronavirus
Lab-made virus mimics COVID-19 virus
Airborne and potentially deadly, the virus that causes COVID-19 can only be studied safely under high-level biosafety conditions. Scientists handling the infectious virus must wear full-body biohazard suits with pressurized respirators, and work inside laboratories with multiple containment levels and specialized ventilation systems. While necessary to protect laboratory workers, these safety…
News • COVID-19
Novel viral transport media for testing of multiple infectious diseases
EKF Diagnostics, the global in vitro diagnostics company, announces that it has added a novel viral transport media for the safe sample handling and testing of multiple infectious diseases from a single swab to its product range.
News • Surprising find
More than half of heart scans abnormal in hospitalised COVID-19 patients
Half of COVID-19 patients who received a heart scan in hospital showed abnormalities in heart function, according to new research funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF). The study, published in the European Heart Journal - Cardiovascular Imaging, found that around one in seven showed severe abnormalities likely to have a major effect on their survival and recovery. It also showed that one…
Article • Paediatric health risks
Children in the COVID-19 pandemic: Between fear and care
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected children with direct impacts of the infection as well as on them leading normal lives. Schooling, play and vaccinations are among issues that can affect children’s health. Delay in taking paediatric patients to the emergency room (ER) has also had a negative impact, for example late treatment of acute appendicitis. Two experts from Spain tackled these topics…
News • Teixobactin against superbugs
Researchers find 'resistance resistant' antibiotic
University of Melbourne researchers are finding ways to beat dangerous superbugs with ‘resistance resistant’ antibiotics, and it could help in the fight against coronavirus (COVID-19) complications. As bacteria evolve, they develop strategies that undermine antibiotics and morph into ‘superbugs’ that can resist most available treatments and cause potentially lethal infections. The…
News • Coronavirus misinformation
Experts find COVID-19 fake news in 1 of 4 most popular YouTube videos
More than one in four of the most viewed COVID-19 videos on YouTube in spoken English contains misleading or inaccurate information, reveals the first study of its kind, published online in BMJ Global Health. Public health misinformation on COVID-19 is reaching far more people than in previous pandemics and has considerable potential for harm, warn the researchers. While good quality accurate…
News • Symptom study app
AI diagnostic to predict COVID-19 without testing
Researchers at King’s College London, Massachusetts General Hospital and health science company ZOE have developed an artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostic that can predict whether someone is likely to have COVID-19 based on their symptoms. Their findings are published in Nature Medicine. The AI model uses data from the COVID Symptom Study app to predict COVID-19 infection, by comparing…
News • COVID-19 gateway
Nose cells identified as likely coronavirus entry points
Two specific cell types in the nose have been identified as likely initial infection points for COVID-19 coronavirus. Scientists discovered that goblet and ciliated cells in the nose have high levels of the entry proteins that the COVID-19 virus uses to get into our cells. The identification of these cells by researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, University Medical Centre Groningen,…
News • Green light for trial study
Blood plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients: a promising approach
In a small clinical trial just granted approval, about 30 COVID-19 patients at Karolinska University Hospital may soon begin to receive blood plasma from people who have recovered from the disease. Sweden's Ethical Review Authority has approved the trial treatment, and its effectiveness will be evaluated in a study by researchers at Karolinska Institutet and the Karolinska University Hospital.…
Article • Coronavirus chronology
COVID-19 in the U.S.: Government inaction gave virus a head start
The sense of fear is palpable in the images and videos of hospital intensive care units (ICUs) and emergency departments that are broadcast on television and posted on social media. Fear and heartbreak can be heard in the voices of physicians and nurses who describe what they are experiencing.
News • Flu forecast
Portable AI device predicts outbreaks based on coughing
University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have invented a portable surveillance device powered by machine learning – called FluSense – which can detect coughing and crowd size in real time, then analyze the data to directly monitor flu-like illnesses and influenza trends. The FluSense creators say the new edge-computing platform, envisioned for use in hospitals, healthcare waiting rooms…
Interview • Chest X-ray, CT and more
Imaging the coronavirus disease COVID-19
Chest X-ray is the first imaging method to diagnose COVID-19 coronavirus infection in Spain, but in the light of new evidence this may change soon, according to Milagros Martí de Gracia, Vice President of the Spanish Society of Radiology (SERAM) and head of the emergency radiology unit at La Paz Hospital in Madrid, one of the hot spots for viral re-production of COVID-19.
News • At-home testing for COVID-19
Coronavirus testing? There's an app for that
A coronavirus app coupled with machine intelligence will soon enable an individual to get an at-home risk assessment based on how they feel and where they’ve been in about a minute, and direct those deemed at risk to the nearest definitive testing facility, investigators say. It will also help provide local and public health officials with real time information on emerging demographics of those…
News • Dutch experts discuss
On the implications of the coronavirus
The coronavirus last week reached the Netherlands and began to spread around the country. How has the Dutch population reacted? What is a useful frame of reference for this situation? And what are the legal guidelines for dealing with the outbreak? Four researchers from the University of Amsterdam – a clinical microbiologist, an anthropologist, a social scientist and a health lawyer – explain…
News • BCG vs tumour recurrence
Modified tuberculosis vaccine shows promise against bladder cancer
The human immune system can recognize and eliminate not only germs but also cancer cells. This is why treatments with weakened germs can help the immune system in its fight against cancer. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin have genetically modified the tuberculosis vaccine BCG in a way that it stimulates the immune system more specifically. Consequently, the…
Video • Epidemiologist Q&A
12 things you should know about the new coronavirus
The novel coronavirus that recently originated in Wuhan, China has grabbed headlines and caused concern among public health officials around the world. Two infectious disease experts share their insights on the novel coronavirus epidemic.
News • 1 in 5
Sepsis death toll twice as high as assumed
Twice as many people as previously believed are dying of sepsis worldwide, according to an analysis published in The Lancet and announced at the Critical Care Reviews annual meeting in Belfast. Among them are a disproportionately high number of children in poor areas.
Article • Amazon’s AI-powered personal voice assistant
‘Alexa’ joins the NHS
It’s a world’s first. The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) is collaborating with Amazon to provide reliable health information from the service’s website through voice-assisted technology. In a speech announcing the service, Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, addressed the need for dependable information.
News • Catching flu by the stalk
One step closer to a universal influenza vaccine
Influenza viruses cause substantial health hazards and claim many lives worldwide each year. Vaccines can keep the virus in check, however, they only protect against influenza when they match the circulating strains – which vary every season. But now, a reasearch team may have found a way to generate a universal vaccine. Led by researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the…
News • New ideas
MEDICA becomes number one trade fair for health start-ups
Healthcare is going digital worldwide at an incredibly rapid pace. More and more applications for prevention, diagnostics and therapy are being made into apps (with matching hardware) for smartphones and tablets or are even available as wearables for direct use on the body. Digitalisation is also striding forward in Germany, where doctors, therapists and patients still take a fairly analogue…
News • Elderly in the ICU
Can flu vaccine reduce stroke risk?
It appears that an influenza vaccine does not just work when it comes to influenza. A new study shows that elderly people who have been admitted to an intensive care units have less risk of dying and of suffering a blood clot or bleeding in the brain if they have been vaccinated. And this is despite the fact that they are typically older, have more chronic diseases and take more medicine then…
News • Why do we get sick?
Mechanism behind development of viral infections uncovered
A team of researchers from the SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medicine Centre’s Viral Research and Experimental Medicine Centre (ViREMiCS) found that immune cells undergoing stress and an altered metabolism are the reasons why some individuals become sick from viral infections while others do not, when exposed to the same virus. The findings, published in medical journal Nature Medicine, have…
Article • MERS-CoV
Seeking answers to combat Middle East respiratory syndrome
With a case fatality rate of 35 percent, a Middle East respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus (MERS-CoV) infection – also called camel flu – is a dangerous disease. About seven years ago, when the virus was first isolated, mortality was close to 100 percent since only severe infections that led to the patient being in intensive care were recorded. Today the environment of each victim is…
News • Gene-editing
CRISPR baby mutation significantly increases mortality
A genetic mutation that a Chinese scientist attempted to create in twin babies born last year, ostensibly to help them fend off HIV infection, is also associated with a 21% increase in mortality in later life, according to an analysis by scientists from UC Berkeley. The researchers scanned more than 400,000 genomes and associated health records contained in a British database, UK Biobank, and…
News • CRISPR-fied chickens
Gene-edited chicken cells could leave flu with nowhere to hide
Scientists from Imperial College London and the University of Edinburgh have used gene-editing techniques to stop the bird flu virus from spreading, in chicken cells grown in the lab.
Article • Differentiate and select
Myths and truths about antibiotics, antiseptics and vaccination
Sixty-two percent of Germans fear antibiotic resistance, according to a survey recently conducted by the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment. ‘Patients colonised by multi-resistant pathogens are particularly scared. But many of these fears are rooted in misunderstandings,’ explained Professor Mathias Pletz at the Congress for Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine (KIT).
Article • Meeting of the generations
We need a Senior Laboratory
It’s undeniable: the bulk of our population is growing older. Yet, this demographic change has not altered laboratory medicine: the reference values for many analyses are still based on data of a younger cohort. Inevitably this could lead to serious errors in the interpretation of older patients’ test results.
News • Seasonal influenza
Why the flu is especially dangerous for kidney failure patients
In patients with kidney failure, influenza-like illness (ILI) likely contributes to more than 1,000 deaths per year. The finding, which comes from a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), points to the importance of protection against, surveillance of, and, where possible, treatment of such infections in patients with kidney dysfunction.…
News • Epidemics
Text messages quickly track health care use during Ebola outbreak
Text messages aren't just a way to chat with family and friends—they are a viable method for rapidly gathering information during a public health crisis.
News • mini viral RNA
Understanding the deadly nature of pandemic influenza
Researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford have discovered a new molecule that plays a key role in the immune response that is triggered by influenza infections.
News • Research
Zika virus proteins inhibit brain development
In healthy individuals, the Zika virus causes flu-like symptoms. If a pregnant woman becomes infected, the unborn child can suffer from severe brain abnormalities as a result of mechanisms that have not yet been explained. A study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPI-B) shows that Zika virus proteins bind to cellular proteins that are…
Article • Medication development
Support from the other end of the world
Partners who could hardly be further apart – yet have a lot in common – have united to fight resistant pathogens. The International Consortium for Anti-Infective Research (iCAIR) is based in Germany and Australia – separated by nearly 16,000 km as the crow flies. This has not stopped the research cooperation from achieving its objectives: the development of new agents against infections.
News • Triggering inflammatory reactions
Parkinson’s gene initiates disease outside of the brain
Until very recently, Parkinson’s had been thought a disease that starts in the brain, destroying motion centers and resulting in tremors and loss of movement. New research published this week, shows the most common Parkinson’s gene mutation may change how immune cells react to generic infections like colds, which in turn trigger the inflammatory reaction in the brain that causes…
News • Small molecule, huge effect
Progress toward a new flu treatment, thanks to a small tweak
This year’s unexpectedly aggressive flu season reminds everyone that although the flu vaccine can reduce the number of people who contract the virus, it is still not 100 percent effective. Researchers report that a tweak to a small-molecule drug shows promise for future production of new antiviral therapies that could help patients, regardless of the strain with which they are infected. The…
News • Mortality increase
What's behind the rising deaths in England and Wales?
Health chiefs are failing to investigate a clear pattern of rising death rates and worsening health outcomes in England and Wales, argue experts in The BMJ today. Lucinda Hiam at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Danny Dorling at the University of Oxford say weekly mortality figures show 10,375 additional deaths (a rise of 12.4%) in England and Wales in the first seven…
News • Geographic spread prediction
Flu forecast looks six weeks ahead
Scientists at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health developed a system to accurately predict the geographic spread of seasonal influenza in the United States up to six weeks ahead of time.
Article • Antimicrobial resistance
Facing the front line in the AMR battle
Nurses have a distinctive and crucial role in the development and implementation of sound health policy,’ according to Annette Kennedy, President of the International Council of Nurses, which represents 135 National Nurses Associations and around 17 million nurses worldwide.
News • Digital assistance
Chatbot campaign for flu shots bolsters patient response rate by 30%
Communicating with patients can be tough. Reminder pamphlets often go straight into the rubbish and emails are deleted before they are read. But one doctor found that chatbots could be a key to patient outreach. Brett Swenson, MD, is no stranger to digital health. He runs a concierge practice in Arizona and started working with EMRs about 20 years ago when they were first introduced. He said he…
News • Nanovaccine
The flu shot of the future might look like this
For many of us, a flu shot is a fall routine. Roll up a sleeve, take a needle to the upper arm and hope this year’s vaccine matches whichever viruses circulate through the winter. The most common method to make that vaccine is now more than 70 years old. It requires growing viruses in special, pathogen-free chicken eggs. It’s not a quick and easy manufacturing process. And, at best, it…
News • Genetic engineering
CAR-T: Landmark cancer study sheds new light on immunotherapy
Loyola University Medical Center is the only Chicago center that participated in the pivotal clinical trial of a groundbreaking cancer treatment that genetically engineers a patient's immune system to attack cancer cells. Patrick Stiff, MD, director of Loyola's Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, is a co-author of the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The treatment used in…
News • Prognosis and diagnosis
Deep insight into the heart
By no means are only elderly people at risk from heart diseases. Physically active individuals can also be affected, for example if a seemingly harmless flu bug spreads to the heart muscle. Should this remain undetected and if, for example, a builder continues with his strenuous job or an athlete carries on training, this can lead to chronic inflammation and in the worst case even to sudden…
News • Virus spread
New flu forecasting tool uses evolution to make earlier predictions
Each year, public health officials monitor the spread of influenza to identify which flu strains need to go into that year’s vaccines and where outbreaks will occur. But it can be difficult to predict how bad a particular flu season will be until people actually start getting sick. A new flu forecasting tool built by scientists at the University of Chicago aims to make better predictions by…
Interview • From step-child to limelight
Virologists: Interdisciplinary and global cooperation is vital
Over recent years, virology, once medicine‘s step-child, moved into the limelight, pushed by impressive progress and pulled by globalisation-induced need for expertise in virus diagnostics and viral epidemics.
News • Prevailing colds
No summer vacations for viruses
Summer colds might seem rare, but people are actually just as likely to catch one in the summer as in the winter.
News • Understanding procedures
Researchers create ‘Rosetta Stone’ to decode immune recognition
Scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center have developed an algorithm that functions like a Rosetta Stone to help decipher how the immune system recognizes and binds antigens. The research should aid development of more personalized cancer immunotherapy and advance diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases.
News • Infections
Europe must do more to stop drug-resistant ‘superbugs’
On European Antibiotic Awareness Day (EAAD), the European Public Health Alliance and the European Patients Forum jointly call on the European Commission and national governments to step up the fight against drug-resistant infections in the follow-up EU Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance announced for 2017. The EU has a vital role to play in protecting health security in Europe and empowering…
Article • Frontline medical advances
Virology is now a key discipline
Virology is fast emerging as a key discipline within modern healthcare against a backdrop of a shifting global demographic and the impact of climate change.
Man develops hepatitis from consuming too many energy drinks
A 50-year-old man was admitted to the emergency department with hepatitis, most likely due to his intake of 4-5 energy drinks every day for three weeks, reveal doctors writing in the journal BMJ Case Reports.
News • Infection
Why does MRSA ‘superbug’ kill influenza patients?
Researchers have discovered that secondary infection with the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterium (or “superbug”) often kills influenza patients because the flu virus alters the antibacterial response of white blood cells, causing them to damage the patients’ lungs instead of destroying the bacterium. The study suggests that inhibiting this response may help treat…
News • Watson
Predicting flu epidemics with Twitter data
Osnabrueck cognitive scientists and their students are developing new and intelligent expert systems, which help to effectively utilize the flood of daily information in everyday life. To enable working with large amounts of data, the Institute of Cognitive Science at Osnabrück University has engaged in a cooperation with the global corporation IBM, and will be able to access the IBM computer…
News • Lab-on-a-Chip
Breakthrough aims to help physicians detect cancer at nanoscale
IBM scientists have developed a new lab-on-a-chip technology that can, for the first time, separate biological particles at the nanoscale and could enable physicians to detect diseases such as cancer before symptoms appear.
News • Antimicrobial Resistance
AMR may cause over 10 million deaths per year globally by 2050
Following a meeting of professional organisations on the healthcare workforce implications on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) held at World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters on 2 March 2016, the International Council of Nurses calls on governments to support the Global Action Plan on AMR and stresses the key role of nurses in reducing the impact and limiting the spread of this major threat to…
News • Respiratory infection
Under the weather? A blood test can tell if antibiotics are needed
Researchers at Duke Health are fine-tuning a test that can determine whether a respiratory illness is caused by infection from a virus or bacteria so that antibiotics can be more precisely prescribed.
News • WHO
Public misunderstanding about antibiotic resistance
As the World Health Organization (WHO) ramps up its fight against antibiotic resistance, a new multi-country survey shows people are confused about this major threat to public health and do not understand how to prevent it from growing.
News • EU health services
ESCMID calls to use hospital flu vaccination uptake rankings
The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (ESCMID) is calling on the healthcare industry to lead by example and implement universal flu vaccination for healthcare workers. ESCMID is encouraging all health workers to take personal responsibility and get vaccinated this season, particularly those who come into contact with high-risk groups.
News • Research
Drug engineered from bananas fights deadly viruses
A banana a day may not keep the doctor away, but a substance originally found in bananas and carefully edited by scientists could someday fight off a wide range of viruses, new research suggests. And the process used to create the virus-fighting form may help scientists develop even more drugs, by harnessing the “sugar code” that our cells use to communicate. That code gets hijacked by…
News • Ultraviolet
The supergerm-zapping robot helpers
Half a million square feet. More than 350 beds. And tomorrow, they clean it all over again. Every day, Environmental Services (EVS) staff members work to disinfect every surface in Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, playing a crucial behind-the-scenes role in preventing infections and keeping patients safe. Now, on top of scrubbing, spraying, mopping and wiping, they can add another action –…
Article • Surveillance
Big Data may streamline epidemic control
It’s a race against the clock; every hour counts in efforts to halt the spread of a disease, but identifying anyone with whom the infected patient has had contact is time-consuming, with Contact Officers generally collecting data on paper. Now, however, scientists from the Nigerian Field Epidemiology Laboratory & Training Programme, the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, the Hasso…
News • Fighting AIDS
Targeting HIV in semen to shut down AIDS
There may be two new ways to fight AIDS -- using a heat shock protein or a small molecule – to attack fibrils in semen associated with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during the initial phases of infection, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
News • DRUG resistance III
Antibiotic Armageddon in Europe by 2025
A group of leading scientists has warned that Britain and Europe collectively could face more than a million deaths in an impending "Antibiotic Armageddon” unless more is spent on developing new cures, rapid diagnostics and preventative measures to combat the spread of drug resistant diseases.
A revolution in roles and methods in clinical labs
Viktor Mayer-Schönberger is a visionary author of the book Big Data, which, as its subtitle suggests, defines the debate over the ‘Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think.’
Move to significantly strengthen position in consumer care
Bayer has agreed to acquire the consumer care business of U.S. pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA, for a purchase price of USD 14.2 billion (EUR 10.4 billion).
Tiny tools, big effects
imec, the European research centre for nanoelectronics, has linked with Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA, to develop the next generation of highly miniaturised medical tools.
Apps for disaster planning and flu forecasting
Johns Hopkins scientists have developed three new Web-based software tools designed to help hospital emergency departments, first responder organizations and others model and prepare for major disasters, including flu outbreaks.
EU regulation progresses on clinical trials
Along with others, Germany has unanimously welcomed the revision of the EU directive on clinical trials. The change from mere guideline into a regulation valid in all member states, specifically aimed at making it easier to carry out multinational studies, is particularly welcomed, Bettina Döbereiner reports
Faster sample analysis for UK and EU hospitals
Run by Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the new automated Medical Laboratory at the Northern General Hospital has drawn a previously fragmented service into a purpose-built centre.
Shunning the flu vaccine
Although receding since late March, the 2012-13 seasonal flu epidemic in metropolitan France, appears to be the longest in some 30 years, even if it did not strike the highest numbers, according to the monitoring network Sentinelles-Inserm.
Investigating the HFN1 virus
Dutch virologist Ron Fouchier and his colleagues around the world stopped their research into the bird flu virus H5N1 for a whole year to allow an international debate surrounding the benefits and risks of their work.
PET/MR: The opportunities are almost unlimited
MRI has become the gold standard for many indications in cardiac imaging, apart from imaging the coronary arteries. For function and morphology assessment, MRI is the leading technology. A further advance into as yet unknown territory is myocardial imaging aided by one of the first integrated 3-Tesla PET/MR systems currently used at the Institute of Radiology, Essen University Hospital,…
Measles and whooping cough cases are on the rise
When country doctor Edward Jenner inoculated 8-year-old James Phipps with pus from a cowpox lesion on a milkmaid’s hand, little did he know that he had started a long lasting revolution in preventive medicine.
Breathing space
If the hopes of inventors are to be believed, in around 20 years’ time there will be ‘real artificial lungs -- for now the endpoint of a history that began 84 years ago with the invention of the iron lung. Until then, non-invasive and invasive mechanical respiration will continue to dominate the hospital, complemented by extracorporeal procedures for blood oxygenation and decarbonisation,…
Helping to create the ‘medical home’ EPR
Neuroradiologist and researcher Gregory Sorensen MD, changed roles in June 2011 when, as the new President & CEO of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc., he became responsible for the entire Siemens Healthcare portfolio, including therapy, laboratory diagnostics medical imaging and – healthcare information technology.
When The Doctor is a Woman Patients Expect Being Involved in Decision Making
A study conducted at the University of Granada reveals that patients have greater expectations of their family doctor listening actively to them, keeping them informed and considering their opinions than in getting involved in decision making. For the purpose of this study, researchers took a sample of 360 patients aged 16-47 years, assisted at the Health Center Gran Capitán in Granada.
Advancing POC diagnostics
Improvements in microfluidics and detection technologies are beginning to expand the range of point-of-care diagnostics beyond simple blood chemistry tests to sophisticated immuno-assays and molecular diagnostics. Though yet to see much adoption in European hospitals, these point-of-care (POC) diagnostics are coming into use in the USA, initially in emergency rooms and ICUs where fast results are…
Ultraviolet light - an invisible weapon against MRSA
A few years ago, Dr Peder Bo Nielsen MD FRCPath, Consultant medical microbiologist at Northwick Park Hospital, London, UK, launched a research programme on airborne transmission of nosocomial infections. Until then, so called air-biology held no high priority in infection prevention and control. The prevailing perception was that colonisation and contamination mainly happens due to direct contact…
UK to share healthcare expertise internationally
The United Kingdom’s National Health Service (NHS) has launched NHS Global, a new branch of the organisation that aims to generate additional funding from other countries and organisations, and to explore new international opportunities to export its knowledge, skills, products, ground-breaking treatments, cutting edge research and other services.
The e-Health Insider Conference
Considering the huge tasks and issues involved, the connection of health services, digitised EPRs, and text messaging via mobile phones, all are progressing -- some slowly, others at a more rapid pace – as many speakers at the e-Health Insider Conference underlined.
European Parliament to Investigate WHO and "Pandemic" Scandal
The Council of Europe member states will launch an inquiry in January 2010 on the influence of the pharmaceutical companies on the global swine flu campaign, focusing especially on extent of the pharma's industry's influence on WHO. The Health Committee of the EU Parliament has unanimously passed a resolution calling for the inquiry.
Santa Claus: He’s bad for your health!
Whilst millions of people celebrate Christmas in quiet ways, many millions see this as a time for parties and excessive indulgences in eating, drinking alcohol and spending. Stomachs, livers, minds and purses can be stretched to their limits -- and beyond. Results can range from stress and partnership breakdowns as well as serious health problems. Alcoholic poisoning cases increase in the young.…
Influenza
As concern over the potential mutation of the latest form of influenza virus continues to vex governments and their healthcare organisations, WHO 2009 data has shown that acute respiratory infections, influenza and respiratory syncitial virus (RSV) epidemics coincide with epidemics of S. pneumoniae. In fact, half or more of flu-associated mortality in the 1918-1919 Spanish Flu epidemic is…
ESCAIDE 2009
The European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology (ESCAIDE) aims to strengthen and expand the network of specialists, share scientific knowledge and experience internationally, and provide a dedicated platform for EPIET/FETP (field epidemiology training programme) fellows to present their work.
Threat of communicable diseases to become worse
The threat of communicable diseases will become even worse in the near future. At the European Health Forum Gastein, the European Union's leading health policy congress for experts and decision-makers, experts stressed that there are a number of risk factors which contribute to a growing risk of the spread of communicable diseases into Europe, namely into the European Union.
France prepares for another H1N1 outbreak
Experts predict that 25-50% of the French population could be affected by the H1N1 flu this autumn. According to Patrick Berche, head of the microbiology department at the Necker Hospital in Paris, the likely second wave of the epidemic would produce a great number of cases due to the highly contagious nature of the virus.
Microbiology lab automation
Full automation has now become the gold standard for clinical laboratories. Without hospital microbiology labs, which according to the Centres for Disease Control deal with 1.7 million infections and 99,000 associated deaths annually in the US alone, the growing threat of community-acquired and nosocomial infections could prove insuperable.
Nutrition and functionality: key partners in ageing
Every second geriatric patient acutely hospitalised in Europe suffers malnutrition and, worse, this often goes unnoticed. These shocking facts were aired this July in Paris, during a satellite symposium held by the Nestlé Nutrition Institute at the 19th IAGG World Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics.
Speeding up vaccine production
During the race to produce vaccines against evolving influenza viruses the slowness of their manufacture has turned producers more sharply towards cell culture technology. Using the traditional process, fertilised chicken eggs must first be inoculated with live flu virus, then the resulting egg-adapted virus must be purified and inactivated to produce trivalent inactivated virus (TIV), during…
Swine flu and hygiene standards
Flu preparations - Under the UK´s National Health Service (NHS) code of practice for nosocomial infections, the hospital Trusts and others are required to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that healthcare workers are free of, and protected from, exposure to communicable infections.
Swine flu spreads
Swine flu has been confirmed in a number of countries and it is spreading from human to human, which could lead to what is referred to as a pandemic flu outbreak. Pandemic flu is different from ordinary flu because it's a new flu virus that appears in humans and spreads very quickly from person to person worldwide. On Wednesday, the World Health Organization raised the pandemic threat Level to 5…
Small device counts viruses in minutes
The machine 'qViro' which is the size of a coffee grinder will make virus counting much cheaper than traditional virus counting technology. The revolutionary new invention offers the potential to quickly muster and count the number of viruses in a sample in minutes - it is a portable, desktop instrument, powered from the USB drive of a computer - current competitors are the size of washing…
Avian 'flu research suggests vaccine should be used now, not stockpiled
Governmental fear of an avian 'flu pandemic remains high, and a certain amount of vaccine has been stockpiled to meet sudden demand.
A new tool for European patients
Last week, the Commissioner for Health, Androulla Vassiliou launched the 'Europe for Patients' campaign in Brussels. The campaign highlights the different health policy initiatives the Commission intends to adopt in the coming months. All these initiatives are bound by a common goal: better healthcare for all in Europe.
NICE renewed flu guidance
The next flu season will come. To prevent high-risk people from infections, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) recently published a final guidance on the use of the drugs oseltamivir, amantadine and zanamivir for the prophylaxis of influenza. "But vaccination is the main way to prevent flu", says Gillian Leng, NICE Deputy Chief Executive.
The OptoLabCard
Researchers funded by the European Union have devised OptoLabCard, a system that prepares samples and performs DNA tests on bacteria in a portable, easily used, cost-effective lab-on-a-chip.
BMJ gives EU doctors free access to CME
Doctors across Europe now have free access to the British Medical Journal's library of Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) content.
Be prepared for the pandemic flu
The next pandemia will come - rather sooner than later. The respiratory protection of frontline staff is a major part of healthcare facilities' preparation. To assist hospitals, ECRI Institute and the International Association of Healthcare Safety and Security present the web conference "Respiratory Protection: Preparing for Pandemic Flu" on July 17, 2008.
The ACP recommends 'flu vaccination for frontline healthcare workers
Influenza infects around 20% of the US population and results in 200,000 hospitalisations annually. It kills about 36,000 citizens. In the USA, only 36% of all healthcare workers are immunised against influenza annually, and now the American College of Physicians (ACP)
Cold and Flu Etiquette
Do you remember your mother saying “cover your mouth when you cough”? Probably you do, because this exhortation accompanies the whole childhood. Maybe it is a kind of protest then, that in adulthood this simple rule is not followed by many. The British Department of Health now started a new campaign “Coughs and Sneezes spread Diseases” and calls for a better cold behaviour.
A “one-stop-shop” for disaster, rescue and emergency care
Visitors coming to MEDICA to purchase pre-hospital emergency equipment will not be disappointed. Specialist exhibitors are plentiful this year.
Pandemic panic sends feathers flying
AIDS, SARS and now H5NI; just a brief beginning or the end? As the virus moves towards Europe, and millions of birds are slaughtered, interest has risen in a Chinese herb, a patent-sharing controversy and drug stockpiling
Air pollution
Whilst the harmful impact of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on various medical conditions was already known, only now is there evidence that NO2 in air pollution is a killer. According to the APHEA-2 study the chief culprits are emissions from diesel engines, which are increasingly popular in Europe.
Brunel University offers unique Public Health Doctorate
UK - Brunel University is to provide a new three-year course offering a Doctorate in Public Health. The doctorate course, which will commence in October this year, is unique because it is cross-disciplinary, involving internationally recognised academics in medical anthropology, biostatistics, health economics, epidemiology, environmental sciences, health promotion, health services research,…
New Microarray technology to check bird 'flu
USA - A new technology, named glycan microarray, can identify pathogens in a few hours and give advance warning of the ability of a virus to infect humans.
Text messaging beats missed appointments
UK - Patients who miss medical appointments cost the country's National Health Service (NHS) around £575 million annually.
Bird flu vaccine production to be based in CR
Czech Republic - The US firm Baxter International Inc. is to establish a production facility to produce a quite unique vaccine in CR. First discussed in December 2005, the plan appears to have made a significant step forward. Baxter specialises in medical devices, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology, and globally employs around 48,000 people in 64 manufacturing facilities, which include those in…
SARS no longer deadly threat - But avian flu is
USA - Scientists are confident that the virus that caused severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is no longer circulating in humans, or other animals, according to Professor Kathryn Holmes, a microbiology expert at the University of Colorado, USA.
Web advisories aid physicians
Monitoring and rapidly introducing new developments into everyday practice is an increasingly difficult task for many doctors. Additionally, patients are more informed due to media medical reports, which raise their expectations that doctors can offer a quick, reliable interpretation of the latest medical data.