As the cold and flu season approaches and as concerns about avian flu rise, workplace preparedness is lagging behind, according to a survey from Kimberly-Clark Professional.
Seventy percent of respondents said they believed avian flu was likely
to hit North America, but only 25 percent responded "yes" when asked, "Has
your company engaged in building a plan in the event of an actual outbreak
of the avian flu?" Forty percent expressed concern about an avian flu
outbreak in their workplace.
Respondents were given a list of possible actions employers could take
to minimize workplace risk associated with avian flu outbreak and were
asked to give their opinion as either in "favor" or "opposed." Posting
respiratory etiquette and hand-washing posters or stickers garnered the
most positive responses, with 93 percent of respondents saying they favored
posting these in common areas. This was followed by:
-- Maintaining lists of health-related websites, telephone numbers and
other resources for senior leadership or building management personnel
(89 percent).
-- Training workers in the proper use of protective equipment (87
percent).
-- Establishing an emergency plan or kit to identify and treat avian flu
symptoms (86 percent).
-- Establishing a workplace continuity plan (85 percent).
-- Storing protective masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and other materials
in bulk (79 percent).
-- Installing a verbal reminder system to encourage hand washing (75
percent).
-- Encouraging people to work from home when possible (49 percent).
The national, online survey was conducted in May and polled employees
in health care, science, manufacturing, office buildings, lodging and other
industries. Kimberly-Clark Professional issued the voluntary, nonrandom
survey using its own industry e-newsletter and received 379 responses.
Avian Flu Resources Available Online
To help its customers maintain business continuity in the event of an
avian flu pandemic, Kimberly-Clark Professional has developed a wealth of
resources and information, including Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and
answers, downloadable posters, business continuity and preparedness
information, pamphlets and other materials. The Kimberly-Clark Professional
web site also contains links to avian flu information, safety
recommendations and checklists from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),
the World Health Organization (WHO), the National Institute of Health
(NIH), the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN), and
other health and safety organizations. Information is also available on
personal protection items for healthcare providers, laboratory workers,
farm workers and food handlers. More information is available at
kc-safety/avianflu.
About Kimberly-Clark Professional
Kimberly-Clark Professional offers a range of well-known brands and
product solutions for workplace settings, Do-It-Yourselfers (DIY) and away-
from-home washrooms. Kimberly-Clark Professional workplace products include
safety apparel, gloves and related accessories as well as task-engineered
wipers for both "clean" and "dirty" manufacturing environments. DIY and
professional contractor products include solutions for home improvement and
automotive projects that make fixing up and cleaning up fast, easy and
efficient. Known for innovative, quality solutions, Kimberly-Clark
Professional's pioneering products include Coreless Bath Tissue, JRT(R)
Bath Tissue, the KIMCARE(R) ALL-N-1 Skin Care System and KIMTECH(R) Wipers.
Kimberly-Clark Professional's well-known brands include KLEENEX(R),
SCOTT(R), WYPALL(R), KIMTECH(R), KLEENGUARD(R) and KIMCARE(R).
Kimberly-Clark Professional, located in Roswell, Ga., is one of
Kimberly-Clark Corporation's (NYSE: KMB) four business segments and can be
visited on the web at kcprofessional.
About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark and its well-known global brands are an indispensable
part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion
people - almost a quarter of the world's population - trust K-C brands and
the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well being.
With brands such as KLEENEX(R), SCOTT(R), HUGGIES(R), PULL-UPS(R), KOTEX(R)
and DEPEND(R), Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in
more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn
more about the company's 134-year history of innovation, visit
kimberly-clark.
Kimberly-Clark Professional
kcprofessional
пятница, 27 мая 2011 г.
четверг, 26 мая 2011 г.
Deadline For Joining GB Poultry Register (UK)
Defra's 'focus' pages aim to introduce and summarise a topical issue and provide links to more in-depth material elsewhere on this site.
Keepers with 50 or more poultry on commercial poultry premises have until 28 February to register their flocks on the GB Poultry Register. Those with fewer than 50 birds are strongly encouraged to register on a voluntary basis, and the Register will remain open after February to allow this.
The register was set up by Defra in December 2005, with the support of many organisations supporting the interests of poultry keepers. Its aim is to more accurately establish the locations of poultry flocks on a central database to help quick and effective control of an Avian Influenza outbreak.
The information will be used for:
-- Modelling disease spread scenarios to assess impact of disease spread. This will help enhance our contingency planning
-- Communicating with poultry keepers to provide them with guidance, for example biosecurity and housing, if the threat of disease increases
Who has to register?
By law you must register if you own or are responsible for a commercial poultry premises with 50 or more birds. This requirement also applies even if the premises is only stocked with 50 or more birds for part of the year.
Failure to register your commercial poultry is an offence, and will not help protect your birds. Premises with fewer than 50 birds are not legally required to register but are strongly encouraged to do so now, on a voluntary basis.
To register call the freephone 0800 634 1112 (Lines will be open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm, on Saturday and Sunday), or download a registration form (pdf) from the Poultry Register website.
All Poultry keepers should implement strict biosecurity and common sense hygiene practices at all times to protect their birds and themselves from a number of everyday infections, as well as a possible outbreak of avian influenza. All poultry keepers are responsible for the health and welfare of their own birds, and should look out for signs of disease in their birds. If you suspect that your birds are ill, contact your vet immediately.
Further information
-- the Poultry Register pages on Defra web site
-- the Avian Influenza pages on Defra web site
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
Keepers with 50 or more poultry on commercial poultry premises have until 28 February to register their flocks on the GB Poultry Register. Those with fewer than 50 birds are strongly encouraged to register on a voluntary basis, and the Register will remain open after February to allow this.
The register was set up by Defra in December 2005, with the support of many organisations supporting the interests of poultry keepers. Its aim is to more accurately establish the locations of poultry flocks on a central database to help quick and effective control of an Avian Influenza outbreak.
The information will be used for:
-- Modelling disease spread scenarios to assess impact of disease spread. This will help enhance our contingency planning
-- Communicating with poultry keepers to provide them with guidance, for example biosecurity and housing, if the threat of disease increases
Who has to register?
By law you must register if you own or are responsible for a commercial poultry premises with 50 or more birds. This requirement also applies even if the premises is only stocked with 50 or more birds for part of the year.
Failure to register your commercial poultry is an offence, and will not help protect your birds. Premises with fewer than 50 birds are not legally required to register but are strongly encouraged to do so now, on a voluntary basis.
To register call the freephone 0800 634 1112 (Lines will be open 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday, and 9am to 1pm, on Saturday and Sunday), or download a registration form (pdf) from the Poultry Register website.
All Poultry keepers should implement strict biosecurity and common sense hygiene practices at all times to protect their birds and themselves from a number of everyday infections, as well as a possible outbreak of avian influenza. All poultry keepers are responsible for the health and welfare of their own birds, and should look out for signs of disease in their birds. If you suspect that your birds are ill, contact your vet immediately.
Further information
-- the Poultry Register pages on Defra web site
-- the Avian Influenza pages on Defra web site
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra)
среда, 25 мая 2011 г.
Quarantined parrot dies of avian influenza in Great Britain
A parrot that was imported from Surinam, South America, died in the UK of avian influenza (bird flu) while in quarantine. All pets in the UK have to spend some time in quarantine before entering the country. A Dept of the Environment Food and Rural Affairs confirmed that the bird died of bird flu while in quarantine.
The parrot had arrived in September, 2005. It is not yet known whether the parrot had the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus.
As the bird was in quarantine, the general population of farmed birds are still free of bird flu in the UK.
148 parrots and soft bills from Surinam were in quarantine alongside some birds from Taiwan. During their whole time in quarantine they were held in a biosecure quarantine unit. All the birds have been culled.
The UK has the strictest quarantine laws in the world for imported animals and pets. An official said this incident demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of the UK's quarantine laws.
All staff who had come into contact with the birds have been given antiviral treatment and are free of bird flu.
Written by:
Editor:
The parrot had arrived in September, 2005. It is not yet known whether the parrot had the lethal H5N1 strain of the virus.
As the bird was in quarantine, the general population of farmed birds are still free of bird flu in the UK.
148 parrots and soft bills from Surinam were in quarantine alongside some birds from Taiwan. During their whole time in quarantine they were held in a biosecure quarantine unit. All the birds have been culled.
The UK has the strictest quarantine laws in the world for imported animals and pets. An official said this incident demonstrated the importance and effectiveness of the UK's quarantine laws.
All staff who had come into contact with the birds have been given antiviral treatment and are free of bird flu.
Written by:
Editor:
вторник, 24 мая 2011 г.
Bird Flu Outbreak In Quail Farm In South Korea
An outbreak of H5N1 bird flu was confirmed at a quail farm in Kimje, South Korea, say officials from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The farm has 270,000 quail. Authorities are currently removing the quail from the farm and have set up a quarantine zone around the area to stem the spread of the disease. All poultry within 500 meters of the farm will be destroyed, say officials.
This is be the country's third outbreak in one month. On November 18th and November 26th there were two outbreaks in two separate chicken farms - both farms are within a 22 km radius of the infected quail farm.
So far, no humans have become ill, say ministry officials.
Approximately 3,000 quail died of bird flu during the weekend.
Since 2003 over 5 million poultry have been destroyed in South Korea, in measures to prevent the spread of bird flu.
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Republic of Korea (English version)
Written by:
The farm has 270,000 quail. Authorities are currently removing the quail from the farm and have set up a quarantine zone around the area to stem the spread of the disease. All poultry within 500 meters of the farm will be destroyed, say officials.
This is be the country's third outbreak in one month. On November 18th and November 26th there were two outbreaks in two separate chicken farms - both farms are within a 22 km radius of the infected quail farm.
So far, no humans have become ill, say ministry officials.
Approximately 3,000 quail died of bird flu during the weekend.
Since 2003 over 5 million poultry have been destroyed in South Korea, in measures to prevent the spread of bird flu.
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Republic of Korea (English version)
Written by:
понедельник, 23 мая 2011 г.
Defra's Chief Vet Makes Statement On Avian Influenza (bird Flu) And The New Poultry Register, UK
1. Defra is closely monitoring global developments on avian influenza. Taking account of the latest incidents in Eastern Europe, our current risk assessment remains that the overall risk of an imminent outbreak in the UK of avian flu (H5N1) is increased, but still low. However, there is a high risk of further global dispersal and future events may lead us to change our risk assessment. That is why we constantly keep alert to developing factors and are ready to act if necessary.
2. Defra is working in close partnership with the UK poultry industry, independent experts and others to ensure that the UK is thoroughly prepared to prevent an outbreak of avian flu and has robust plans in place to contain and eradicate it if it does occur. With these partners we have issued leaflets and posters to poultry keepers on how they can protect their flocks. We have used specialist journals and representative bodies to get these messages to hobby groups and small and non-commercial keepers and have provided information materials to intermediaries, such as posters for veterinary surgeries.
3. In December we launched the Poultry Register. Its purpose is to provide a central database of information on poultry premises. This information will only be used for preventing and controlling avian flu, more specifically: to improve our risk assessment and contingency planning; and to enable effective up to date communication with poultry keepers.
4. Keepers with 50 or more birds have a statutory obligation to register. Priority has been given to these flocks because, if infected, they could act as significant sources of disease spread as they are large enough for virus to circulate and multiply sufficiently to spread infection through movement to or other contacts with another premises.
5. Small flocks have a low likelihood of contracting avian flu if good biosecurity practices are followed. Even if disease were to occur in small flocks the risk of further spread would likewise be very small. Backyard flocks in the UK are kept in different ways to the village flocks of SE Asia and Eastern Europe where some poultry keepers have been infected through intimate contact with infected birds. However, we are encouraging all owners of flocks of fewer than 50 birds to register voluntarily to enhance the value of the register to all concerned, both in terms of improving contingency planning and improving our ability to communicate with poultry keepers.
6. In the event of an outbreak there would be movement restrictions that would apply to all birds in the area. SVS patrols will identify any flocks that should have registered but did not, including any small poultry flocks.
7. As with all our communications on avian influenza poultry keeping organisations have played an important role in promoting the register to their members. They have circulated thousands of leaflets and held events to raise awareness of the need to register and implement strict biosecurity. This activity will continue over the coming weeks, including advertisements in local press and specialist magazines, several of which have also published editorials urging readers to register. The deadline for registering flocks with 50 or more birds is 28 February 2006. However, we are keeping the register open after this date to allow voluntary registrations to continue.
8. Everyone keeping poultry should follow the biosecurity advice that has been made available and take commonsense hygiene precautions as a barrier to disease. It is important to remember that the UK is free from avian influenza and we want to keep it that way. Meanwhile, if there are any suspicions of avian flu, poultry keepers should report them to local Animal Health Divisional Office immediately.
To register your poultry: CLICK HERE.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK
2. Defra is working in close partnership with the UK poultry industry, independent experts and others to ensure that the UK is thoroughly prepared to prevent an outbreak of avian flu and has robust plans in place to contain and eradicate it if it does occur. With these partners we have issued leaflets and posters to poultry keepers on how they can protect their flocks. We have used specialist journals and representative bodies to get these messages to hobby groups and small and non-commercial keepers and have provided information materials to intermediaries, such as posters for veterinary surgeries.
3. In December we launched the Poultry Register. Its purpose is to provide a central database of information on poultry premises. This information will only be used for preventing and controlling avian flu, more specifically: to improve our risk assessment and contingency planning; and to enable effective up to date communication with poultry keepers.
4. Keepers with 50 or more birds have a statutory obligation to register. Priority has been given to these flocks because, if infected, they could act as significant sources of disease spread as they are large enough for virus to circulate and multiply sufficiently to spread infection through movement to or other contacts with another premises.
5. Small flocks have a low likelihood of contracting avian flu if good biosecurity practices are followed. Even if disease were to occur in small flocks the risk of further spread would likewise be very small. Backyard flocks in the UK are kept in different ways to the village flocks of SE Asia and Eastern Europe where some poultry keepers have been infected through intimate contact with infected birds. However, we are encouraging all owners of flocks of fewer than 50 birds to register voluntarily to enhance the value of the register to all concerned, both in terms of improving contingency planning and improving our ability to communicate with poultry keepers.
6. In the event of an outbreak there would be movement restrictions that would apply to all birds in the area. SVS patrols will identify any flocks that should have registered but did not, including any small poultry flocks.
7. As with all our communications on avian influenza poultry keeping organisations have played an important role in promoting the register to their members. They have circulated thousands of leaflets and held events to raise awareness of the need to register and implement strict biosecurity. This activity will continue over the coming weeks, including advertisements in local press and specialist magazines, several of which have also published editorials urging readers to register. The deadline for registering flocks with 50 or more birds is 28 February 2006. However, we are keeping the register open after this date to allow voluntary registrations to continue.
8. Everyone keeping poultry should follow the biosecurity advice that has been made available and take commonsense hygiene precautions as a barrier to disease. It is important to remember that the UK is free from avian influenza and we want to keep it that way. Meanwhile, if there are any suspicions of avian flu, poultry keepers should report them to local Animal Health Divisional Office immediately.
To register your poultry: CLICK HERE.
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK
воскресенье, 22 мая 2011 г.
Antibiotic-resistance, Avian Flu And Other Viral Epidemics At ECCMID In Nice
16th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Nice, France - Globalisation is a phenomenon involving ever wider spheres: economic, social, cultural, and religious. But these are not the only areas to be affected. Fading national boundaries caused by intensification of commercial trading and increased migration, as well as the tendency for more "exotic" tourism, has caused a globalisation of infectious diseases that is involving all European countries.
This is the background to the importance of a European organisation such as ESCMID (European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases), which pursues as its major goal the improvement of the diagnosis, prevention and clinical management of infections, including those with a high public health impact.
Indeed, there is currently a paradoxical situation: despite the enormous progress made in medical science, there are new diseases emerging, either as adaptations of existing diseases which lose their responsiveness to traditional treatments, or as new diseases based on previously unknown pathogens for which a mode of transmission and control still have to be established and treatment regiments still to be developed.
The ECCMID (European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases), organized by ESCMID in Nice from 1 - 4 April 2006, is the most important annual event of its kind in Europe. Now in its 16th edition, the Congress unites a large number of European and other international experts and over 6000 delegates with the aim of increasing knowledge and discussing future research, treatment and public health strategies needed to tackle infectious diseases.
Resistance to antibiotics
The first problem, the loss of efficacy in treating some common infectious diseases, is predominantly due to antibiotic resistance. The alarm raised by infection experts is serious: the dramatic increase of bacteria resistant to antibiotics paralleled by a lack of new antibiotics has already led to infections being no longer curable.
In fact, it has been seen that some pathogens, particularly those occurring in hospitals (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), are now extensively resistant to widely used antibiotics. Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated that genes conveying antibiotic resistance can spread between different strains even across species barriers. Combined, all of the above leads to an ever increasing number of difficult-to-treat bacterial infections. In the case of Pseudomonas, but now even in the case of common and "easy-to-treat" bacteria such as Escherichia coli, the most recent and dangerous mechanisms of resistance are the so-called "carbapenemase" enzymes, which attack and destroy the most frequently used antibiotics and make bacteria, which produce these enzymes, resistant to all drugs.
The problem of antibiotic-resistance is further worsened by the disinvestment of several pharmaceutical companies in the field of antibiotic research and development and the resulting shortage of new drugs.
The experts at ECCMID therefore consider measures to contain antibiotic resistance by optimally using the currently available drugs absolutely essential.
"The key to controlling the development of antibiotic resistance", explains Prof. Hermann Goossens of the Department of Medical Microbiology at Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium, "is the ability to choose antibiotics selectively." Making a precise diagnosis and understanding the probable aetiology should enable the correct treatment of the main community-acquired infections. "However, in order to do this," continues Goossens, "it is very important that fast, new diagnostic tools are developed for the identification of diseases of bacterial origin. This would permit the prescription of antibiotics only in the case of real need."
Although the main cause of antibiotic resistance in community-acquired infections is inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics, another important factor is patients' non-compliance.
It has, in fact, been demonstrated that the therapeutic efficacy of antibiotics also depends heavily on patients respecting the prescriptions and instructions received from their doctors about the correct dose, the dosing interval and the duration of treatment.
Prevention is another aspect that should not be forgotten when discussing antibiotic resistance. It was found that the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Europe often coincided with a decrease in the resistance to macrolides and to penicillin. Streptococcus pneumoniae, also called pneumococcus, is one of the most important pathogens of the respiratory tract, with a high frequency of resistance to commonly used antibiotics.
Another important factor for treating infectious diseases and surveillance of resistance is the definition of "susceptible" or "resistant" pathogens; paradoxically, these definitions are not the same in all European countries.
In this regard, ESCMID has convened a strategically important committee, called EUCAST (European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing), with the goal to produce uniform guidelines for susceptibility testing of antibacterial drugs and to define "breakpoints" (that is, the values differentiating susceptible form resistant bacteria) in Europe.
The importance of tackling resistance through co-ordinated action of all European countries is further confirmed by the support that ESCMID gave to the creation of GRACE (Genomics to combat Resistance against Antibiotics in Community-acquired LRTI in Europe), a network of excellence financed by the European Union which brings together major European experts to increase knowledge, guarantee the practical application of research, develop new diagnostic tests and improve the prescribing habits and training of health care workers.
Avian flu
Another issue discussed in particular detail by the experts at ECCMID was avian flu. "Also in this case," said Albert Osterhaus, Head of the Department of Virology and Director of the National Influenza Centre, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, "a better co-ordination is needed in Europe among all the stakeholders, researchers, public health care workers and veterinarians in order to prevent a possible pandemic. This can be achieved by creating a European task force to share knowledge and to tackle the possible risks."
Osterhaus continued, "So far, the crisis in Europe has predominantly affected the avicultural sector. Community regulations to safeguard this production chain and those working in the sector are needed. The most important message to convey to the population is that of not confusing the problems related to the avicultural sector with the possibility of a pandemic developing."
Scientific societies, such as ESCMID, which have access to a network of experts throughout the continent, can contribute to this co-operation by acting as interlocutor with academia, health authorities of individual states, the European Commission and the EDCD (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control).
Ragnar Norrby, Director of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Diseases Control in Stockholm and current President of the ESCMID, re-addressed the "basic" information to be conveyed to the population, confirming that "avian flu is a disease of birds and that the risk of humans catching the infection, although theoretically possible, is very low and limited to those people who have direct contact with infected birds. However, as of today, there is no convincing evidence of man-to-man transmission."
Turkey, the only large reservoir so far observed in Europe, is a paradigmatic example: the cases of transmission of the virus to humans was limited mainly to the rural areas, where direct contact with animals is frequent, and did particularly involve children who have deliberately touched dead or sick birds. Also in these cases, the danger can be limited by applying ordinary rules of hygiene such as frequent hand-washing, not eating meat that is of suspicious provenance or poorly cooked and prohibiting hunting within a 10 km radius of where an animal infected by H5N1 has been found.
Although the H5N1 virus (responsible for avian flu) can cross the barriers between species and infect other animals, such as cats, so far the virus has not spread from cats to different species.
Concerning the possibility of a pandemic to occur, Norrby emphasized that "the worldwide spread of influenza among humans occurs when a new influenza virus develops, usually as a result of recombination of genetic material from a human influenza virus with genetic material from an animal influenza virus. A pandemic virus can, therefore, arise anywhere in the world, but the probability is higher in countries with a high population density and many domestic birds and pigs such as in Asia or Africa."
"So far," continued Norrby, "pandemics have developed at irregular intervals (Spanish 'flu in 1918, the Asiatic pandemic of 1957 and the one arising in Hong Kong in 1968). Therefore, although it can be presumed that another will occur, no-one is able to predict when and with what variant of the influenza virus".
Norrby concluded, "it is important to emphasize two aspects: although the high density of H5N1 virus in birds from all over the world (and particularly in Asian and African countries) facilitates the development of a pandemic infection caused by the virus, the fact that millions of Asians have probably been in contact with infected, dead birds since 1997 (the year in which the first severe spread of avian flu occurred in Hong Kong) without the virus having mutated into a pandemic variant, speaks against a variant of H5N1 virus becoming a pandemic virus."
As far as regards the availability of a human vaccine against avian flu, it was repeated during the ECCMID Congress that large-scale production of such a vaccine requires from four to six months. Considering that avian influenza has had a seasonal trend so far, affecting the population during the winter in countries with a temperate climate, it is probable that if a vaccine is needed it will be scarce during the first wave of infections, but fully available for the second season.
The most important antiviral drug on the market is oseltamivir (Tamiflu), since it has few side effects and is easy to administer. It is important to highlight that oseltamivir can be used for prophylaxis, but considering that the influenza season lasts four to six months it is not feasible to store the supplies necessary to administer the drug to a large number of people. Although studies have not been carried out in patients infected by H5N1, it has been documented that in order to reduce the duration and the severity of symptoms, oseltamivir-based treatment must be administered within 48 hours of the onset of the symptoms. It is also important to remember that treatment with antiviral agents can lead to the development of resistance.
Finally, it should be appreciated that - even in the absence of a vaccine against avian influenza - primary prevention, in particular vaccination against "common" influenza and pneumococcal respiratory infections, plays an essential role in the defence against a possible pandemic.
In fact, immunization could increase resistance to strains never previously encountered, such as a potentially pandemic virus. For example, in the case of the H5N1 strain, it is known that N1 (neuroaminidase 1) is contained in other viruses and vaccines. It is, therefore, possible that a previous infection or vaccination with virus containing N1 can provoke a certain response that then remains in the immunological "memory" of the individual.
Antipneumococcal vaccination should also play a strategic role in prevention, since it has been demonstrated that a considerable proportion of the pulmonary complications in previous pandemics was linked to superimposed bacterial infections, including those caused by pneumococci.
Chikungunya
During the ECCMID another epidemic was discussed: chikungunya, a rare viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus). This epidemic appeared one year ago in La Rйunion, where 186,000 cases, including 93 deaths, have been registered so far. The infection has spread to Mayotte (924 cases), to the Seychelles (4650 suspected cases), to Mauritius (2553 cases notified, of which 1173 confirmed) and to Madagascar (sporadic cases). In Europe "imported" cases have been reported in France (n=160), Switzerland (n=12) and Germany (n=4).
The current level of risk of chikungunya (a fever that causes violent joint pains) being introduced into Europe is low, given the unfavourable climatic conditions in this period of the year, although the risk cannot be excluded completely. There is lack of consensus on whether there will be a real risk of autoctonous spread of the virus in the warmer season, when the number of mosquitoes increases.
What is certain, as concluded by the experts meeting at the ECCMID, is the need to activate close monitoring of the epidemic at a European level and to identify efficient diagnostic tools.
escmid
View drug information on Tamiflu capsule.
Nice, France - Globalisation is a phenomenon involving ever wider spheres: economic, social, cultural, and religious. But these are not the only areas to be affected. Fading national boundaries caused by intensification of commercial trading and increased migration, as well as the tendency for more "exotic" tourism, has caused a globalisation of infectious diseases that is involving all European countries.
This is the background to the importance of a European organisation such as ESCMID (European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases), which pursues as its major goal the improvement of the diagnosis, prevention and clinical management of infections, including those with a high public health impact.
Indeed, there is currently a paradoxical situation: despite the enormous progress made in medical science, there are new diseases emerging, either as adaptations of existing diseases which lose their responsiveness to traditional treatments, or as new diseases based on previously unknown pathogens for which a mode of transmission and control still have to be established and treatment regiments still to be developed.
The ECCMID (European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases), organized by ESCMID in Nice from 1 - 4 April 2006, is the most important annual event of its kind in Europe. Now in its 16th edition, the Congress unites a large number of European and other international experts and over 6000 delegates with the aim of increasing knowledge and discussing future research, treatment and public health strategies needed to tackle infectious diseases.
Resistance to antibiotics
The first problem, the loss of efficacy in treating some common infectious diseases, is predominantly due to antibiotic resistance. The alarm raised by infection experts is serious: the dramatic increase of bacteria resistant to antibiotics paralleled by a lack of new antibiotics has already led to infections being no longer curable.
In fact, it has been seen that some pathogens, particularly those occurring in hospitals (e.g. Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa), are now extensively resistant to widely used antibiotics. Furthermore, recent studies have demonstrated that genes conveying antibiotic resistance can spread between different strains even across species barriers. Combined, all of the above leads to an ever increasing number of difficult-to-treat bacterial infections. In the case of Pseudomonas, but now even in the case of common and "easy-to-treat" bacteria such as Escherichia coli, the most recent and dangerous mechanisms of resistance are the so-called "carbapenemase" enzymes, which attack and destroy the most frequently used antibiotics and make bacteria, which produce these enzymes, resistant to all drugs.
The problem of antibiotic-resistance is further worsened by the disinvestment of several pharmaceutical companies in the field of antibiotic research and development and the resulting shortage of new drugs.
The experts at ECCMID therefore consider measures to contain antibiotic resistance by optimally using the currently available drugs absolutely essential.
"The key to controlling the development of antibiotic resistance", explains Prof. Hermann Goossens of the Department of Medical Microbiology at Antwerp University Hospital, Edegem, Belgium, "is the ability to choose antibiotics selectively." Making a precise diagnosis and understanding the probable aetiology should enable the correct treatment of the main community-acquired infections. "However, in order to do this," continues Goossens, "it is very important that fast, new diagnostic tools are developed for the identification of diseases of bacterial origin. This would permit the prescription of antibiotics only in the case of real need."
Although the main cause of antibiotic resistance in community-acquired infections is inappropriate prescribing of antibiotics, another important factor is patients' non-compliance.
It has, in fact, been demonstrated that the therapeutic efficacy of antibiotics also depends heavily on patients respecting the prescriptions and instructions received from their doctors about the correct dose, the dosing interval and the duration of treatment.
Prevention is another aspect that should not be forgotten when discussing antibiotic resistance. It was found that the introduction of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in Europe often coincided with a decrease in the resistance to macrolides and to penicillin. Streptococcus pneumoniae, also called pneumococcus, is one of the most important pathogens of the respiratory tract, with a high frequency of resistance to commonly used antibiotics.
Another important factor for treating infectious diseases and surveillance of resistance is the definition of "susceptible" or "resistant" pathogens; paradoxically, these definitions are not the same in all European countries.
In this regard, ESCMID has convened a strategically important committee, called EUCAST (European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing), with the goal to produce uniform guidelines for susceptibility testing of antibacterial drugs and to define "breakpoints" (that is, the values differentiating susceptible form resistant bacteria) in Europe.
The importance of tackling resistance through co-ordinated action of all European countries is further confirmed by the support that ESCMID gave to the creation of GRACE (Genomics to combat Resistance against Antibiotics in Community-acquired LRTI in Europe), a network of excellence financed by the European Union which brings together major European experts to increase knowledge, guarantee the practical application of research, develop new diagnostic tests and improve the prescribing habits and training of health care workers.
Avian flu
Another issue discussed in particular detail by the experts at ECCMID was avian flu. "Also in this case," said Albert Osterhaus, Head of the Department of Virology and Director of the National Influenza Centre, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, "a better co-ordination is needed in Europe among all the stakeholders, researchers, public health care workers and veterinarians in order to prevent a possible pandemic. This can be achieved by creating a European task force to share knowledge and to tackle the possible risks."
Osterhaus continued, "So far, the crisis in Europe has predominantly affected the avicultural sector. Community regulations to safeguard this production chain and those working in the sector are needed. The most important message to convey to the population is that of not confusing the problems related to the avicultural sector with the possibility of a pandemic developing."
Scientific societies, such as ESCMID, which have access to a network of experts throughout the continent, can contribute to this co-operation by acting as interlocutor with academia, health authorities of individual states, the European Commission and the EDCD (European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control).
Ragnar Norrby, Director of the Swedish Institute for Infectious Diseases Control in Stockholm and current President of the ESCMID, re-addressed the "basic" information to be conveyed to the population, confirming that "avian flu is a disease of birds and that the risk of humans catching the infection, although theoretically possible, is very low and limited to those people who have direct contact with infected birds. However, as of today, there is no convincing evidence of man-to-man transmission."
Turkey, the only large reservoir so far observed in Europe, is a paradigmatic example: the cases of transmission of the virus to humans was limited mainly to the rural areas, where direct contact with animals is frequent, and did particularly involve children who have deliberately touched dead or sick birds. Also in these cases, the danger can be limited by applying ordinary rules of hygiene such as frequent hand-washing, not eating meat that is of suspicious provenance or poorly cooked and prohibiting hunting within a 10 km radius of where an animal infected by H5N1 has been found.
Although the H5N1 virus (responsible for avian flu) can cross the barriers between species and infect other animals, such as cats, so far the virus has not spread from cats to different species.
Concerning the possibility of a pandemic to occur, Norrby emphasized that "the worldwide spread of influenza among humans occurs when a new influenza virus develops, usually as a result of recombination of genetic material from a human influenza virus with genetic material from an animal influenza virus. A pandemic virus can, therefore, arise anywhere in the world, but the probability is higher in countries with a high population density and many domestic birds and pigs such as in Asia or Africa."
"So far," continued Norrby, "pandemics have developed at irregular intervals (Spanish 'flu in 1918, the Asiatic pandemic of 1957 and the one arising in Hong Kong in 1968). Therefore, although it can be presumed that another will occur, no-one is able to predict when and with what variant of the influenza virus".
Norrby concluded, "it is important to emphasize two aspects: although the high density of H5N1 virus in birds from all over the world (and particularly in Asian and African countries) facilitates the development of a pandemic infection caused by the virus, the fact that millions of Asians have probably been in contact with infected, dead birds since 1997 (the year in which the first severe spread of avian flu occurred in Hong Kong) without the virus having mutated into a pandemic variant, speaks against a variant of H5N1 virus becoming a pandemic virus."
As far as regards the availability of a human vaccine against avian flu, it was repeated during the ECCMID Congress that large-scale production of such a vaccine requires from four to six months. Considering that avian influenza has had a seasonal trend so far, affecting the population during the winter in countries with a temperate climate, it is probable that if a vaccine is needed it will be scarce during the first wave of infections, but fully available for the second season.
The most important antiviral drug on the market is oseltamivir (Tamiflu), since it has few side effects and is easy to administer. It is important to highlight that oseltamivir can be used for prophylaxis, but considering that the influenza season lasts four to six months it is not feasible to store the supplies necessary to administer the drug to a large number of people. Although studies have not been carried out in patients infected by H5N1, it has been documented that in order to reduce the duration and the severity of symptoms, oseltamivir-based treatment must be administered within 48 hours of the onset of the symptoms. It is also important to remember that treatment with antiviral agents can lead to the development of resistance.
Finally, it should be appreciated that - even in the absence of a vaccine against avian influenza - primary prevention, in particular vaccination against "common" influenza and pneumococcal respiratory infections, plays an essential role in the defence against a possible pandemic.
In fact, immunization could increase resistance to strains never previously encountered, such as a potentially pandemic virus. For example, in the case of the H5N1 strain, it is known that N1 (neuroaminidase 1) is contained in other viruses and vaccines. It is, therefore, possible that a previous infection or vaccination with virus containing N1 can provoke a certain response that then remains in the immunological "memory" of the individual.
Antipneumococcal vaccination should also play a strategic role in prevention, since it has been demonstrated that a considerable proportion of the pulmonary complications in previous pandemics was linked to superimposed bacterial infections, including those caused by pneumococci.
Chikungunya
During the ECCMID another epidemic was discussed: chikungunya, a rare viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus). This epidemic appeared one year ago in La Rйunion, where 186,000 cases, including 93 deaths, have been registered so far. The infection has spread to Mayotte (924 cases), to the Seychelles (4650 suspected cases), to Mauritius (2553 cases notified, of which 1173 confirmed) and to Madagascar (sporadic cases). In Europe "imported" cases have been reported in France (n=160), Switzerland (n=12) and Germany (n=4).
The current level of risk of chikungunya (a fever that causes violent joint pains) being introduced into Europe is low, given the unfavourable climatic conditions in this period of the year, although the risk cannot be excluded completely. There is lack of consensus on whether there will be a real risk of autoctonous spread of the virus in the warmer season, when the number of mosquitoes increases.
What is certain, as concluded by the experts meeting at the ECCMID, is the need to activate close monitoring of the epidemic at a European level and to identify efficient diagnostic tools.
escmid
View drug information on Tamiflu capsule.
суббота, 21 мая 2011 г.
Excessive Use Of Antiviral Drugs Could Aid Deadly Flu According To Study
Influenza's ability to resist the effects of cheap and popular antiviral agents in Asia and Russia should serve as a cautionary tale about U.S. plans to use the antiviral Tamiflu in the event of widespread avian flu infection in humans, scientists say.
Researchers analyzed almost 700 genome sequences of avian influenza strains to document where and when the virus developed resistance to a class of antiviral drugs called adamantanes and how far resistant strains spread. The analysis suggests that widespread antiviral drug use can accelerate the evolution of drug resistance in viruses, and that resistant strains can emerge and spread rapidly.
The results should serve as a warning to those who consider Tamiflu the next great antiviral medication, the researchers say. Stockpiling Tamiflu has become a standard part of many government, business and health organization plans to prepare for a long-feared pandemic flu outbreak, especially in the event that avian flu mutates enough to infect and be easily transmitted among humans.
"We can't necessarily say what we've seen in adamantanes is predictive of what will happen with Tamiflu. But in the larger dynamic, perhaps it serves as a cautionary tale," said Daniel Janies, senior author of the study and an associate professor of biomedical informatics at Ohio State University.
"Fighting infection is an arms race, and if we're not smart about how we use our arms and understand the evolutionary implications, then we will have ongoing and accelerating problems with drug-resistant microorganisms."
Resistance to adamantanes among strains of seasonal influenza spiked in Asia in 2002, and by 2006 the agents were considered virtually worthless worldwide as a treatment for the flu because more than 90 percent of the strains had developed a resistance to the drugs.
With that knowledge, Janies and colleagues analyzed hundreds of avian flu genomes isolated from avian, feline and human hosts between 1996 and 2007. They found that about one-third of those samples carried mutations enabling the virus strains to resist the effects of adamantane drugs.
The researchers also looked at resistance to oseltamivir-based agents (Tamiflu is the brand name for oseltamivir phosphate), but found that fewer than 1 percent of all of the samples were resistant to that class of drugs. Different classes of antivirals target influenza in different ways in the hosts' cells.
Janies and researchers from the University of Colorado and Kansas State University also designed a four-dimensional interactive map that traces the resistant avian flu lineages, showing over time where they originated and where they moved, mostly across Asia, but also to one European site in Belgium. The map is projected onto a virtual globe using Google Earth and can be downloaded at: supramap.osu/supramap/files/h5n1_677.kmz.
The study is published online in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution.
So far, avian flu, the H5N1 strain of the influenza A virus, has been restricted to fewer than 400 human cases worldwide, but the virus's presence in birds has led to culling of large populations of infected species. Experts believe that to date, the avian flu can be transmitted to humans only from diseased birds. But the 63-percent death rate among the humans who had the virus has led to global concerns that if H5N1 were to become highly transmissible among humans, it could start an influenza pandemic.
Janies and colleagues obtained 676 whole genomes of influenza A/H5N1 available in Genbank, a public database of sequences supported by the National Institutes of Health, as of June 2007. They then used powerful supercomputers to analyze these genomes and their various mutations.
Adamantanes fight influenza by inhibiting the function of a protein called the membrane ion channel, or the M2 protein. According to the computational comparison of the avian flu genomes, upwards of one-third of the strains contained a key mutation that changed the M2 protein in a way that allowed the virus to escape the inhibiting effects of adamantanes. To evade adamantanes, mutations can occur at several positions on the protein, suggesting that influenza can evolve in many ways to resist the drug.
The researchers also were able to demonstrate that the resistance developed as a result of natural selection, because the avian flu virus strains experienced mutations that changed the M2 protein to evade the drug more often than one would expect by chance. Sometimes, dramatic changes to the genetic code occur when diverse strains of viruses shuffle whole genes among themselves in a process called reassortment. The analysis determined that any reassortment that occurred in the H5N1 strains studied did not lead to drug resistance.
The study also showed that the mutation-mediated cases of drug resistance didn't start in just one strain of avian flu. One resistant strain originated in China and spread through Southeast Asia, while another strain that was originally susceptible to adamantanes spread to Indonesia and then independently developed resistance in that country. The Google Earth map offers a vivid visualization of exactly where in the world these resistant lineages originated and where they are spreading.
At the height of their popularity in China and Russia, adamantanes were added to over-the-counter cold medicines and were also given to animals in some agricultural settings.
"We don't have hard data on how it was used or whether it was appropriately or inappropriately used, but in general, people are putting a lot of antimicrobials into the environment now," Janies said. "When people do that, they change the selective landscape. The virus would rather remain in its wild type form, but that one gets killed by the drug. So according to the survival of the fittest, a slightly modified virus can spread by escaping the effects of the drug."
Researchers believe that Tamiflu has not been used widely anywhere in the world except Japan, and no pattern of resistance similar to that seen for adamantanes has emerged. However, recent reports have suggested a spike of resistance to oseltamivir in strains of seasonal influenza have occurred in Northern Europe and Canada. In analyzing the avian flu genomes, the researchers looked for mutations that would show the virus's ability to resist the oseltamivir class of drugs to which Tamiflu belongs. These drugs fight flu by inhibiting the neuraminidase protein in the virus.
"Resistance to Tamiflu was not nearly as widespread as is resistance to adamantanes," Janies said. "But based on our results, we know resistance to Tamiflu can occur spontaneously in nature, we know it can occur in patients, and we know Tamiflu is widely used in Japan. We should continue to watch for resistance, and use this adamantane history as a warning."
A critical part of any genome comparison is assembling supercomputers that allow researchers to put complex data into context.
"Genomes are represented as raw, partially annotated strings of letters. Each genome on its own doesn't tell you much because all you see is a single state. What we need to see is change over time to find the evolutionary history. That requires computational power to match like regions of the genome, put the data into context and see the trajectory of the change," Janies said.
The result is called a phylogenetic tree that documents the shared mutations. Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary relationships among various biological species believed to have a common ancestor. In this analysis, the phylogenetic tree is projected into Google Earth and animated to show when mutations emerged and where drug-resistant avian flu strains are traveling.
Key to any ongoing tracking of antiviral drug resistance will be the broad availability of genomic data, Janies said. The technology exists to do the job, but worldwide cooperation in data sharing is still a work in progress."Not all viruses that are isolated are sequenced, and not all viral genomes that have been sequenced are shared," he said.With this publication, Janies and colleagues have done some sharing of their own, establishing a service for other researchers at supramap.osu. "Anyone can go there, upload genomes, and our computers will calculate a tree for them and give them both the tree and that tree data mapped into the earth. We're rolling out our methods and making our supercomputer available for anyone in the world to do this kind of work," Janies said.
This research is supported by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the U.S. Army Research Office; the Hewlett Packard Corp.; the Ohio Supercomputer Center; and the Department of Biomedical Informatics and School of Biomedical Sciences within Ohio State's College of Medicine.
Janies' coauthors are Andrew Hill, Meredith Wilson and Robert Guralnick of the University of Colorado and Farhat Habib, a former Ohio State graduate student now at Kansas State University.
Source: Daniel Janies
Ohio State University
View drug information on Tamiflu capsule.
Researchers analyzed almost 700 genome sequences of avian influenza strains to document where and when the virus developed resistance to a class of antiviral drugs called adamantanes and how far resistant strains spread. The analysis suggests that widespread antiviral drug use can accelerate the evolution of drug resistance in viruses, and that resistant strains can emerge and spread rapidly.
The results should serve as a warning to those who consider Tamiflu the next great antiviral medication, the researchers say. Stockpiling Tamiflu has become a standard part of many government, business and health organization plans to prepare for a long-feared pandemic flu outbreak, especially in the event that avian flu mutates enough to infect and be easily transmitted among humans.
"We can't necessarily say what we've seen in adamantanes is predictive of what will happen with Tamiflu. But in the larger dynamic, perhaps it serves as a cautionary tale," said Daniel Janies, senior author of the study and an associate professor of biomedical informatics at Ohio State University.
"Fighting infection is an arms race, and if we're not smart about how we use our arms and understand the evolutionary implications, then we will have ongoing and accelerating problems with drug-resistant microorganisms."
Resistance to adamantanes among strains of seasonal influenza spiked in Asia in 2002, and by 2006 the agents were considered virtually worthless worldwide as a treatment for the flu because more than 90 percent of the strains had developed a resistance to the drugs.
With that knowledge, Janies and colleagues analyzed hundreds of avian flu genomes isolated from avian, feline and human hosts between 1996 and 2007. They found that about one-third of those samples carried mutations enabling the virus strains to resist the effects of adamantane drugs.
The researchers also looked at resistance to oseltamivir-based agents (Tamiflu is the brand name for oseltamivir phosphate), but found that fewer than 1 percent of all of the samples were resistant to that class of drugs. Different classes of antivirals target influenza in different ways in the hosts' cells.
Janies and researchers from the University of Colorado and Kansas State University also designed a four-dimensional interactive map that traces the resistant avian flu lineages, showing over time where they originated and where they moved, mostly across Asia, but also to one European site in Belgium. The map is projected onto a virtual globe using Google Earth and can be downloaded at: supramap.osu/supramap/files/h5n1_677.kmz.
The study is published online in the journal Infection, Genetics and Evolution.
So far, avian flu, the H5N1 strain of the influenza A virus, has been restricted to fewer than 400 human cases worldwide, but the virus's presence in birds has led to culling of large populations of infected species. Experts believe that to date, the avian flu can be transmitted to humans only from diseased birds. But the 63-percent death rate among the humans who had the virus has led to global concerns that if H5N1 were to become highly transmissible among humans, it could start an influenza pandemic.
Janies and colleagues obtained 676 whole genomes of influenza A/H5N1 available in Genbank, a public database of sequences supported by the National Institutes of Health, as of June 2007. They then used powerful supercomputers to analyze these genomes and their various mutations.
Adamantanes fight influenza by inhibiting the function of a protein called the membrane ion channel, or the M2 protein. According to the computational comparison of the avian flu genomes, upwards of one-third of the strains contained a key mutation that changed the M2 protein in a way that allowed the virus to escape the inhibiting effects of adamantanes. To evade adamantanes, mutations can occur at several positions on the protein, suggesting that influenza can evolve in many ways to resist the drug.
The researchers also were able to demonstrate that the resistance developed as a result of natural selection, because the avian flu virus strains experienced mutations that changed the M2 protein to evade the drug more often than one would expect by chance. Sometimes, dramatic changes to the genetic code occur when diverse strains of viruses shuffle whole genes among themselves in a process called reassortment. The analysis determined that any reassortment that occurred in the H5N1 strains studied did not lead to drug resistance.
The study also showed that the mutation-mediated cases of drug resistance didn't start in just one strain of avian flu. One resistant strain originated in China and spread through Southeast Asia, while another strain that was originally susceptible to adamantanes spread to Indonesia and then independently developed resistance in that country. The Google Earth map offers a vivid visualization of exactly where in the world these resistant lineages originated and where they are spreading.
At the height of their popularity in China and Russia, adamantanes were added to over-the-counter cold medicines and were also given to animals in some agricultural settings.
"We don't have hard data on how it was used or whether it was appropriately or inappropriately used, but in general, people are putting a lot of antimicrobials into the environment now," Janies said. "When people do that, they change the selective landscape. The virus would rather remain in its wild type form, but that one gets killed by the drug. So according to the survival of the fittest, a slightly modified virus can spread by escaping the effects of the drug."
Researchers believe that Tamiflu has not been used widely anywhere in the world except Japan, and no pattern of resistance similar to that seen for adamantanes has emerged. However, recent reports have suggested a spike of resistance to oseltamivir in strains of seasonal influenza have occurred in Northern Europe and Canada. In analyzing the avian flu genomes, the researchers looked for mutations that would show the virus's ability to resist the oseltamivir class of drugs to which Tamiflu belongs. These drugs fight flu by inhibiting the neuraminidase protein in the virus.
"Resistance to Tamiflu was not nearly as widespread as is resistance to adamantanes," Janies said. "But based on our results, we know resistance to Tamiflu can occur spontaneously in nature, we know it can occur in patients, and we know Tamiflu is widely used in Japan. We should continue to watch for resistance, and use this adamantane history as a warning."
A critical part of any genome comparison is assembling supercomputers that allow researchers to put complex data into context.
"Genomes are represented as raw, partially annotated strings of letters. Each genome on its own doesn't tell you much because all you see is a single state. What we need to see is change over time to find the evolutionary history. That requires computational power to match like regions of the genome, put the data into context and see the trajectory of the change," Janies said.
The result is called a phylogenetic tree that documents the shared mutations. Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary relationships among various biological species believed to have a common ancestor. In this analysis, the phylogenetic tree is projected into Google Earth and animated to show when mutations emerged and where drug-resistant avian flu strains are traveling.
Key to any ongoing tracking of antiviral drug resistance will be the broad availability of genomic data, Janies said. The technology exists to do the job, but worldwide cooperation in data sharing is still a work in progress."Not all viruses that are isolated are sequenced, and not all viral genomes that have been sequenced are shared," he said.With this publication, Janies and colleagues have done some sharing of their own, establishing a service for other researchers at supramap.osu. "Anyone can go there, upload genomes, and our computers will calculate a tree for them and give them both the tree and that tree data mapped into the earth. We're rolling out our methods and making our supercomputer available for anyone in the world to do this kind of work," Janies said.
This research is supported by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the U.S. Army Research Office; the Hewlett Packard Corp.; the Ohio Supercomputer Center; and the Department of Biomedical Informatics and School of Biomedical Sciences within Ohio State's College of Medicine.
Janies' coauthors are Andrew Hill, Meredith Wilson and Robert Guralnick of the University of Colorado and Farhat Habib, a former Ohio State graduate student now at Kansas State University.
Source: Daniel Janies
Ohio State University
View drug information on Tamiflu capsule.
пятница, 20 мая 2011 г.
Creating Bird Flu Vaccine Using GM A Real Possibility
Scientists from the CDC (USA) have managed to create a bird flu vaccine that protects mice by placing a gene from the H5N1 bird flu virus strain into a common cold virus. They then developed it in cell cultures rather than using hen's eggs.
You can read about this procedure in The Lancet.
Usually, vaccines are made by injecting an altered virus into fertilised hens' eggs (the virus is harmless). The problem with hens' eggs is that it takes so long to complete the whole process - at least six months. The aim of these scientists was to find a way of speeding up the process.
It is crucial that as soon as we know what kind of virus we may be dealing with during the looming flu pandemic that we create and produce a vaccine fast enough to protect people.
The CDC team used the H5N1 virus strain which appeared in Hong Kong in 1997. They then placed the haemugglutinin gene into a cold virus. The vaccine was then allowed to grow in human kidney cells.
The new vaccine was used on mice which were protected from the H5N1 virus strain.
The advantage this procedure has is speed.
Some experts have written saying that this procedure may hold some promise if the flu pandemic does not hit within the next three to four years.
Experts no longer talk about whether there will be a flu pandemic, the talk now is about 'when'.
For the moment, bird flu spreads easily among birds, it does spread from bird to human, but not easily. Over the last three years over 100 million birds and 80 people have died as a result of bird flu infection.
Written by:
You can read about this procedure in The Lancet.
Usually, vaccines are made by injecting an altered virus into fertilised hens' eggs (the virus is harmless). The problem with hens' eggs is that it takes so long to complete the whole process - at least six months. The aim of these scientists was to find a way of speeding up the process.
It is crucial that as soon as we know what kind of virus we may be dealing with during the looming flu pandemic that we create and produce a vaccine fast enough to protect people.
The CDC team used the H5N1 virus strain which appeared in Hong Kong in 1997. They then placed the haemugglutinin gene into a cold virus. The vaccine was then allowed to grow in human kidney cells.
The new vaccine was used on mice which were protected from the H5N1 virus strain.
The advantage this procedure has is speed.
Some experts have written saying that this procedure may hold some promise if the flu pandemic does not hit within the next three to four years.
Experts no longer talk about whether there will be a flu pandemic, the talk now is about 'when'.
For the moment, bird flu spreads easily among birds, it does spread from bird to human, but not easily. Over the last three years over 100 million birds and 80 people have died as a result of bird flu infection.
Written by:
четверг, 19 мая 2011 г.
Statement By US Secretary Of Health And Human Services On The WHO Global Pandemic Influenza Action Plan To Increase Vaccine Supply
The World Health Organization (WHO) deserves continued support and commendation for its leadership in guiding the global effort to prepare for and respond to a potential human influenza pandemic.
The current global capacity to produce a vaccine to respond to an influenza pandemic is insufficient to meet the global need, especially in developing countries. The recently published WHO Global Pandemic-Influenza Action Plan to Increase Vaccine Supply provides a strong foundation to increase the availability of seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine around the world, but its implementation must be accelerated.
The United States strongly supports the efforts of the WHO to address this critical gap. In that spirit, the United States has provided $10 million to the WHO to expand the development and manufacturing infrastructure for influenza vaccine in developing countries. In addition, our nation has been making significant investments in vaccine research and in expanding production capacity, including $1 billion in cell-based vaccine research efforts. These investments will likely benefit not only citizens of the United States, but also citizens of the world.
Efforts to increase the availability of influenza vaccines in developing countries, however, should not compromise the integrity of the 50-year-old WHO Global Influenza-Surveillance Network, which provides early warning of evolving influenza virus strains, both seasonal and those with pandemic potential. All nations have a responsibility to share data and virus samples. The United States looks forward to discussing creative options with stakeholders in the coming weeks to accelerate implementation of the WHO Plan in the quickest and most effective manner and in ways that provide countries with the flexibility they need.
Responding to a pandemic will demand the cooperation of the world community, as no nation can go it alone. If a country is to protect its own people, it must work together with other nations to protect the people of the world.
hhs
The current global capacity to produce a vaccine to respond to an influenza pandemic is insufficient to meet the global need, especially in developing countries. The recently published WHO Global Pandemic-Influenza Action Plan to Increase Vaccine Supply provides a strong foundation to increase the availability of seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccine around the world, but its implementation must be accelerated.
The United States strongly supports the efforts of the WHO to address this critical gap. In that spirit, the United States has provided $10 million to the WHO to expand the development and manufacturing infrastructure for influenza vaccine in developing countries. In addition, our nation has been making significant investments in vaccine research and in expanding production capacity, including $1 billion in cell-based vaccine research efforts. These investments will likely benefit not only citizens of the United States, but also citizens of the world.
Efforts to increase the availability of influenza vaccines in developing countries, however, should not compromise the integrity of the 50-year-old WHO Global Influenza-Surveillance Network, which provides early warning of evolving influenza virus strains, both seasonal and those with pandemic potential. All nations have a responsibility to share data and virus samples. The United States looks forward to discussing creative options with stakeholders in the coming weeks to accelerate implementation of the WHO Plan in the quickest and most effective manner and in ways that provide countries with the flexibility they need.
Responding to a pandemic will demand the cooperation of the world community, as no nation can go it alone. If a country is to protect its own people, it must work together with other nations to protect the people of the world.
hhs
среда, 18 мая 2011 г.
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. Now one of the tactics used by influenza virus to take over the machinery of infected cells has been laid bare by structural biologists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) and the joint Unit of Virus Host-Cell Interaction of EMBL, the University Joseph Fourier and National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), in Grenoble, France. In the current issue of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology they publish a high-resolution image of a key protein domain whose function is to allow the virus to multiply by hijacking the host cell protein production machinery. The findings open the way for the design of new drugs to combat future influenza pandemics.
Upon infection the influenza virus starts multiplying in the cells of its host. One protein that is crucial in this process is the viral polymerase - the enzyme that copies its genetic material and helps to produce more viruses. One component of the polymerase, called PB2, plays a key role in stealing an important tag from host cell RNA molecules to direct the protein production machinery towards the synthesis of viral proteins. Researchers of the groups of Stephen Cusack and Darren Hart at EMBL Grenoble have identified the PB2 domain responsible for binding the tag, produced crystals of it and examined them with the powerful X-ray beams of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF).
"Viruses are masters of cunning when it comes to hijacking the normal functioning of the host cell. The influenza virus steals a password from host messenger RNAs, molecules that carry the instructions for protein production, and uses it to gain access to the cell's protein-making machinery for its own purposes," says Cusack.
The password is a short extra piece of RNA, a modified RNA base called a 'cap', which must be present at the beginning of all messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to direct the cell's protein-synthesis machinery to the starting point. The viral polymerase binds to host cell mRNA via its cap, cuts the cap off and adds it to the beginning of its own mRNA - a process known as 'cap snatching'. The capped viral mRNA can then be recognised by the host cell machinery allowing viral proteins to be made, at the expense of host cell proteins.
The atomic resolution image the EMBL scientists generated of a PB2 domain bound to a cap reveals for the first time the individual amino acids responsible for recognising this special structure. The central interaction is a sandwich with two PB2 amino acids stacking either side of the cap. Whilst this recognition mechanism is similar to other cap-binding proteins, its structural details are distinct. Collaborators at the Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia in Madrid showed that disruption of the PB2 cap-binding site prevents the influenza virus from replicating.
"These findings suggest that the PB2 cap-binding site is a very promising target for anti-influenza drugs," Hart says. "Our new structural insights will help us design mimics of the cap that would inhibit viral replication and hence reduce the spread of virus and the severity of the infection."
Source: Anna-Lynn Wegener
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
Upon infection the influenza virus starts multiplying in the cells of its host. One protein that is crucial in this process is the viral polymerase - the enzyme that copies its genetic material and helps to produce more viruses. One component of the polymerase, called PB2, plays a key role in stealing an important tag from host cell RNA molecules to direct the protein production machinery towards the synthesis of viral proteins. Researchers of the groups of Stephen Cusack and Darren Hart at EMBL Grenoble have identified the PB2 domain responsible for binding the tag, produced crystals of it and examined them with the powerful X-ray beams of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF).
"Viruses are masters of cunning when it comes to hijacking the normal functioning of the host cell. The influenza virus steals a password from host messenger RNAs, molecules that carry the instructions for protein production, and uses it to gain access to the cell's protein-making machinery for its own purposes," says Cusack.
The password is a short extra piece of RNA, a modified RNA base called a 'cap', which must be present at the beginning of all messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to direct the cell's protein-synthesis machinery to the starting point. The viral polymerase binds to host cell mRNA via its cap, cuts the cap off and adds it to the beginning of its own mRNA - a process known as 'cap snatching'. The capped viral mRNA can then be recognised by the host cell machinery allowing viral proteins to be made, at the expense of host cell proteins.
The atomic resolution image the EMBL scientists generated of a PB2 domain bound to a cap reveals for the first time the individual amino acids responsible for recognising this special structure. The central interaction is a sandwich with two PB2 amino acids stacking either side of the cap. Whilst this recognition mechanism is similar to other cap-binding proteins, its structural details are distinct. Collaborators at the Centro Nacional de Biotecnologia in Madrid showed that disruption of the PB2 cap-binding site prevents the influenza virus from replicating.
"These findings suggest that the PB2 cap-binding site is a very promising target for anti-influenza drugs," Hart says. "Our new structural insights will help us design mimics of the cap that would inhibit viral replication and hence reduce the spread of virus and the severity of the infection."
Source: Anna-Lynn Wegener
European Molecular Biology Laboratory
вторник, 17 мая 2011 г.
Poultry sales plummet in Beijing and Shanghai after three bird flu outbreaks
After three bird flu outbreaks hit flocks in different parts of China, sales of poultry in the country's main cities have taken an 80% nosedive. Health experts say that if China cannot prevent future outbreaks of bird flu among its flocks, it is only a question of time before people become infected. According to Chinese authorities, no human in China currently has bird flu.
Even though the price of chicken has dropped 50%, many people are shunning the product and going for other sources of protein.
Health officials say it is not possible to catch bird flu from well cooked chicken or eggs. For a human to catch bird flu he/she needs a lot of contact with live birds. It is possible to catch bird flu if you are involved with the slaughtering of poultry and some of the birds are infected. Bird droppings can also be a source of infection. In some rare cases, humans have caught it from other humans, but only if a person was treating an infected patient and was touching him/her a lot and with him/her for a long time.
For the moment, it is not easy for a human to catch bird flu.
Within the last few weeks there have been three important outbreaks of bird flu among flocks in China. One was in Inner Mongolia (chickens and ducks), another in Anhui and another in Hunan.
Health experts around the world say that the only way we can possibly combat an impending flu pandemic is with total international cooperation. This means countries have to be completely open, data has to be exchanged freely and quickly between governments and agencies around the world. Many worry that governments which rely on heavily censored media to survive may not be so open about their internal problems. Any outbreak of bird flu that occurs anywhere in the world could have repercussions for all of us on this planet - we must all be open and report data immediately. This is not a time for national pride or trying to save face.
Written by:
Editor:
Even though the price of chicken has dropped 50%, many people are shunning the product and going for other sources of protein.
Health officials say it is not possible to catch bird flu from well cooked chicken or eggs. For a human to catch bird flu he/she needs a lot of contact with live birds. It is possible to catch bird flu if you are involved with the slaughtering of poultry and some of the birds are infected. Bird droppings can also be a source of infection. In some rare cases, humans have caught it from other humans, but only if a person was treating an infected patient and was touching him/her a lot and with him/her for a long time.
For the moment, it is not easy for a human to catch bird flu.
Within the last few weeks there have been three important outbreaks of bird flu among flocks in China. One was in Inner Mongolia (chickens and ducks), another in Anhui and another in Hunan.
Health experts around the world say that the only way we can possibly combat an impending flu pandemic is with total international cooperation. This means countries have to be completely open, data has to be exchanged freely and quickly between governments and agencies around the world. Many worry that governments which rely on heavily censored media to survive may not be so open about their internal problems. Any outbreak of bird flu that occurs anywhere in the world could have repercussions for all of us on this planet - we must all be open and report data immediately. This is not a time for national pride or trying to save face.
Written by:
Editor:
понедельник, 16 мая 2011 г.
How To Protect Yourself From Bird Flu - Harvard Health Letter
News media are full of scary headlines about the H5N1 bird flu virus and the possibility that it might spread among the human population. Yet researchers note that no human flu pandemic has ever involved a flu virus of the H5 subtype. On the other hand, the H5N1 virus has already jumped from birds to pigs and cats, as well as infecting some people, suggesting it might have the capacity to develop into a flu that passes directly from one human to another. So should we be afraid-or cynical?
Neither, says the June issue of the Harvard Health Letter. No one knows for sure if H5N1 is going to explode or fizzle, or whether a different flu virus with greater pandemic potential might be out there.
Whether the H5N1 virus will "make the jump" and spread among humans is uncertain, but here are some tips you can take now to protect yourself just in case:
1. Get a regular flu shot this fall. It won't protect you from bird flu, but it will reduce your risk of getting regular flu and bird flu at the same time.
2. Don't count on antiviral medications. Some experts say there is "no credible evidence" that these drugs help against bird flu, and their use may create resistant strains.
3. Wash your hands regularly.
4. Stay away from birds and their droppings.
5. Stock up on water and nonperishable groceries.
Harvard Health Publications also offers a new 44-page report, Bird Flu: How to understand your risk and protect your health. It is available for $16 online only, as a downloadable PDF.
health.harvard
Neither, says the June issue of the Harvard Health Letter. No one knows for sure if H5N1 is going to explode or fizzle, or whether a different flu virus with greater pandemic potential might be out there.
Whether the H5N1 virus will "make the jump" and spread among humans is uncertain, but here are some tips you can take now to protect yourself just in case:
1. Get a regular flu shot this fall. It won't protect you from bird flu, but it will reduce your risk of getting regular flu and bird flu at the same time.
2. Don't count on antiviral medications. Some experts say there is "no credible evidence" that these drugs help against bird flu, and their use may create resistant strains.
3. Wash your hands regularly.
4. Stay away from birds and their droppings.
5. Stock up on water and nonperishable groceries.
Harvard Health Publications also offers a new 44-page report, Bird Flu: How to understand your risk and protect your health. It is available for $16 online only, as a downloadable PDF.
health.harvard
воскресенье, 15 мая 2011 г.
Contract Award For Purchase Of H5N1 Vaccine, UK Department Of Health
Health Minister, Rosie Winterton today announced the award of
contracts to Baxter and Chiron for supplies of around 3.5 million
doses of H5N1 vaccine. The announcement was made as EU Health
Ministers attended a special meeting in Vienna to take stock of
recent events and discuss coordination action at European level.
The contracts are worth Ј33 million and are part of the work to
prepare for and reduce the impact of a possible flu pandemic. The
vaccine will be used to carry out further research and could also be
used to vaccinate frontline healthcare workers before a specific
pandemic vaccine can be developed.
Health Minister, Rosie Winterton said:
"We take the potential threat posed by pandemic flu very seriously
and as the WHO and a recent Lords Science and Technology Committee
has recognised the UK is among the best prepared countries in the
world. But, we are not complacent and recognise that more work needs
to be done in order to make the country as fully prepared as possible
to meet the threat.
"Today we have announced our intention to award the contract for the
supply of around 3.5 million doses of H5N1 vaccine. Building a
stockpile will allow us to carry out more research and could be
offered as a possible first line of defence for NHS workers whilst
the exact vaccine to match the pandemic flu strain is manufactured.
This is in addition to placing sleeping contracts for 120 million
doses of pandemic vaccine, which will ensure access to the vaccine
once it is developed".
The vaccine is scheduled for delivery in May and October 2006.
1. The tendering exercise was conducted in accordance with the EU
procurement regulations. Five tenders were received and these were
assessed against pre-determined criteria. The tender bids from Baxter
and Chiron were judged to best meet all the required criteria
including technical and scientific requirements as well as providing
the best value for money.
2. The Influenza Pandemic Contingency plan, together with some
explanatory documents, are published on the Department of Health
website at dh.uk.
contracts to Baxter and Chiron for supplies of around 3.5 million
doses of H5N1 vaccine. The announcement was made as EU Health
Ministers attended a special meeting in Vienna to take stock of
recent events and discuss coordination action at European level.
The contracts are worth Ј33 million and are part of the work to
prepare for and reduce the impact of a possible flu pandemic. The
vaccine will be used to carry out further research and could also be
used to vaccinate frontline healthcare workers before a specific
pandemic vaccine can be developed.
Health Minister, Rosie Winterton said:
"We take the potential threat posed by pandemic flu very seriously
and as the WHO and a recent Lords Science and Technology Committee
has recognised the UK is among the best prepared countries in the
world. But, we are not complacent and recognise that more work needs
to be done in order to make the country as fully prepared as possible
to meet the threat.
"Today we have announced our intention to award the contract for the
supply of around 3.5 million doses of H5N1 vaccine. Building a
stockpile will allow us to carry out more research and could be
offered as a possible first line of defence for NHS workers whilst
the exact vaccine to match the pandemic flu strain is manufactured.
This is in addition to placing sleeping contracts for 120 million
doses of pandemic vaccine, which will ensure access to the vaccine
once it is developed".
The vaccine is scheduled for delivery in May and October 2006.
1. The tendering exercise was conducted in accordance with the EU
procurement regulations. Five tenders were received and these were
assessed against pre-determined criteria. The tender bids from Baxter
and Chiron were judged to best meet all the required criteria
including technical and scientific requirements as well as providing
the best value for money.
2. The Influenza Pandemic Contingency plan, together with some
explanatory documents, are published on the Department of Health
website at dh.uk.
суббота, 14 мая 2011 г.
Experimental Vaccine Protects Mice Against Deadly 1918 Flu Virus
Federal scientists have developed a vaccine that protects mice against the killer 1918 influenza virus. They also have created a technique for identifying antibodies that neutralize this virus, a tool that could help contain future pandemic flu strains. These findings are important, the researchers say, to understanding and preventing the recurrence of the H1N1 influenza virus that caused the 1918 pandemic and to protecting against virulent flu strains in the future, including the H5N1 avian flu virus. Details of the research are available online this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Gary J. Nabel, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), led the research team in developing the experimental vaccines and conducting the immunological studies in mice. Terrence Tumpey, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted vaccine studies in mice involving the live, reconstructed 1918 flu virus in a biosafety level 3-enhanced laboratory at the CDC in Atlanta--one of four types of specialized biosafety labs where scientists study contagious and potentially deadly materials under high-level safety and contamination precautions designed to protect the researchers and prevent microorganisms from entering the environment.
"Understanding why this influenza virus was so deadly is an extremely important question," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "By building upon earlier research where scientists successfully reconstructed the 1918 pandemic flu strain, Dr. Nabel and his colleagues have demonstrated that this virus is vulnerable to intervention. This knowledge will help further our continued efforts to develop treatments and vaccines to protect us against another deadly flu pandemic."
The 1918-1919 influenza pandemic was the most deadly flu outbreak in modern history, killing 50 million or more people worldwide.
"A key to containing pandemic flu viruses is to understand their vulnerabilities and determine whether they can evade immune recognition," says Dr. Nabel. "What we learn about the H1N1 virus that caused the 1918 pandemic is pertinent to other pandemic viruses and to the development of effective and universal vaccines."
Using the genetic sequence information for the 1918 flu virus, Dr. Nabel and his VRC colleagues created plasmids--small strands of DNA designed to express specific characteristics--carrying genes for the virus' hemagglutinin (HA) protein, the surface protein found in all flu viruses that allows the virus to stick to a cell and cause infection. The researchers created two types of plasmids: one to reflect the HA found in the original 1918 flu virus; the other an altered HA protein designed to attenuate (weaken) the virus.
Mice were then injected with a DNA vaccine containing both types of plasmids to determine whether they would generate immune responses to the 1918 virus. The researchers found significant responses both in terms of production of T-cells, the white blood cells critical in the immune system's battle against invading viruses, as well as the production of neutralizing antibodies.
To determine the vaccine's protective effects, the CDC's Dr. Tumpey intranasally exposed a group of mice to live, reconstructed 1918 virus 14 days after they were immunized with the experimental DNA vaccine. All 10 vaccinated mice survived the challenge with the deadly virus. To explore how the vaccine protected the animals, the researchers first depleted other mice of T-cells; however, this had no effect on the immunity of the vaccinated mice to the 1918 virus. In contrast, the researchers discovered that transferring antibody-rich immunoglobulin (IgG) from immunized mice to non-immunized mice resulted in antibody levels in the animals at levels only slightly lower than those that were immunized. Further, when the animals were exposed to the reconstructed 1918 flu virus, 8 of 10 mice that received antibodies from the immunized mice survived; none of the 10 mice that received IgG from the unvaccinated control group survived.
"By using an existing pandemic flu strain, this research will provide the basis for design of alternative vaccines against influenza viruses with enhanced virulence," says Dr. Tumpey.
Although the researchers are not discounting the potential role T-cells may have in combating flu viruses, they concluded that in this study, the experimental DNA vaccine protected the mice by stimulating antibodies capable of neutralizing the 1918 flu virus.
"Who would have imagined five years ago that we'd be able to create a vaccine that protects against one of the deadliest forms of influenza the world has ever seen?" adds Dr. Nabel. "It's because the 1918 flu virus has been reconstructed that we are now able the further understand it. Hopefully, this virus will help us to develop effective vaccine strategies for current pandemic influenza virus threats."
To evaluate the vaccine's antibody-inducing capabilities while minimizing exposure of lab personnel to the 1918 flu virus, Dr. Nabel and his VRC colleagues also created artificial viruses, or pseudoviruses, featuring the HA of the 1918 flu virus but stripped of the ability to cause infection. The pseudoviruses were then incubated with antibody-containing blood samples from the mice immunized with the DNA vaccine and those that were not. The researchers found that the antibodies from the immunized mice neutralized the pseudoviruses while the blood samples from the mice that were not immunized had no effect. This method was also effective in identifying neutralizing antibodies to the H5N1 avian flu virus and could be used to screen for monoclonal antibodies that may be used as an antiviral treatment, according to Dr. Nabel.
"This technique would be very useful in defining evolving serotypes of flu viruses like H5N1 to develop immune sera and neutralizing monoclonal antibodies that may help to contain pandemic flu," says Dr. Nabel.
The study authors indicate that further testing will be needed to determine whether DNA vaccination can confer immune protection in people similar to that seen in the study mice. Additionally, the use of DNA-based vaccines are being explored as a potential strategy for creating vaccines to protect against the H5N1 avian flu virus.
This research activity is part of a broader effort by the Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate the development and production of new technologies for influenza vaccines within the U.S., including a $1 billion investment earlier this year to support the advanced development of cell-based production technologies for influenza vaccines and will help to modernize and strengthen the nation's influenza vaccine production by creating an alternative to producing influenza vaccines in eggs.
NIAID grantee Adolfo Garcнa-Sastre, Ph.D., of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, also contributed to the study through his work in reconstructing the virus. In addition to Dr. Nabel, other VRC scientists who contributed to the study include: Wing-Pui Kong, Ph.D.; Chantelle Hood; Zhi-yong Yang; Ling Xu; and Chih-Jen Wei.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)--The Nation's Medical Research Agency--includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visitnih/.
Reference: WP Kong et al. Protective immunity to lethal challenge of the 1918 pandemic influenza virus by vaccination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0607564103 (2006).
News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at niaid.nih/.
Contact: Kathy Stover
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Gary J. Nabel, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), led the research team in developing the experimental vaccines and conducting the immunological studies in mice. Terrence Tumpey, Ph.D., of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) conducted vaccine studies in mice involving the live, reconstructed 1918 flu virus in a biosafety level 3-enhanced laboratory at the CDC in Atlanta--one of four types of specialized biosafety labs where scientists study contagious and potentially deadly materials under high-level safety and contamination precautions designed to protect the researchers and prevent microorganisms from entering the environment.
"Understanding why this influenza virus was so deadly is an extremely important question," says NIAID Director Anthony S. Fauci, M.D. "By building upon earlier research where scientists successfully reconstructed the 1918 pandemic flu strain, Dr. Nabel and his colleagues have demonstrated that this virus is vulnerable to intervention. This knowledge will help further our continued efforts to develop treatments and vaccines to protect us against another deadly flu pandemic."
The 1918-1919 influenza pandemic was the most deadly flu outbreak in modern history, killing 50 million or more people worldwide.
"A key to containing pandemic flu viruses is to understand their vulnerabilities and determine whether they can evade immune recognition," says Dr. Nabel. "What we learn about the H1N1 virus that caused the 1918 pandemic is pertinent to other pandemic viruses and to the development of effective and universal vaccines."
Using the genetic sequence information for the 1918 flu virus, Dr. Nabel and his VRC colleagues created plasmids--small strands of DNA designed to express specific characteristics--carrying genes for the virus' hemagglutinin (HA) protein, the surface protein found in all flu viruses that allows the virus to stick to a cell and cause infection. The researchers created two types of plasmids: one to reflect the HA found in the original 1918 flu virus; the other an altered HA protein designed to attenuate (weaken) the virus.
Mice were then injected with a DNA vaccine containing both types of plasmids to determine whether they would generate immune responses to the 1918 virus. The researchers found significant responses both in terms of production of T-cells, the white blood cells critical in the immune system's battle against invading viruses, as well as the production of neutralizing antibodies.
To determine the vaccine's protective effects, the CDC's Dr. Tumpey intranasally exposed a group of mice to live, reconstructed 1918 virus 14 days after they were immunized with the experimental DNA vaccine. All 10 vaccinated mice survived the challenge with the deadly virus. To explore how the vaccine protected the animals, the researchers first depleted other mice of T-cells; however, this had no effect on the immunity of the vaccinated mice to the 1918 virus. In contrast, the researchers discovered that transferring antibody-rich immunoglobulin (IgG) from immunized mice to non-immunized mice resulted in antibody levels in the animals at levels only slightly lower than those that were immunized. Further, when the animals were exposed to the reconstructed 1918 flu virus, 8 of 10 mice that received antibodies from the immunized mice survived; none of the 10 mice that received IgG from the unvaccinated control group survived.
"By using an existing pandemic flu strain, this research will provide the basis for design of alternative vaccines against influenza viruses with enhanced virulence," says Dr. Tumpey.
Although the researchers are not discounting the potential role T-cells may have in combating flu viruses, they concluded that in this study, the experimental DNA vaccine protected the mice by stimulating antibodies capable of neutralizing the 1918 flu virus.
"Who would have imagined five years ago that we'd be able to create a vaccine that protects against one of the deadliest forms of influenza the world has ever seen?" adds Dr. Nabel. "It's because the 1918 flu virus has been reconstructed that we are now able the further understand it. Hopefully, this virus will help us to develop effective vaccine strategies for current pandemic influenza virus threats."
To evaluate the vaccine's antibody-inducing capabilities while minimizing exposure of lab personnel to the 1918 flu virus, Dr. Nabel and his VRC colleagues also created artificial viruses, or pseudoviruses, featuring the HA of the 1918 flu virus but stripped of the ability to cause infection. The pseudoviruses were then incubated with antibody-containing blood samples from the mice immunized with the DNA vaccine and those that were not. The researchers found that the antibodies from the immunized mice neutralized the pseudoviruses while the blood samples from the mice that were not immunized had no effect. This method was also effective in identifying neutralizing antibodies to the H5N1 avian flu virus and could be used to screen for monoclonal antibodies that may be used as an antiviral treatment, according to Dr. Nabel.
"This technique would be very useful in defining evolving serotypes of flu viruses like H5N1 to develop immune sera and neutralizing monoclonal antibodies that may help to contain pandemic flu," says Dr. Nabel.
The study authors indicate that further testing will be needed to determine whether DNA vaccination can confer immune protection in people similar to that seen in the study mice. Additionally, the use of DNA-based vaccines are being explored as a potential strategy for creating vaccines to protect against the H5N1 avian flu virus.
This research activity is part of a broader effort by the Department of Health and Human Services to accelerate the development and production of new technologies for influenza vaccines within the U.S., including a $1 billion investment earlier this year to support the advanced development of cell-based production technologies for influenza vaccines and will help to modernize and strengthen the nation's influenza vaccine production by creating an alternative to producing influenza vaccines in eggs.
NIAID grantee Adolfo Garcнa-Sastre, Ph.D., of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, also contributed to the study through his work in reconstructing the virus. In addition to Dr. Nabel, other VRC scientists who contributed to the study include: Wing-Pui Kong, Ph.D.; Chantelle Hood; Zhi-yong Yang; Ling Xu; and Chih-Jen Wei.
NIAID is a component of the National Institutes of Health. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases, asthma and allergies.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)--The Nation's Medical Research Agency--includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visitnih/.
Reference: WP Kong et al. Protective immunity to lethal challenge of the 1918 pandemic influenza virus by vaccination. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0607564103 (2006).
News releases, fact sheets and other NIAID-related materials are available on the NIAID Web site at niaid.nih/.
Contact: Kathy Stover
NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
пятница, 13 мая 2011 г.
Bird Flu Medication Route Found In Virus' Weak Point
While mapping the H5N1 avian flu virus, scientists from the National Institute of Research, London, discovered a weakness which could be targeted by drugs.
The N1 part of the virus (type-1 neuraminidase) has a cavity. It might be possible to target drugs into this cavity and stop the virus from spreading, say the scientists.
John Skehel, team leader, said "It is a race. You have got to try to keep ahead of variation, and in the case of H5N1 particularly the emergence of transmission from human to human".
The researchers say this finding could make it possible to treat humans, even in the event of an outbreak. However, they also added that any effective drug would probably take at least five years to come onto the market.
The team are working with pharmaceutical companies to see whether it is possible that new drugs might work in combination with Tamiflu and Relenza.
238 human have become infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus strain - the virulent one. About 60% of those who were infected died. Although most scientists believe H5N1 could eventually mutate so that it becomes easily human transmissible, there is no evidence that this has yet happened.
The best drugs on the market at the moment to treat people with H5N1 infection are Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir). Both drugs were originally made for use with patients who have other forms of human flu. Various countries have been stockpiling these drugs in case H5N1 does mutate and a pandemic ensues.
Chink found in flu virus enzymes
Skehel et al
Nature doi:10.1038/news060814-9
-- Click Here To View Abstract Online
-- Click Here To See Illustration of Cavity
Written by:
View drug information on Relenza; Tamiflu capsule.
The N1 part of the virus (type-1 neuraminidase) has a cavity. It might be possible to target drugs into this cavity and stop the virus from spreading, say the scientists.
John Skehel, team leader, said "It is a race. You have got to try to keep ahead of variation, and in the case of H5N1 particularly the emergence of transmission from human to human".
The researchers say this finding could make it possible to treat humans, even in the event of an outbreak. However, they also added that any effective drug would probably take at least five years to come onto the market.
The team are working with pharmaceutical companies to see whether it is possible that new drugs might work in combination with Tamiflu and Relenza.
238 human have become infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus strain - the virulent one. About 60% of those who were infected died. Although most scientists believe H5N1 could eventually mutate so that it becomes easily human transmissible, there is no evidence that this has yet happened.
The best drugs on the market at the moment to treat people with H5N1 infection are Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir). Both drugs were originally made for use with patients who have other forms of human flu. Various countries have been stockpiling these drugs in case H5N1 does mutate and a pandemic ensues.
Chink found in flu virus enzymes
Skehel et al
Nature doi:10.1038/news060814-9
-- Click Here To View Abstract Online
-- Click Here To See Illustration of Cavity
Written by:
View drug information on Relenza; Tamiflu capsule.
среда, 11 мая 2011 г.
Needle-Free Injection System Ideal For Pandemic Outbreaks - Medical International Technologies
Medical International Technologies Inc. (OTCBB:MDLH) Needle-Free Injection System, designed specifically to allow fast, accurate and safe injections, is rapidly moving toward establishing itself as a valuable instrument in the fight against disease in both humans and animals.
With its patented ability to adjust pressure and volume to meet varied conditions Med-Jet(human) and Agro-Jet(animal) puts the Company in a unique situation especially should there be a pandemic as predicted by many.
MIT has now received full certification granted under the International Organization for Standardization, as well as the Canadian Medical Device Conformity Assessment System, for devices to be licensed by HEALTH CANADA.
These certifications allow MIT to market the MedJet Needle-Free Injector for human use in all countries other than the U.S. The Med-Jet injector has been submitted for FDA approval, which, if accepted, will allow MIT to sell the Med-Jet in the United States.
The Company is working to complete two FDA filings. The first of these will be for use of the Med-Jet for injecting anesthesia in a variety of situations such as plastic surgery. The second, and most relevant in light of the news coming out of Asia and Europe concerning the spread of Influenza A (H5N1) to humans, will be the Med-Jet-H, for mass vaccination in case of a pandemic, such as Avian Influenza, Polio, Tuberculosis, Malaria.
With a rate of up to 800 injections per hour and its freedom from potentially deadly needlestick accidents, the virtually pain free, Needle-Free Injection System, provides an efficiency and level of safety that needlestick systems do not.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC: Link Here To Article) estimates that there are 600,000 to 800,000 needle stick injuries per year in the U.S. alone, that could be prevented with the use of a Needle Free Injector.
The Needle-Free Injection System also prevents the serious, often deadly medical problems that come from repeated use of the same needle in many 3 rd world countries.
MIT is also pursuing increasing interest in its Agro-Jet needle-free injector. Having the same benefits as Med-Jet, Agro-Jet could become a valuable instrument in the fight against Avian Flu via its ability to mass inoculate animals at over 1000 injections per hour without the risk of crosscontamination.
MIT has already shipped Needle-Free injectors to China and Turkey to help in the fight against the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus. At present, the world's poultry industry commonly uses a needle/syringe to inoculate all birds that are at risk of infection.
The current method of inoculation requires that the needle be changed after a few hundred birds have been injected. This poses a major problem as cross contamination may occur and more importantly, it increases the risk of infecting the person performing the inoculation, with an accidental needle wound.
With the use of MIT's Needle-Free Injection System, we can safely inoculate poultry and other animals, throughout the world and help prevent the spread of bird flu, and other deadly diseases, to humans.
MEDICAL INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, INC.
mitcanada.ca
With its patented ability to adjust pressure and volume to meet varied conditions Med-Jet(human) and Agro-Jet(animal) puts the Company in a unique situation especially should there be a pandemic as predicted by many.
MIT has now received full certification granted under the International Organization for Standardization, as well as the Canadian Medical Device Conformity Assessment System, for devices to be licensed by HEALTH CANADA.
These certifications allow MIT to market the MedJet Needle-Free Injector for human use in all countries other than the U.S. The Med-Jet injector has been submitted for FDA approval, which, if accepted, will allow MIT to sell the Med-Jet in the United States.
The Company is working to complete two FDA filings. The first of these will be for use of the Med-Jet for injecting anesthesia in a variety of situations such as plastic surgery. The second, and most relevant in light of the news coming out of Asia and Europe concerning the spread of Influenza A (H5N1) to humans, will be the Med-Jet-H, for mass vaccination in case of a pandemic, such as Avian Influenza, Polio, Tuberculosis, Malaria.
With a rate of up to 800 injections per hour and its freedom from potentially deadly needlestick accidents, the virtually pain free, Needle-Free Injection System, provides an efficiency and level of safety that needlestick systems do not.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC: Link Here To Article) estimates that there are 600,000 to 800,000 needle stick injuries per year in the U.S. alone, that could be prevented with the use of a Needle Free Injector.
The Needle-Free Injection System also prevents the serious, often deadly medical problems that come from repeated use of the same needle in many 3 rd world countries.
MIT is also pursuing increasing interest in its Agro-Jet needle-free injector. Having the same benefits as Med-Jet, Agro-Jet could become a valuable instrument in the fight against Avian Flu via its ability to mass inoculate animals at over 1000 injections per hour without the risk of crosscontamination.
MIT has already shipped Needle-Free injectors to China and Turkey to help in the fight against the deadly H5N1 strain of bird flu virus. At present, the world's poultry industry commonly uses a needle/syringe to inoculate all birds that are at risk of infection.
The current method of inoculation requires that the needle be changed after a few hundred birds have been injected. This poses a major problem as cross contamination may occur and more importantly, it increases the risk of infecting the person performing the inoculation, with an accidental needle wound.
With the use of MIT's Needle-Free Injection System, we can safely inoculate poultry and other animals, throughout the world and help prevent the spread of bird flu, and other deadly diseases, to humans.
MEDICAL INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY, INC.
mitcanada.ca
вторник, 10 мая 2011 г.
Health Protection Agency helps GPs recognise unusual symptoms of rare diseases
The Health Protection Agency, UK, has this week issued a set of clinical action cards to all GPs in England to help them recognise unusual symptoms that could potentially be linked to emerging diseases or other chemical, biological or radiological threats.
The New diseases, new threats resource illustrates the signs and symptoms that might arise from a range of diseases and threats, such as Sars or avian flu, which GPs may never have previously encountered.
Should GPs discover any of the symptoms illustrated, the resource urges them to contact their local health protection team for advice and support.
The resource has been developed by the HPA's emergency response division as part of a wider professional training programme. The programme has been given Ј2.6m in funding by the Department of Health, and includes resource production and scenario training.
Division director Dr Nigel Lightfoot said the cards, particularly, had been developed in response to requests by the medical profession for more specific training in the area of emerging diseases and threats.
'It is obvious that if, for example, there is a deliberate release, patients will present to GPs, A&E and walk-in centres first, so these clinicians need to be aware of the threats,' Dr Lightfoot said. 'We looked at how we could get a consistent message across to GPs throughout the country and we spoke to them and they all asked for simple messages which they could refer to quickly and easily. They suggested that this would be much better than a textbook or a CD-Rom.
'Our simple message is "be aware and, if you do have concerns about something suspicious, call the local health protection team". We are not asking doctors to do anything differently because we have always asked them to contact the HPA if they spot anything suspicious. But what we hope to do is raise their levels of awareness of these threats because what we have realised, particularly during the Sars issue, is that the sooner we know about a threat, the better chance we have of containing it.'
British Medical Association representative Dr Peter Holden said the resource would be a great asset to GPs. 'This is a very practical guide as it covers many things which GPs are unlikely to have seen, even if they have previously studied infectious diseases,' Dr Holden said.
'It is long overdue and the format is excellent - if it was a CD-Rom it would have been used as a coaster. I hope it becomes one in a series, because these are things that GPs need to know.'
A total of 37,500 cards have been sent to GPs across England, and a poster containing the same information is being developed for A&E staff. The devolved administrations have access to the cards but are currently developing ways to adapt the resource to better suit their health service structures. There has also been international interest in the cards.
by Shannon McKenzie
Public Health News
The New diseases, new threats resource illustrates the signs and symptoms that might arise from a range of diseases and threats, such as Sars or avian flu, which GPs may never have previously encountered.
Should GPs discover any of the symptoms illustrated, the resource urges them to contact their local health protection team for advice and support.
The resource has been developed by the HPA's emergency response division as part of a wider professional training programme. The programme has been given Ј2.6m in funding by the Department of Health, and includes resource production and scenario training.
Division director Dr Nigel Lightfoot said the cards, particularly, had been developed in response to requests by the medical profession for more specific training in the area of emerging diseases and threats.
'It is obvious that if, for example, there is a deliberate release, patients will present to GPs, A&E and walk-in centres first, so these clinicians need to be aware of the threats,' Dr Lightfoot said. 'We looked at how we could get a consistent message across to GPs throughout the country and we spoke to them and they all asked for simple messages which they could refer to quickly and easily. They suggested that this would be much better than a textbook or a CD-Rom.
'Our simple message is "be aware and, if you do have concerns about something suspicious, call the local health protection team". We are not asking doctors to do anything differently because we have always asked them to contact the HPA if they spot anything suspicious. But what we hope to do is raise their levels of awareness of these threats because what we have realised, particularly during the Sars issue, is that the sooner we know about a threat, the better chance we have of containing it.'
British Medical Association representative Dr Peter Holden said the resource would be a great asset to GPs. 'This is a very practical guide as it covers many things which GPs are unlikely to have seen, even if they have previously studied infectious diseases,' Dr Holden said.
'It is long overdue and the format is excellent - if it was a CD-Rom it would have been used as a coaster. I hope it becomes one in a series, because these are things that GPs need to know.'
A total of 37,500 cards have been sent to GPs across England, and a poster containing the same information is being developed for A&E staff. The devolved administrations have access to the cards but are currently developing ways to adapt the resource to better suit their health service structures. There has also been international interest in the cards.
by Shannon McKenzie
Public Health News
понедельник, 9 мая 2011 г.
Indiana Health Officials Examine State's Pandemic Influenza Ethics Planning
Information relevant to Indiana's current pandemic influenza preparedness plan was presented July 16 during a symposium convened by the Indiana State Department of Health and the Indiana University Center for Bioethics, "The Ethics of Pandemic Influenza Planning in Indiana: What Have We Done and Where Are We Going?"
The purpose of the meeting was to involve local health officials, health care providers, and other stakeholders in a discussion on the ethical issues related to an influenza pandemic. The meeting began with an overview of Indiana's Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan by Deputy State Health Commissioner Mary Hill, RN, Esq. IU Center for Bioethics Director Eric Meslin, Ph.D., then spoke on "Incorporating Ethics into Planning: Indiana's Approach."
Speakers at the Indiana symposium also included Eleanor D. Kinney, J.D., MPH, the Samuel R. Rosen Professor of Law at the Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis, and co-director of the Hall Center for Law and Health, and Margaret G. Gaffney, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine at the IU School of Medicine and a faculty member at the IU Center for Bioethics. Some of the topics covered during the meeting were altered standards of patient care, patient triage, vaccination, and workforce management.
New data from a survey of public opinion regarding the ethics of pandemic influenza preparedness was also presented by James G. Wolf, M.A., director of the Survey Research Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The purpose of the survey was to estimate public perception of priorities during an influenza pandemic, the likelihood of the public's compliance with public health recommendations, potential barriers to compliance, and what the public perceives as likely sources of assistance and information during an influenza pandemic.
Some highlights from the survey are:
-- Public generally supports state policies taking firm action in times of medical crisis;
-- Most would stay home if requested by state health officials;
-- There is a high likelihood of financial problems for 25-30 percent of those surveyed, especially for those with children, if in-home quarantine lasted 7-14 days;
-- People overwhelmingly report they would rely on family and friends for help; and
-- The public has far more trust in getting information about the pandemic from their doctor or health care provider than from more formal channels.
Today's meeting at the Indiana Government Center South followed a two-day national summit in Indianapolis on July 14-15, where state health officers and other senior public health officials from 35 states and U.S. territories convened to identify key ethical challenges, best practices and possible solutions during an influenza pandemic.
The key ethical challenges identified during the national summit included:
-- Meeting the obligation to engage communities in planning and response to ensure fairness, transparency and participation.
-- Identifying and defining criteria for allocation of scarce health care resources and critical infrastructure.
-- Defining criteria and mechanisms for implementing altered standards and places of care.
-- Preventing exacerbation of disparities in access to care.
-- Balancing the rights and duties of health care workers.
-- Providing palliative care.
-- Meeting the needs of at-risk populations.
-- Selecting effective community containment strategies.
-- Respecting cultural and religious practices in the face of mass fatalities.
For information on the national summit or pandemic influenza planning in Indiana, see bioethics.iu/pandemic_portal.asp.
The purpose of the meeting was to involve local health officials, health care providers, and other stakeholders in a discussion on the ethical issues related to an influenza pandemic. The meeting began with an overview of Indiana's Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Plan by Deputy State Health Commissioner Mary Hill, RN, Esq. IU Center for Bioethics Director Eric Meslin, Ph.D., then spoke on "Incorporating Ethics into Planning: Indiana's Approach."
Speakers at the Indiana symposium also included Eleanor D. Kinney, J.D., MPH, the Samuel R. Rosen Professor of Law at the Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis, and co-director of the Hall Center for Law and Health, and Margaret G. Gaffney, M.D., associate professor of clinical medicine at the IU School of Medicine and a faculty member at the IU Center for Bioethics. Some of the topics covered during the meeting were altered standards of patient care, patient triage, vaccination, and workforce management.
New data from a survey of public opinion regarding the ethics of pandemic influenza preparedness was also presented by James G. Wolf, M.A., director of the Survey Research Center at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. The purpose of the survey was to estimate public perception of priorities during an influenza pandemic, the likelihood of the public's compliance with public health recommendations, potential barriers to compliance, and what the public perceives as likely sources of assistance and information during an influenza pandemic.
Some highlights from the survey are:
-- Public generally supports state policies taking firm action in times of medical crisis;
-- Most would stay home if requested by state health officials;
-- There is a high likelihood of financial problems for 25-30 percent of those surveyed, especially for those with children, if in-home quarantine lasted 7-14 days;
-- People overwhelmingly report they would rely on family and friends for help; and
-- The public has far more trust in getting information about the pandemic from their doctor or health care provider than from more formal channels.
Today's meeting at the Indiana Government Center South followed a two-day national summit in Indianapolis on July 14-15, where state health officers and other senior public health officials from 35 states and U.S. territories convened to identify key ethical challenges, best practices and possible solutions during an influenza pandemic.
The key ethical challenges identified during the national summit included:
-- Meeting the obligation to engage communities in planning and response to ensure fairness, transparency and participation.
-- Identifying and defining criteria for allocation of scarce health care resources and critical infrastructure.
-- Defining criteria and mechanisms for implementing altered standards and places of care.
-- Preventing exacerbation of disparities in access to care.
-- Balancing the rights and duties of health care workers.
-- Providing palliative care.
-- Meeting the needs of at-risk populations.
-- Selecting effective community containment strategies.
-- Respecting cultural and religious practices in the face of mass fatalities.
For information on the national summit or pandemic influenza planning in Indiana, see bioethics.iu/pandemic_portal.asp.
воскресенье, 8 мая 2011 г.
France Confirms First H5N1 Infected Bird
A wild duck found dead 20 miles northeast of Lyon, in a wildlife reserve, had the H5N1 virus strain, said Ministry of Agriculture officials. All farmed poultry in France now have to stay indoors. Plans are underway to vaccinate all poultry in the country.
France is the largest producer of farmed poultry in the European Union. It is also common in France for country folk to have some poultry for personal consumption.
The speed at the which H5N1 virus has spread into Western Europe has taken many people by surprise. The sale of chicken meat for human consumption in some countries has virtually vanished. Italian shopkeepers say sales of chicken meat have dropped about 90%. Even though chicken meat is perfectly safe to eat, if cooked thoroughly, people are scared.
Now that bird flu has arrived to France, the UK looks on anxiously, hoping the 26 mile wide stretch of sea, which has protected the country so many times from foreign invasions, may do so again. If another cold snap hits Europe, the chances of wild birds travelling further west and landing in Great Britain grow. There are two routes migrating birds could take. Firstly, from Europe, to get away from the cold. Secondly, from Africa during the Spring when birds migrate. In West Africa bird flu is spreading fast.
Written by:
France is the largest producer of farmed poultry in the European Union. It is also common in France for country folk to have some poultry for personal consumption.
The speed at the which H5N1 virus has spread into Western Europe has taken many people by surprise. The sale of chicken meat for human consumption in some countries has virtually vanished. Italian shopkeepers say sales of chicken meat have dropped about 90%. Even though chicken meat is perfectly safe to eat, if cooked thoroughly, people are scared.
Now that bird flu has arrived to France, the UK looks on anxiously, hoping the 26 mile wide stretch of sea, which has protected the country so many times from foreign invasions, may do so again. If another cold snap hits Europe, the chances of wild birds travelling further west and landing in Great Britain grow. There are two routes migrating birds could take. Firstly, from Europe, to get away from the cold. Secondly, from Africa during the Spring when birds migrate. In West Africa bird flu is spreading fast.
Written by:
суббота, 7 мая 2011 г.
Antigen Sparing Adjuvant Strategy Might Increase Avian Flu Vaccine Production
There is a strategy which could significantly boost the production of the avian influenza vaccine, allowing many more people to be vaccinated, according to an article in The Lancet. Professor Geert Leroux-Roels, Centre for Vaccinology, Ghent University and Hospital, Belgium and team said that if they combine the vaccine with an oil-in-water emulsion (adjudant) the body is able to produce six times as many avian flu neutralizing antibodies, compared to what the body can produce with a non-adjuvanted vaccine with an identical dose.
Several scientists and health care experts agree that when the next global flu pandemic happens it will most likely be caused by the H5N1 bird flu virus strain. H5N1 contains an H5 hemagglutini antigen subtype, which often produces a weak immunogenic response in human beings. Most of the world is immunologically naГЇve to H5 hamagglutinin antigen subtypes (have very little or no immunity). Therefore, a one dose schedule, which is usually enough for a normal human flu vaccine, most likely will not be enough to give adequate immunity. "Clearly, new formulations that require less antigen per dose are needed. The use of adjuvant to improve immunogenicity is a crucial antigen-sparing strategy," the authors write.
The scientists studied 400 volunteers, they had been divided into eight groups and were aged 18-60. Four antigen doses were studied - 3.8 Ојg, 7.5 Ојg, 15 Ојg and 30 Ојg haemagglutinin. Some were given doses with and some without the oil-water adjuvant. Their immune responses were analyzed through blood tests. The researchers found that the adjuvanted formulations were much more immunogenic than the non-adjuvanted ones, across all doses. Good safety profiles were also found among all eight vaccine formulations. There were more injection-site symptoms and general symptoms from the adjuvant vaccines, which were mainly mild to moderate and transient.
The fact that the 3.8 Ојg adjuvanted vaccine dose induced cross-immunity against the clade two* H5N1 Indonesia strain in over 75% of the patients with neutralizing titres which are six times higher than the non-adjuvanted formulation represent a "significant antigen sparing that could increase the number of recipients of the pandemic influenza vaccine."
"The cross-clade neutralising antibody responses recorded imply that such a vaccine could be deployed before pandemic outbreak, which is an important mitigation strategy proposed for pandemic influenza," the authors conclude.
"Leroux-Roels and colleagues' study is the first to show significant antigen dose-sparing, high levels of immunogenicity in association with a novel adjuvant, and the induction of cross-clade immunity against A/H5N1 viruses. Their study lends support for considering a strategy of immunising some groups with prepandemic vaccines for preparedness in the event of a pandemic from an H5N1 virus. This vaccine appears to be an important step forward in our ability to protect against the pandemic threat posed by highly pathogenic influenza A/H5N1 viruses,", Dr Suryaprakash Sambhara, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, and Dr Gregory Poland, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Minnesota, wrote in an accompanying Comment.
*The H5N1 virus has diverged into three distinct categories or clades (1, 2, and 3), of which clade 2 has multiple sub-clades.
lancet
Written by:
Several scientists and health care experts agree that when the next global flu pandemic happens it will most likely be caused by the H5N1 bird flu virus strain. H5N1 contains an H5 hemagglutini antigen subtype, which often produces a weak immunogenic response in human beings. Most of the world is immunologically naГЇve to H5 hamagglutinin antigen subtypes (have very little or no immunity). Therefore, a one dose schedule, which is usually enough for a normal human flu vaccine, most likely will not be enough to give adequate immunity. "Clearly, new formulations that require less antigen per dose are needed. The use of adjuvant to improve immunogenicity is a crucial antigen-sparing strategy," the authors write.
The scientists studied 400 volunteers, they had been divided into eight groups and were aged 18-60. Four antigen doses were studied - 3.8 Ојg, 7.5 Ојg, 15 Ојg and 30 Ојg haemagglutinin. Some were given doses with and some without the oil-water adjuvant. Their immune responses were analyzed through blood tests. The researchers found that the adjuvanted formulations were much more immunogenic than the non-adjuvanted ones, across all doses. Good safety profiles were also found among all eight vaccine formulations. There were more injection-site symptoms and general symptoms from the adjuvant vaccines, which were mainly mild to moderate and transient.
The fact that the 3.8 Ојg adjuvanted vaccine dose induced cross-immunity against the clade two* H5N1 Indonesia strain in over 75% of the patients with neutralizing titres which are six times higher than the non-adjuvanted formulation represent a "significant antigen sparing that could increase the number of recipients of the pandemic influenza vaccine."
"The cross-clade neutralising antibody responses recorded imply that such a vaccine could be deployed before pandemic outbreak, which is an important mitigation strategy proposed for pandemic influenza," the authors conclude.
"Leroux-Roels and colleagues' study is the first to show significant antigen dose-sparing, high levels of immunogenicity in association with a novel adjuvant, and the induction of cross-clade immunity against A/H5N1 viruses. Their study lends support for considering a strategy of immunising some groups with prepandemic vaccines for preparedness in the event of a pandemic from an H5N1 virus. This vaccine appears to be an important step forward in our ability to protect against the pandemic threat posed by highly pathogenic influenza A/H5N1 viruses,", Dr Suryaprakash Sambhara, CDC, Atlanta, Georgia, and Dr Gregory Poland, Mayo Clinic and Foundation, Minnesota, wrote in an accompanying Comment.
*The H5N1 virus has diverged into three distinct categories or clades (1, 2, and 3), of which clade 2 has multiple sub-clades.
lancet
Written by:
пятница, 6 мая 2011 г.
Scientists Working To Protect Northern Ireland From Bird Flu
Queen's University Belfast scientists are involved in two international projects aimed to protect Northern Ireland's agri-food industry from Bird Flu and African Swine Fever, a disease which kills pigs.
Working with colleagues from other EU-member states and the Far East in the FLUTEST project they are providing improved diagnosis and early warning systems for bird flu.
Meanwhile, local researchers in the AFRISK project are working with 16 partner institutes around the world including Africa and the Far East to provide new ways of detecting African Swine Fever (ASF) and reduce the risk of the disease being imported into EU member states.
Gordon Allan, an Honorary Professor at Queen's who is also a Principal Scientific Officer in the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), is leading researchers from both institutions in the European Commission-funded projects, which have each been awarded ВЈ130,000.
Professor Allan said: "Both of these viruses pose a significant threat to the agri-food industry in Northern Ireland and rapid detection of the viruses in any suspect infected animals is an important step in controlling and eliminating potential outbreaks of the disease."
Bird Flu, (Avian Influenza) which has killed millions of birds across the world, is a constant threat to the poultry industry in Northern Ireland while African Swine Fever, a disease which kills pigs, has recently spread across Europe.
Although it has killed hundreds of people, Bird flu is not considered a large-scale threat to humans as it cannot pass easily from one person to another.
ASF is no longer confined to sub-Sahara African states, and recent outbreaks have been recorded in Sardinia, Georgia, Armenia and southern Russia.
Global warming and climate change are thought to be increasing the spread of the disease in Europe.
Professor Allan explained: "It is important to the agri-food industry on the island of Ireland that researchers, both North and South of the border, continue to participate in these large EC-funded projects.
"These multinational collaborations enable locally-based scientists to input expertise but they also gain considerable information from partners around the world on how to successfully fight the increasing threat to our local industry.
"Infectious diseases do not recognise borders and multinational collaboration is the only effective way to combat their spread."
QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY, BELFAST
Communications Office, Lanyon North
Queen's University
Northern Ireland
Belfast
qub.ac.uk
Working with colleagues from other EU-member states and the Far East in the FLUTEST project they are providing improved diagnosis and early warning systems for bird flu.
Meanwhile, local researchers in the AFRISK project are working with 16 partner institutes around the world including Africa and the Far East to provide new ways of detecting African Swine Fever (ASF) and reduce the risk of the disease being imported into EU member states.
Gordon Allan, an Honorary Professor at Queen's who is also a Principal Scientific Officer in the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), is leading researchers from both institutions in the European Commission-funded projects, which have each been awarded ВЈ130,000.
Professor Allan said: "Both of these viruses pose a significant threat to the agri-food industry in Northern Ireland and rapid detection of the viruses in any suspect infected animals is an important step in controlling and eliminating potential outbreaks of the disease."
Bird Flu, (Avian Influenza) which has killed millions of birds across the world, is a constant threat to the poultry industry in Northern Ireland while African Swine Fever, a disease which kills pigs, has recently spread across Europe.
Although it has killed hundreds of people, Bird flu is not considered a large-scale threat to humans as it cannot pass easily from one person to another.
ASF is no longer confined to sub-Sahara African states, and recent outbreaks have been recorded in Sardinia, Georgia, Armenia and southern Russia.
Global warming and climate change are thought to be increasing the spread of the disease in Europe.
Professor Allan explained: "It is important to the agri-food industry on the island of Ireland that researchers, both North and South of the border, continue to participate in these large EC-funded projects.
"These multinational collaborations enable locally-based scientists to input expertise but they also gain considerable information from partners around the world on how to successfully fight the increasing threat to our local industry.
"Infectious diseases do not recognise borders and multinational collaboration is the only effective way to combat their spread."
QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY, BELFAST
Communications Office, Lanyon North
Queen's University
Northern Ireland
Belfast
qub.ac.uk
четверг, 5 мая 2011 г.
Pandemic Flu, Access To Health Care, Emergency Preparedness, Disparities Among Top Public Health Concerns, USA
Thousands of public health experts, researchers and administrators will gather in Boston, Nov. 4-8, to discuss the latest in public health research and practice and debate policy concerns affecting the profession and the health of the nation at the American Public Health Association's 134th Annual Meeting and Exposition.
Themed Public Health and Human Rights, the meeting will explore the right to health and the impact of social inequalities, disparities in access to and delivery of health care and other social determinants in affecting health outcomes. The conference will also include hundreds of sessions on other pressing issues in public health such as pandemic influenza, emergency contraception, HIV/AIDS, disaster preparedness, chronic disease prevention and control and health disparities.
The meeting kicks off with keynote addresses by Paul E. Farmer, M.D, Ph.D., founding director of Partners in Health, and Helene D. Gayle, M.D., M.P.H., president and chief executive officer of CARE USA, at the Opening General Session at noon on Sunday, Nov. 5, in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
The weeklong conference features more than 900 scientific sessions where attendees can access the most up-to-date public health research reflecting the broad impact this field has in our lives. The full Annual Meeting program and abstracts are searchable at apha/meetings. During the meeting, the Association will also consider adopting a wide range of proposed policies, including encouraging wide-scale pandemic flu planning, ensuring that patients can have contraceptive prescriptions filled at pharmacies, supporting a global framework convention on alcohol control and urging action to reverse the nation's obesity epidemic.
Press information is available at apha/news/annual. Final programs with session locations, along with daily news media updates will be available on site at the APHA Press Office, Room 102A of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Journalists must display a registration badge to gain entry to sessions.
Meeting highlights include:
3097.0 Foundations of Human Rights and Health
Monday, Nov. 6: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Dual loyalty: Human rights and ethical challenges for the health professions; Leslie London, Professor, Leonard Rubenstein, JD, Lauren Baldwin Ragaven
3398.0 Global Climate Change, Clean Energy and Human Rights
Monday, Nov. 6: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Science, politics and air quality policy; Samuel Dorevitch, MD, MPH
-- Implications of environmental decline for public health ethics: Toward sustainable public health principles; Andrew Jameton, PhD
-- Climate change, human rights and public health in an era of globalization; Dhananjaya Arekere, PhD, Brian Rivers, PhD, Lee Green, PhD
3115.0 Ensuring Food Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Monday, Nov. 6: 10:30 a.m.- 12 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Food Defense: Awareness and Preparedness; Brenda Halbrook
3123.0 Policy Perspectives on Human Rights and Attention to HIV/AIDS Issues
Monday, Nov. 6: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Towards a Rights-Based Approach to Sexual and Reproductive Health of Women Living with HIV/AIDS; Paul Perchal, MA, Lynn Collins, MD, Rasha Dabash, MA
-- Criminal penalties for conduct that may threaten the public's health: Trends in laws requiring mandatory HIV disclosure to prospective sex partners; C. Galletly, JD, PhD
-- Program and policy tools to address HIV/AIDS, poverty and inequality; Marissa Billowtiz, MA, Marilyn Aguirre-Molina
3142.0 Immigrants' Rights to Health in the U.S.A.
Monday, Nov. 6:10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Legal and Health Policy Issues Regarding Immigrants' Health in the United States: Whose Rights and Whose Responsibilities?; Mara K. Youdelman, JD, LLM
3210.0 Outbreak Investigations
Monday, Nov. 6: 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Managing Iowa's Mumps Epidemic: Epidemiologists' Experiences; Meghan Harris, BS, MPH, Sarah Brend, MPH, Pamila Deichmann, RN, MPH
3234.0 War and Public Health
Monday, Nov. 6: 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Physician-Soldier: The all-volunteer military and how it changed who serves in our name: Stephen K. Trynosky, JD, MPH
3301.0 Providing Insurance and Removing Barriers to Health Care for the Uninsured
Monday, Nov. 6: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Health care reform in Massachusetts: Politics, progress and impact on vulnerable populations; Michael Doonan, PhD
-- Exploring the relationship between state-level minimum wage policies and health-related outcomes: An analysis of 2004 BRFSS data; Kelly P. McCarrier, MPH
3303.0 Experiences and Exercises in Responding to Epidemics and Bioterror Events
Monday, Nov. 6: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Pandemic influenza functional exercise - New Hampshire, 2005; Rachel Plotinsky, MD, Elizabeth A. Talbot, MD, Mary Ann Cooney, RN, Jose Montero, MD
-- Avian overture: How pandemic training builds public health and safety partnerships; Mary Clark, JD, MPH, Kerry Dunnell, MSW, Garrett W. Simonsen, MSPS
3310.0 Planning for Pandemic Influenza: Local, State, Tribal and Federal Perspectives
Monday, Nov. 6: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Planning for Pandemic Influenza: Federal Perspective; Pascale Wortley, MD, MPH
-- Planning for Pandemic Influenza: State Perspective; Paul Lewis
-- Planning for Pandemic Influenza: Local Perspective; Paul Etkind, DrPH, MPH
-- Planning for Pandemic Influenza: A Tribal Perspective; Jim Roberts
3394.0 Increasing Access to Medicaid and Providing Prescription Assistance to the Uninsured and the Underinsured
Monday, Nov. 6: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Prescription assistance program: Helping to alleviate the burden of the high cost of prescription drugs for uninsured and underinsured; Deborah Delay, LCSW, Bruce Cooper, MD, MSPH, Carol Plock, MSW, John F. Newman, MSBA, Ann E. Martin, BA
-- Impact of Medicaid cuts on patients seeking emergency room care; Heidi L. Allen, MSW, Briar Ertz-Berger, MD, Robert A. Lowe, MD, MPH, Katherine J. Riley, EdD
3418.0 Terrorism and Public Health
Monday, Nov. 6: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Health effects among New York City residents as a result of 9/11; Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc
-- Torture and medical complicity: Where we stand; Leonard Rubenstein, JD
-- Civil liberties; H. Jack Geiger, MD, MsciHyg
4030.0 Public Health Consequences of Food Insecurity
Tuesday, Nov. 7:8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Linking food insecurity and child development: The development effects of food insecurity in young, low-income Black and Latino children; Madina Agenor, AB, Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, MPH, Ruth Rose-Jacobs, ScD, Deborah A. Frank, MD, Suzette Levenson, MPH, Med
4072.0 Human Rights Strategies to End Violence
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Chronic conflict and the right to health; Alicia Ely Yamin, JD, MPH
-- Human rights strategies to stop genocide and crimes against humanity; Leonard Rubenstein, JD
4074.0 Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Human rights as a tool to promote a social determinants approach to reproductive health; Catherine Albisa, JD
-- Intersection between HIV/AIDS and sexual and human rights; Alejandro Saavedra, MD, MPH
4199.0 Human Rights Issues in Response to Emergencies
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Assessing the nutritional status of children in Darfur: Challenges and successes; Leisel Talley, MPH
-- Human rights in disasters: An overview, Samir N. Banoob, MD, PhD
4227.0 Public Health Emergencies and Human Rights
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Domestic Spying, Public Health Surveillance, and Human Rights; Wendy K. Mariner, JD, LLM, MPH
-- HIV/AIDS in Africa: Taking Health and Human Rights Seriously; Evelyne Shuster, PhD
4290.0 What's Happening in Our Communities? Tobacco-Related Health Disparities
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Disproportionate cost of smoking for communities of color; Wendy Max, PhD, Hai-Yen Sung, PhD, Lue-Yen Tucker
-- Smoking initiation among adolescent females: Does price sensitivity vary by weight and body image?; Julie H. Carmalt, MS
4324.0 25-Year History of AIDS: The U.S., Israel and South Africa on the Anniversary of the Epidemic
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Health policy and (non)citizenship: Migrant workers and HIV/AIDS in Israel; Nadav Davidovitch, MD, MPH, PhD, Dani Filc, MD, PhD
-- Shattered dreams? Doctors and nurses confronting the AIDS epidemic in South Africa; Gerald Oppenheimer, PhD, MPH
5088.0 Katrina: Through the Lens of Public Health and Human Rights
Wednesday, Nov. 8: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Rising from the ashes: Starting over after Hurricane Katrina; Cheryl Bowers-Stephens, MD, MBA
-- Public health system: Overcoming the ravages of Katrina; Lovetta Ann Brown, MD, MPH, CP
-- Environmental policies: From moldy words to meaningful change; Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH
5091.0 Pandemic Influenza: Non-Pharmacologic Interventions
Wednesday, Nov. 8: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- From SARS and bioterrorism to pandemic flu, new tools and old medicine: Non-pharmaceutical interventions as a way to protect ourselves against contagious disease; David Heyman
-- Ethical issues with pandemic flu; Robert J. Levine, MD
-- Community engagement; Donna L. Richter, EdD, FAAHB
5178.0 Women's Choices in Childbirth - Access to Care
Wednesday, Nov. 8: 2:30 p.m.- 4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Myth of the Maternal Request Cesarean: Exploring Mothers Attitudes Toward Cesarean Birth; Eugene Declercq, PhD
-- White Ribbon Alliance: Women and Infants Service Package (WISP): Planning for Emergencies; Lisa Summers, CNM, DrPH
-- Case Against Elective Primary Cesarean Surgery; Henci Goer, BA
Founded in 1872, the APHA is the oldest, largest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. The association aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States. APHA represents a broad array of health providers, educators, environmentalists, policy-makers and health officials at all levels working both within and outside governmental organizations and educational institutions.
More information is available at apha.
Themed Public Health and Human Rights, the meeting will explore the right to health and the impact of social inequalities, disparities in access to and delivery of health care and other social determinants in affecting health outcomes. The conference will also include hundreds of sessions on other pressing issues in public health such as pandemic influenza, emergency contraception, HIV/AIDS, disaster preparedness, chronic disease prevention and control and health disparities.
The meeting kicks off with keynote addresses by Paul E. Farmer, M.D, Ph.D., founding director of Partners in Health, and Helene D. Gayle, M.D., M.P.H., president and chief executive officer of CARE USA, at the Opening General Session at noon on Sunday, Nov. 5, in the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
The weeklong conference features more than 900 scientific sessions where attendees can access the most up-to-date public health research reflecting the broad impact this field has in our lives. The full Annual Meeting program and abstracts are searchable at apha/meetings. During the meeting, the Association will also consider adopting a wide range of proposed policies, including encouraging wide-scale pandemic flu planning, ensuring that patients can have contraceptive prescriptions filled at pharmacies, supporting a global framework convention on alcohol control and urging action to reverse the nation's obesity epidemic.
Press information is available at apha/news/annual. Final programs with session locations, along with daily news media updates will be available on site at the APHA Press Office, Room 102A of the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Journalists must display a registration badge to gain entry to sessions.
Meeting highlights include:
3097.0 Foundations of Human Rights and Health
Monday, Nov. 6: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Dual loyalty: Human rights and ethical challenges for the health professions; Leslie London, Professor, Leonard Rubenstein, JD, Lauren Baldwin Ragaven
3398.0 Global Climate Change, Clean Energy and Human Rights
Monday, Nov. 6: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Science, politics and air quality policy; Samuel Dorevitch, MD, MPH
-- Implications of environmental decline for public health ethics: Toward sustainable public health principles; Andrew Jameton, PhD
-- Climate change, human rights and public health in an era of globalization; Dhananjaya Arekere, PhD, Brian Rivers, PhD, Lee Green, PhD
3115.0 Ensuring Food Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Monday, Nov. 6: 10:30 a.m.- 12 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Food Defense: Awareness and Preparedness; Brenda Halbrook
3123.0 Policy Perspectives on Human Rights and Attention to HIV/AIDS Issues
Monday, Nov. 6: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Towards a Rights-Based Approach to Sexual and Reproductive Health of Women Living with HIV/AIDS; Paul Perchal, MA, Lynn Collins, MD, Rasha Dabash, MA
-- Criminal penalties for conduct that may threaten the public's health: Trends in laws requiring mandatory HIV disclosure to prospective sex partners; C. Galletly, JD, PhD
-- Program and policy tools to address HIV/AIDS, poverty and inequality; Marissa Billowtiz, MA, Marilyn Aguirre-Molina
3142.0 Immigrants' Rights to Health in the U.S.A.
Monday, Nov. 6:10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Legal and Health Policy Issues Regarding Immigrants' Health in the United States: Whose Rights and Whose Responsibilities?; Mara K. Youdelman, JD, LLM
3210.0 Outbreak Investigations
Monday, Nov. 6: 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Managing Iowa's Mumps Epidemic: Epidemiologists' Experiences; Meghan Harris, BS, MPH, Sarah Brend, MPH, Pamila Deichmann, RN, MPH
3234.0 War and Public Health
Monday, Nov. 6: 12:30 p.m.-2 p.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Physician-Soldier: The all-volunteer military and how it changed who serves in our name: Stephen K. Trynosky, JD, MPH
3301.0 Providing Insurance and Removing Barriers to Health Care for the Uninsured
Monday, Nov. 6: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Health care reform in Massachusetts: Politics, progress and impact on vulnerable populations; Michael Doonan, PhD
-- Exploring the relationship between state-level minimum wage policies and health-related outcomes: An analysis of 2004 BRFSS data; Kelly P. McCarrier, MPH
3303.0 Experiences and Exercises in Responding to Epidemics and Bioterror Events
Monday, Nov. 6: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Pandemic influenza functional exercise - New Hampshire, 2005; Rachel Plotinsky, MD, Elizabeth A. Talbot, MD, Mary Ann Cooney, RN, Jose Montero, MD
-- Avian overture: How pandemic training builds public health and safety partnerships; Mary Clark, JD, MPH, Kerry Dunnell, MSW, Garrett W. Simonsen, MSPS
3310.0 Planning for Pandemic Influenza: Local, State, Tribal and Federal Perspectives
Monday, Nov. 6: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Planning for Pandemic Influenza: Federal Perspective; Pascale Wortley, MD, MPH
-- Planning for Pandemic Influenza: State Perspective; Paul Lewis
-- Planning for Pandemic Influenza: Local Perspective; Paul Etkind, DrPH, MPH
-- Planning for Pandemic Influenza: A Tribal Perspective; Jim Roberts
3394.0 Increasing Access to Medicaid and Providing Prescription Assistance to the Uninsured and the Underinsured
Monday, Nov. 6: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Prescription assistance program: Helping to alleviate the burden of the high cost of prescription drugs for uninsured and underinsured; Deborah Delay, LCSW, Bruce Cooper, MD, MSPH, Carol Plock, MSW, John F. Newman, MSBA, Ann E. Martin, BA
-- Impact of Medicaid cuts on patients seeking emergency room care; Heidi L. Allen, MSW, Briar Ertz-Berger, MD, Robert A. Lowe, MD, MPH, Katherine J. Riley, EdD
3418.0 Terrorism and Public Health
Monday, Nov. 6: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Health effects among New York City residents as a result of 9/11; Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc
-- Torture and medical complicity: Where we stand; Leonard Rubenstein, JD
-- Civil liberties; H. Jack Geiger, MD, MsciHyg
4030.0 Public Health Consequences of Food Insecurity
Tuesday, Nov. 7:8:30 a.m.-10 a.m.
Featured presentation:
-- Linking food insecurity and child development: The development effects of food insecurity in young, low-income Black and Latino children; Madina Agenor, AB, Stephanie Ettinger de Cuba, MPH, Ruth Rose-Jacobs, ScD, Deborah A. Frank, MD, Suzette Levenson, MPH, Med
4072.0 Human Rights Strategies to End Violence
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Chronic conflict and the right to health; Alicia Ely Yamin, JD, MPH
-- Human rights strategies to stop genocide and crimes against humanity; Leonard Rubenstein, JD
4074.0 Global Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Human rights as a tool to promote a social determinants approach to reproductive health; Catherine Albisa, JD
-- Intersection between HIV/AIDS and sexual and human rights; Alejandro Saavedra, MD, MPH
4199.0 Human Rights Issues in Response to Emergencies
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Assessing the nutritional status of children in Darfur: Challenges and successes; Leisel Talley, MPH
-- Human rights in disasters: An overview, Samir N. Banoob, MD, PhD
4227.0 Public Health Emergencies and Human Rights
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Domestic Spying, Public Health Surveillance, and Human Rights; Wendy K. Mariner, JD, LLM, MPH
-- HIV/AIDS in Africa: Taking Health and Human Rights Seriously; Evelyne Shuster, PhD
4290.0 What's Happening in Our Communities? Tobacco-Related Health Disparities
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Disproportionate cost of smoking for communities of color; Wendy Max, PhD, Hai-Yen Sung, PhD, Lue-Yen Tucker
-- Smoking initiation among adolescent females: Does price sensitivity vary by weight and body image?; Julie H. Carmalt, MS
4324.0 25-Year History of AIDS: The U.S., Israel and South Africa on the Anniversary of the Epidemic
Tuesday, Nov. 7: 4:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Health policy and (non)citizenship: Migrant workers and HIV/AIDS in Israel; Nadav Davidovitch, MD, MPH, PhD, Dani Filc, MD, PhD
-- Shattered dreams? Doctors and nurses confronting the AIDS epidemic in South Africa; Gerald Oppenheimer, PhD, MPH
5088.0 Katrina: Through the Lens of Public Health and Human Rights
Wednesday, Nov. 8: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Rising from the ashes: Starting over after Hurricane Katrina; Cheryl Bowers-Stephens, MD, MBA
-- Public health system: Overcoming the ravages of Katrina; Lovetta Ann Brown, MD, MPH, CP
-- Environmental policies: From moldy words to meaningful change; Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH
5091.0 Pandemic Influenza: Non-Pharmacologic Interventions
Wednesday, Nov. 8: 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- From SARS and bioterrorism to pandemic flu, new tools and old medicine: Non-pharmaceutical interventions as a way to protect ourselves against contagious disease; David Heyman
-- Ethical issues with pandemic flu; Robert J. Levine, MD
-- Community engagement; Donna L. Richter, EdD, FAAHB
5178.0 Women's Choices in Childbirth - Access to Care
Wednesday, Nov. 8: 2:30 p.m.- 4 p.m.
Featured presentations:
-- Myth of the Maternal Request Cesarean: Exploring Mothers Attitudes Toward Cesarean Birth; Eugene Declercq, PhD
-- White Ribbon Alliance: Women and Infants Service Package (WISP): Planning for Emergencies; Lisa Summers, CNM, DrPH
-- Case Against Elective Primary Cesarean Surgery; Henci Goer, BA
Founded in 1872, the APHA is the oldest, largest and most diverse organization of public health professionals in the world. The association aims to protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease prevention activities and preventive health services are universally accessible in the United States. APHA represents a broad array of health providers, educators, environmentalists, policy-makers and health officials at all levels working both within and outside governmental organizations and educational institutions.
More information is available at apha.
среда, 4 мая 2011 г.
Computer Modelling Determines That 1 In 7 Cases Of Bird Flu Could Be Prevented By Closing Schools In Event Of Pandemic
Closing schools in the event of a flu pandemic could slow the spread of the virus and prevent up to one in seven cases, according to a new study published today in the journal Nature.
School closure is the non-pharmaceutical policy option that health organisations and governments most often consider to control the spread of a future flu pandemic, but there had previously been little evidence about its potential effectiveness.
Researchers from the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, working with colleagues in France, used computer modelling to explore how school closure would affect the spread of a theoretical pandemic H5N1 avian flu virus which had mutated to pass between humans. They extrapolated from data collected by French GPs, showing how school holidays alter the patterns of influenza transmission in France.
The new study shows that shutting down schools for a prolonged period in the event of a pandemic could prevent up to one in seven cases.
School closures would also slow and flatten the pandemic, reducing the numbers becoming ill in the worst week of the outbreak by up to 40%. The researchers suggest that this could be important in reducing pressures on healthcare services during this time so that hospitals and GP surgeries would be better able to cope.
However, the researchers caution that closing schools for a prolonged period would be a very costly measure, particularly because of its impact on working parents. Taking away the childcare that schools provide could also affect the spread of the virus, in ways that are difficult to model using existing information.
For example, parents might share childcare with each other or place their children with child minders, so that children would still mix and spread the virus between them, much as they would in a school setting. In addition, the number of healthcare professionals available to care for those with the virus might fall if some needed to stay home to look after their children.
Dr Simon Cauchemez, one of the authors of the study from the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, said: "Our research shows that school closures could be a useful measure in terms of slowing the spread of a flu pandemic. However, its effectiveness would very much depend on what other measures, like vaccination or antiviral drugs, were put in place as well."
Professor Neil Ferguson, another author of the study from the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, added: "Closing schools for a long time is not an option you can take lightly, because it has a big economic and social impact, and the extent to which there would be a knock-on effect on transmission is hard to predict.
"Even though the children would not be in school, they would still mix with other children and adults in the community and spread the virus through this contact. We also think it's likely that parents would need to devise new childcare arrangements so that they could continue working, meaning that they would be setting up the equivalent of small schools where the virus could easily be transmitted," added Professor Ferguson.
The researchers reached their conclusions after analysing surveillance data collected since 1984 by 1,200 GPs in France, to see how the rate of influenza transmission is reduced during the country's school holidays. This data showed that holidays lead to a 20-29% reduction in the rate at which influenza is transmitted to children, but that they have no detectable effect on the contact patterns of adults. The French data also revealed that children were responsible for around 46% of all infections.
The researchers then extrapolated from this to explore how prolonged school closure might affect transmission in the event of a pandemic of mutated H5N1 in a country like France.
At present, the H5N1 strain of influenza is transmitted to people by birds and person-to-person transmission is very rare. However, the virus is so lethal that if it were to mutate and become more transmissible, as in the researchers' new model, the consequences of a global pandemic could be disastrous.
This research was funded by the Medical Research Council, the European Union, and the US National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Source: Laura Gallagher
Imperial College London
School closure is the non-pharmaceutical policy option that health organisations and governments most often consider to control the spread of a future flu pandemic, but there had previously been little evidence about its potential effectiveness.
Researchers from the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, working with colleagues in France, used computer modelling to explore how school closure would affect the spread of a theoretical pandemic H5N1 avian flu virus which had mutated to pass between humans. They extrapolated from data collected by French GPs, showing how school holidays alter the patterns of influenza transmission in France.
The new study shows that shutting down schools for a prolonged period in the event of a pandemic could prevent up to one in seven cases.
School closures would also slow and flatten the pandemic, reducing the numbers becoming ill in the worst week of the outbreak by up to 40%. The researchers suggest that this could be important in reducing pressures on healthcare services during this time so that hospitals and GP surgeries would be better able to cope.
However, the researchers caution that closing schools for a prolonged period would be a very costly measure, particularly because of its impact on working parents. Taking away the childcare that schools provide could also affect the spread of the virus, in ways that are difficult to model using existing information.
For example, parents might share childcare with each other or place their children with child minders, so that children would still mix and spread the virus between them, much as they would in a school setting. In addition, the number of healthcare professionals available to care for those with the virus might fall if some needed to stay home to look after their children.
Dr Simon Cauchemez, one of the authors of the study from the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, said: "Our research shows that school closures could be a useful measure in terms of slowing the spread of a flu pandemic. However, its effectiveness would very much depend on what other measures, like vaccination or antiviral drugs, were put in place as well."
Professor Neil Ferguson, another author of the study from the MRC Centre for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling at Imperial College London, added: "Closing schools for a long time is not an option you can take lightly, because it has a big economic and social impact, and the extent to which there would be a knock-on effect on transmission is hard to predict.
"Even though the children would not be in school, they would still mix with other children and adults in the community and spread the virus through this contact. We also think it's likely that parents would need to devise new childcare arrangements so that they could continue working, meaning that they would be setting up the equivalent of small schools where the virus could easily be transmitted," added Professor Ferguson.
The researchers reached their conclusions after analysing surveillance data collected since 1984 by 1,200 GPs in France, to see how the rate of influenza transmission is reduced during the country's school holidays. This data showed that holidays lead to a 20-29% reduction in the rate at which influenza is transmitted to children, but that they have no detectable effect on the contact patterns of adults. The French data also revealed that children were responsible for around 46% of all infections.
The researchers then extrapolated from this to explore how prolonged school closure might affect transmission in the event of a pandemic of mutated H5N1 in a country like France.
At present, the H5N1 strain of influenza is transmitted to people by birds and person-to-person transmission is very rare. However, the virus is so lethal that if it were to mutate and become more transmissible, as in the researchers' new model, the consequences of a global pandemic could be disastrous.
This research was funded by the Medical Research Council, the European Union, and the US National Institute of General Medical Sciences.
Source: Laura Gallagher
Imperial College London
вторник, 3 мая 2011 г.
Sixth Swan Tests Positive For H5N1 Bird Flu Virus Strain, England
A sixth mute swan, which was collected on January 21st as part of wild bird surveillance in Dorset, England, has tested positive for H5N1, the virulent bird flu virus strain, reports Defra (Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs). Defra added that this sixth confirmation is not a surprise.
Defra informs that the area is currently undergoing an "enhanced surveillance" of wild birds.
Authorities say that current evidence does not point in any way to a spreading of the current outbreak. Nevertheless, poultry keepers in the area have been asked to remain watchful and report any signs of disease at once.
The current outbreak only involves wild birds. No domestic birds have been infected, informs Defra. Samples taken from live swans in the area have all tested negative for H5N1 and other avian influenza virus strains.
As of 3pm on 25 January, the limits imposed on the movement of poultry or other captive birds in the Wild Bird Monitoring Area were lifted, and such movements no longer require a license. Movement restrictions in the Wild Bird Control Area continue.
What is Bird Flu (Avian Influenza)>
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is a disease cause by viruses. It is a contagious disease which infects only birds, and sometimes pigs. The avian influenza viruses attack specific species - they have, on occasions jumped the species barrier and infected people. However, this has been quite rare, and continues to be rare (January 2008).
As far as farmed birds are concerned (poultry), there are two main types of avian influenza - one is fairly mild while the other is deadly (for birds).
Mild
Low pathogenic forms of bird flu may cause a bird to have more ruffled feathers and lay fewer eggs. This form is often undetected among farmed poultry (in many cases the bird is infected, and then gets better and nobody noticed).
Deadly
The highly pathogenic form of bird flu is much more dangerous. It has a mortality rate of virtually 100% and spreads very rapidly among flocks of birds. A bird infected with the more virulent type of bird flu (the highly pathogenic form) experiences deterioration of many internal organs.
The most dangerous strain of the bird flu virus is called H5N1.
Avian influenza (bird flu): Latest situation (Defra)
Written by -
Defra informs that the area is currently undergoing an "enhanced surveillance" of wild birds.
Authorities say that current evidence does not point in any way to a spreading of the current outbreak. Nevertheless, poultry keepers in the area have been asked to remain watchful and report any signs of disease at once.
The current outbreak only involves wild birds. No domestic birds have been infected, informs Defra. Samples taken from live swans in the area have all tested negative for H5N1 and other avian influenza virus strains.
As of 3pm on 25 January, the limits imposed on the movement of poultry or other captive birds in the Wild Bird Monitoring Area were lifted, and such movements no longer require a license. Movement restrictions in the Wild Bird Control Area continue.
What is Bird Flu (Avian Influenza)>
Bird flu, or avian influenza, is a disease cause by viruses. It is a contagious disease which infects only birds, and sometimes pigs. The avian influenza viruses attack specific species - they have, on occasions jumped the species barrier and infected people. However, this has been quite rare, and continues to be rare (January 2008).
As far as farmed birds are concerned (poultry), there are two main types of avian influenza - one is fairly mild while the other is deadly (for birds).
Mild
Low pathogenic forms of bird flu may cause a bird to have more ruffled feathers and lay fewer eggs. This form is often undetected among farmed poultry (in many cases the bird is infected, and then gets better and nobody noticed).
Deadly
The highly pathogenic form of bird flu is much more dangerous. It has a mortality rate of virtually 100% and spreads very rapidly among flocks of birds. A bird infected with the more virulent type of bird flu (the highly pathogenic form) experiences deterioration of many internal organs.
The most dangerous strain of the bird flu virus is called H5N1.
Avian influenza (bird flu): Latest situation (Defra)
Written by -
понедельник, 2 мая 2011 г.
Bird flu outbreak started a year ago
From The News Scientist
newscientist/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994614
In the past week, country after country has admitted that millions of birds and a few people have succumbed to bird flu, and it has become clear that we are facing the worst ever outbreak of the disease.
So how have things got so out of control? After strenuous denials, Indonesia has admitted the H5N1 virus has been spreading there since August. Thailand admits it had it in November. China says the disease was first detected this week.
In fact, the outbreak began as early as the first half of 2003, probably in China, health experts have told New Scientist. A combination of official cover-up and questionable farming practices allowed it to turn into the epidemic now under way.
Asia's growing prosperity has been accompanied by a boom in intensive poultry production. After 1997, when all the chickens in Hong Kong were destroyed after H5N1 bird flu killed six people, Chinese producers decided to take no chances, and started vaccinating birds with inactivated H5N1 virus.
This may have been a mistake. If the vaccine is not a good match for the virus - as is the case with the H5N1 strain now sweeping Asia - it can still replicate but most animals do not show signs of disease.
In this way, the intensive vaccination schemes in south China may have allowed the virus to spread widely without being spotted.
'We don't like vaccination,' says Hans Wagner of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Bangkok.
This is also why the World Health Organization has reacted with dismay to Indonesia's announcement that it will tackle its outbreak with vaccination instead of culling.
Vaccination may even have contributed to the origin of the latest variant of H5N1, as it would put strains that could evade the vaccine at an advantage.
To continue reading go to:
newscientist/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994614
newscientist/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994614
In the past week, country after country has admitted that millions of birds and a few people have succumbed to bird flu, and it has become clear that we are facing the worst ever outbreak of the disease.
So how have things got so out of control? After strenuous denials, Indonesia has admitted the H5N1 virus has been spreading there since August. Thailand admits it had it in November. China says the disease was first detected this week.
In fact, the outbreak began as early as the first half of 2003, probably in China, health experts have told New Scientist. A combination of official cover-up and questionable farming practices allowed it to turn into the epidemic now under way.
Asia's growing prosperity has been accompanied by a boom in intensive poultry production. After 1997, when all the chickens in Hong Kong were destroyed after H5N1 bird flu killed six people, Chinese producers decided to take no chances, and started vaccinating birds with inactivated H5N1 virus.
This may have been a mistake. If the vaccine is not a good match for the virus - as is the case with the H5N1 strain now sweeping Asia - it can still replicate but most animals do not show signs of disease.
In this way, the intensive vaccination schemes in south China may have allowed the virus to spread widely without being spotted.
'We don't like vaccination,' says Hans Wagner of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Bangkok.
This is also why the World Health Organization has reacted with dismay to Indonesia's announcement that it will tackle its outbreak with vaccination instead of culling.
Vaccination may even have contributed to the origin of the latest variant of H5N1, as it would put strains that could evade the vaccine at an advantage.
To continue reading go to:
newscientist/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994614
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