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Disease in General

Disease in General News

2010/07/30: UN: Horn of Africa once again polio-free, say UNICEF and partners
2010/07/29: UWA(Au): Western diet link to ADHD
2010/07/23: CBC: PM, Aglukkaq slammed on AIDS at world meeting
Canada isn't doing enough to fight AIDS at home or around the world, the Canadian head of the International AIDS Society said Friday. In his closing address to the International AIDS Conference in Vienna on Friday, conference chief Dr. Julio Montaner slammed Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq. "I would also like to have a special word of recognition to the prime minister of Canada, Mr. Stephen Harper --- for demonstrating, yet again, their incredible ability to take credit where none is due."
2010/07/23: Cell: (ab$) Dendritic Function of Tau Mediates Amyloid-? Toxicity in Alzheimer's Disease Mouse Models by Lars M. Ittner et al.
2010/07/23: PhysOrg: Major breakthrough in Alzheimer research: Looking for Alzheimer's causes at cellular level
Researchers from the University of Sydney's Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease Laboratory have achieved a major breakthrough by finding the causes of Alzheimer's disease at a cellular level and thereby identifying a potential therapy as a result. The groundbreaking new study led by Professor Jürgen Götz and Dr Lars Ittner, based at the University's Brain and Mind Research Institute (BMRI), is published today in the prestigious international scientific journal Cell. The researchers have discovered how a protein called TAU affects and mediates the toxicity of amyloid-b, which together with TAU causes the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. Professor Götz said this significant breakthrough made by Dr Ittner and their team has implications for how the disease develops and how it may be treated.
2010/07/21: Eureka: Scientists find unsuspected molecular link between obesity and insulin resistance
2010/07/20: SciDaily: Need for Protection Against Ticks That Carry Lyme Disease Confirmed by New Research
2010/07/20: UN: Angola: UN health agency [WHO] warns that polio outbreak may spread
2010/07/20: PhysOrg: Researchers link widely used chemicals to ADHD in children
A new study led by a team of Boston University School of Public Health researchers suggests a link between polyfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs), industrial compounds which are widely used in many consumer products, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
2010/07/20: Eureka: Writing checks that bounce: World continues to backtrack on HIV treatment
2010/07/19: Eureka: MDMA (Ecstasy)-assisted psychotherapy relieves treatment-resistant PTSD -- First completed clinical trial results out today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology
2010/07/16: AlterNet: A Treatment for Multiple Sclerosis That Upsets Big Pharma
2010/07/15: PhysOrg: Scientists advance universal flu vaccine
2010/07/13: Whitehouse: National HIV/AIDS Strateg
2010/07/13: ACLU: Obama Administration Releases AIDS Strategy With Important Anti-Discrimination Policies
2010/07/14: CBC: HIV/AIDS strategy unveiled in U.S. -- 'We can't afford complacency'
The Obama administration has introduced a new strategy to combat what it calls a "growing epidemic" of HIV/AIDS in the United States, aiming to reduce new infections by 25 per cent within five years. The strategy also sets goals of getting treatment for 85 per cent of patients within three months of their diagnosis, and increasing education about the virus, even in communities with low rates of infection.
2010/07/13: CBC: N.S. cholesterol drug costs to drop 50% -- Province to substitute generic drug for Lipitor
2010/07/08: Eureka: SNM cautions that Canada's Chalk River coming back online will not solve long-term isotope shortage -- Long-term solution still needed to remedy isotope shortage plaguing hospitals and patients
2010/07/07: PhysOrg: Western food fuelling SE Asia diabetes boom: researchers
The growing popularity of Western junk food is fuelling a diabetes boom across Southeast Asia, Australian researchers warned on Wednesday.
2010/07/07: Eureka: 1 in 4 Californian children have never seen a dentist, study finds
2010/07/01: FuturePundit: Fructose Linked To High Blood Pressure
2010/07/01: CBC: Chalk River reactor to restart in July: AECL
2010/06/30: Eureka: Real-world proof of hand washing's effectiveness
2010/06/28: Eureka: Mystery unraveled: How asbestos causes cancer -- HMGB1 protein starts an inflammatory reaction that promotes tumor growth
2010/06/26: ProMedMail: Poliomyelitis - worldwide (13): Tajikistan, Russia
2010/06/26: SciDaily: Chemists Find an Easier Way to Synthesize New Drug Candidates; New Method Could Have a Big Impact on Pharmaceutical Business
2010/06/25: CBC: Quebec cuts generic drug costs
The Quebec government is slashing the price of generic medications in the province. The move comes after the province of Ontario announced it is cutting the cost of generic drugs by 25 per cent, effective July 1, . Quebec will automatically benefit from the move because of its agreement with pharmaceutical companies to pay the lowest prices in Canada, Health Minister Yves Bolduc said Friday. The move will save the province's drug insurance program $164-million and will help ensure its survival, the minister said.
2010/06/23: CBC: Increase polio vaccination, journal urges -- Fast-spreading Tajikistan outbreak shows disease's deadly potential
The growing polio outbreak in Tajikistan is a cause for alarm for countries like Canada, a medical journal editorial says.
2010/06/23: PhysOrg: Polio outbreak in Tajikistan is cause for alarm
The rapidly growing polio outbreak in Tajikistan raises serious concerns that the disease could spread to other regions in the world, states an editorial in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). It is imperative that health agencies attempt to limit further spread by ensuring high vaccination rates.
2010/06/23: CBC: Doctors like industry perks: study
Some doctors look favourably on gifts from pharmaceutical industry representatives or sponsored lunches, a U.S. study suggests. About 72 per cent of 590 doctors and medical students who responded to a survey found industry sponsored lunches appropriate, and 25.4 per cent considered large gifts acceptable, researchers reported in the June issue of the Archives of Surgery.
2010/06/21: SciDaily: Fructose Sugar Makes Maturing Human Fat Cells Fatter, Less Insulin-Sensitive, Study Finds
Fructose, a sugar widely used in soft drinks and processed foods, often gets some of the blame for the widespread rise in obesity. Now a laboratory study has found that when fructose is present as children's fat cells mature, it makes more of these cells mature into fat cells in belly fat and less able to respond to insulin in both belly fat and fat located below the skin.
2010/06/20: SciDaily: New Test May Simply and Rapidly Detect Lyme Disease
2010/06/17: PhysOrg: Probiotic therapy cuts risk of VAP in half for some in ICU
Daily use of probiotics reduced ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in critically ill patients by almost half, according to new research from Creighton University School of Medicine in Omaha, Nebraska.
2010/06/16: CBC: Some doctors are lousy handwashers: B.C. audit
Doctors, nurses and other health-care professionals at several Vancouver Island hospitals aren't practising proper hygiene, according to an audit conducted into handwashing techniques. Health professionals were openly observed for the entire month last February at Victoria General, Royal Jubilee, Saanich Peninsula and Nanaimo General hospitals. The audit showed that less than one third of all handwashing is done properly and that physicians are the worst offenders. On average, they were in compliance 12 per cent of the time.
2010/06/16: CBC: Diabetes diagnoses expected to surge: report
A new report on diabetes in Canada looks at the recent past and peers into the future, predicting that 1.9 million people will develop the disease between 2007 and 2017. That works out to nearly nine out of every 100 Canadians being diagnosed in the 10-year period, says the study led by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences. Risk factors were part of the estimates. The researchers used Statistics Canada data on the number of overweight and obese Canadians in their predictions.
Wiki: Angiotensin II receptor antagonist
2010/06/15: NatureTGB: ‘One of the cheapest ways to save a life’
Thousands of lives a year could be saved worldwide if a cheap drug was given to accident victims, according to a major new study. The study of over 20,000 patients published today in The Lancet shows that tranexamic acid, which is already given in surgery to reduce bleeding, significantly lowers the risk of death following trauma. The risk of death due to bleeding was 15% lower in the patients receiving the drug, which study author Ian Roberts says costs around £6 per patient.
2010/06/09: Guardian(UK): Story Tracker -- The genetics of autism
2010/06/14: Impolitical: Experts coming out against the Harper government's experimental isotope plans
2010/06/11: CBC: MS research projects test theory
Canadian researchers investigating the relationship between multiple sclerosis and impaired blood drainage from the brain and spinal cord will receive $700,000 in funding for four projects, the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada announced Friday. Between the Canadian and U.S. National MS Society, which are co-ordinating efforts, more than $2.4 million has been committed to support seven new research projects on chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI), originally described by Italian Dr. Paolo Zamboni. The studies are needed because its not yet known whether or how CCSVI contributes to MS, the society said.
2010/06/10: PhysOrg: Major breakthrough will revolutionize the screening and treatment of genetic diseases
A research team led by Dr. Nada Jabado at the MUHC and Dr. Jacek Majewski at McGill University has proven for the first time that it is possible to identify any genetic disease in record time thanks to a powerful and reliable exome sequencing method. The exome, a small part of the genome (< 2%), is of crucial interest with regard to research on genetic diseases as it accounts for 85% of mutations. the results of the team's research have just been published in the journal Human Mutation.
2010/06/10: ScienceInsider: Paper on Pyschopaths, Delayed by Legal Threat, Finally Published
2010/06/09: CBC: Cancer conference reveals treatment advances -- Cure still elusive, reports American Society of Clinical Oncology
2010/06/09: NatureTGB: Rare genetic variants linked to autism
The search for the genetic underpinnings of autism spectrum disorder has just yielded a new set of clues. In the largest study to date, the Autism Genome Project consortium reports that people with autism have more copy number variants -- segments of DNA that have been either duplicated or deleted -- in their genes.
2010/06/07: SciDaily: New Way Found to Attack Cancerous Cells
2010/06/07: SlashDot: Artificial Cornea To Reach Patients This Year
2010/06/04: PhysOrg: Researchers make blood poisoning breakthrough
The lives of millions of people struck down by blood poisoning - or sepsis - could be saved after a team of researchers, including an expert from the University of Glasgow, made a medical breakthrough in how the condition is treated.
2010/05/28: CBC: AIDS funding cuts risk African lives: report
Doctors are being forced to turn away people with HIV/AIDS -- meaning they will fall ill and almost certainly die -- in eight African countries as donors cut funding amid the global economic meltdown, an aid group says. Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders, called on rich countries to fulfil their obligations to poorer nations, saying the funding cuts threaten to unravel years of progress on the continent hardest hit by AIDS.
2010/05/27: PhysOrg: New weapon against highly resistant microbes within grasp
An active compound from fungi and lower animals may well be suitable as an effective weapon against dangerous bacteria. We're talking about plectasin, a small protein molecule that can even destroy highly resistant bacteria. Researchers at the Universities of Bonn, Utrecht, Aalborg and of the Danish company Novozymes AS have shed light on how the substance does this. The authors see plectasin as a promising lead compound for new antibiotics.
2010/05/26: PhysOrg: 8-point manifesto urges increased control, elimination and R&D efforts against Neglected Tropical Diseases
Although advances in the control and elimination of neglected infections have been steadily increasing in the past decade—specifically with heightened interest by policy makers, governments, the World Health Organization (WHO), and private philanthropies—more can and must be done, says a new editorial, "'Manifesto' for Advancing the Control and Elimination of Neglected Tropical Diseases," published May 25 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
2010/05/25: Grist: Scientists link ADHD in kids to routine pesticide exposure
2010/05/21: Eureka: Scientists make important step toward stopping plaque-like formations in Huntington's disease
Research published in the journal Genetics identifies gene candidates likely to be responsible for plaque-like formations that lead to neurological decline in Huntington's and similar diseases
2010/05/20: BMJ: Unintended effects of statins in men and women in England and Wales: population based cohort study using the QResearch database by Julia Hippisley-Cox & Carol Coupland
2010/05/21: CBC: Statin side-effects found by British doctors -- Findings on cholesterol-lowering medications are reassuring: cardiologists
People taking cholesterol-lowering statins to treat heart disease may be at higher risk of liver, kidney and cataract problems, and should be monitored for these side-effects, British researchers say. The study, published in Friday's online issue of the British Medical Journal, analyzed data on more than two million people aged 30 to 84 in Britain who were prescribed various statins over six years. Examples of statins include simvastatin (generic Zocor), Lipitor and Crestor.
2010/05/21: Eureka: Uncovering lithium's mode of action -- Lithium reduces brain inflammation by adjusting the metabolism of the health-protective omega-3-fatty acid called DHA
2010/05/20: CBC: Polio stamp-out strategy expands WHO checks
Experts at the World Health Organization's annual meeting of health ministers in Geneva this week are unveiling a new strategy to eradicate polio, which can paralyze and kill children. But others say there is little new and that if this effort fails, there are serious questions about whether to continue the campaign. Some experts say eradicating polio is impossible and should be abandoned. With a new target of stopping the virus by the end of 2012, this may be the best chance by the WHO and its partners to get rid of polio before donors run out of money and patience.
2010/05/20: BBC: Autism link with migrant parents, study finds
2010/05/17: CNN: Study: ADHD linked to pesticide exposure
Kids with above-average levels of a common pesticide byproduct had twice ADHD risk - Direct cause-and-effect link "really hard to establish," expert says - Study is first to examine the effects of pesticide exposure in population at large
2010/05/18: Eureka: JAMA commentary: Time to rethink causes, possible treatments of mental disorders
2010/05/18: PeakEnergy: Pesticide link to hyperactivity: study
2010/05/17: Eureka: Did the end of smallpox vaccination cause the explosive spread of HIV?
2010/05/17: PhysOrg: One-a-day heart polypill to be tested in new international trial
2010/05/14: ProMedMail: Poliomyelitis - worldwide (09): Russia ex Tajikistan
2010/05/14: CBC: Polio case reported in Russia
An infant visiting Russia from Tajikistan has a confirmed case of polio, but it is contained, a Russian health official in Moscow says
2010/05/12: PhysOrg: Rate of childhood peanut allergies more than tripled from 1997 to 2008
Results of a nationwide telephone survey have shown that the rate of peanut allergies in children more than tripled from 1997 to 2008. The data are reported in the May 12 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology
2010/05/09: SlashDot: Bio-Detector Scans For 3,000 Viruses and Bacteria
2010/05/06: CBC: Tackle environmental cancers, Obama urged
The role played by chemicals, gases and radiation in causing cancer has been underestimated, and not enough is being done about it, a U.S. presidential advisory panel on cancer says. A report by the two-member panel -- Reducing Environmental Cancer Risk: What We Can Do Now -- was released Thursday. "The true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated," the authors said in a letter to President Barack Obama at the start of the report. The report was written by Dr. LaSalle Leffall, professor at Howard University college of medicine in Washington and Margaret Kripke, an emeritus professor at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
2010/05/06: NYT: New Alarm Bells About Chemicals and Cancer
The President’s Cancer Panel is the Mount Everest of the medical mainstream, so it is astonishing to learn that it is poised to join ranks with the organic food movement and declare: chemicals threaten our bodies. The cancer panel is releasing a landmark 200-page report on Thursday, warning that our lackadaisical approach to regulation may have far-reaching consequences for our health. I’ve read an advance copy of the report, and it’s an extraordinary document. It calls on America to rethink the way we confront cancer, including much more rigorous regulation of chemicals. Traditionally, we reduce cancer risks through regular doctor visits, self-examinations and screenings such as mammograms. The President’s Cancer Panel suggests other eye-opening steps as well, such as giving preference to organic food, checking radon levels in the home and microwaving food in glass containers rather than plastic.
2010/05/05: PhysOrg: Real-world proof of hand washing's effectiveness
2010/05/04: Eureka: Vancouver Island has one of the highest rates of Cryptococcus infection in the world
2010/05/02: ProMedMail: Poliomyelitis - worldwide (06): Tajikistan, WHO
2010/05/03: SciDaily: Study Adds to Evidence That Autism Has Genetic Basis
Although there is no known cause of autism, studies have shown that mutations in several genes are associated with the developmental brain disorder. New research has uncovered two additional genes that may be involved with autism.
2010/05/03: Eureka: Improper use of opioids sparks a new Canadian practice guideline
Increases in opioid prescriptions, leading to increased misuse, serious injuries, and overdose deaths have spurred Canadian colleges of physicians and surgeons to create a new guideline for opioid use with chronic non-cancer pain, states an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal)
2010/04/30: NatureTGB: Cancer vaccine approved
2010/04/29: SciNews: DNA comparison of identical twins finds no silver bullet for MS -- Research may point to environmental trigger
2010/04/28: NatureN: Twin study surveys genome for cause of multiple sclerosis -- Mapping milestone emphasizes complexity of disease
2010/04/28: SciNow: Researchers Speed Healing of Broken Bones
Athletes with broken bones hoping to heal in time for a big match may have good news. Researchers have sped up bone healing in mice by one-third by manipulating cell signaling proteins. The work could also have broader applications in regenerative medicine, such as accelerating the healing of skin wounds and tissue damaged in a heart attack, as well as reducing the amount of scarring from other injuries.
2010/04/27: CBC: 9 die as [unknown] virus found in B.C. hospital
2010/04/26: BBC: New culprit emerges in epilepsy
Researchers have shed new light on the mechanism behind epilepsy attacks in the brain, revealing a potential new target [astrocytes] for drug treatment
2010/04/23: UN: Polio outbreak in Tajikistan spurs UN vaccination campaign
2010/04/23: ProMedMail: Poliomyelitis - Worldwide (03): Tajikistan, RFI
2010/04/22: PhysOrg: Less is more! Nanopatch is 100 times better than needle and syringe
2010/04/05: SciDaily: Researchers Design Self-Test for Memory Disorders
OSU: SAGE test
2010/04/05: CBC: Surgical checklist in effect in Ontario
Operating room staff in Ontario hospitals now have to go through a safety checklist before starting and after completing surgery. The list is designed to reduce the risk of surgical errors such as the removal of healthy breasts from women at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital in Windsor in 2001 and 2009. As of April 1, it became mandatory for hospitals to report to the province whether they had complied with the list by checking items...
2010/04/04: Impolitical: More fallout from the no reactor choice
2010/03/31: CBC: New isotope reactor ruled out -- Too expensive, too long to build: report
2010/03/31: CanWest: Isotopes shortage feared if government vetoes new reactor
The federal government took another step toward exiting the medical isotope business Wednesday, announcing it will not build an isotope reactor to replace the Chalk River, Ont., facility that has been shut down since last spring. The government said it plans to transform isotope production into a commercial business that can survive without taxpayers' money. But nuclear-medicine specialists warned that Canadian hospitals will have to increasingly rely on relatively unproven technology to procure the isotopes used to diagnose cancer, heart disease and other conditions.
2010/03/31: BBC: Sleeping sickness 'breakthrough'
Scientists say they have identified a potential treatment for sleeping sickness, a killer disease that infects about 60,000 people in Africa a year. British and Canadian experts say drugs could attack an enzyme the parasite causing the illness needs to survive. They say the orally-administered drug could be ready for human clinical trials in about 18 months.
2010/03/31: PhysOrg: Start spreading the news: Scientists find therapeutic target to stop cancer metastases
2010/03/30: CBC: Medical isotope reactor down until summer
Medical isotopes from the nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ont., won't be produced until the end of July, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited says.
2010/03/26: Grist: food fight -- HFCS study authors defend work against attacks
2010/03/24: PhysOrg: 1 in 10 Chinese adults are diabetics, study finds
2010/03/24: CBC: Vitamin C from diet not enough for 1 adult in 5
More than 20 per cent of Canadian adults do not get enough vitamin C from their diet, a new report says. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that contributes to the formation and health of blood vessels, tendons, ligaments, bones, teeth and gums. It also helps the body absorb iron and recover from wounds and burns. The report, issued Tuesday by Statistics Canada, is based on results of the 2004 Canadian Community Health Survey on nutrition.
2010/03/23: CBC: Medical isotope shortage hits Halifax
2010/03/23: CBC: Isotope shortage limits scans at Ottawa Hospital
2010/03/23: SciDaily: High Fructose Corn Syrup Linked to Liver Scarring, Research Suggests
High fructose corn syrup, which some studies have linked to obesity, may also be harmful to the liver, according to Duke University Medical Center research.
2010/03/23: CanWest: Low isotope supply to hit home this week
The supply of medical isotopes in Canada is expected to dwindle to its lowest point yet this week since the nuclear reactor in Chalk River was shut down last year--and as a result, some patients will face cancellations of their diagnostic tests.
2010/03/22: Grist: Researchers: HFCS is much worse than table sugar
2010/03/22: NatureTGB: WHO tries to get a handle on drug resistant TB
2010/03/22: Princeton: A sweet problem: Princeton researchers find that high-fructose corn syrup prompts considerably more weight gain
2010/03/20: AlterNet: Two Women a Day Die Giving Birth in America -- and Many of These Deaths Can Be Prevented
2010/03/19: ChronicleHerald: Medical experts: Isotope shortage could put thousands at risk
2010/03/18: UN: Asia heads record levels of drug-resistant tuberculosis, UN health agency says
2010/03/18: ScienceInsider: Multi-Drug Resistant TB Reaches Record Levels in Western Russia
2010/03/12: CBC: Salmonella outbreak tracked by shopper cards
Health authorities in the U.S. have for the first time used department store credit cards to help trace the source of a recent salmonella outbreak that left hundreds of Americans ill. Investigators at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were scrambling to find the source of the outbreak when they hit upon the idea of tracking grocery purchases of those who became ill. With permission from the patients, health authorities followed the trail of grocery purchases to a Rhode Island company that makes salami, then zeroed in on the pepper used to season the meat. Never before had the CDC successfully mined the mountain of data that supermarket chains compile. "It was really exciting. It was a break in the investigation for sure," CDC epidemiologist Casey Barton Behravesh said. At least 245 people in 44 states have fallen ill in the outbreak. That includes 30 in California, 19 in Illinois, 18 in New York and 17 in Washington state.
2010/03/12: CanWest: Timing of food recall raises criticism -- Canadian agency acted properly, minister says
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Thursday defended the pace at which the government is alerting consumers to recalls of food products that could be contaminated with salmonella. A batch of the popular flavour enhancer hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), found last month to be contaminated with salmonella, is now linked to about 150 product recalls in the United States and as many as 30 in Canada, with the announcement of many more affected products coming late Thursday. But the time lag between the first positive salmonella test and the recalls, which began last week, raised eyebrows in Ottawa. Additive manufacturer Nevada-based Basic Food Flavors, Inc. learned of the presence of salmonella in its facility on Jan. 21, but continued to distribute HVP to clients, including Canadian ingredient distributor Chemroy Canada, until Feb. 15.
2010/03/11: Eureka: An end to lice: The effectiveness of a new oral treatment has been demonstrated
2010/03/10: CBC: TB rate 185 times higher for Inuit than others
2010/03/11: G&M: Aboriginals in Canada face ‘Third World'-level risk of tuberculosis
Risk of infection among natives is 31 times greater than non-natives; for Inuit, risk is 186 times greater
2010/03/06: CanWest: Brace for massive food recall: officials -- Common flavouring may be contaminated with salmonella; some chips, dips pulled in Canada
Canadian consumers can likely expect an avalanche of food recalls after an ingredient used in thousands of processed foods was found to be contaminated with salmonella, government investigators said Friday. The popular flavour enhancer hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) is added to a wide range of processed foods, including dips, salad dressings, chips, sauces, hotdogs, soups and frozen dinners. Already, 56 products in the United States and two in Canada -- Hawaiian Kettle Style Sweet Maui Onion potato chips and T. Marzetti brand veggie dips -- have been recalled this week after salmonella was detected in the flavouring ingredient produced by a Nevada company. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday the recall net will probably widen as it continues to work with the Canadian clients of Basic Food Flavors, Inc. and importers of processed foods containing the ingredient. Confronting a complicated and long supply chain, the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. said this could result in one of the largest food recalls in North America.
2010/03/05: SciNow: New HIV Hiding Spot Revealed [inside bone marrow, in hematopoietic progenitor cells]
2010/03/04: CBC: Low number of flu cases stymie experts
2010/02/27: CanWest: Documents reveal leaks, spills at national virus lab -- MP calls for review to make sure facility is safe
It sits smack in the centre of downtown Winnipeg and contains some of the world's deadliest pathogens behind air-tight walls and biosafety cabinets. But new documents reveal Canada's National Microbiology Lab isn't immune to leaks, spills and failures in restricted areas where lethal organisms are housed. Health Canada documents obtained through an access-to-information request reveal close to 250 internal incidents -- ranging from equipment failures to potential chemical exposures -- were reported in the lab between 2005 and 2009.
2010/02/25: Pediatrics: (ab$) What causes autism? Exploring the environmental contribution by Philip J. Landrigan
2010/02/24: NYT: Do Toxins Cause Autism?
Autism was first identified in 1943 in an obscure medical journal. Since then it has become a frighteningly common affliction, with the Centers for Disease Control reporting recently that autism disorders now affect almost 1 percent of children. Over recent decades, other development disorders also appear to have proliferated, along with certain cancers in children and adults. Why? No one knows for certain. And despite their financial and human cost, they presumably won’t be discussed much at Thursday’s White House summit on health care. Yet they constitute a huge national health burden, and suspicions are growing that one culprit may be chemicals in the environment. An article in a forthcoming issue of a peer-reviewed medical journal, Current Opinion in Pediatrics, just posted online, makes this explicit. The article cites "historically important, proof-of-concept studies that specifically link autism to environmental exposures experienced prenatally." It adds that the "likelihood is high" that many chemicals "have potential to cause injury to the developing brain and to produce neurodevelopmental disorders."
2010/02/24: CBC: Hospitals sign on to surgical checklists
2010/02/25: CanWest: Chalk River shutdown may be extended
2010/02/20: NBF: Gadolinium-Nanodiamond Improves MRI contrast Ten Times and a New Cancer Biomarker
2010/02/18: G&M: Isotope shortage to get worse with closing of more reactors -- All five international producers to close in mid-March, further straining Canada's razor-thin supply
2010/02/12: NatureN: Medical isotope supplies dwindle -- Nuclear-reactor shutdowns will cripple global isotope production next month
2010/02/11: TStar: Credible solution on isotopes greeted with silence in Ottawa
Expert panel's report cuts through the fog and makes a strong case for a new research reactor
2010/02/10: NatureN: Genetic basis for stuttering identified -- Mutations found in genes responsible for directing enzymes to their cellular destination
2010/02/10: BBC: Brain blood vessels clue to MS
More than 55% of multiple sclerosis patients have been found to have constricted blood vessels in their brains, a US study says. The preliminary results are from the first 500 patients enrolled in a trial at the University of Buffalo. The abnormality was found in 56.4% of MS patients and also in 22.4% of healthy controls. The MS Society said it was intriguing but not proof that this caused MS - as one leading expert claims. The New York researchers were testing a theory from Italian researcher, Dr Paolo Zamboni who claims that 90% of MS is caused by narrowed veins.
2010/02/09: CBC: Ottawa to appeal injection site ruling
The federal government is asking the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal a lower court ruling that sanctioned Vancouver's supervised drug injection site. The case has raised important questions about the division of powers among federal and provincial governments that need answers, said Justice Minister Rob Nicholson on Parliament Hill Tuesday.
2010/02/09: NatureTGB: Autism risk higher for older mothers
2010/02/09: CBC: Isotope shortage set to worsen
2010/02/02: HPlusMag: Re-Engineering the Human Immune System
2010/02/08: SciDaily: Industrial Cleaner Linked to Increased Risk of Parkinson's Disease
Workers exposed to tricholorethylene (TCE), a chemical once widely used to clean metal such as auto parts, may be at a significantly higher risk of developing Parkinson's disease, according to a study released today...
2010/02/08: Eureka: A potent suppressor of endometrial cancer is revealed -- Researchers define genetic changes that cause widespread malignant growth of cells lining the uterus
2010/02/08: Impolitical: Upcoming isotope shortage in the spotlight
2010/02/05: PhysOrg: Link between birth defect gastroschisis and the agricultural chemical atrazine found
2010/02/04: PhysOrg: 3 years out, safety checklist continues to keep hospital infections in check
The state of Michigan, which used a five-step checklist developed at Johns Hopkins to virtually eliminate bloodstream infections in its hospitals' intensive care units , has been able to keep the number of these common, costly and potentially lethal infections near zero — even three years after first adopting the standardized procedures. A report on the work is being published in the February 20 issue of BMJ (British Medical Journal).
2010/02/02: BBC: Lancet accepts MMR study 'false'
The medical journal which originally published the discredited research linking autism and MMR has now issued a full retraction of the paper. The Lancet said it now accepted claims made by the researchers were "false". It comes after Dr Andrew Wakefield, the lead researcher in the 1998 paper, was ruled last week to have broken research rules by the General Medical Council.
2010/02/02: CBC: Autism-vaccine study retracted [by Lancet]
A medical journal in Britain has retracted a controversial study it published in 1998 that linked the use of a vaccine in children to autism. The study retracted Tuesday looked at 12 children suffering from colitis, a gastrointestinal disease. British surgeon and medical researcher Andrew Wakefield concluded a component of the measles, mumps and rubella or MMR vaccine caused the colitis, which in term led to development problems that are part of autism spectrum disorder. "It has become clear that several elements of the 1998 paper by Wakefield ... are incorrect," The Lancet said in a statement.
2010/02/01: UManchester: Scientists discover enzyme that 'cleans' cancer cells
Scientists have discovered that an enzyme can rid cells of a gene believed to be responsible for a wide range of cancers. Dr Jorg Hartkamp and Dr Stefan Roberts have found that the protease HtrA2 can "clean" cells of the oncogene WT1, which is found at high levels in many leukaemias and solid cancers such as breast and lung cancer.
2010/02/01: CBC: Enzyme structure cracks HIV puzzle
AIDS researchers have solved a 20-year-old puzzle regarding a key component of HIV, a discovery that could lead to better treatments. Scientists at Imperial College London and Harvard University revealed the structure of an enzyme called integrase, which HIV uses to copy its genetic information into a person's DNA. "Despite initially painstakingly slow progress and very many failed attempts, we did not give up and our effort was finally rewarded," said Peter Cherepanov of Imperial College London, the study's lead author, in a statement. HIV infects a person by copying its DNA into the host DNA, hijacking the cell's mechanisms to make more viruses. Integrase is a protein catalyst, or enzyme, to allow this copying to take place. Some AIDS drugs work by inhibiting integrase, but without a three-dimensional structure of the enzyme, scientists weren't sure how those drugs actually worked.
2010/01/30: ProMedMail: Undiagnosed illness, fatal, adults - India: (AS) RFI
2010/01/29: CBC: Vaccine stops TB in African HIV trial
2010/01/28: PhysOrg: Potential new target for drugs to treat iron deficiency and overload discovered
The discovery of a major player in the body's regulation of iron levels should provide a new target for drugs that prevent common iron deficiency as well as rare, potentially deadly iron overload, researchers said.
2010/01/28: Impolitical: Chalk River opening pushed back a critical month
2010/01/28: BBC: MMR doctor 'broke research rules'
The doctor who first suggested a link between MMR vaccinations and autism acted unethically, the official medical regulator has found. Dr Andrew Wakefield's 1998 Lancet study caused vaccination rates to plummet, resulting in a rise in measles - but the findings were later discredited.
2010/01/27: CBC: Government hasn't acted on listeriosis: groups
Six months after an investigation into the tragic listeriosis outbreak recommended a wholesale evaluation of the food-safety system, the government has yet to act, food inspectors and a consumers group said Wednesday. Option Consommateurs, the country's largest consumer organization, and the union representing the inspectors said the government still has to determine how many people it needs to ensure safe food and to figure out if a new inspection system actually works. They said the government has yet to act on the key recommendations produced by a special investigation into the tainted-meat crisis. The 2008 outbreak, traced to contaminated cold cuts from a Maple Leaf Foods plant, killed 22 people and sickened many more.
2010/01/28: CanWest: Meat inspectors give food agency a failing grade -- In wake of listeria outbreak, key changes yet to be implemented
2010/01/20: NEJM: A Placebo-Controlled Trial of Oral Cladribine for Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis by Gavin Giovannoni et al.
2010/01/26: SciDaily: Little Pill Means Big News in the Treatment of Multiple Sclerosis
A new drug for multiple sclerosis promises to change the lives of the 100,000 people in the UK who have the condition, say researchers at Queen Mary, University of London. A major trial of the oral drug Cladribine -- results of which are published in the New England Journal of Medicine on 20 January 2010 -- has shown that it significantly reduces relapse and deterioration of the disease, and goes a long way to eliminating the unpleasant side effects associated with existing therapies.
2010/01/26: Eureka: A gimmick-free weight-loss pill in the works -- Universite de Montreal research team developing leptin-based pill to control hunger
2010/01/11: AlterNet: Is the Environment to Blame for the Rise in Autism Cases?
2010/01/20: PhysOrg: First evidence that blueberry juice improves memory in older adults
2010/01/19: NewScientist: Nuclear safety: When positive is negative
2009/12/21: SciAm: How to Cure 1 Billion People?--Defeat Neglected Tropical Diseases
2010/01/12: Impolitical: Another coming isotope shortage
2010/01/11: CBC: Isotope delay would be 'extremely serious:' MDs
2010/01/11: OSun: Further delays at Chalk River 'extremely serious'
Canadian doctors are concerned any further delay in getting the Chalk River reactor up and running will have serious consequences for the country's hospitals. The nuclear reactor was scheduled to reopen in spring after 10 months off-line due to a radioactive water leak. But so far, only 24% of the work has been completed.
2010/01/01: PhysOrg: Neglected tropical diseases -- momentum must be continued
This week's edition of The Lancet sees the first in a four-part Series on Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) -- conditions which almost exclusively affect the world's poorest people, namely those 2.7 billion people living on less than $US 2 per day.
2009/12/30: BostonGlobe: Solution to killer superbug found in Norway
[...] There is no sign of a dangerous and contagious staph infection that killed tens of thousands of patients in the most sophisticated hospitals of Europe, North America and Asia this year, soaring virtually unchecked. The reason: Norwegians stopped taking so many drugs. Twenty-five years ago, Norwegians were also losing their lives to this bacteria. But Norway's public health system fought back with an aggressive program that made it the most infection-free country in the world. A key part of that program was cutting back severely on the use of antibiotics.

Virology

WNV: West Nile Virus

West Nile Virus News

2008/10/30: CBC: Canada barely bitten by West Nile in 2008

2008/05/19: PhysOrg: Researchers make West Nile vaccine breakthrough

2007/09/26: CBC: 10,000 Manitobans likely infected with West Nile: health officials

2007/09/14: CBC: Canada records worst year for West Nile
So far this summer, 1,790 people are known to have become infected with West Nile, compared with the previous record of 1,481 cases in 2003.

2007/09/14: CBC: Sask. West Nile infections top 1,000

2007/09/15: CTV: Canada has worst year ever for West Nile virus

2007/09/07: CBC: More than 800 West Nile infections in Saskatchewan, officials say

2007/08/23: CBC: West Nile cases double in Manitoba - Number of diagnoses also up in Alberta, Saskatchewan

2007/08/22: NewScientist: Deadliness of West Nile virus explained
A single genetic mutation might explain why West Nile virus has, within a decade, switched from causing relatively mild infections in humans to outbreaks of deadly encephalitis

2007/08/16: CanWest: West Nile infections on pace to set a record [in Canada]

2007/08/05: CBC: Manitoba orders spraying following West Nile death

2007/07/26: CBC: Manitoba's West Nile count jumps to 25

2007/06/08: CBC: West Nile cases rose in U.S. last year, agency reports
West Nile virus sickened nearly 1,500 people in the U.S. last year, the highest number of cases reported since 2003, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2006, 1,491 cases of serious brain or nervous system problems among West Nile patients were reported, and at least 177 people died, the agency said Friday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. During 2006, the virus expanded mainly in the northwestern region of the U.S., where some counties saw their first cases, the report said.

2007/05/16: NewScientist: [West Nile] Virus disaster for US birds

2006/10/06: CBC: Threat of West Nile virus unpredictable

2006/05/04: Eureka: New strategy developed to combat West Nile Virus

---

[Previous archived.]

SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

SARS News

BSE/CJD [Basics]

BSE/CJD/vCJD/CWD News

2009/12/18: NatureTGB: CJD fears resurface in the UK
2009/11/19: BBC: Immune tribe 'indicates CJD hope'
Darwinian natural selection could help halt human "mad cow disease", experts say after finding a tribe impervious to a related fatal brain disorder. The Papua New Guinea tribe developed strong genetic resistance after a major epidemic of the CJD-like disease, kuru, spread mostly by cannibalism. Medical Research Council experts assessed more than 3,000 survivors of the mid-20th Century epidemic. Their findings appear in the New England Journal of Medicine.
2009/05/22: CBC: Creutzfeldt-Jakob less common among British population than feared
2009/02/06: BBC: Test spots contaminated equipment
Scientists have perfected a highly sensitive test to detect vCJD-causing proteins on surgical instruments. The test, which picks up the presence of prions on metal surfaces quickly and accurately, could help show whether decontamination processes are working. Although there is no recorded case of a patient developing vCJD after surgery, experts say it is possible. The test has been developed by the Medical Research Council Prion Unit at University College London.
2009/01/29: CBC: New research puts blood test for BSE in sight: Calgary scientist
2009/01/30: CanWest: Scientists develop living test for mad cow disease
2008/12/18: NatureTGB: UK braces for more CJD cases
2008/12/18: BBC: Doctors fear a new wave of the human form of "mad cow disease" is about to hit Britain...
2008/09/08: SciDaily: Changes In Urine Could Lead To BSE Test For Live Animals
2008/08/29: LegalTimes: Court: Beef Exporters Can't Test for Mad Cow Disease
Beef exporters are banned from testing their cattle for mad cow disease without approval from the government, which has exclusive control on test kits, a divided federal appeals court panel said today. A Kansas-based exporter, Creekstone Farms Premium Beef, seeking to test its cattle to minimize public fear, challenged Department of Agriculture regulations that block corporations from buying and using kits to test for mad cow disease.
2008/08/15: CBC: New mad cow disease case found in Alberta
2008/07/17: CBC: $7B mad cow disease lawsuit can proceed: Canada's top court
2008/05/12: TreeHugger: Bush Government Sues To Make Testing Meat Illegal
In most free countries, the Government and its agencies try to raise standards and make food healthier. Not in America. Creekstone Farms wanted to test every one of their cows for mad cow disease, to satisfy demand from overseas customers. Except that they are not allowed to; the USDA guidelines only test 1% of cows. Creekstone went to court for the right to test all of their cows and won at a lower level, but the Bush Administration is appealing...
2008/07/09: BBC: 'New CJD type' discovered in US - A new form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) may have been uncovered in a handful of patients in the US
2008/07/09: Eureka: 10 people killed by new CJD-like disease
A new form of fatal dementia has been discovered in 16 Americans, 10 of whom have already died of the condition. It resembles Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - with patients gradually losing their ability to think, speak and move - but has features that make it distinct from known forms of CJD.
2008/04/07: BBC: Two people die from vCJD in Spain
2008/02/26: CBC: No threat to public from BSE-infected Alberta cow: CFIA
2008/02/26: G&M: Ottawa confirms new mad-cow case
2007/06/01: BBC: EU urged to relax farm feed rules
The European Commission has been urged to lift the ban on using animal remains in farm feed. The EU is currently funding research on the impacts of feeding animal carcasses to other farm animals. But the European Economic and Social Committee said this work had to be "stepped up" as the ban on meatmeal had caused a financial burden for farmers. The use of animal by-products in animal feed was halted in 2000 at the height of the UK's BSE crisis.
2007/05/30: ThinkP: Administration fighting mad cow testing
2007/05/05: BBC: Scientists say they have a vaccine that stops mice getting a brain disease similar to BSE in cattle and which may ultimately protect humans against vCJD
2006/12/22: BBC: Scientists hail 'vCJD technique'
Scientists have found a way to remove disease-causing proteins from infected animal blood, which they hope may fight the human form of mad cow disease. The UK and US researchers identified a molecule which removed the prion proteins from blood infected with scrapie, the Lancet reports. Scrapie, which can affect sheep, is related to variant CJD. It is hoped the technique could also treat human blood. But a blood transfusion expert said it first had to be properly assessed.
2006/12/08: NewScientist: New vCJD scare rocks the UK - A third person in the UK has caught variant CJD from another human, in a blood transfusion
2006/07/11: BBC: vCJD drug 'does not stop disease' - An experimental drug probably does not stop the progression of the brain disease vCJD, experts have concluded.
2006/07/06: BBC: CJD blood test 'a step closer' - A blood test to detect the human form of mad cow disease before it causes symptoms is a step closer
2006/06/22: BBC: vCJD 'may develop over 50 years'
2006/03/27: BBC: vCJD transmission 'risk for all' Everyone could be susceptible to vCJD infection via blood transfusions but their genes could determine how it will affect them, a study suggests.
2006/03/23: UN: Mad Cow Disease shows sharp drop over past three years, UN agency [FAO] reports
2006/02/09: BBC: Third vCJD 'blood case' diagnosed - A third case of vCJD linked to a blood transfusion has been diagnosed.
2006/01/26: NewScientist: Prion disease found lurking in deer muscle
2005/12/12: BBC: Japan's agriculture ministry says it will resume imports of US and Canadian beef after a two-year ban
2005/10/21: Eureka: UW study shows deer in CWD zone stick to home
2005/08/29: SciDaily: 'Mad Cow' Proteins Successfully Detected In Blood
2005/08/28: Eureka: 'Mad cow' proteins successfully detected in blood
Biochemical technique expected to yield new, more effective test for disease-causing prions in cattle and humans
2005/08/02: BBC: Scientists have developed a more effective way to rid surgical instruments of the infectious agents that cause CJD in humans.
2005/07/20: BBC: Blood donors warned over vCJD - About 100 UK blood donors are being warned they may have vCJD.
2005/05/12: Eureka: Active vaccine prevents mice from developing prion disease
2005/04/25: Eureka: Study sheds light on age-related changes of prion diseases
2005/04/21: CBC: Prions cause brain-wasting diseases, study confirms
2005/04/21: Eureka: Strongest proof yet found for prion hypothesis - Prions made in vitro cause brain disease in hamsters
2005/04/21: BBC: Dutch confirm first case of vCJD
2005/03/01: BBC: Research will now assess CJD drug
2005/02/26: CBC: Japan confirms 15th case of mad cow disease
2005/02/25: BBC: Breakthrough in cutting CJD risk
2005/02/04: Eureka: Infectious agent linked to mad cow disease found in organs other than the brain
2005/02/04: BBC: Japan confirms first case of vCJD
2005/01/28: BBC: 'Mad cow' disease found in goat
2005/01/28: CBC: Mad cow disease found in French goat
2005/01/27: BBC: Measures against BSE 'working'
Banning brain, spinal tissue and older cattle from the food chain has worked, the French team told the Lancet.
2005/01/12: BBC: 'vCJD timebomb' fears discounted
2004/11/12: BBC: BSE 'link to different CJD types'
2004/11/10: BBC: Irish vCJD case confirmed
2004/11/02: Eureka: Scientists raise concerns about second wave of 'mad cow' prion infection
2004/11/02: Eureka: Research confirms that vCJD prions can be removed from blood
2004/10/24: BBC: 'First Irish vCJD case'
2004/10/23: CBC: Possible mad cow case in Japan
2004/10/21: CBC: French blood donor confirmed victim of CJD
2004/09/27: BBC: 'Name vCJD-risk countries' call
The countries which the UK has exported vCJD-risk blood plasma products to should be named to stop further spread of the disease, a support group says.
2004/09/21: BBC: Thousands warned over vCJD risk [through contaminated blood products]
2004/08/06: BBC: Experts warn of wider vCJD threat
2004/08/06: Independent(UK): Epidemic of vCJD may be on the way, scientists warn
2004/08/02: WSWS: BSE/Mad Cow Disease crisis provokes trade war
2004/07/30: SciDaily: Prion Finding Offers Insight Into Spontaneous Protein Diseases
2004/06/06: CBC: Scientist questions value of BSE-immune cows
2004/05/31: BBC: Scientists claim BSE-immune cow
2004/05/26: BBC: Blood test hope for spotting vCJD
2004/05/21: Eureka: New study raises questions about the number of people in the UK who could be incubating vCJD
2004/05/21: BBC: Thousands may be harbouring vCJD
2004/05/21: Independent(UK): Scientists fear hidden epidemic of vCJD
2004/05/19: SciDaily: New Research Supports Theory That Indirect Transmission Of Chronic Wasting Disease Possible In Mule Deer
2004/05/14: CBC: BSE expert calls for better blood screening to protect people
2004/04/04: New Scientist: Mysterious BSE-like disease found in sheep
2004/04/08: BBC: How BSE may have infected humans
2004/03/17: BBC: How vCJD proteins trigger disease
2004/03/16: BBC: CJD fears prompt blood donor ban [in UK]
2004/03/02: BBC: Figures show rise in vCJD deaths
2004/02/22: People's Daily: Japan confirms 10th case of mad cow disease
2004/01/31: Japan Times: Mad cow disease: a blessing in disguise
2004/01/24: Eureka: Physicists study mad cow-type diseases
2004/01/23: BBC: Judge grants vCJD drug treatment
2004/01/12: UN: UN agency [FAO] calls for strict enforcement of controls against ‘mad-cow’ disease
2003/12/17: CBC: Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease linked to blood transfusion
2003/12/17: BBC: Blood donor 'may have passed CJD'
2003/10/31: BBC: Mice with 'CJD illness' recover
2003/10/16: CBC: Scientists gain clue to brain-wasting diseases
2003/10/13: NSU: New test may help diagnose CJD
2003/10/03: New Scientist: Protein locks out prion diseases
A chance discovery could lead to the development of a drug that blocks prion diseases such as variant CJD.
2003/09/26: BBC: CJD drug gamble 'helps teenager'
2003/09/17: SciDaily: Study Shows Prions Stick Around In Certain Soils
2003/09/16: BBC: CJD surgical instrument risk cut
2003/09/07: CBC: U.S. researchers tout rapid BSE test
2003/08/15: WSWS: Britain: Food Agency plays Russian roulette with BSE/Mad Cow Disease
2003/08/08: BBC: CJD alarm in New Zealand
2003/07/22: UPI: CJD screening may miss thousands of cases
2003/07/12: CBC: U.S. animal feed company broke rules: FDA
2003/07/10: BBC: CJD family criticise disease plan
2003/06/28: CBC: Japan using mad cow to boost own beef industry: economist
2003/06/15: BBC: Warning over BSE infections
2003/06/06: CBC: U.S. won't confirm Canadian bulls BSE-free
2003/05/21: BBC: vCJD deaths 'set to fall'
2001/10/23: BBC: Surgery flaws pose CJD risk
2001/10/26: BBC: Ministers sought to bury vCJD report
2001/10/26: BBC: BSE report: The main points
2001/09/06: BBC: Q&A: What is CJD?
2001/01/04: BBC: Single-use scalpels to combat CJD
1999/03/19: BBC: CJD's deadly switch revealed
1999/08/18: BBC: Prion diseases

SuperBugs, MRSA, VRE, C.Difficile, etc

2010/06/03: CBC: McMaster researchers find superbug 'CPU' -- New hope for weapon against MRSA
2010/05/17: CBC: Drug-resistant superbugs surge in U.S. kids
The number of children sent to hospital with dangerous drug-resistant staph infections surged 10-fold in recent years, a U.S. study found. Disease incidence increased from two cases to 21 cases per 1,000 hospital admissions from 1999 to 2008. Most infections were caught in the community, not in the hospital. The study involved methicillin-resistant staph infections, called MRSA. These used to occur mostly in hospitals and nursing homes but they are increasingly showing up in other settings in children and adults. Recent evidence suggests hospital-acquired MRSA cases may be declining while community-acquired cases are becoming more common.
2010/04/28: PhysOrg: 'Arms Race' Targets MRSA
2010/04/07: CBC: [C. difficile] Superbug linked to 2 B.C. hospital deaths
2010/03/29: Eureka: Possible 'superbug' status for STI -- multidrug resistance in gonorrhoea-causing bacteria
2010/03/22: PhysOrg: Comprehensive approach associated with reduced MRSA in French hospitals
2010/03/19: PhysOrg: Scientists go into battle to disarm superbug
Two recent pieces of research from Imperial College London reveal new ways of tackling the armour and weapons of Clostridium difficile, the ‘superbug’ that causes severe infections in hospital patients and the elderly.
2010/03/10: CBC: Superbug MRSA on rise in Canada
2010/03/04: AlterNet: Rise of the Superbugs: Why We Are Increasingly at Risk From Antibiotic-Resistant Diseases
2010/03/03: PhysOrg: Evidence of increasing antibiotic resistance
A team of scientists in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands are reporting disturbing evidence that soil microbes have become progressively more resistant to antibiotics over the last 60 years. Surprisingly, this trend continues despite apparent more stringent rules on use of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture, and improved sewage treatment technology that broadly improves water quality in surrounding environments. Their report appears in ACS' bi-weekly journal Environmental Science and Technology.
2010/03/01: CBC: Montreal hospital battles superbug
Montreal's Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital is dealing with a Clostridium difficile outbreak that infected hundreds in the past year. According to internal documents, several patients died after more than 300 contracted C. difficile. CBC's French-language service obtained the internal documents under access to information laws. The hospital wouldn't confirm how many of the deaths were directly linked to C. difficile, but admitted it has been battling the bacteria for several months. The combination of improper sterilization, overcrowded emergency rooms and elderly patients contributed to the outbreak, the hospital said. C. difficile is regarded as the most dangerous superbug confronting North American hospitals this past decade.
2010/02/26: NYT: Rising Threat of Infections Unfazed by Antibiotics
2010/01/21: BBC: Technique 'tracks' spread of MRSA
Researchers have developed a technique for precisely tracking the spread of the superbug MRSA in hospitals. The team from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Cambridge looked at the genomes of MRSA strains from across the globe and at one hospital in Thailand. They were able to spot small changes that allowed them to track the strain back to an individual patient. They say this adds to the understanding of how MRSA can spread so rapidly and should lead to better treatments.
2010/01/21: NatureN: Superbug family tree sketched out -- Next-generation genome sequencing enables detailed tracking of MRSA infections
2010/01/12: BBC: MRSA 'spread by moving patients'
MRSA is mainly spread by patients moving between hospitals, Dutch researchers have said. The authors have called for more screening of people who are repeatedly admitted to different hospitals to try to break this transmission cycle. They said this would eventually help to eradicate MRSA.
2009/12/22: OSU: New, virulent strain of MRSA poses renewed antibiotic resistance concerns
2009/12/03: Sandia: Stopping MRSA before it becomes dangerous is possible, Sandia/UNM researchers find
Drug-resistant hospital bacteria could be inactivated at their outset [by the application of a simple protein]
2009/12/01: Eureka: Will copper keep us safe from the superbugs?
2009/11/01: PhysOrg: MRSA strain linked to high death rates
A strain of MRSA that causes bloodstream infections is five times more lethal than other strains and has shown to have some resistance to the potent antibiotic drug vancomycin used to treat MRSA, according to a Henry Ford Hospital study. The study found that 50 percent of the patients infected with the strain died within 30 days compared to 11 percent of patients infected with other MRSA strains. The average 30-day mortality rate for MRSA bloodstream infections ranges from 10 percent to 30 percent.
2009/08/22: ProMedMail: Acinetobacter, resistant - Canada: (QC) ex Afghanistan
2009/08/21: ChronicleHerald: Canadian soldiers infected with Afghan superbugs
Canadian soldiers are bringing home from dusty Afghanistan a powerful, drug-resistant superbug that health officials have been worrying about for several years. Three Canadian soldiers who recently returned from Kandahar carrying so-called "Iraqibacter" are under quarantine at a civilian hospital in Quebec City. Two civilian patients who came in close contact with the soldiers at Hopital de l’Enfant-Jesus have also been isolated for fear they may have contracted the superbug officially named Acinetobacter baumannii. The hospital-acquired germ, commonly found in soil and water, strikes weakened immune systems, especially in those recovering from wounds. It has been known to cause conditions such as pneumonia, meningitis as well as blood, urinary tract and wound infections.
2009/08/19: CBC: 3 soldiers hospitalized in Quebec for superbug [acinetobacter baumannii]
Three soldiers who recently returned from Afghanistan are in a Quebec hospital with a rare drug-resistant bacteria. The soldiers, along with two civilians who may also be infected with the bacteria, Acinetobacter baumannii, are being treated at L’Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus in Quebec City. Officials at the hospital said the pathogen poses no threat to the general population.
2009/08/12: Guardian(UK): New superbug resistant to antibiotics and more difficult to tackle than MRSA
2009/08/13: DailyMail: Patients bring new drug-resistant superbug into UK after surgery abroad
2009/08/13: DM:80B: U.K. Has a New Superbug, Even Tougher Than the Old Superbugs
2009/08/08: Telegraph(UK): A new superbug [NDM-1] found in Britain is major concern: Government scientists
A new superbug that is resistant to all antibiotics has been brought into Britain by patients having surgery abroad, Government scientists said. Doctors are urged to be vigilent for a new bug that has arriving in Britain with patients who have travelled to India and Pakistan for cosmetic surgery or organ transplants and is now circulating here. So far there have been 22 cases in 17 hospitals Britain and the Health Protection Agency has said its emergence here is a 'major concern'. The HPA has found the enzyme that destroys antibiotics in patients with infections caused by E.coli and other bacteria. The enzyme, called New Delhi Metallo-1, has so far been found attached to bacteria that has caused urinary tract infections and respiratory infections. It is of particular concern because it can jump from one strain of bacteria to another meaning it could attach itself to more dangerous infections that can cause severe illnesses and blood poisoning making them almost impossible to treat.
2009/05/25: SciDaily: MRSA: Potentially Deadly Infection, Once Seen Primarily In Hospitalized Patients, Now Linked To Common Foot Conditions
2009/05/20: BBC: Warning over new threat from MRSA
A new strain of MRSA seems to be triggering a deadly form of pneumonia in people who catch flu, experts say. Researchers believe the new strain of the antibiotic-resistant bacterium is becoming more widespread. It is known as community acquired MRSA, (CA-MRSA) because, unlike most forms of the superbug, it poses a significant risk outside hospitals.
2009/03/15: NYT: Pathogens in Our Pork
We don’t add antibiotics to baby food and Cocoa Puffs so that children get fewer ear infections. That’s because we understand that the overuse of antibiotics is already creating "superbugs" resistant to medication. Yet we continue to allow agribusiness companies to add antibiotics to animal feed so that piglets stay healthy and don’t get ear infections. Seventy percent of all antibiotics in the United States go to healthy livestock, according to a careful study by the Union of Concerned Scientists -- and that’s one reason we’re seeing the rise of pathogens that defy antibiotics.
2009/03/12: NYT: Our Pigs, Our Food, Our Health
The late Tom Anderson, the family doctor in this little farm town in northwestern Indiana, at first was puzzled, then frightened. He began seeing strange rashes on his patients, starting more than a year ago. They began as innocuous bumps -- "pimples from hell," he called them -- and quickly became lesions as big as saucers, fiery red and agonizing to touch. They could be anywhere, but were most common on the face, armpits, knees and buttocks. Dr. Anderson took cultures and sent them off to a lab, which reported that they were MRSA, or staph infections that are resistant to antibiotics.
2009/03/16: GristMill: Big Pig strikes back -- The National Pork Board tries to spin Nick Kristof's MRSA column
2009/02/03: CanWest: Gonorrhea 'super bug' emerging in Canada: study -- Sexually transmitted disease becoming more common, resistant to antibiotics
2009/01/31: SciDaily: Call To Action: Running Out Of Options To Fight Ever-changing 'Super Bugs'
2009/01/16: NewScientist: Waking up superbugs may destroy their drug resistance
2008/12/18: CBC: MRSA outbreak delays surgeries at Charlottetown hospital
2008/12/03: CV: Fear the Reaper
2008/11/20: CBC: More babies found with MRSA at Charlottetown hospital
2008/11/19: PhysOrg: How Washington hospitals unleashed a MRSA epidemic
Year after year, the number of victims climbed. But even as casualties mounted - as the germ grew stronger and spread inside hospitals - the toll remained hidden from the public, and hospitals ignored simple steps to control the threat. Over the past decade, the number of Washington hospital patients infected with a frightening, antibiotic-resistant germ called MRSA has skyrocketed from 141 a year to 4,723. These numbers don't appear in public documents. Washington regulators don't track the germ or its victims, and Washington hospitals do not have to reveal infection rates. The Seattle Times analyzed millions of computerized hospital records, death certificates and other documents to track the swath of one of the nation's most widespread, and preventable, epidemics. In its investigation - the first comprehensive accounting of MRSA cases in Washington hospitals - The Seattle Times gained access to state files that revealed 672 previously undisclosed deaths attributable to the infection. MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is spread by touch or contact. It can slip into breaks in the skin as tiny as a mosquito bite. Six out of seven people infected with MRSA contract it at a health-care facility.
2008/11/13: SciDaily: U.S. 'Super Bugs' [MRSA & VREF] Invading South America
2008/11/13: CBC: Newborns test positive for MRSA
Charlottetown's Queen Elizabeth Hospital is reporting six cases of newborns who have tested positive for an antibiotic-resistant bacterial infection. The cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) were identified over a number of weeks and appear to be connected, said a news release issued by the hospital Thursday. Although testing positive for MRSA, all six newborns remained healthy and were discharged from the hospital.
2008/11/07: QueensU: Despite prevention efforts, hospital "superbugs" on the rise, study shows
Although infection control has been substantially ramped up in Canadian hospitals since the SARS crisis of 2003, resistant bacterial infections post-SARS are multiplying even faster, a new Queen's University study shows.
2008/11/03: PhysOrg: Researchers uncover clue in spread of 'superbugs'
2008/11/01: BBC: C. diff testing 'is often wrong'
Many carriers of the potentially lethal Clostridium difficile bug are missed by unreliable tests, researchers say. Analysis of 18 studies by St George's, University of London, found one test had wrongly given the all-clear to a quarter of those infected. The variation in performance between the six tests studied could mean misleading infection rate comparisons between different hospitals
2008/10/07: CBC: Antibiotics not a prerequisite for C. difficile infections: study
2008/09/26: CBC: Ontaroi Clostridium difficile rates similar to Quebec, U.K., report shows
2008/09/15: Eureka: Is re-emerging superbug the next MRSA? Loyola physicians warn little-known bacteria Clostridium difficile next emerging disease threat, killing 1,000s in the United States
2008/09/10: PhysOrg: Switched-on new nanotechnology paints for hospitals could kill superbugs
2008/08/04: SMH: Deadly skin bug on rise
A potentially lethal form of drug-resistant "golden staph" bacteria has arrived in Australia from the US and is spreading rapidly in the community, prompting a call for doctors to take skin infections more seriously - especially in younger people - in case they are caused by the new strain. The strain, known as USA300, is a tougher variant of the widespread golden staph infections often acquired in hospital after surgery, especially among frail, elderly people. But USA300 frequently affects otherwise healthy young people, causing infections that deteriorate rapidly and are hard to treat.
2008/08/01: CBC: Superbug [MRSA] becoming a major problem in North, health officials warn
2008/07/17: PhysOrg: Breakthrough in the fight against deadly superbug [MRSA & Clostridium difficile]
The week the government's chief medical officer for England, Sir Liam Donaldson, has announced that the NHS aims to create immunisation against two of the most common superbugs, MRSA and Clostridium difficile, within the next decade. But a research team led by University of Sunderland scientists has made a major breakthrough in the fight against a deadly hospital infection which kills tens of thousands of people every year, and it will be available within the next year.
2008/06/24: Eureka: Overcrowding and understaffing in hospitals increases levels of MRSA infections
2008/06/03: Eureka: Can we 'wipe out' MRSA? 3 basic principles could reduce incidence of MRSA in hospitals
2008/05/28: PhysOrg: Gut superbug [clostridium difficile] causing more illnesses, deaths [in USA]
The number of people hospitalized with a dangerous intestinal superbug has been growing by more than 10,000 cases a year, according to a new study. The germ, resistant to some antibiotics, has become a regular menace in hospitals and nursing homes. The study found it played a role in nearly 300,000 hospitalizations in 2005, more than double the number in 2000
2008/05/27: PhysOrg: The balance shifts
The risk of contracting a Clostridium difficile infection following operations for which a "prophylactic" antibiotic is given to prevent infection is 21 times greater now than it was just a decade ago...
2008/05/27: CBC: No inquiry into C. difficile deaths: Ontario health minister
2008/05/11: TerraDaily: [Acinetobacter Baumannii] Bacteria epidemic at Madrid hospital claimed 18 lives: report
At least 18 people died in a bacteria epidemic that infected more than 250 patients over a period of 20 months at one of Madrid's main hospitals, a report said Sunday. The deaths at the 12th October University Hospital were caused by Acinetobacter baumannii, a highly virulent hospital-acquired infection that has strains that are resistant to most drugs, El Pais daily reported
2008/04/27: AFP: Superbug deaths on the rise in British hospitals: report
2008/04/26: BBC: UK c.diff deaths 'rising sharply'
2008/04/18: AFP: EU sees 'super bugs' as major public health challenge
2008/04/07: PhysOrg: 'Healing clays' show promise for fighting deadly MRSA superbug infections, other diseases
2008/04/01: PhysOrg: Running out of treatments: The problem superbugs resistant to everything
2008/03/30: Eureka: MRSA in hospital intensive care -- what's growing where?
2008/03/27: CBC: Superbug infections climbing in Canadian hospitals: report
2008/03/05: PhysOrg: ESBL killing people, swine - An antibiotic-resistant bacteria called Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamase is killing people and swine in Denmark
2008/01/22: PhysOrg: Epidemic superbug [MRSA] strains evolved from one bacterium: study
2008/01/16: QuarkSoup: MRSA Deaths [MRSA kills 19,000 Americans a year]
2007/12/19: CBC: Afghan superbug [highly drug-resistant bacterium called acinetobacter] could pose threat in Canadian hospitals: agency
2007/12/05: PhysOrg: Scientists strike blow in superbugs struggle...new ways of tweaking the molecular structure of antibiotics...
2007/11/14: KSJT: Boston Globe, Toronto Star: What's with all the MRSA germs in pig farmers and their pigs too?
2007/11/02: CBC: C. difficile outbreak has been contained: Burlington hospital
2007/10/18: PhysOrg: [MRSA] Bacteria tied to 19,000 U.S. deaths
2007/10/17: CBC: U.S. deaths from drug-resistant superbug 'astounding,' says expert
2007/10/17: KSJT: Lots of Ink: CDC docs says staph superbug may be killing more in US than HIV
2007/10/16: Eureka: Ear infection superbug discovered to be resistant to all pediatric antibiotics
2007/09/28: CBC: 19 C. difficile deaths caused by several factors: hospital officials
2007/09/20: Eureka: When it comes fighting to C. difficile, the Palme d'Or goes to soap and warm water
2007/09/10: CBC: Symptomless C. difficile carriers spread bacteria: study
Seemingly unaffected patients are nearly as likely as people sick with C. difficile diarrhea to have the bacteria on their skin or on objects in their bedside area, new research suggests
2007/08/01: SciDaily: Instant Steam Takes On Antibiotic Resistant 'Superbugs' Like MRSA
2007/07/02: Nottingham: Waging war on the deadliest superbug [C.difficile]
2007/06/25: PhysOrg: Staph Superbug May Be Infecting Patients [MRSA]
2007/06/25: CBC: Staph superbug may be infecting 10 times more patients in U.S.
A dangerous, drug-resistant staph germ [MRSA: methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus] may be infecting as many as five per cent of hospital and nursing home patients, according to a comprehensive study.
2007/03/16: CBC: C. difficile inquiry ends with calls for new cleaning standard
2007/03/07: YNet: Super bug [klebsiella pneumoniae] kills dozens in hospitals across country [Israel]
Virulent stain of bacteria believed to be cause of death of 120-200 patients in hospitals. Experts explain most of those infected were already suffering from prior medical conditions. Health ministry says outbreak was kept secret to avoid mass panic
2007/01/17: NSU: Research highlights nastier form of MRSA - Toxin-laden bacterium makes for a killer in the community
2007/01/11: BBC: The NHS is not on track to meet its MRSA target and perhaps never will, a leaked government memo says
2006/12/29: BBC: Superbug claims 'underestimated'
The amount the NHS has paid out in hospital superbug-related compensation claims is 10 times higher than previously thought, figures show. The NHS Litigation Authority has been saying recently there have only been seven cases in the past four years. But updated figures show there have been 68 cases, costing the NHS a total of more than £8m.
2006/12/22: BBC: A superbug that has killed at least 60 people in the last four years could be linked to milk and meat from British farms, warn experts.
2006/10/27: CBC: C. difficile outbreak kills 9 in Saint-Hyacinthe [a more virulent and resistant strain]
2006/10/16: CBC: Discovery of C. difficile in meat puzzles scientists
2006/09/29: HHMI: Solved: The Mystery of Flesh-Eating Bacteria's Relentless Attack
2006/06/26: BBC: How hospital bug can evade attack
Scientists have decoded the genetic make-up of a bacterium responsible for many hospital-acquired infections - and shown why it is so difficult to tackle. Clostridium difficile caused more than 44,000 infections in the UK in 2004 - mostly among the elderly.
2006/05/25: STimes: Concern grows over [clostridium difficile] bacterium at hospitals after VA Center outbreak
2006/04/03: BBC: The only way to kill off a life-threatening hospital bug [Clostridium difficile] effectively is to use cleaners containing bleach, research shows.
2006/03/01: NSU: MRSA "hiding in hospital sinks and vases" - Killer bug could breed inside microscopic water-borne organisms
2006/03/01: Forbes: The Most Dangerous Bacteria
2006/03/01: NSU: Superbug 'hit list' highlights hazard - List of drug-resistant microbes hoped to prioritize efforts to make antibiotics.
2006/02/28: UBath: MRSA use amoeba to spread, sidestepping hospital protection measures, new research shows
2006/02/23: BBC: MRSA deaths up by nearly quarter
The number of deaths linked to the hospital superbug MRSA has risen by nearly a quarter, statistics show. The Office for National Statistics data revealed that between 2003 and 2004 the mentions of MRSA on death certificates increased by 22% to 1,168.
2006/02/05: Eureka: New faster screening test for MRSA [methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus]
2006/01/22: BBC: Dirt 'may hold clue' to superbugs
2006/01/19: NSU: Superbugs abound in soil - Survey of bacteria reveals an array of antibiotic-resistance
2006/01/05: BBC: Scientists in Northern Ireland say they have made a breakthrough which they hope will kill the superbug MRSA.
2005/12/08: BBC: Cure nears for flesh-eating bug - Scientists in Newcastle claim they are closer to developing a cure for some of the world's most deadly diseases.
2005/12/03: PhysOrg: Deadly bacteria [C Difficile] spreading through US hospitals
2005/11/10: BBC: Scientists have discovered how a type of flesh-eating bug [streptococcus A] disables a key part of the body's immune system.
2005/10/21: BBC: A ward at Dundee's Ninewells Hospital has been closed after an "unusually high" number of patients tested positive for the MRSA superbug.
2005/09/22: Eureka: Troubling trends converge - Drug-resistant bacteria gaining genes for virulence
2005/09/22: BBC: E-nose to 'sniff out' superbugs - Scientists have made an electronic nose device to help spot the MRSA superbug in hospitals.
2005/09/09: BBC: MRSA 'brought back' into hospital
2005/09/08: SciDaily: Emerging Staph Strains Found To Be Increasingly Deadly And Deceptive
2005/08/30: SciDaily: Unusual Antibiotics Show Promise Against Deadly 'Superbugs'
2005/08/26: BBC: Lethal hospital bug cases rocket - The number of cases of a potentially lethal hospital infection has rocketed since the 1990s, figures show.
2005/08/15: BBC: Superbugs found in chicken survey - Significant numbers of chickens on sale in UK shops are contaminated with superbugs
2005/08/15: BBC: 'Many-layered apron' may cut MRSA
2005/08/03: PMM: Acinetobacter, Drug Resistant - USA Ex Iraq
2005/07/13: BBC: A chemical which gives the bacterium responsible for MRSA its characteristic golden pigment helps it ward off the human immune system, US scientists say.
2005/06/23: BBC: 'Fog of ignorance' over superbugs - There is still a "fog of ignorance" over hospital superbugs such as MRSA despite years of warnings, MPs say.
2005/06/15: BBC: [UK] Health secretary has ordered an independent inquiry into an outbreak of a virulent new strain of hospital bug [Clostridium Difficile] in which 12 elderly patients have died.
2005/05/25: BBC: Deep sea weapon against superbug
2005/05/24: BBC: Alert after rare bug kills marine [Panton Valentine Leukocidin]
2005/04/08: BBC: Virus deaths soar across Angola
2005/04/08: BBC: Threat of 'flesh-eating' MRSA bug - US doctors warn of small but alarming rates of a flesh-eating type of superbug.
2005/04/01: CBC: 1950s superbug re-emerges as 'souped-up' MRSA
2005/04/01: New Scientist: Pandemic bug returns as community MRSA strain
2005/04/01: Eureka: Community MRSA is re-emergence of 1950's pandemic
2005/03/31: CBC: Doctors fear epidemic of superbug that hits the healthy [Community acquired MRSA]
2005/03/25: BBC: Developing world at superbug risk
2005/03/25: CBC: Toronto hospital reports C. difficile strain
2005/03/23: CBC: Canada can learn from Dutch hospital standards: expert
2005/03/21: CBC: 'Superbug' infections spiralling in Canadian hospitals
2005/02/24: BBC: The number of deaths in which the superbug MRSA has been cited as a cause has doubled in four years, official statistics show. [955 in 2003 - up from 487 in 1999]
2005/02/10: BBC: The UK's MRSA [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus] problem may be due to the emergence of highly contagious clones of the superbug, says a scientist.
2005/02/08: CBC: Superbug [VRE] plagues Toronto hospitals, raising fears it could spread
2005/01/22: WSWS: Britain: rise in 'superbug' cases linked to decrease in hospital cleaning staff
2005/01/09: Scotsman: Superbug 'not stopped by isolating patients'
The study highlighted the failure of staff to wash their hands often enough in the hospitals involved as a possible cause of the problem.
2004/10/21: CBC: C. difficile superbug likely to spread beyond Quebec: microbiologist
2004/10/15: New Scientist: Antibiotic-boosting drug kills superbugs
2004/10/14: BBC: Hospital superbug [MRSA] treatment hope
2004/08/23: CBC: Tracking superbug boosts workload for doctors in Quebec
2004/08/07: BBC: Canada struggles with deadly bug [Clostridium difficile]
2004/06/18: BBC: Superbug [MRSA] deaths 'set to double'
2004/06/06: CBC: Montreal, Calgary hospitals struggle to contain superbug
2004/03/22: BBC: MRSA superbug hits more children
2003/12/31: CBC: 'Superbug' a growing problem in Winnipeg
2003/11/30: BBC: Danger of gene-swapping bacterium - superbug hijacks genes from other bugs
2003/03/06: BBC: Superbug spreads beyond hospitals
2003/03/05: NewScientist: Superbug strain hits the healthy

Haemorrhagic Fevers

--Basics--

CDC: Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers
CDC: Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever
CDC: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever
WHO: Marburg haemorrhagic fever
WHO: Dengue/dengue haemorrhagic fever
WHO: Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF)
WHO: Ebola haemorrhagic fever
2005/10/25: PLoS Biology: Charting the Path of the Deadly Ebola Virus in Central Africa by Peter D. Walsh, Roman Biek, Leslie A. Real
2007/08/22: PLoS One: Marburg Virus Infection Detected in a Common African Bat by Jonathan S. Towner et al.
2008/11/21: PLoSPathogens: Newly Discovered Ebola Virus Associated with Hemorrhagic Fever Outbreak in Uganda by Jonathan S. Towner et al.
--News--
2010/05/29: CBC: Ebola cure aided by B.C. company
The deadly Ebola virus has been treated successfully in monkeys using a new technology, researchers say. U.S. government researchers and a small Canadian biotech company, Tekmira Pharmaceuticals of Vancouver, developed the treatment, which they say is the first to help monkeys exposed to the Zaire strain of Ebola virus. It is the most lethal strain of Ebola and kills up to 90 per cent of the people it infects.
2010/01/19: PhysOrg: Researchers discover Ebola's deadly secret
Research at Iowa State University has led scientists to uncover how the deadly Zaire Ebola virus decoys cells and eventually kills them. A research team led by Gaya Amarasinghe, an assistant professor of biochemistry, biophysics and molecular biology, had previously solved the structure of a critical part of an Ebola protein known as VP35, which is involved in host immune suppression. Amarasinghe and his research team now know how VP35 is able to do it. When most viruses invade a cell, they start to make RNA in order to replicate. When the healthy host cell senses the replicating RNA, the host cell starts to activate anti-viral defenses that halt replication and eventually help clear the viral infections. What Amarasinghe and his group have discovered is that Ebola virus encoded VP35 protein actually masks the replicating viral ribonucleic acid (RNA), so the cell doesn't recognize that there is an invading virus.
2009/08/02: SciDaily: 'Ebola Cousin' Marburg Virus Isolated From African Fruit Bats
A team of scientists have reported the successful isolation of genetically diverse Marburg viruses from a common species of African fruit bat (Egyptian fruit bat, Rousettus aegyptiacus). A paper published in the open-access science journal PLoS Pathogens provides new insight into the identity of the natural host of this deadly disease.
2009/07/10: BBC: Concern over Ebola virus in pigs
A form of Ebola virus has been detected in pigs for the first time, raising concerns it could mutate and pose a new risk to humans. Ebola-Reston virus (REBOV) has only previously been seen in monkeys and humans - and has not caused illness. But researchers are concerned that pigs might provide a melting pot where the virus could mutate into something more menacing for humans. The new discovery - in the Philippines - is featured in the journal Science. However, the researchers, from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stress that the virus at present appears to pose no risk to humans.
2009/06/29: ProMedMail: Hemorrhagic fever - Congo DR: (Equateur), RFI
2009/06/23: PhysOrg: Scientists block Ebola infection in cell-culture experiments
2009/06/01: ProMedMail: Lujo virus, a novel arenavirus - South Africa ex Zambia
2009/06/02: Eureka: New arenavirus discovered as cause of hemorrhagic fever outbreak [Lujo] in South Africa and Zambia
First Old World arenavirus associated with hemorrhagic fever identified in nearly four decades
2009/05/30: ProMedMail: Ebola hemorrhagic fever, fruit bat - Congo DR, 2007
2009/05/29: CBC: Researchers identify new deadly virus in Africa
2009/05/29: PhysOrg: Scientists identify new lethal arenavirus in Africa [Lujo]
2009/04/23: SciDaily: New Ebolavirus Vaccine Protects Against Lethal Infection in Animal Models
2009/04/02: CBC: Scientist treated with Canadian [ebola] vaccine healthy 21 days after accident
2009/03/20: CBC: Canadian-made Ebola vaccine used after German lab accident
An experimental vaccine against the deadly Ebola virus made by researchers at Canada's national laboratory in Winnipeg was given to a German scientist who may have been infected during a lab accident last week.
2009/03/05: SciDaily: Experimental Vaccine Protects Animals From Deadly Ebola Virus; May Prove Effective In Developing The First Human Vaccine
2009/02/08: PhysOrg: 1st US case of Marburg fever confirmed in Colorado
The first U.S. case of Marburg hemorrhagic fever has been confirmed in Colorado, and authorities say the patient - who contracted the rare illness while traveling in Uganda - has since recovered.
2009/01/30: SciDaily: How Ebola Virus Avoids The Immune System
2009/01/27: UPHS: Penn Study Identifies How Ebola Virus Avoids the Immune System
2009/01/13: SciDaily: Structure Of Key Ebola Protein Discovered
2009/01/03: ProMedMail: Ebola kills two Zim soldiers in Congo DR
2009/01/02: ProMedMail: Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever - Democratic Republic of the Congo: (Kasai Occidental), WHO
2008/12/30: CBC: Ebola outbreak kills 11 in Congo
2008/12/25: PhysOrg: Ebola epidemic kills nine in central DR Congo: report
2008/12/11: FTimes: Manila reports Ebola virus in pigs
2008/11/21: NewScientist: New species of Ebola found in Uganda
2008/11/21: PhysOrg: Scientists discover new species of Ebola virus
Scientists report the discovery of a new species of Ebola virus, provisionally named Bundibugyo ebolavirus, November 21 in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. The virus, which was responsible for a hemorrhagic fever outbreak in western Uganda in 2007, has been characterized by a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia the Uganda Virus Research Institute; the Uganda Ministry of Health; and Columbia University.
2008/10/30: PhysOrg: New killer virus identified in South Africa
A viral haemorrhagic fever that killed four people in Johannesburg has been identified as a new strain of the deadly arenavirus, health officials said Thursday. Tests performed at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention identified the new strain that has yet to be named, said Barry Schoub, executive director of the National Insititute of Communicable Diseases (NICD). "The virus is new in terms of its genetic make up and there is currently no vaccine against it," Schoub told reporters, adding that it had "high lethal potential for humans."
2008/10/13: NewScientist: Haemorrhagic virus carried by common African mouse
2008/07/18: ProMedMail: 61 cases of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Stavropol Krai
2008/07/12: BBC: Cave warning on Uganda bat virus [Marburg]
The World Health Organization has warned people not to go into Ugandan caves with bats, after a Dutch tourist contracted the deadly Marburg virus. The woman, aged 40, died after being taken to hospital following her return to the Netherlands, health authorities there said. They said she probably contracted the disease while visiting a Ugandan cave inhabited by fruit bats.
2008/07/11: ProMedMail: Dutch tourist infected with Marburg virus
2008/07/09: Eureka: Scripps research scientists reveal key structure from ebola virus - Breakthrough findings point to targets for drugs and vaccines
2008/05/21: AFP: Lab breakthrough seen in lethal dengue fever
2008/04/18: ProMedMail: Arenavirus hemorrhagic fever - Bolivia: (Chapare), new arenavirus
2008/04/18: PhysOrg: Scientists discover new arenavirus associated with hemorrhagic fever
A team of Bolivian health authorities, U.S. Navy health experts based in Lima, Peru, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has characterized "Chapare arenavirus," a previously unrecognized arenavirus, discovered in serum samples from a patient in rural Bolivia who eventually died of the infection. A full report of the study is published April 18th in the open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. Named after the Chapare River in the eastern foothills of the Andes, the new Chapare arenavirus produces clinical hemorrhagic symptoms similar to those associated with other New World arenaviruses, such as the Junin, Machupo, Guanarito, and Sabia viruses. Genetically, however, Chapare is different from each. Junin, Machupo and Guanarito viruses have been associated with large outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever. Initial symptoms often include fever, malaise, muscle aches, nausea, vomiting, and anorexia, followed later by hemorrhagic symptoms. Untreated, more severe neurologic and/or hemorrhagic symptoms may develop, and death occurs in up to 30%
2008/03/31: TerraDaily: Vaccine For Ebola Virus
2008/01/18: PhysOrg: Can hantavirus infection spread among humans?
2007/12/15: ProMedMail: Ebola hemorrhagic fever - Uganda (11): (Bundibugyo)
2007/12/16: Guardian(UK): Inside Ebola's zone of death
Uganda is gripped by fear of an epidemic 'explosion' as the killer virus develops a slower and potentially more lethal version
2007/12/08: PhysOrg: New Ebola fatalities push Uganda toll to 25: official
2007/11/30: PhysOrg: New Subtype of Ebola Suspected in Uganda
2007/11/30: BBC: Uganda confirms 16 Ebola deaths
A haemorrhagic fever that has killed 16 people and infected more than 50 others in Uganda has been confirmed as the deadly Ebola virus. The casualties are all in the region of Bundibugyo, on the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. DR Congo has been battling for five months to contain an Ebola outbreak close to its border with Angola
2007/10/03: PhysOrg: Doctors Hope to Contain Ebola Outbreak [Congo]
2007/09/22: BBC: New Ebola cases seen in DR Congo
The World Health Organisation says nine further cases of the deadly Ebola virus have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At least 174 people in the country's West Kasai region have died so far in the current outbreak
2007/09/17: CBC: Winnipeg scientists called on to assist with Congo's Ebola outbreak
2007/09/12: BBC: Major Ebola outbreak in DR Congo
An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been confirmed by the World Health Organization in Kasai province. At least 166 people have died and WHO says it is aware of 372 other cases. Specialist laboratories in Gabon and Atlanta in the US confirmed Ebola from blood samples, saying they also showed the presence of Shigella dysentery
2007/09/12: AFP: Major Ebola outbreak in DRCongo confirmed, up to 166 deaths could be linked
2007/09/11: UN: Ebola virus outbreak in central DR Congo claims 160 lives - UN health agency
2007/09/11: SciDaily: Marburg Virus Identified In A Species Of Fruit Bat
2007/09/11: BBC: An outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo has killed at least five people says the World Health Organisation
2007/08/22: PhysOrg: Scientists detect presence of marburg virus in african fruit bats
2007/08/22: BBC: Deadly virus linked to fruit bat
US and Gabonese scientists say a common type of fruit bat could be the source of an outbreak of the deadly Marburg disease in Africa. The scientists tested more than 1,000 bats caught in caves in Gabon and DR Congo, and found some members of one species were infected with the virus.
2006/11/14: PhysOrg: Pattern of Human Ebola Outbreaks Linked to Wildlife and Climate
2006/11/12: NewScientist: Ebola heads for last great apes
2006/10/16: Eureka: Researchers discover key mechanism by which lethal viruses Ebola and Marburg cause disease [an amino acid sequence in Filoviruses that results in the rapid depression of immunological response]
2006/04/28: BBC: Vaccine hope for deadly disease - Scientists are hopeful a vaccine against the deadly tropical disease Marburg virus could be developed.
2006/04/27: SciDaily: Experimental Vaccine Protects Nonhuman Primates When Given After Exposure To Marburg Virus
2006/02/21: Eureka: Ebola DNA vaccine produces immune responses in all fully vaccinated volunteers in Phase 1 trial
2006/02/17: WashPost: NIH-Created Ebola Vaccine Passes 1st Test
2005/12/01: PlanetArk: Bats May be Carriers of Ebola Virus - Scientists
2005/12/01: BBC: Fruit bats may carry Ebola virus
Fruit bats may be acting as reservoirs of the killer Ebola virus, responsible for several deadly outbreaks in central Africa, research suggests.
2005/10/27: SciDaily: Charting The Path Of The Deadly Ebola Virus In Central Africa
2005/10/24: Eureka: Charting the path of the deadly Ebola virus in central Africa
2005/06/05: Eureka: Researchers report breakthrough against world's deadliest viruses - New Ebola, Marburg Vaccines effective in animal models
2005/06/06: BBC: Ebola, Marburg vaccine 'success'
2005/06/05: CBC: Vaccines protect monkeys from Ebola, Marburg: study
2005/05/20: BBC: Congo's Ebola town [Etoumbi] is sealed off
The town at the centre of an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Congo has been sealed off to stop the disease spreading, health officials say.
2005/05/19: ABC(Au): Ebola outbreak spreads to Congo
2005/05/18: BBC: Tests have confirmed an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Congo [Cuvette West province], the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
2005/05/17: BBC: The world's worst outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus is not over and is spreading to new parts of Angola, the World Health Organization says.
2005/05/14: NYT: New Outbreak of Deadly Ebola Virus Is Feared in Congo Republic
2005/05/10: New Scientist: Marburg outbreak now devastating all age groups
2005/04/27: WashTimes: Ebola suspected in Equatorial Guinea
2005/04/24: UN: Marburg virus has killed 244 but fatalities are decreasing, UN health agency reports
2005/04/23: BBC: Angola is at a critical stage in its fight against an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus, the World Health Organization says.
2005/04/23: CBC: Angola at critical stage in Marburg battle: WHO
2005/04/23: ABC(Au): Angola at critical stage in Marburg battle: WHO
2005/04/21: CBC: Canada adds help to contain Marburg virus outbreak
2005/04/19: SciDaily: Scientists Discover How Ebola Virus Infects Cells
2005/04/15: UN: UN health agency confronts Angolan families’ refusal to isolate Marburg patients
2005/04/14: Eureka: Scientists discover how Ebola virus infects cells - Finding could lead to treatments for viral hemorrhagic fevers
2005/04/14: BBC: Killer virus hits Angolan rituals
Angolans are being urged to change their traditional rituals for burying loved ones in a bid by health workers to stamp out the deadly Marburg virus.
2005/04/12: BBC: Fear of hospital hits virus fight
Health workers fighting to contain an outbreak of the deadly Marburg virus in Angola say families are refusing to send infected relatives to hospital.
2005/04/11: UN: UN concerned Marburg outbreak in Angola could spread through home care
2005/04/12: ABC(Au): Marburg death toll over 200 in Angola
2005/04/11: BBC: South Africa has stepped up precautions to prevent the spread of the Marburg virus into the country from Angola.
2005/04/10: CBC: WHO resumes count of Marburg deaths
2005/04/07: NSU: Marburg's behaviour bewilders scientists - Rising death toll flags unexplained character of killer virus.
2005/04/08: New Scientist: Angola's neighbours put on Marburg alert
2005/04/09: BBC: Attacks halt virus work in Angola
2005/04/09: CBC: WHO suspends count of Marburg deaths
2005/04/09: NYT: Fear and Violence Accompany a Deadly Virus Across Angola
2005/04/09: Yahoo: UN says Marburg outbreak in Angola worse than Ebola, launches aid appeal
2005/04/06: BBC: Angola virus workers 'need masks' [155 dead, 175 stricken]
Health workers in the Angolan capital, Luanda, are complaining of not having enough protective clothing to combat the deadly Marburg virus.
2005/04/05: Eureka: Ebola virus: from wildlife to dogs
2005/04/05: Guardian(UK): Africa strives to contain Ebola-like virus after 150 die in Angola
2005/04/04: New Scientist: Deadly fever claims yet more lives in Angola
2005/04/03: BBC: Angola Marburg death toll climbs [to 146]
2005/04/01: CBC: Record number of deaths in Angola's Marburg outbreak, WHO says
2005/04/01: ABC(Au): Suspected Marburg cases hospitalised in Italy, DR Congo
2005/03/31: BBC: The Marburg virus, the Ebola-like bug, has claimed nine more victims in Angola this week making it now the worst ever recorded, health officials say.[126 dead]
2005/03/27: BBC: Ebola-like virus death toll rises
2005/03/27: CBC: Canadians help fight Marburg in Angola
2005/03/26: CNA: Toll in Ebola-like virus in Angola rises to 115, spreads to capital
2005/03/25: BBC: Ebola-like virus reaches Luanda
The Marburg virus, an Ebola-like bug that has killed 112 people in Angola's northern province of Uige, has reached the capital, Luanda, officials say.
2005/03/22: BBC: More than 90 people have died in the past five months in Angola after an outbreak of a haemorrhagic fever in the north, caused by the Marburg [ebola] virus.
2005/03/18: Yahoo: Mysterious haemorrhagic fever kills 87 in Angola [over the last 4 months]
2005/02/14: Eureka: Study links Ebola outbreaks to animal carcasses
2004/08/07: BBC: Ebola outbreak is halted in Sudan
2004/05/24: BBC: New Ebola strain found in Sudan
2004/05/22: CBC: Sudan may have new form of Ebola virus
2004/05/21: AllAfrica: IRIN: Sudan: Ebola-Like Virus Confirmed in Western Equatoria
2003/12/09: Eureka: Ebola virus-like particles prevent lethal Ebola virus infection
2003/11/26: BBC: New Ebola deaths in north Congo
2003/11/16: BBC: Congo Ebola outbreak claims lives
2003/11/14: Newsday: Officials Confirm Ebola Outbreak in Congo
2003/08/06: BBC: Breakthrough on Ebola vaccine
2003/03/14: NewScientist: Search for source of Ebola begins

Avian Flu

--Basics--

2004/01/30: CDC: Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Outbreak
2004/01/15: WHO: Avian influenza - fact sheet
WHO: Avian influenza
CBC: Avian Flu
Guardian(UK): Bird flu
WHO: (pdf 117K) Influenza A (H5N1): WHO Interim Infection Control Guidelines for Health Care Facilities
--News Sources--
Effect Measure: a forum for progressive public health discussion and argument as well as a source of public health information
Bird Flu Breaking News
Avian Flu Diary
H5N1 (blog)
Flu Wiki

Avian Flu News

2009/02/04: CBC: Bird flu virus still major concern: WHO
2009/01/26: CBC: Cull of 60,000 turkeys at B.C. farm may begin Monday
2009/01/24: CBC: Avian flu detected in southern B.C.: CFIA
2009/01/20: BBC: Fresh warning on China bird flu
A Chinese health expert has said that the country is likely to experience an upsurge in the number of human bird flu cases in the next month or two. Shu Yuelong, from the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, said China needed to work harder at preventing bird flu outbreaks. The warning came after the health ministry said a 16-year-old boy had died in central Hunan province. The human form of bird flu has now claimed three lives this year.
2009/01/20: CBC: 16-year-old Chinese boy dies of bird flu
2009/01/07: Eureka: Avian flu becoming more resistant to antiviral drugs, says University of Colorado study
2009/01/06: CBC: Chinese woman dies from bird flu
2009/01/02: CBC: Whatever happened to avian flu?
2008/12/25: PhysOrg: Bangladesh slaughters 10,000 birds over avian flu
2008/12/20: NewScientist: Struggle over bird flu samples drags on
2008/12/10: NatureTGB: Bird flu round up
2008/12/09: CBC: Hong Kong reports bird flu outbreak
2008/08/13: PhysOrg: The pandemic potential of H9N2 avian influenza viruses
2008/07/29: PhysOrg: SKorea cat had bird flu: officials
A cat found dead in a South Korean city was infected with a virulent strain of bird flu, the first mammal in the country known to have had the H5N1 virus, health officials said on Tuesday. They said it was the first report of a cat having had the virus since a case in Thailand in 1996, but that there was little risk to humans as there has never been a known transmission of the virus from a cat to other mammals.
2008/07/17: CBC: Indonesia's bird flu death toll rises to 111
2008/07/09: NatureN: Whatever happened to bird flu? The media frenzy over bird flu has receded, but the threat of a global epidemic still looms large
2008/06/07: PhysOrg: Bird flu detected in Hong Kong market
2008/06/06: CBC: WHO upset over Indonesia's shift in avian flu reporting
Indonesia's health minister announced Thursday that her country will no longer report H5N1 avian flu deaths as they occur -- a policy shift experts said would put the country in violation of the International Health Regulations, a key global health treaty. And an international law expert said Indonesia, which has refused for more than a year to share sample H5N1 viruses with the global scientific community, is playing a risky game if it intends to make good on the threat to only report H5N1 deaths at six-month intervals.
2008/06/04: PhysOrg: British [H7] bird flu outbreak 'highly pathogenic': officials
2008/05/27: CBC: Avian flu viruses mutating, making humans more vulnerable: study - Experts caution that pandemic not imminent
2008/05/12: CBC: 15,000 birds killed in Seoul over avian flu fears
2008/04/16: CBC: Indonesia endangering world by not sharing bird flu samples, U.S. expert says
2008/04/08: BBC: Father 'caught bird flu from son'
Tests on a father diagnosed with bird flu in China show he probably caught the disease from his dying son. Scientists are concerned that if the virus evolves to pass easily from human to human millions could be at risk
2008/03/19: PhysOrg: UN: Indonesia Failing in Bird Flu Fight
2008/02/20: McClatchyDC: Bird flu remains dangerous as it continues to mutate
2008/02/16: PhysOrg: Indonesia reports 104th bird flu death
2008/02/01: PhysOrg: Bird Flu Continues March 4 Years Later
2008/01/28: BBC: Indonesia bird flu deaths hit 100
2008/01/24: Reuters: Authorities worry bird flu will hit major India city
Authorities patrolled poultry markets in Kolkata to try to stop bird flu spreading to one of India's largest cities as fears grew the outbreak of the disease in eastern India was out of control. Bird flu has spread to nine of West Bengal's 19 districts and there were reports of more bird deaths in another five districts in the state of 80 million people. "The virus is most likely to spread to other areas within the infected zones and nearby districts, but we are now trying to stop it from hitting Kolkata," said Surjya Kanta Mishra, the state's health minister. The H5N1 bird flu virus has been confirmed in two districts so far. Authorities have not confirmed H5N1 in other districts but say it is likely to be the same strain.
2008/01/23: DotEarth: Bird Flu -- Still a Simmering Biological Bomb
2008/01/23: BBC: W Bengal bird flu 'is spreading'
Officials in the Indian state of West Bengal say that the bird flu epidemic has spread to two more of the state's 19 districts, taking the total to nine. They say that the spread of the H5N1 virus means that even more chicken and duck will have to be killed than was originally estimated. On Monday officials said that around 2m birds would need to be culled - a figure that will now rise. Health experts have warned that the outbreak could get out of control.
2008/01/18: PhysOrg: Indonesia reports 97th [H5N1] bird flu death
2008/01/17: PhysOrg: Bird flu spread through India
---
[Previous archived.]

Mexican H1N1 Swine Flu

---Basic Sites---

WHO: Swine influenza A (H1N1)
WHO: Situation updates - Influenza A(H1N1)
WHO: Influenza A(H1N1): frequently asked questions
CDC: Swine Flu aka H1N1
CDC: CDC H1N1 Flu Update: U.S. Human Cases of H1N1 Flu Infection
PHAC: Human Swine Influenza
PHAC: H1N1 Flu Virus (Human Swine Flu) -- Frequently Asked Questions
ECDC: European Centre for Disease prevention and Control
Program for Monitoring Emerging Diseases [ProMedMail]
Nature: Swine Flu Special
Wiki: 2009 swine flu outbreak
Australia: H1N1 -- 2009 Outbreak
ScienceInsider: Swine Flu Outbreak, Day by Day
H1N1 Swine Flu Wiki
EBSCO: Influenza (Flu) - Evidence-based Medical Information
Guardian(UK): Full list of swine flu cases, country by country
CBC: Swine Flu: Ready or Not
---Papers---
2009/06/18: NEJM: The Signature Features of Influenza Pandemics -- Implications for Policy by Mark A. Miller, M.D., Cecile Viboud, Ph.D., Marta Balinska, Ph.D., and Lone Simonsen, Ph.D.
2009/10/12: JAMA: Critically Ill Patients With 2009 Influenza A(H1N1) Infection in Canada
2009/12/01: PNAS: Pre-existing immunity against swine-origin H1N1 influenza viruses in the general human population by Jason A. Greenbaum et al.
---News---
2010/07/26: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (56): India (KA, KE, SM)
2010/07/26: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) suspected - Bhutan: RFI
2010/07/24: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (55): WHO update 110
2010/07/21: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (54): PAHO update
2010/07/21: PlanetArk: WHO Still Monitoring H1N1 Pandemic: Spokesman
2010/07/20: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (53): India
2010/07/19: CBC: H1N1 shot averted 1M Ontario cases: study -- 50 lives estimated to have been saved
2010/07/16: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (52): WHO update 109
2010/07/16: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (51): universal influenza vaccine
2010/07/10: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (50): WHO update 108
2010/07/08: EurActiv: WHO set to declare end of flu pandemic
2010/07/07: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (49): PAHO update
2010/07/06: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (48): India
2010/07/04: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (47): WHO update 107
2010/06/30: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (46): India, monsoon
2010/06/26: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (45): WHO update 106
2010/06/23: CBC: WHO's H1N1 review panel sees 2 resign
Two members of a panel set up to appraise the World Health Organization's handling of the H1N1 pandemic have stepped down because they were involved in the response the review committee is assessing. A statement released by the Geneva-based agency suggested they felt that involvement could be seen as a conflict, given that the review is meant to be an independent evaluation.
2010/06/22: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (44): PAHO update
2010/06/19: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (43): WHO update 105
2010/06/18: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (42): reassortment, swine
2010/06/18: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (41): New Zealand
2010/06/12: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (40): WHO update 104
2010/06/09: CBC: H1N1 decision free of money interest: WHO
2010/06/07: ProMedMail: Influenza seasonal (H1N1) virus: oseltamivir resistance
2010/06/08: NatureN: Flu experts rebut conflict claims -- Reports throw unsubstantiated suspicion on scientific advice given to the World Health Organization
2010/06/05: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (39): WHO update 103
2010/06/03: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (38): WHO
The H1N1 pandemic is not yet over, although its most intense activity has passed in many parts of the world, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Thursday [3 Jun 2010] after a review of the flu outbreak by independent experts.
2010/06/03: CBC: H1N1 still a pandemic: WHO chief [Margaret Chan]
2010/06/02: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (37): Guillain-Barre syndrome risk
2010/06/01: CBC: H1N1 pandemic level reviewed
The World Health Organization's expert panel is discussing whether to declare the H1N1 flu pandemic over.
2010/05/30: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (36): WHO update & seasonal
2010/05/30: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (35): Singapore
2010/05/25: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (34): Indian variants
2010/05/26: CBC: Tropical H1N1 milder than seasonal flu: study
2010/05/22: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (33): WHO update
2010/05/17: PhysOrg: World was 'lucky' with swine flu: WHO chief
World Health Organisation chief Margaret Chan said Monday that the world had been "lucky" with the swine flu pandemic after the virus failed to mutate to a more deadly form. Chan told representatives of the WHO's 193 member states that "good news" in public health terms was normally driven by political commitment, resources and the ability to deliver care. "Sometimes, though, we are just plain lucky. This has been the case with the H1N1 influenza pandemic," she said at the opening of the WHO's annual assembly. "The virus did not mutate to a more lethal form," while the vaccine worked and it showed little resistance to anti-viral drugs, she added.
2010/05/01: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (32): WHO update
2010/04/23: Eureka: Study links 1976 'swine flu' shot to stronger immune response to 21st century pandemic flu
2010/04/22: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (31): UK (Scotland) D222G mut'n
2010/04/22: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1), animal (06): Korea, swine
2010/04/21: NatureN: Portrait of a year-old pandemic -- 'Swine flu' isn't over yet, but it already holds lessons for the future
2010/04/17: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (30): WHO update
2010/04/15: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (29): seasonal vaccine
2010/04/12: CBC: H1N1 response needs frank review: WHO
The head of the World Health Organization urged an international expert group Monday to conduct a frank and critical review of its handling of the swine flu pandemic. A small but vocal minority of scientists and government officials around the world have accused WHO of overplaying the danger of the virus, while others have claimed its decision to declare a pandemic was unduly influenced by commercial interests.
2010/04/09: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (28): Hong Kong SAR, Norway, D222G mutation
2010/03/30: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (27): USA (GA)
2010/03/27: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (26): WHO update
2010/03/26: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (25): oseltamivir resistance
2010/03/23: PhysOrg: Final Report Confirms Cluster of Oseltamivir (Tamiflu)-Resistant H1N1 Influenza at Duke Hospital
An outbreak last fall of oseltamivir (Tamiflu)-resistant H1N1 influenza at Duke University Hospital may have been the result of viral transmission between patients.
2010/03/19: CBC: Flu during pregnancy risky: study
Women more than 20 weeks pregnant and suffering from H1N1 flu in Australia and New Zealand were 13 times more likely to become critically ill and be admitted to hospital than non-pregnant women, a new study suggests. Between June 1 and Aug. 31, 2009, 209 women of child-bearing age were admitted to intensive care units with confirmed 2009 A/H1N1 influenza, or swine flu. Of these, 64 were either pregnant or had recently given birth, the researchers reported in Friday's issue of the British Medical Journal. None of the women had been immunized against seasonal flu, despite recommendations that pregnant women should be vaccinated, the study authors noted.
2010/03/13: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (24): mutation analysis
2010/03/13: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (23): WHO Update
2010/03/05: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (22): Canada (SK), reassortment
2010/03/05: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (21): Norway, D222G mutation
2010/03/03: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (20): China, update
2010/03/02: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (19): reassortment
2010/02/24: CBC: H1N1 pandemic still in peak phase: WHO
2010/02/23: CBC: H1N1 shot blamed for Calgary woman's rare disorder
2010/02/21: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (18): WHO update
2010/02/18: CBC: Combine H1N1, seasonal flu vaccines: WHO
2010/02/16: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (17): WHO Update
2010/02/15: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (16): myocarditis in children
2010/02/14: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (15): update
2010/02/04: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (13): vaccine recall
2010/02/02: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (12): vaccine distribution, WHO update
2010/01/31: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1), animal (04): global, update
2010/01/28: BizInsider: Ukrainian Black Lung Death Toll Over 1000, Over A Quarter-Million Hospitalized
2010/01/: BIN: Ukraine Dead Top 1000 - Donetsk Fatalities Grow
2010/01/28: CBC: Canada sends 5 million doses of H1N1 vaccine to WHO
2010/01/29: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (11): WHO statement to CE, corr.
2010/01/26: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (11): WHO statement to CE [Council of Europe]
2010/01/21: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (10): PAHO update
2010/01/20: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (09): WHO update
2010/01/19: NewScientist: Analysis: Swine flu is not just a hoax by big pharma
2010/01/17: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (08): USA (vaccine safety), Mongolia
2010/01/15: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (07): China, travel alert
2010/01/15: CBC: H1N1 not a 'fake' pandemic: WHO flu chief -- Health authorities cannot 'sit back,' Fukuda says
2010/01/14: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (06): USA (SD) Native Americans
2010/01/12: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1), animal (03): Denmark, porcine
2010/01/11: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (04): Australia (WA), i/v zanamivir
2010/01/09: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (03): USA (WI) minorities
2010/01/08: CBC: H1N1 death toll hits 12,799: WHO
2010/01/08: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1), animal (02): USA, turkey
2010/01/08: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (02): PAHO update
2010/01/06: CBC: Canada to lend Mexico H1N1 vaccine
2010/01/05: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (01): China, 2009
2010/01/01: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (01): China, swine, canine
2009/12/30: WHO: Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 - update 81
2009/12/31: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (138): WHO update
2009/12/31: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) (137): Canada, North Korea
2009/12/30: CBC: Kids not 'super-spreaders' of H1N1: study
2009/12/28: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (42): USA (NC) swine
2009/12/29: CBC: Swine flu pandemic threat remains: WHO
2009/12/27: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (136): Argentina, pediatric mortality
2009/12/26: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (41): Russia (CV) swine, OIE
2009/12/23: ProMedMail: Pandemic influenza (H1N1) 2009 (135): Brazil, autopsies
2009/12/23: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (134): comments
2009/12/22: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (133): WHO
2009/12/22: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (40): USA (NY) canine
2009/12/16: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (132): Tamiflu efficacy
2009/12/15: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (131): Middle East
2009/12/14: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (130): indigenous peoples
2009/12/13: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (129): indigenous peoples
2009/12/11: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (128): case estimates
2009/12/10: CBC: H1N1 less lethal than feared: U.K. study
2009/12/09: ProMedMail: Influenza, pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (125): the mild pandemic
2009/12/09: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (36): USA (CO)
2009/12/08: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (124): autopsy findings
2009/12/09: CBC: Big drop-off in swine flu deaths in Canada
There were far fewer swine flu deaths across the country in the Public Health Agency of Canada's most recent reporting period, which ended Tuesday. For the five days ending Tuesday, six H1N1 deaths were reported in British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador, the agency's latest figures show. In comparison, there were 28 such deaths between Nov. 26 and last Thursday. The total number of deaths due to H1N1 in Canada since the influenza pandemic emerged in the spring is 363, the health agency said.
2009/12/05: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (123): vaccine safety
2009/12/05: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (35): Italy, swine, OIE
2009/12/04: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (34): UK (England)
2009/12/04: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (33): USA (VA, CA)
2009/12/04: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (122): Canada, China, France, WHO
2009/12/03: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (120): Canada, Haiti, Italy, USA
2009/12/03: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (121): CDC Alert
2009/12/03: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (119): China, Japan, USA (NM)
2009/12/02: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (32): USA (VA, CA)
2009/12/01: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal health (31): Finland, swine, OIE
2009/12/01: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (118): USA (AK) ethnicity
2009/11/29: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (117): Japan, encephalopathy
2009/11/28: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal (30): China, canine
2009/11/27: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009, animal health (09): Indonesia, swine
2009/11/27: NatureTGB: Swine flu vaccine round up
2009/11/26: TerraDaily: French swine flu 'accelerating', 22 dead in a week
2009/11/27: BBC: Jump in global swine flu deaths
The global number of swine flu deaths has jumped by more than 1,000 in a week, latest figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) show. At least 7,826 people are now known to have died following infection with the H1N1 virus since it first emerged in Mexico in April. Europe saw an 85% increase in the week, with the total number of deaths rising from at least 350 to at least 650. However, in most cases the virus continues to produce mild symptoms. The overwhelming majority of patients usually recover, even without medical treatment, within a week.
2009/11/26: ProMedMail: Influenza pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (116): origin

Vitamin D

2010/07/29: Eureka: Vitamin D deficiency linked to arterial stiffness in black teens -- Majority of study participants living in sunny Georgia classified as vitamin D deficient
2010/07/12: SciDaily: Low Vitamin D Levels Associated With Cognitive Decline
2010/07/12: BBC: Having low vitamin D levels may increase a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease later in life, say Finnish researchers
2010/07/12: Eureka: New vitamin D guidelines from Osteoporosis Canada
2010/07/12: CBC: Vitamin D guidelines raised by bone health group
2010/07/07: URMC: Amid the Murk of ‘Gut Flora,’ Vitamin D Receptor Emerges as a Key Player
2010/07/01: Eureka: Low vitamin D linked to the metabolic syndrome in elderly people
2010/06/25: Eureka: Vitamin D and mental agility in elders
2010/06/18: Eureka: Vitamin D deficiency confirmed as common across a range of rheumatic conditions -- Recommended supplementation is not sufficient to normalise vitamin D levels in RA and osteoporosis patients
2010/06/10: PhysOrg: Genome-wide study identifies factors that may affect vitamin D levels
2010/05/10: IOF: New Vitamin D recommendations for older men and women
2010/05/03: CBC: High-dose vitamin D in pregnancy safe: study
2010/04/28: PhysOrg: Low Vitamin D Levels Are Related to MS Brain Atrophy, Cognitive Function, Studies Show
2010/04/20: UB: Vitamin D Status Not Predicted By Surrogate Markers, UB Researchers Find
2010/04/15: Eureka: Low vitamin D levels associated with more asthma symptoms and medication use
2010/03/23: CBC: Vitamin D deficiency in 1.1 million Canadians
2010/03/22: PhysOrg: Study explores link between sunlight, multiple sclerosis
For more than 30 years, scientists have known that multiple sclerosis (MS) is much more common in higher latitudes than in the tropics. Because sunlight is more abundant near the equator, many researchers have wondered if the high levels of vitamin D engendered by sunlight could explain this unusual pattern of prevalence.
2010/03/17: CNMC: Low levels of vitamin D linked to higher rates of asthma in African American Kids
2010/03/15: Eureka: Vitamin D levels have different effects on atherosclerosis in blacks and whites
2010/03/12: Eureka: Vitamin D and calcium interplay explored
2010/03/08: SciDaily: Vitamin D Lifts Mood During Cold Weather Months, Researchers Say
2010/03/07: Eureka: Vitamin D crucial to activating immune defenses
2010/03/08: CanWest: Vitamin D essential to immune response, study finds
Vitamin D is vital in activating human defences and low levels suffered by around half the world's population may mean their immune systems' killer T cells are poor at fighting infection, scientists said on Sunday. The findings by Danish researchers could help the fight against infectious diseases and global epidemics, they said, and could be particularly useful in the search for new vaccines. The researchers found that immune systems' killer cells, known as T cells, rely on vitamin D to become active. The cells remain dormant and unaware of the possibility of threat from an infection or pathogen if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.
2010/03/04: MUHC: Low levels of Vitamin D linked to muscle fat, decreased strength in young people
2010/03/04: PhysOrg: Study shows link between vitamin D, skin cancer
2010/03/03: Loyola: Vitamin D lifts mood during cold weather months
2010/02/15: PhysOrg: High levels of vitamin D in older people can reduce heart disease and diabetes
2010/01/27: Eureka: Vitamin D supplements could fight Crohn's disease
2010/01/22: SciDaily: High Vitamin D Levels Linked to Lower Risk of Colon Cancer
2010/01/20: UCSF: Low Vitamin D levels are associated with greater risk of relapse in childhood-onset Multiple Sclerosis
2010/01/20: PhysOrg: Vitamin D supplementation can reduce falls in nursing care facilities
2010/01/14: PhysOrg: New research confirms benefits of calcium and vitamin D in preventing fractures
2010/01/05: URMC: URMC Study Links Vitamin D, Race, and Cardiac Deaths
2010/01/05: CBC: Demand soars for vitamin D
Some consumers and doctors are becoming convinced vitamin D can help reduce the risk of a long list of diseases, despite a lack of gold-standard research proving it. A growing body of research suggests that supplements of the so-called sunshine vitamin may reduce the risk of multiple sclerosis, diabetes and breast and prostate cancers. But much of the research comes from observational studies rather than placebo-controlled trials -- the highest standard in health research. Such rigorous trials to prove vitamin D's preventive benefits are expensive, and since vitamins can't be patented, pharmaceutical companies have no financial incentive to do the research. But there is a lot of circumstantial evidence. Many of the diseases on the list are more common farther north, so vitamin D seems the most logical explanation, said Reinhold Vieth, a nutritional science professor at the University of Toronto and an international authority on the vitamin.
2009/12/05: Eureka: Mayo Clinic and collaborators find vitamin D levels associated with survival in lymphoma patients
2009/11/25: PhysOrg: Physicians Explore Link Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Hypertension
2009/11/23: PhysOrg: Multiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive
A string of recent discoveries about the multiple health benefits of vitamin D has renewed interest in this multi-purpose nutrient, increased awareness of the huge numbers of people who are deficient in it, spurred research and even led to an appreciation of it as "nature's antibiotic."
2009/11/16: FuturePundit: Low Vitamin D Boosts Heart Death Risks?
2009/11/16: Eureka: New study links vitamin D deficiency to cardiovascular disease and death -- Study finds inadequate levels of Vitamin D may significantly increase risk of stroke, heart disease and death
2009/11/14: NBF: Vitamin D and calcium supplementation reduces cancer risk
2009/11/09: SciDaily: Low Vitamin D Levels Explains Most End-stage Renal Disease Risk In African-Americans
2009/10/26: CBC: 20% of U.S. kids lack vitamin D
2009/10/09: PhysOrg: Women with breast cancer have low vitamin D levels
2009/10/03: SciDaily: Over 65s Should Take High Dose Vitamin D To Prevent Falls, Say Researchers
2009/09/24: CBC: Low vitamin D linked to high blood pressure
2009/09/24: PhysOrg: Vitamin D deficiency in younger women increases risk of high blood pressure
2009/09/21: Eureka: Insufficient levels of vitamin D puts elderly at increased risk of dying from heart disease
2009/08/26: SciNews: Vitamin D may be heart protective -- A deficiency of the sunshine vitamin may worsen plaque accumulation in vessels of diabetes patients
2009/08/21: WUSTL: Research shows why low vitamin D raises heart disease risks in diabetics
2009/08/03: Eureka: Millions of US children low in vitamin D -- Study shows increased risk of bone and heart disease
2009/07/15: Eureka: Vitamin D, curcumin may help clear amyloid plaques found in Alzheimer's disease
2009/07/07: SciDaily: Understanding The Anticancer Effects Of Vitamin D3
2009/06/30: IOF: Vitamin D deficiency is widespread and on the increase
2009/05/29: FuturePundit: Evidence For Vitamin D As Alzheimer's Risk Reducer
2009/05/26: SciDaily: New Model Of Cancer Development: Low Vitamin D Levels May Have Role
2009/05/26: Eureka: Is vitamin D deficiency linked to Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia?
2009/05/20: FuturePundit: Vitamin D Improves Brain Function In Old Folks?
2009/05/22: SciDaily: Fish Really Is 'Brain Food': Vitamin D May Lessen Age-related Cognitive Decline
2009/05/22: Eureka: Low levels of vitamin D linked to common vaginal infection in pregnant women
2009/05/22: Eureka: New model suggests role of low vitamin D in cancer development
2009/05/20: Eureka: Vitamin D may halt lung function decline in asthma and COPD
2009/05/14: Eureka: Vitamin D insufficiency linked to bacterial vaginosis in pregnant women
2009/04/27: BBC: Vitamin D is an effective treatment for prostate cancer in some patients, a UK study suggests.
2009/04/16: SciDaily: Low Levels Of Vitamin D In Patients With Autoimmune Disease May Be Result, Not Cause, Of The Disease
2009/04/14: SciDaily: Vitamin D Deficiency Related To Increased Inflammation In Healthy Women
2009/04/06: PhysOrg: Vitamin D Deficiency Related to Increased Inflammation in Healthy Women
2009/03/23: PhysOrg: Vitamin D supplements associated with reduced fracture risk in older adults
2009/03/17: Warwick: Vitamin D may not be the answer to feeling SAD
A lack of Vitamin D, due to reduced sunlight, has been linked to depression and the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), but research by the University of Warwick shows there is no clear link between the levels of vitamin D in the blood and depression.
2009/03/11: Cornell: 1 in 7 U.S. Teens Is Vitamin D Deficient
2009/02/23: Eureka: Vitamin D deficiency may increase risk of colds, flu - Large-scale study supports potential role in boosting immune system, more research needed
2009/02/10: FuturePundit: Vitamin D For Babies Boosts Growth, Cuts MS
2009/02/10: SciDaily: Vitamin D Tied To Muscle Power In Adolescent Girls
2009/02/06: PLoSG: Expression of the Multiple Sclerosis-Associated MHC Class II Allele HLA-DRB1*1501 Is Regulated by Vitamin D by Sreeram V. Ramagopalan et al.
2009/02/05: SciDaily: Vitamin D Found To Stimulate A Protein That Inhibits The Growth Of Breast Cancer Cells
2009/02/05: BBC: Vitamin D helps control MS gene
The first evidence of how vitamin D deficiency and genetics interact to increase the risk of multiple sclerosis has been reported by researchers. A UK and Canadian team found that vitamin D helps to control a gene known to increase MS risk, the PLoS Genetics journal reports.
2009/02/05: CBC: Vitamin D interacts with gene in MS: study
Vitamin D seems to help control a gene known to increase the risk of multiple sclerosis - a finding that suggests taking vitamin D supplements during pregnancy and early in life may help prevent the disease.
2009/02/04: Eureka: Vitamin D, a key milk nutrient, linked to better muscle power - New study reveals teen girls with higher vitamin D levels may have improved muscle performance
2009/02/03: Eureka: Vitamin D tied to muscle power in adolescent girls
2009/01/24: SciDaily: Low Levels Of Vitamin D Link To Cognitive Problems In Older People
2009/01/23: BBC: Vitamin D 'is mental health aid'
Vitamin D, found in fish and produced by sun exposure, can help stave off the mental decline that can affect people in old age, a study has suggested. UK and US researchers looked at 2,000 people aged 65 and over. They found that compared to those with the highest vitamin D levels, those with the lowest were more than twice as likely to have impaired understanding.
2009/01/22: Eureka: 'Sunshine vitamin' link to cognitive problems in older people - Vitamin D linked to cognitive impairment
2009/01/12: Eureka: Vitamin D is the 'it' nutrient of the moment - Loyola researchers report on benefit of vitamin D in diabetes and other chronic diseases
2008/12/16: Eureka: Vitamin D deficiency in infants and nursing mothers carries long-term disease risks
2008/12/15: PhysOrg: Nearly three-quarters of youths with [Type-1] diabetes insufficient in vitamin D
2008/12/10: SciDaily: Vitamin D Found To Fight Placental Infection
2008/12/10: Eureka: Lack of vitamin D causes weight gain and stunts growth in girls
2008/12/01: PhysOrg: Lack of vitamin D could spell heart trouble
2008/11/17: Eureka: Study helps clarify role of vitamin D in cancer therapy
2008/10/13: KSJT: Much ink: Pediatricians recommend doubling the dose of D
2008/10/13: SciDaily: Vitamin D A Key Player In Overall Health Of Several Body Organs, Says Biochemist
2008/10/13: SciDaily: Vitamin D Deficiency Common In Patients With IBD, Chronic Liver Disease
2008/10/13: Eureka: Vitamin D deficiency may be more common in Parkinson's disease patients
2008/10/13: CBC: Double kids' vitamin D intake, pediatricians recommend
CBC: Vitamin D - Ways to get your dose in winter
2008/10/09: Eureka: Vitamin D a key player in overall health of several body organs, says UC Riverside biochemist

Last modified July 30, 2010