West Africa Doctors Network News Portal

Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq: VICL) announced a breakthrough with preliminary clinical trial data demonstrating that DNA vaccines can safely achieve significant immune responses against H5N1 pandemic influenza in humans.

Information relevant to Indiana's current pandemic influenza preparedness plan was presented July 16 during a symposium convened by the Indiana State Department of Health and the Indiana University Center for Bioethics, "The Ethics of Pandemic Influenza Planning in Indiana: What Have We Done and

New evidence suggests that a booster vaccination against H5N1 avian influenza given years after initial vaccination with a different strain may prove useful in controlling a potential future pandemic. The study is published in the August 1 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online. H5N1 continues to pose a major health risk to birds and humans.

Scientists and researchers have taken a big step closer to a cure for the most common strain of avian influenza, or "bird flu," the potential pandemic that has claimed more than 200 lives and infected nearly 400 people in 14 countries since it was identified in 2003. Researchers at the U.S.

Vical Incorporated (Nasdaq: VICL) announced the scheduled presentation of preliminary human safety and immunogenicity data from a Phase 1 trial of the company's Vaxfectin(R)-formulated H5N1 pandemic influenza DNA vaccines on Thursday, July 17, at the IBC Life Sciences Next Generation Vaccines conference (National Harbor, MD - July 17-18). Vical's Vice President of Vaccine Research, Larry R. Smith, Ph.D.

Home Health Care During an Influenza Pandemic: Issues and Resources, a report identifying home health care as a critical component in providing care during a pandemic influenza event and offering resources to home health care providers and community planners to prepare for such an event, was released today by the U.S.

As the specter of a worldwide outbreak of avian or "bird flu" lingers, health officials recognize that new drugs are desperately needed since some strains of the virus already have developed resistance to the current roster of anti-flu remedies.

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a potential new way to vaccinate against avian flu. By delivering vaccine via DNA constructed to build antigens against flu, along with a minute electric pulse, researchers have immunized experimental animals against various strains of the virus. This approach could allow for the build up of vaccine reserves that could be easily and effectively dispensed in case of an epidemic.

Sinovac Biotech Ltd. (Amex: SVA), a leading provider of vaccines in China, announced the initiation of volunteer enrollment in its Phase II clinical trial for its split pandemic influenza vaccine. The preliminary results from this study are expected to be available in early 2009.

Plans for appropriate respiratory protection are a major part of healthcare facilities' pandemic preparation. To assist hospitals with the complex task of protecting frontline staff in the event of an outbreak, ECRI Institute and the International Association for Healthcare Safety and Security (IAHSS) present

A more diverse bird population can help lower the incidence of West Nile virus in the surrounding human population, in a process called the "dilution effect," according to an article released in the open access journal PLoS ONE on June 25, 2008. West Nile Virus, usually infecting birds but also affecting humans, is often passed through mosquitoes.

The likelihood of an influenza pandemic caused by an avian influenza (Bird Flu) virus is an increasing concern to the World Health Organization (WHO) and others. Recent breakthroughs on promising cell-based vaccines are encouraging, but manufacturing, stockpiling and distributing enough vaccine to treat victims on a massive scale remain a challenge that needs attention.

The Schulich School of Business released the first study to assess the impact of an influenza pandemic on individual companies. Presented today at the World Conference on Disaster Management, the study - Making a case for investing in pandemic preparedness - focuses on how companies can justify investing in pandemic planning using standard business performance metrics.

Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccines division of sanofi-aventis Group, announced yesterday its commitment to donate 60 million doses of H5N1 vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) over 3 years for the establishment of an H5N1 vaccine global stockpile. "The H5N1 virus is currently circulating in some of the poorest regions of the world and an outbreak of pandemic influenza would most likely hit populations living in areas with limited access to vaccines.

The Government of Canada is committed to preventing the introduction of avian influenza in Canada's domestic poultry flocks. Canada's 2007 Interagency Wild Bird Influenza Survey confirmed no findings of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Canada's wild bird population.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released results of a study suggesting that some North American avian influenza A H7 virus strains have properties that might enhance their potential to infect humans as well as their potential to spread from human to human. The study was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. Avian influenza A H7 viruses are fairly common in birds, but rarely infect humans.

A type of avian flu that is common in birds and rarely caught by humans, the North American Avian H7 influenza virus, is acquiring transmission properties similar to human influenza, according to a new study by US researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), based in Atlanta.

Baxter International Inc. (NYSE: BAX) announced publication in the June 12, 2008 issue of The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) of data demonstrating Baxter's candidate avian influenza (H5N1) vaccine, CELVAPAN, met Phase I/II trial endpoints for safety and immunogenicity (generating a functional immune response).

Results of a phase I and phase II trial on a new human vaccine against the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus that is made from cell culture instead of embryonated eggs (making it faster and cheaper to produce) show that it is safe and effective against a number of divergent strains. The experimental vaccine is made by Baxter International.

Health officials in Hong Kong said yesterday, Wednesday 11th June, they would start culling all live chickens on sale in retail outlets and markets after more birds in four markets tested positive for the deadly H5N1 virus that is also lethal to humans.