(Updated) On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it had sent warning letters to four makers of hand sanitizing products that claim to prevent infection from methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA.
H1N1
One Stop Flu Shot: Hope for a Universal Influenza Vaccine
Perhaps there’s a silver lining to last year’s H1N1 pandemic flu outbreak: those who were infected and survived appear to have developed ‘super flu’ antibodies that may help researchers develop an influenza inoculation that could …
More Wisdom From a Long-Ago Plague
In its own deadly way, the 1918 flu pandemic is the gift that keeps on giving. It’s hard to say anything good about a global scourge that claimed 50 million lives, but a new article published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases …
All Together Now: Eeeeuuuww!
Here’s a tip: If you ever use a public restroom at New York’s Penn Station, consider buying a hazmat suit first and decontaminating before you rejoin the world. Many commuters passing through the station — and the bathroom — …
Post-H1N1, Why You Still Need to Worry About Flu
The H1N1 pandemic has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of the flu strain that started it all.
The Daily Dose: Weight Loss Can Be Toxic, But Obesity Is Expensive
FDA Takes On Green Tea: Dr Pepper Snapple Group’s Canada Dry and Unilever’s Lipton are in hot water for overextended health claims on labels and promotional websites for their green tea products, reports the Los Angeles Times.
Are we failing to stop the next flu pandemic?
The H1N1 flu pandemic last year came out of nowhere. Well, not exactly — H1N1 first emerged in human beings in Mexico. But that wasn’t where most influenza experts were looking. The focus had been on southeast Asia, where the H5N1 avian flu had been infecting — and killing — human beings for the past few years. Most flu pandemics …
Access denied: Many high-priority adults can’t get the HINI vaccine
The vast majority of adults who tried to get the H1N1 vaccine for themselves or their children have been unable to do so, according to a new national poll from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Since the H1N1 vaccine became available last month, 41% of parents and 21% of high-priority adults (including those who live with or care …
More Evidence Favoring Flu Vaccines in Pregnancy
Pregnant and considering whether or not to get a flu vaccine? Three new studies—as well as a growing body of research related to the effects of flu on the developing fetus—suggest that vaccination is the best option. In the studies, vaccinated women who were pregnant during flu season were much less likely to have premature or …
Swine flu research: H1N1 mostly affects younger patients, can turn critical quickly
A collection of studies to be published in the November 4 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association offer insights into the H1N1 flu strain that has now caused the deaths of at least 4,500 people worldwide, and which World Health Organization officials estimate will continue to be classified as a pandemic for several
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Avoiding Bogus Flu Remedies
The World Health Organization says it’s maintaining its estimate that swine flu — the virus better known now as “novel H1N1” — will infect some 2 billion people before the pandemic is over. That’s almost a third of the world’s population, and a scary thought. So this seems as good a time as any to figure out what’s fact and what’s …
Study Finds Swine Flu More Dangerous for Pregnant Women
According to a study published in this week’s issue of the British medical journal The Lancet, pregnant women who suffer from a case of the swine flu are at a higher risk for complications — and disease severity — than other people. The regular flu is generally more dangerous for pregnant women anyhow, but, according to the analysis, …