Boy wins damages for narcolepsy caused by swine flu vaccine
The ruling is expected to bring fresh compensation claims from families of people affected by the sleeping disorder after receiving the vaccine (Source: Telegraph Health)
Source: Telegraph Health - June 10, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: narcolepsy health vaccine Swine flu Source Type: news
Boy wins £120,000 damages for narcolepsy triggered by swine flu vaccine
Ruling comes after government claimed illness was not serious enough to merit payment, and opens door for up to 100 families to seek compensationA 12-year-old boy has been awarded £120,000 by a court that agreed he had been left severely disabled by narcolepsy triggered by the swine flu vaccine, following a three-year battle in which the government had claimed that his illness was not serious enough to merit payment. The ruling is expected to lead to as many as 100 other families of people affected by the sleeping disorder after receiving the vaccine bringing fresh compensation claims, in a dispute where the governme...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - June 10, 2015 Category: Science Authors: Hannah Devlin Science correspondent Tags: UK news Pharmaceuticals industry Drugs Law GlaxoSmithKline Health Science Swine flu Source Type: news
Next Season's Flu Shot Is Going To Be Very Different
By: Rachael Rettner
Published: June 04, 2015 01:00pm ET on LiveScience.
Next season's flu shot will contain two new flu strains that weren't present in last season's shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health officials are making the change in the hope that next season's flu shot — which will be released in the autumn — will be a better match to the strains that are actually circulating, and will do a better job of preventing flu cases.
Last season's flu shot was not very effective at preventing the flu: People who got the shot were just 19 percent less likely to visit the doctor ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - June 6, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Did the English smoking ban stop 90,000 children getting ill?
Conclusion
This observational study found an association between the introduction of the 2007 smoking ban in public places in England and Wales, and a reduction in children's hospital admissions for respiratory tract infections.
The study included data on a large number of admissions for respiratory tract infections in children, using nationwide official hospital statistics to gather this information. This gives us confidence in how well these findings may be generalisable because it limits selection bias.
The researchers took several potential confounding factors into account when analysing their results, including:
...
Source: NHS News Feed - May 29, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Pregnancy/child Source Type: news
Public Preferences for Vaccine, Antivirals in Flu OutbreakPublic Preferences for Vaccine, Antivirals in Flu Outbreak
During the 2009-2010 H1N1 pandemic, many people failed to properly protect themselves by getting vaccinated or taking appropriate antiviral medications. Why not? BMC Public Health (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - April 17, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Public Health & Prevention Journal Article Source Type: news
Government Initiatives for Updated Vaccine Development Drives the...
GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global report on H1N1 Vaccines. The global market for H1N1 Vaccines is forecast to reach US$4.9 billion by 2020, driven by WHO recommendations to include...(PRWeb April 02, 2015)Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/swine_flu_vaccines_market/H1N1_vaccines_market/prweb12628295.htm (Source: PRWeb: Medical Pharmaceuticals)
Source: PRWeb: Medical Pharmaceuticals - April 3, 2015 Category: Pharmaceuticals Source Type: news
The End of Ebola? Lessons at the Epidemic's One Year Anniversary
"That's the anthrax building," a colleague told me several years ago, pointing to a squat reddish-brown brick building in the middle of Fort Detrick, for many years the U.S. Army's center for biological warfare research. Cinderblocks now sealed up all of the doors and windows. Inside, anthrax -- a deadly pathogen -- still lurks. Outside, we are generally spared. For years, the U.S. had developed stores of anthrax spores as biological warfare, but destroyed these in 1969. Yet after 9/11, someone sent letters containing the pathogen to various journalists and senators. Many observers feel that the culprit remains unknow...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - March 30, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
The End of Ebola? Lessons at the Epidemic's One Year Anniversary
"That's the anthrax building," a colleague told me several years ago, pointing to a squat reddish-brown brick building in the middle of Fort Detrick, for many years the U.S. Army's center for biological warfare research. Cinderblocks now sealed up all of the doors and windows. Inside, anthrax -- a deadly pathogen -- still lurks. Outside, we are generally spared. For years, the U.S. had developed stores of anthrax spores as biological warfare, but destroyed these in 1969. Yet after 9/11, someone sent letters containing the pathogen to various journalists and senators. Many observers feel that the culprit remains unknow...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - March 30, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news
A Disease a Day Doesn't Keep Panic Away
Do you know what infectious disease you're supposed to be the most worried about today? Is it the "superbug" that broke out in an LA hospital last month, possibly exposing over a hundred patients? Or is it the early seasonal uptick in cases of Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in Saudi Arabia that has the global epidemiological community buzzing? Or maybe it's the continuation of measles outbreaks all over the country due to spotty immunization coverage. You might also still be reasonably concerned about Ebola (and no, it's not over yet, despite a downturn in news coverage and an encouraging slowdown in new cases ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - March 19, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Ebola risk remains low as medic flown home
A UK military healthcare worker who was infected with Ebola in Sierra Leone has been flown home and is being treated at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
Four other healthcare workers who had been in contact with the infected person are also being assessed. Two were flown home on the same flight as the infected worker and are now being monitored at the Royal Free. The others are being assessed in Sierra Leone. None of the four has been diagnosed with Ebola.
The latest case follows that of Glasgow nurse Pauline Cafferkey, who was found to have Ebola after arriving in Glasgow from Sierra Leone in December 2014. She reco...
Source: NHS News Feed - March 12, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: QA articles Source Type: news
Analysis suggests a more virulent swine flu virus in the Indian subcontinent
(Cell Press) A flu outbreak in India that has claimed over 1,200 lives may not be identical to the 2009 North American strain, as recently reported in India. A comparative analysis conducted by scientists at MIT shows that the flu virus in India seems to have acquired mutations that could spread more readily and therefore requires deeper studies.The researchers call on officials to increase surveillance and rethink vaccination strategies to account for potential new viruses. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)
Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - March 11, 2015 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news
Did the swine flu jab give little Mathilda a crippling sleep disorder?
Claire Crisp agreed to have her daughter vaccinated against swine flu, she believed she was protecting her. But Claire is convinced that the vaccine has left Mathilda with narcolepsy. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - March 10, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
This year’s flu vaccine “disappointing” against main flu virus
Some years the flu vaccine works quite well. Other years it doesn’t. It has done a particularly poor job this year against the main flu virus.
The CDC reported yesterday that this year’s flu vaccine has been just 18% effective. The estimate for children is even lower. And it looks like the nasal spray vaccine may not have worked at all among children. That poses a problem for the CDC, which recently recommended that doctors choose the nasal spray over the shot for younger kids.
“Studies can’t confirm that the [nasal] vaccine has a benefit,” Dr. Joseph Bresee, chief of the Epidemiology and Prev...
Source: New Harvard Health Information - February 27, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Howard LeWine, M.D. Tags: Cold and Flu Vaccines Source Type: news
Swine Flu Vaccines Spoiled By The Heat, According To Manufacturers
ATLANTA (AP) — The makers of the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine say now they know why it has failed to protect young U.S. children against swine flu — fragile doses got too warm.
The AstraZeneca FluMist vaccine works well for most flu strains, but small studies found it didn't work very well against the swine flu bug that first emerged in 2009. Swine flu has returned each year since but wasn't a big player this flu season.
The problem first came to light last year, when swine flu was behind most illnesses. At a medical meeting Thursday, company officials said they investigated and concluded that the swine flu...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - February 27, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news
Companies like Maruti Suzuki, Samsung and MTS get ready to take on swine flu
Mailers have been sent to educate all employees about the symptoms and the proactive practices to adhere to. On a need basis, H1N1 vaccination camps will be organised for employees and families. (Source: The Economic Times)
Source: The Economic Times - February 27, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
